The Vectrex came with its own screen, plastic color overlays, and roots in the aerospace industry. GCE brought Smith Engineering in to design and develop digital watch games, then calculator games, before the two companies set their sights on a full home console. That console had to include its own display because home televisions could not support vector graphics. The idea took shape when engineer John Ross came across a one-inch CRT designed for aircraft instruments, and that sparked the push toward a vector-based home console. GCE knew they were too small to compete in a saturated market on their own, so they sought out a larger company with the manufacturing and marketing muscle to give the Vectrex a real shot. Milton Bradley acquired GCE in September 1982. The Vectrex launched at $199 that holiday season, right into the Video Game Crash, and cost Milton Bradley $31.6 million before Hasbro bought what was left in 1984.

TCW 199 - The History of Handheld Games Part 2: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW199-the-history-of-handheld-games-part-2
Major Matt Mason: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sNoiDT0BMw
Creepy Crawlers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJOd3pPUcEo
TCW 025 - Matel Electronics?: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW025-mattel-electronics
TCW 177 - The Intellivision Part 1: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW177-the-intellivision-part-1
TCW 178 - The Intellivision Part 2: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW178-the-intellivision-part-2
GCE Game Time Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Bf1ShRP0sU
GCE Arcade Time Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sgPMbbyfyw
GCE Sports Time Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9K0Ty5MVr0
GCE Chase N Counter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeXaPOwrPq4
GCE Space N Counter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXaBH2hVnZ4
TCW 009 - The History of Mediagenic Part 1: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW009-history-of-mediagenic-part-1
TCW 010 - The History of Mediagenic Part 2: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW010-history-of-mediagenic-part-ii
TCW 225 - Games By Apollo: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW225-games-by-apollo
Towering Inferno (Atari): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9E4xYtUmqE
Entombed (Atari): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6D21cBQ8zPI
TCW 080 - Vector Lights: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW080-vector-lights
TCW 133 - Rolling Dice With The Parker Brothers: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW133-rolling-dice-with-the-parker-brothers
Mine Storm: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jPFGKVyD6E
Starhawk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjv6lnt98zY
Solar Quest: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzPwfY82Aok
Rip Off: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0d-fcGnMpI8
Space Wars: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTxl8WAr2WI
Armor Attack: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAShNvM8I9U
Blitz: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qend3Al4Rw
Star Trek: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gzrsb5c8dB4
Cosmic Chasm: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkaDXjOKMv0
Cosmic Chasm (Arcade): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-9ZRSs2ATU
Berzerk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tarHYgKekeI
Scramble: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tDBZwoiblQ
Hyperchase: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvHKW7dnIUs
Clean Sweep: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2jpYm6ZwIs
Vectrek Accessories: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9LLEJ63_Rw
Star Castle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29ZYcNK_Fe4
Spinball: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpT29NOsASw
Fortress of Narzod: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYiWPBljWHk
Spike: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNsyOWHQ71s
Pole Position: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfxKt4iZgRc

New episodes are on the 1st and 15th of every month!

TCW Email: feedback@theycreateworlds.com
BlueSky: @theycreateworlds.bsky.social
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theycreateworlds
Alex's Video Game History Blog: http://videogamehistorian.wordpress.com
Alex's book: http://bit.ly/TCWBOOK1

Intro Music: Josh Woodward - Airplane Mode - Music - "Airplane Mode" by Josh Woodward. Free download: http://joshwoodward.com/song/AirplaneMode
Outro Music: RoleMusic - Bacterial Love: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Rolemusic/Pop_Singles_Compilation_2014/01_rolemusic_-_bacterial_love

Copyright: Attribution: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/