The Video Game Console Library

	PC-50X Family
	DW FACTS by Dark Watcher
	Page content, development and design by Marriott_Guy

Developer	Manufacturer	Release Date	Country(s)	Initial Price	Model Number	Game Releases	Overall Rating
General Instruments	Literally Hundreds	May-82	Worldwide	Varied	Varied	7 Confirmed Carts	N\A
Ratings	Reviews	Pictures\Media	Specs\Manuals	Games\Emulation	Models	Clones	Links

Ratings
Consoles are rated based upon the available technology at the time of its release. Ratings based upon a 10 point scale (10 being excellent\very rare).
Console Design (appearance, functionality)	N\A
Console Durability (sturdy or frail and fragile)	N\A
Controllers (design, response, feel, use)	N\A
Graphics (graphical capability and presentation)	N\A
Audio (sound, music, speech, effects)	N\A
Media (game media format, design, durability)	N\A
Packaging (appeal, durability of packaging)	N\A
Game Library (quality, quantity of game library)	N\A
Innovations (technological industrial strides)	N\A
Gamer Value (good investment for the gamer?)	N\A
Collector Value (good collector investment?)	N\A
Games Rarity (general availability of games)	N\A
Console Rarity (general availability of a system)	N\A

Reviews

PC-50X - Radofin Telesports III (picture credits unknown)

DW FACTS
- by Dark Watcher

The world was undergoing "Pong Madness". It seemed only natural that developers would create advancements to the original AY-3-8500 chip to incorporate color and even more games. This explains the amount of pong systems since each machine contained a different chip. However things were handled different in some areas particularly in Europe.

Europe did not see the release of the Intellivision and Atari 2600 till the early 1980s. This allowed Pong to have a longer success. Rather then creating a new machine for each new chip, developers took the General Instruments popular line of chips and slapped them into cartridges. These carts were not like ROM carts used in later systems. They simply housed a specific General Instruments processor chip with pin outs to interface with a console. These were the PC-50X line of cartridges (see the Games section for specifics).

With the PC-50X cartridges available, console manufacturers were able to produce a machine that could play several games and market them at a low cost. The units were made in various countries and were marketed by Creatronic, Hanimex, ITMC, Rollet, GrandStand, Soundic and lord knows how many other manufacturers. There are literally over two hundred console variations that utilized this technology.

PC-50X Screen shot The initial model SD-050 varied in terms of outward appearance (colors, etc), manufacturers names and slight modifications. However each unit had the same overall design with two detachable controllers with 10 buttons located on the top of the machine. These 10 buttons, which clearly identify a PC-50X based console, were used to select the different games available on each cart. The SD-050 model only produced black and white video.

New models such as the SD-070 and SD-090 appeared and sold well into the 80s since the units were far cheaper then the newer consoles making waves in the US and Japan. These newer models played the same carts, but added additional settings, sound and SECAM color (4 colors).

There were far too many PC-50X cart accepting consoles and it is difficult to list them all. Please check our Models section below for pictures of select models.

Pictures & Media

Various picture\media for this console. Click pictures to enlarge.

Specs

For the hardware enthusiasts out there - all the detail you\we love.

Processor Type	Processor Speed	Other Processor Information	RAM \ Video RAM
Chips on Cart (see chart below)	N\A	N\A	None
Screen Resolution	Color Palette	Polygons \ Sprites	Audio
208 x 108	4 Colors	N\A	Internal (beep)
Media Format	Media Capacity	Games Released	Other Supported Formats
Cartridge	N\A	7 Cartridges	None
Internal Storage	External \ Removable Storage	Game Controllers	Other Game \ Peripheral Devices
None	None	Joystick plus Fire button	Light Gun
Controller Ports	Network Ports	Other Ports	Audio \ Video
Two (most detachable)	None	5 pin DIN for optional Light Gun	RF Connection
Power Supply - External	Other Outputs	Other Details \ Notes
9v DC 200mA or six (6) 1.5V UM-2 batteries	None	None
Manuals
Not available. Can you help us out? You will receive full credit in addition to keeping the history of video gaming alive for all! Please contact me.

Games & Emulation

Game screen shots\media released for this system. Screen shots and cart pictures courtesy of our friends at Old-Computers,com.

The following lists the PC-50X line of cartridges. The titles do change based upon the respective manufacturer, but the Reference and GI Chipset do not.

Reference	GI Chipset	General Title	Games
PC-501	AY-3-8610	Supersportic	10
PC-502	AY-3-8760	Motor Cycle	04
PC-503	AY-3-8710	Tank Battle	02
PC-504	AY-3-8603	Racing Cars	02
PC-505	AY-3-8605	Submarine	03
PC-506	AY-3-8606	Super Wipeout	10
PC-507	AY-3-8607	Shooting Gallery	03

Comparison screen shots of the original GI chip (AY-3-8500) used in PONG systems versus the upgraded chips (AY-3-8610+) used in the PC-50X line of consoles.

Soccer

Soccer - PONG Version

PONG Version

Soccer - PC-50X Version

PC-50X Version

Squash

Squash - PONG Version

PONG Version

PC-50X Version

Tennis

Tennis - PONG Version

PONG Version

PC-50X Version

The following are some additional screen shots of games for the PC-50X cartridge family.

Basketball (PC-501)

Basketball (PC-501)

Destroyer (PC-505)

Destroyer (PC-505)

Gridball (PC-501)

Gridball (PC-501)

Hockey (PC-501)

Hockey (PC-501)

Motocross (PC-502)

Motocross (PC-502)

Night Sea (PC-505)

Night Sea (PC-505)

Sea Battle (PC-505)

Sea Battle (PC-505)

Space (PC-505)

Space (PC-505)

Stunt Cycle (PC-502)

Stunt Cycle (PC-502)

Third Party Emulators
Program	Website	Description
M.E.S.S.	http://www.mess.org/	Multi-Emulator Super System is a DOS based emulator capable of running many systems including this one. It has a Windows based GUI, and should be usable by most PC systems.

Models

Additional authorized releases for this console. These are just a few of the releases for this system. Pictures courtesy of our good friend Adrian Scheel.

Audio Sonic PP-790

Hanimex TVG 3000

ITMC SD-090

LARK Programmable TV Game System

Palson CX 306

Palson CX 336

Prinztronic Tournament 2000 Programmable

Programmable TV Game SD-050

SD-050 Programmable TV Game Console

Soundic Sports SD-070

Soundic TV Sports SD-090

Tectronic Programmable TV Game 868

Tempest Programmable TV Game SD-050

Tristar SD-050

Clones

Non-licensed releases (clones). Click pictures to enlarge.

There are literally hundreds of PC-50X clones - way too many to list.

Links

Highly recommended additional sites\resources for this system.

Name	Website	Description
Pong-Story.com	http://www.pong-story.com/pc-50x.htm	Great site for everything on PONG based systems
Old-Computers.com	http://www.old-computers.com/.../view.asp?r=2&a=4	Excellent article comparing the various PC-50X games
Console Picture Page	http://www.console-picture-page.de/catalog/	Excellent site with many more pictures of these systems!!

visitors since 01-Apr-2008
Page last updated 11-Dec-2011

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