<s>
The	O
is	O
a	O
second	B-Application
generation	I-Application
home	B-Device
video	I-Device
game	I-Device
console	I-Device
made	O
by	O
Epoch	O
Co	O
.	O
and	O
released	O
in	O
Japan	O
on	O
July	O
30	O
,	O
1981	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
redesigned	O
model	O
called	O
the	O
Cassette	B-Device
Vision	I-Device
Jr.	O
was	O
released	O
afterwards	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
term	O
cassette	O
is	O
a	O
contemporary	O
Japanese	O
synonym	B-Application
for	O
ROM	B-Protocol
cartridge	I-Protocol
,	O
not	O
to	O
be	O
confused	O
with	O
the	O
magnetic	O
cassette	B-Device
tape	I-Device
format	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
terms	O
of	O
power	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
comparable	O
to	O
the	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
2600	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Cassette	B-Device
Vision	I-Device
has	O
unusual	O
controls	O
:	O
four	O
knobs	O
built	O
into	O
the	O
console	O
itself	O
,	O
two	O
for	O
each	O
player	O
(	O
one	O
for	O
horizontal	O
,	O
one	O
for	O
vertical	O
)	O
;	O
plus	O
two	O
buttons	O
per	O
player	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Cassette	B-Device
Vision	I-Device
sold	O
around	O
400,000	O
units	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
the	O
best	O
selling	O
video	B-Device
game	I-Device
console	I-Device
in	O
Japan	O
before	O
Nintendo	O
's	O
Family	O
Computer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
received	O
a	O
successor	O
called	O
the	O
Super	B-Device
Cassette	I-Device
Vision	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
a	O
1984	O
machine	O
,	O
the	O
Super	B-Device
Cassette	I-Device
Vision	I-Device
was	O
more	O
comparable	O
to	O
the	O
likes	O
of	O
the	O
Famicom	O
and	O
Sega	O
's	O
SG-1000	B-Operating_System
line	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Super	O
Lady	O
Cassette	B-Device
Vision	I-Device
,	O
a	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
Super	B-Device
Cassette	I-Device
Vision	I-Device
that	O
was	O
aimed	O
at	O
a	O
female	O
market	O
,	O
was	O
released	O
exclusively	O
in	O
Japan	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
company	O
partnered	O
with	O
Magnavox	O
to	O
release	O
the	O
TV	B-Application
Tennis	I-Application
Electrotennis	I-Application
in	O
1975	O
,	O
the	O
first	O
video	B-Device
game	I-Device
console	I-Device
released	O
in	O
Japan	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1980	O
,	O
it	O
released	O
the	O
TV	B-Device
Vader	I-Device
,	O
a	O
dedicated	O
home	B-Device
console	I-Device
that	O
featured	O
a	O
clone	O
of	O
Space	B-Application
Invaders	I-Application
,	O
which	O
was	O
moderately	O
successful	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Based	O
on	O
its	O
experience	O
with	O
designing	O
handheld	O
electronic	O
games	O
and	O
other	O
kinds	O
of	O
video	O
game	O
hardware	O
,	O
Epoch	O
began	O
work	O
on	O
creating	O
a	O
video	B-Device
game	I-Device
console	I-Device
that	O
utilized	O
interchangeable	O
ROM	B-Protocol
cartridges	I-Protocol
to	O
play	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Epoch	O
supervisor	O
and	O
designer	O
Masayuki	O
Horie	O
was	O
assigned	O
as	O
the	O
designer	O
and	O
hardware	O
engineer	O
of	O
the	O
Cassette	B-Device
Vision	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Epoch	O
wanted	O
the	O
Cassette	B-Device
Vision	I-Device
to	O
be	O
based	O
around	O
cartridges	B-Protocol
to	O
help	O
clear	O
out	O
space	O
in	O
one	O
's	O
house	O
,	O
as	O
its	O
dedicated	O
machines	O
were	O
usually	O
big	O
and	O
took	O
up	O
room	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Cassette	B-Device
