website/content/history/bally-professional-arcade-is-announced.html

{
 "title": "BALLY PROFESSIONAL ARCADE IS ANNOUNCED",
 "date": "1977-09-01",
 "years": [
  "1977"
 ],
 "topics": [
  "Hardware"
 ],
 "params": {
  "when": "SEPTEMBER 1977",
  "image": "/media/history/images/history_astrocade_1.jpg",
  "oc_id": 22,
  "source": {
   "url": "https://web.archive.org/web/20221215134357/http://www.old-computers.com/history/detail.asp?n=22",
   "date": "2022-12-15"
  }
 }
}

<img src="/media/history/images/history_astrocade_1.jpg"/> <br/><br/> <p>In September 1977, Bally, the famous pinball tables manufacturer, announced shortly after the Atari 2600, the <b>Bally Professional Arcade</b>. The first versions were shipped in early 1978 for $299. <br/><br/> 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. <br/><br/> 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. <br/><br/> 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 <b>Bally Computer System</b>. The same year, the company changed its name - and the system name - to <b>Astrocade</b>. <br/><br/> 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. <br/><br/> </p><img src="/media/history/images/history_astrocade_2.jpg"/>