Looking for a 70s tank game

[JCgames]

I could not find it, but it was after pong, but i think before the 2600. In 1974, i found an arcade version but it said the console version was axed and never saw the light of day.

But i remember playing a console tank game that had two dual sticks attached to a single board, that then attached to a tv it was pvp only and you both pkayed side by side on the board controller with two sets of double sticks.

Im positive it was not combat it was after pong though, so im thinking 76 maybe 77? I know we played pong a bit before he got tank. Is it possible there was a tank clone? Or maybe he some how got his hands on an unreleased early proto type? His father i think was some sort of electrical engineer, or knew some that was. They also had an early computer that i think was ibm that had luner lander that i think was released in 78 or 79.

Can anyone shead some light on this mysterios dual player dual joystick plastic board and game that plugged into a tv?

 

[Colif]

Tank (video game) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

its likely the console version was on a VCS (Atari Video Computer System)
Since Version 2 was released on it

Combat (Tank Plus) – August, 1977, Atari Archive

The 1970s were a time of rapid growth and change in the nascent video game industry.

www.atariarchive.org

 

[JCgames]

Yes, it looked just like the 1974 tank game,but all the info i found said it never was released as a consol. Hence my curiosity.

Im temptedto track down the guy that i have not seen in over 40 years to see if he remebers, and ask him of he still has iron man number 4

 

[JCgames]

Reading tank plus it also said racing game which sounds familiar, but i could swear he had pong first, but maybe not. Then agian we are talking getting close to 50 years ago, so things are kinda fuzzy, like his pet trantula!

 

[Colif]

Pong was released in 1972 so plenty of time for console versions to come out. Almost every tv game back then had a version of it. Mostly as it worked well with paddles.
So far it lines up.

Think 1st time I saw Pong was in a movie but I can't prove that now... the 1970's were another country and we can't go there now.

I had a friend who had almost every Atari VCS game so I probably saw that back then.

thread on series:

https://forums.atariage.com/topic/337371-tank-kee-gamesatari-series-questions/

 

[Colif]

the arcade machine: https://www.arcade-museum.com/Videogame/tank

4 arcade games made:
Tank - 1974
Tank 2 - 1975
Tank8 - 1976
Ultratank - 1978

I love the consistent numbering. Tank 8 is really just tank with 8 players
https://gamesdb.launchbox-app.com/developers/games/13314-kee-games
above has the last 4 mentioned, lets you play them via emulation.

 

[JCgames]

Pong was on a console with two round knob paddels. Im pretty sure it was grey with black paddels, but its possible im conflating a later version my neighbor had around 82.

His was most likely in 75 or 76, im ptretty sure the tank game, wasnt lonng after. For some reason i think it was before space invaders and star wars. I think i remeber playing the updated version on atari on the ""combat" cartridge that also included the plane game, the one with the big bomber and three little plans that flew in formation where you flew in loops to kill each other.

Is it possible atari had a dual joystick, attachment in the late 70s? Hmmm the hunt continues.

 

[Colif]

back in the 70's? Single joysticks were new enough back then, let alone a twin stick set up. Atari consoles came with 2 controllers, but they weren't connected to each other (apart from both being attached to same console)

Atari Flashback 2

I’ve likely mentioned it before on the blog that I’m a bit of a purist. I enjoy playing my games on original hardware so when clone systems come along I usually turn my nose up to them …

ancientelectronics.wordpress.com

note: really doesn't help that they made a new VCS recently and most searches find it and not the original

how were the two attached to the board? Did it look like something you bought as is or could it have been made for the purpose by the owner? Probably custom

 

[JCgames]

No it was factory. It was basically molded plastic. If i had to guess it was about 30" maybe 36 tops and had a pair of sticks on each end. it it had an odd shape, i dont think it had square ends, i think it was slightly angled in at the top. And the sides were a bit beveled., but still angular in style.

They where not atari style joy stick handles(sticks aka round/short) they were a molded style and taller and had a button on the right thumb. To play we laid down on the floor in front of the tv. We were really close to each other. I suppose it was meant for chairs and a coffee table but we were kids so the floor worked fine.

 

[Colif]

I don't like my chances of finding that 50 years later.

Were you this close?

https://forums.atariage.com/topic/288219-dual-joystick-atari-games/

maybe that forum a goof place to ask?

 

[JCgames]

Nope it was a flat base like and inch tall, maybe 1.5

 

[Colif]

Try asking on that atari forum, they might know more options.

 

[JCgames]

If i had to guess 1.5x6x30 itbasically looked like an arcade game, pannel

 

[JCgames]

I dont think it was atari i think it was a stand-a-lone console,but i could be wrong.

 

[Colif]

its definitely not this one

Though that is cool... not exactly portable.

There weren't many clones made of tank which does limit choice

General Instruments produced a chip which would form the basis of a Pong-style video game with the addition of, if memory serves, one or two transistors, some resistors and capacitors, switches, two or four controller potentiometers, a trim pot to adjust RF output frequency, and an optional light gun. A secondary chip and 3.5797545MHz crystal could be added if desired to add color. Many video game machines were marketed using that chip, which included four game variations but unfortunately only supported two upward and downward ball angles as compared with the eight that were present in the original Pong(R) brand game.

Tank was a big enough increase in sophistication compared with Pong(R) that it would have been somewhat impractical to try to incorporate everything onto a single chip. It could probably have been done (the Atari 2600 has, IIRC, two big chips and a smaller one, plus typically one ROM chip in an installed cartridge) but using a somewhat larger number of separate chips made it much easier to support a variety of different games which could differentiate themselves from each other in the marketplace far better than machines based on the GI video game chip.

https://retrocomputing.stackexchange.com/questions/23557/why-was-atari-tank-less-cloned

Maybe this one:

https://www.reddit.com/r/ColecoVision/comments/r619sd/did_anyone_else_have_the_two_player_coleco/

 

[JCgames]

It could be but for some reason i think it was strait, not angled like that, and the guy said it had 4 games, but all are tank games and that switch does seam familiar. I dunno its so similar 45 years ago is a long time lol

Another thread made me realize that my first comp game i played was 80 not 78 and a vic 20 verse ibm

though the game on the screen looked the same as i think it was black and white and i know they had a color tv at that point. But great find. It really could be and maybe we just played the tank game. The lower video does say 77 and i thoughtthat was the year because i was thinking it was before starwars. So lots of this does sound right as he had it before he got atari. Unless there was another about that time. That was more strait and black but that could be it.

It does have the angles too though i thought they were on the back side, not front, but the camo also feels familiar.

Either way great find!

 

[Colif]

3 years when we talking about a memory from so long ago isn't very long.
Could be it was released late in 77 and the person didn't buy it when it was new.
They only made the one tank game using the format

Coleco Telstar series - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

• Combat
• Night Battle
• Robot Battle
• Camouflage Combat

the four games on the console sure sound like combat related games.


Most of the coleco consoles I remember had the paddles, I never saw that ones.