<s>
The	O
Microvision	B-Application
(	O
aka	O
Milton	B-Application
Bradley	I-Application
Microvision	I-Application
or	O
MB	B-Application
Microvision	I-Application
)	O
is	O
the	O
first	O
handheld	B-Application
game	I-Application
console	I-Application
that	O
used	O
interchangeable	O
cartridges	B-Protocol
and	O
in	O
that	O
sense	O
is	O
reprogrammable	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
released	O
by	O
the	O
Milton	O
Bradley	O
Company	O
in	O
November	O
1979	B-Application
for	O
a	O
retail	O
price	O
of	O
$49.99	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Microvision	B-Application
was	O
designed	O
by	O
Jay	O
Smith	O
,	O
the	O
engineer	O
who	O
would	O
later	O
design	O
the	O
Vectrex	B-Operating_System
gaming	O
console	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Microvision	B-Application
's	O
combination	O
of	O
portability	O
and	O
a	O
cartridge-based	O
system	O
led	O
to	O
moderate	O
success	O
,	O
with	O
Smith	O
Engineering	O
grossing	O
$15	O
million	O
in	O
the	O
first	O
year	O
of	O
the	O
system	O
's	O
release	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
very	O
few	O
cartridges	B-Protocol
,	O
a	O
small	O
screen	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
lack	O
of	O
support	O
from	O
established	O
home	O
video	O
game	O
companies	O
led	O
to	O
its	O
demise	O
in	O
1981	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
Satoru	O
Okada	O
,	O
the	O
former	O
head	O
of	O
Nintendo	O
's	O
R&D1	O
Department	O
,	O
the	O
Microvision	B-Application
gave	O
birth	O
to	O
Game	B-Device
Boy	I-Device
,	O
the	O
follow	O
up	O
to	O
Game	B-Device
&	I-Device
Watch	I-Device
,	O
after	O
Nintendo	O
designed	O
around	O
Microvision	B-Application
's	O
limitations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
most	O
later	O
consoles	O
,	O
the	O
Microvision	B-Application
did	O
not	O
contain	O
an	O
onboard	O
processor	O
(	O
CPU	B-General_Concept
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Instead	O
,	O
each	O
game	O
included	O
its	O
own	O
processor	O
contained	O
within	O
the	O
removable	O
cartridge	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
meant	O
that	O
the	O
console	O
itself	O
effectively	O
consisted	O
of	O
the	O
controls	O
,	O
LCD	B-Device
panel	I-Device
and	O
LCD	B-Device
controller	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
processors	O
for	O
the	O
first	O
Microvision	B-Application
cartridges	B-Protocol
were	O
made	O
with	O
both	O
Intel	B-Device
8021	I-Device
(	O
cross	O
licensed	O
by	O
Signetics	O
)	O
and	O
Texas	O
Instruments	O
TMS1100	B-Device
processors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Due	O
to	O
purchasing	O
issues	O
,	O
Milton	O
Bradley	O
switched	O
to	O
using	O
TMS1100	B-Device
processors	O
exclusively	O
including	O
reprogramming	O
the	O
games	O
that	O
were	O
originally	O
programmed	O
for	O
the	O
8021	B-Device
processor	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
TMS1100	B-Device
was	O
a	O
more	O
primitive	O
device	O
,	O
but	O
offered	O
more	O
memory	O
and	O
lower	O
power	O
consumption	O
than	O
the	O
8021	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
First-revision	O
Microvisions	B-Application
needed	O
two	O
batteries	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
8021	B-Device
's	O
higher	O
power	O
consumption	O
,	O
but	O
later	O
units	O
(	O
designed	O
for	O
the	O
TMS1100	B-Device
)	O
only	O
had	O
one	O
active	O
battery	O
holder	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microvision	B-Application
units	O
and	O
cartridges	B-Protocol
are	O
now	O
somewhat	O
rare	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Those	O
that	O
are	O
still	O
in	O
existence	O
are	O
susceptible	O
to	O
three	O
main	O
problems	O
:	O
"	O
screen	O
rot	O
,	O
"	O
ESD	O
damage	O
,	O
and	O
keypad	B-Device
destruction	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