Vision	I-Device
was	O
not	O
the	O
first	O
cartridge-based	O
console	O
released	O
in	O
Japan	O
;	O
earlier	O
examples	O
include	O
the	O
Video	O
Cassette	O
Rock	O
by	O
Takatoku	O
Toys	O
and	O
the	O
TV	O
Jack	O
5000	O
by	O
Bandai	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
of	O
the	O
way	O
Epoch	O
designed	O
its	O
previous	O
consoles	O
,	O
the	O
development	O
team	O
working	O
under	O
Horie	O
was	O
unable	O
to	O
separate	O
the	O
ROM	B-Device
and	O
CPU	O
in	O
the	O
console	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Cassette	B-Device
Vision	I-Device
was	O
released	O
in	O
Japan	O
on	O
July	O
30	O
,	O
1981	O
,	O
at	O
a	O
retail	O
price	O
of	O
13,500	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Epoch	O
based	O
its	O
marketing	O
strategy	O
on	O
what	O
worked	O
for	O
Atari	O
and	O
its	O
Video	B-General_Concept
Computer	I-General_Concept
System	I-General_Concept
in	O
1977	O
,	O
which	O
Epoch	O
had	O
released	O
in	O
Japan	O
as	O
the	O
Cassette	O
TV	O
Game	O
in	O
1979	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
console	O
's	O
name	O
comes	O
from	O
the	O
Japanese	O
synonym	B-Application
for	O
ROM	B-Protocol
cartridge	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
the	O
country	O
's	O
home	B-Device
console	I-Device
market	O
possessed	O
few	O
"	O
major	O
"	O
competitors	O
,	O
the	O
Cassette	B-Device
Vision	I-Device
quickly	O
rose	O
in	O
popularity	O
and	O
sales	O
,	O
becoming	O
the	O
best-selling	O
game	O
console	O
in	O
Japan	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
claimed	O
70%	O
of	O
the	O
market	O
by	O
1982	O
,	O
surpassing	O
the	O
Cassette	O
TV	O
Game	O
and	O
Bandai	O
's	O
import	O
of	O
the	O
Intellivision	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
response	O
,	O
Epoch	O
released	O
the	O
Cassette	B-Device
Vision	I-Device
Jr.	O
,	O
a	O
cost-effective	O
remodel	O
,	O
on	O
July	O
19	O
,	O
1983	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Cassette	B-Device
Vision	I-Device
Jr.	O
retains	O
most	O
of	O
the	O
same	O
features	O
as	O
the	O
Cassette	B-Device
Vision	I-Device
,	O
omitting	O
the	O
volume	O
dial	O
controller	O
and	O
having	O
a	O
redesigned	O
keyboard	O
layout	O
to	O
make	O
certain	O
games	O
more	O
intuitive	O
to	O
play	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Cassette	B-Device
Vision	I-Device
Jr.	O
was	O
successful	O
for	O
its	O
low	O
price	O
point	O
and	O
lack	O
of	O
competition	O
,	O
and	O
like	O
its	O
predecessor	O
was	O
commercially	O
successful	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Four	O
days	O
before	O
the	O
Jr.	O
'	O
s	O
release	O
,	O
Nintendo	O
released	O
the	O
Family	O
Computer	O
(	O
Famicom	O
)	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
similarly	O
designed	O
around	O
interchangeable	O
cartridges	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Famicom	O
quickly	O
overtook	O
the	O
Cassette	B-Device
Vision	I-Device
in	O
popularity	O
and	O
became	O
the	O
leading	O
game	O
console	O
in	O
Japan	O
,	O
largely	O
for	O
its	O
ability	O
to	O
produce	O
high-quality	O
conversions	O
of	O
arcade	O
games	O
like	O
Donkey	B-Application
Kong	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Cassette	B-Device
Vision	I-Device
was	O
unable	O
to	O
compete	O
with	O
the	O
Famicom	O
,	O
and	O
later	O
Sega	O
's	O
SG-1000	B-Operating_System
,	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
inferior	O
hardware	O
it	O
possessed	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
the	O
market	O
becoming	O
cornered	O
with	O
other	O
competing	O
platforms	O
from	O
companies	O
like	O
Atari	O
and	O
