website/content/museum/bally-astrocade.md

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Bally Astrocade	Consoles	name company company_name tabs photos screenshots emulators links comments oc_id source Astrocade /companies/bally Bally photos software emulators links title subtitle text image ASTROCADE BOX null title subtitle text image 280 ZZZAP null title subtitle text image DODGEM null title subtitle text image SEAWOLF null title subtitle text image MISSILE null title subtitle text image RED BARON null title subtitle text image PANZER ATTACK null title subtitle text image BRICKYARD null title subtitle text image CLOWNS null title subtitle text image STAR BATTLE null title subtitle text image ASTRO BATTLE null title subtitle text image DOGPATCH null title subtitle text image GALACTIC INVASION null title subtitle text image GALACTIC INVASION Box null title subtitle text image SPACE FORTRESS null title subtitle text image GRAND PRIX null title subtitle text image DESTRUCTION DERBY null title subtitle text image INCREDIBLE WIZARD Wizard of Wor adaptation null title subtitle text image COSMIC RAIDER null title subtitle text image TORNADO BASEBALL null title subtitle text image TENNIS null title subtitle text image HOCKEY null title subtitle text image HANDBALL null title subtitle text image FOOTBALL null title subtitle text image BALLY PINBALL (LATER ASTROCADE PINBALL) - GAME 2 null title subtitle text image BALLY PINBALL (LATER ASTROCADE PINBALL) - GAME 1 null title subtitle text image BINGO MATH null title subtitle text image SPEED MATH null title subtitle text image LETTER MATCH null title subtitle text image TIC TAC TOE null title subtitle text image AMAZING MAZE null title subtitle text image POKER null title subtitle text image ARTILLERY DUEL null title subtitle text image ARTILLERY DUEL null title subtitle text image CASSETTE & OVERLAY null title subtitle text image BLAST DROIDS null title subtitle text image CHECKMATE null title subtitle text image GUNFIGHT null title subtitle text image MUNCHER Originally Bally's version of Pacman. Not released by Bally due to Atari/Odyssey^2 Law suite. null title subtitle text image SNEAKY SNAKE null title url platform text MESS emulator http://www.mess.org/ Other platform MESS emulates the Astrocade title url text Astrocade Discussion Group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ballyalley/ Go there if you want to meet other Astrocade fans title url text Bally Alley http://www.ballyalley.com Newsletter, program downloads, pictures, documentation and much more title url text Digital Press - Astrocade page http://www.digitpress.com/emu/astrocade.htm Nice description & ROMs to download title url text Franck's Astrocade site http://www.dsplib.com/astrocade/index.html Francks programmed the Atrocade part of the MESS emulator. You can find here technical info like Astrocade schematics, commented BIOS source listing and color table... title url text The Bally / Astrocade FAQ http://www.glankonian.com/~lance/Ballyfaq.html Excellent HTML Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) author date text drag0nneus (United States) Wednesday 2nd May 2012 Need to find bally astrocade controllers or adapter so I can the system I found. Any one know how to obtain one? Ebay currently has nothing. author date text Terrywe (USA) Tuesday 12th September 2006 I got a Bally and had lots of fun with it. once I made it talk by recording my voice thru the joystick port, I took the voice & ran it thru an intergrated filter I made to get the voice envelope, then I used the stored envelope to modulate a 500hz tone author date text Jon N. (Los Angeles, CA) Wednesday 10th May 2006 This was my first arcade video game system, and was my fathers hope that it would be my first computer system as well. When the company told him that they were not going to make the expansion computer module, he immediately returned the unit & demanded a refund on his money. I then was given a TRS-80 Model I for Christmas, '80. Good times. author date text Stan Lee (Earth) Monday 24th January 2005 Bally now make Talking Pedometers under the name "Bally total Fitness". The logo is the B taken from the beginning of the old Bally logo. (You can find their 'wares in any Brantano Footwear!) 712 url date https://web.archive.org/web/20221205113622/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=712 2022-12-05

In September 1977, Bally, the famous pinball tables manufacturer, announced shortly after the Atari 2600, the Bally Professional Arcade. The first versions were shipped in early 1978 for $299.

This video game system featured a Z80 processor, three built-in games (Gunfight, Checkmate, Scribbler), a calculator with numeric keypad and up to four controllers that were a unique combination of joystick and paddle, which resembled the grip of a revolver.

Furthermore, a BASIC cartridge gave this system the ability to save programs to a cassette tape. For about 6 months, it was thus the world's cheapest computer.

Even though is was slightly superior to the competition (Atari VCS), the unit was too expensive and the sales remainded at a low level. In 1982, Bally withdrew the system and sold the rights to Astrovision Inc., a group of users who had enjoyed the system. The console was then reintroduced as the Bally Computer System. The same year, the company changed its name - and the system name - to Astrocade.

After that, Astrocade tried to keep the system alive and marketed it as a video game console for several years. In 1985, the game consoles market crashed and finally, the Astrocade company closed their doors and the Astrocade system disappeared.