Bally Astrocade
 |
|
 |
|
| Released: | 1978-04-?? |
| Discontinued: | 1984-??-?? |
| Developer: | Bally Midway |
| Type: | Hardware |
The Bally Astrocade, also known as the Bally Arcade or Bally Videocade, is an early 8-bit gaming console produced by Bally Midway. Despite being one of the earliest video game consoles, it was extremely powerful by the standards of the era, with specifications that would not be matched by a competing console until the release of the ColecoVision and Atari 5200 four years later (the Atari 8-bit home computer line would surpass the Astrocade's specifications a year after its release, though at a far higher price).
The Astrocade was very much a niche product along the lines of the later Neo Geo, sold for a high price (launching at $299, the equivalent of about $1,500 today) due to its highly customized hardware and with only a small selection of games available, but with those games being technically far superior to what was offered by competing systems. As suggested by its name, the system's main focus was on being able to offer players the chance to experience arcade-quality games at home.
The system was one of many discontinued in the wake of the 1983 video game crash, though it likely would not have lasted much longer even without the crash, as newer systems such as the ColecoVision could match its capabilities at a far lower manufacturing and retail price.
Music and Sound
The Astrocade's music and sound was generated by a chip called the Bally Astrocade Music Processor (BAMP), which had very similar capabilities to the AY-3-8910 and SN76489 with three square wave channels and a noise channel, though it actually predated either of those chips. The BAMP in fact was slightly more advanced than either of them, as it offered hardware vibrato support, something that wasn't included in any other home console's sound chip until the 2A03 in the Nintendo Entertainment System, some five years after the Astrocade.
Very few games released in the Astrocade's original production run featured any music, though this was more because video games in general tended not to feature much music at the time. With the system's audio capabilities competitive with many consoles released well into the following decade, homebrew games have better demonstrated its potential in that regard.