Nichibutsu	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Epoch	O
chose	O
to	O
discontinue	O
the	O
Cassette	B-Device
Vision	I-Device
in	O
August	O
1984	O
due	O
to	O
poor	O
sales	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
company	O
refocused	O
its	O
efforts	O
on	O
designing	O
a	O
successor	O
to	O
the	O
Cassette	B-Device
Vision	I-Device
that	O
could	O
compete	O
with	O
Nintendo	O
and	O
Sega	O
,	O
which	O
became	O
the	O
Super	B-Device
Cassette	I-Device
Vision	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
its	O
lifetime	O
,	O
the	O
Cassette	B-Device
Vision	I-Device
sold	O
an	O
estimated	O
400,000	O
units	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Baseball	O
–	O
a	O
baseball	O
game	O
released	O
by	O
Epoch	O
in	O
1981	O
(	O
This	O
game	O
was	O
playable	O
before	O
it	O
came	O
out	O
for	O
the	O
Cassette	B-Device
Vision	I-Device
with	O
the	O
1978	O
dedicated	O
console	O
TV	O
Baseball	O
.	O
)	O
</s>
<s>
(	O
This	O
game	O
was	O
playable	O
two	O
years	O
before	O
it	O
came	O
out	O
for	O
the	O
Cassette	B-Device
Vision	I-Device
with	O
the	O
1980	O
dedicated	O
console	O
TV	B-Device
Vader	I-Device
.	O
)	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
same	O
year	O
as	O
the	O
launch	O
of	O
the	O
Cassette	B-Device
Vision	I-Device
,	O
Epoch	O
released	O
a	O
Light	B-Device
Gun	I-Device
to	O
go	O
with	O
the	O
Big	O
Sport	O
12	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
cartridge	B-Protocol
contains	O
a	O
collection	O
of	O
12	O
games	O
,	O
including	O
4	O
that	O
required	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
the	O
light	B-Device
gun	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
is	O
the	O
only	O
accessory	O
available	O
for	O
the	O
Cassette	B-Device
Vision	I-Device
and	O
therefore	O
the	O
only	O
peripheral	O
that	O
use	O
the	O
AUX	O
connection	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
connector	O
was	O
later	O
removed	O
when	O
Epoch	O
released	O
the	O
Cassette	B-Device
Vision	I-Device
Jr	O
,	O
a	O
trim	O
down	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
Cassette	B-Device
Vision	I-Device
,	O
making	O
the	O
Gun	O
incompatible	O
with	O
that	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
console	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Epoch	O
decided	O
to	O
capitalize	O
on	O
the	O
NEC	O
uPD77xx	O
chipset	O
as	O
they	O
had	O
already	O
used	O
to	O
develop	O
games	O
on	O
this	O
platform	O
(	O
TV	O
Baseball	O
,	O
TV	B-Device
Vader	I-Device
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
achieve	O
this	O
,	O
Epoch	O
decided	O
to	O
put	O
the	O
CPU	O
directly	O
in	O
the	O
cartridge	B-Protocol
while	O
the	O
shell	O
of	O
the	O
console	O
would	O
only	O
contain	O
the	O
power	O
supply	O
,	O
the	O
controls	O
and	O
the	O
video	O
and	O
sound	O
output	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Having	O
the	O
ROM	B-Device
,	O
the	O
RAM	O
and	O
the	O
CPU	O
in	O
one	O
chip	O
,	O
Epoch/NEC	O
were	O
able	O
to	O
create	O
a	O
chip	O
that	O
would	O
support	O
48	O
bits	O
instruction	O
which	O
was	O
way	O
faster	O
than	O
systems	O
using	O
a	O
separate	O
ROM	B-Device
at	O
the	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Using	O
8-bit	O
ROM	B-Device
though	O
a	O
BUS	O
would	O
have	O
divided	O
the	O
speed	O
by	O
4	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
having	O
only	O
the	O
ROM	B-Device
on	O
the	O
cartridge	B-Protocol
would	O
have	O
reduced	O
their	O
cost	O
drastically	O
,	O
it	O
would	O
have	O
greatly	O
increased	O
the	O
cost	O
of	O
the	O
console	O
itself	O
,	O
incur	O
more	O
R&D	O
cost	O
and	O
delay	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
the	O
console	O
.	O
</s>
