• 1982 May

Hardware Description

The Arcadia 2001 is a second-generation 8-bit home video game console released by Emerson Radio in May 1982 for a price of US$ 99, several months before the release of ColecoVision. It was discontinued only 18 months later, with a total of 35 games having been released. Emerson licensed the Arcadia 2001 to Bandai, which released it in Japan. Over 30 Arcadia 2001 clones exist. The Arcadia is much smaller than its contemporary competitors and is powered by a standard 12 volt power supply so it can be used in a boat or a vehicle. It also has two outputs (or inputs) headphone jacks on the back of the unit, on the far left and far right sides. The system came with two Intellivision-style controllers with a 12-button keypad and 'fire' buttons on the sides. The direction pads have a removable joystick attachment. Most games came with BoPET overlays that could be applied to the controller's keypads. The console itself had five buttons: power, start, reset, option, and select. There are at least three different types of cartridge case styles and artwork, with variations on each. Emerson-family cartridges come in two different lengths (short and long) of black plastic cases.
Date discontinued: 
1984