manufacturing	O
process	O
used	O
to	O
create	O
the	O
Microvision	B-Application
's	O
LCD	B-Device
was	O
primitive	O
by	O
modern	O
standards	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
liquid	B-Device
crystal	I-Device
spontaneously	O
leaks	O
and	O
permanently	O
darkens	O
,	O
resulting	O
in	O
a	O
game	O
unit	O
that	O
still	O
plays	O
but	O
is	O
unable	O
to	O
properly	O
draw	O
the	O
screen	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
extreme	O
heat	O
(	O
such	O
as	O
resulting	O
from	O
leaving	O
the	O
unit	O
in	O
the	O
sun	O
)	O
,	O
which	O
can	O
instantly	O
destroy	O
the	O
screen	O
,	O
can	O
be	O
avoided	O
,	O
there	O
is	O
nothing	O
that	O
can	O
be	O
done	O
to	O
prevent	O
screen	O
rot	O
in	O
most	O
Microvision	B-Application
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
major	O
design	O
problem	O
on	O
early	O
units	O
involves	O
the	O
fact	O
that	O
the	O
microprocessor	B-Architecture
(	O
which	O
is	O
inside	O
the	O
top	O
of	O
each	O
cartridge	B-Protocol
)	O
lacks	O
ESD	O
protection	O
and	O
is	O
directly	O
connected	O
to	O
the	O
copper	O
pins	O
which	O
normally	O
connect	O
the	O
cartridge	B-Protocol
to	O
the	O
Microvision	B-Application
unit	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
low-voltage	O
integrated	O
circuit	O
inside	O
the	O
cartridge	B-Protocol
is	O
extremely	O
ESD	O
sensitive	O
,	O
and	O
can	O
be	O
destroyed	O
by	O
an	O
event	O
of	O
only	O
a	O
few	O
dozen	O
volts	O
which	O
cannot	O
even	O
be	O
felt	O
by	O
the	O
person	O
,	O
delivering	O
a	O
fatal	O
shock	O
to	O
the	O
game	O
unit	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
phenomenon	O
was	O
described	O
in	O
detail	O
by	O
John	O
Elder	O
Robison	O
(	O
a	O
former	O
Milton	O
Bradley	O
engineer	O
)	O
in	O
his	O
book	O
Look	O
Me	O
in	O
the	O
Eye	O
;	O
Robinson	O
described	O
the	O
issue	O
as	O
having	O
been	O
a	O
significant	O
enough	O
issue	O
during	O
the	O
1979	B-Application
holiday	O
season	O
(	O
with	O
up	O
to	O
60%	O
of	O
units	O
being	O
returned	O
as	O
defective	O
)	O
that	O
it	O
resulted	O
in	O
significant	O
panic	O
among	O
Milton	O
Bradley	O
staff	O
and	O
required	O
extensive	O
modifications	O
to	O
both	O
later	O
Microvision	B-Application
units	O
and	O
Microvision	B-Application
factories	O
(	O
the	O
former	O
being	O
of	O
his	O
own	O
design	O
)	O
to	O
better	O
dispel	O
stray	O
static	O
charges	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Microvision	B-Application
unit	O
had	O
a	O
twelve-button	O
keypad	B-Device
,	O
with	O
the	O
switches	O
buried	O
under	O
a	O
thick	O
layer	O
of	O
flexible	O
plastic	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
align	O
the	O
user	O
's	O
fingers	O
with	O
the	O
hidden	O
buttons	O
,	O
the	O
cartridges	B-Protocol
had	O
cutouts	O
in	O
their	O
bottom	O
(	O
over	O
the	O
keypad	B-Device
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
a	O
result	O
,	O
users	O
may	O
press	O
on	O
the	O
keypad	B-Device
harder	O
because	O
they	O
are	O
not	O
being	O
provided	O
with	O
any	O
feedback	O
that	O
the	O
key	O
has	O
been	O
pressed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
resulted	O
from	O
a	O
keypad	B-Device
used	O
for	O
prototyping	O
being	O
different	O
from	O
the	O
production	O
keypad	B-Device
;	O
the	O
prototyping	O
keypad	B-Device
had	O
tactile	O
feedback	O
upon	O
key	O
pressing	O
that	O
the	O
production	O
units	O
lacked	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
the	O
game	B-Protocol
cartridge	I-Protocol
plastic	O
cases	O
were	O
beige	O
colored	O
in	O
the	O
USA	O
,	O
in	O
Europe	O
they	O
came	O
in	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
different	O
colors	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
games	O
were	O
numbered	O
on	O
the	O
Box	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
#	O
US	O
title	O
Overseas	O
titles	O
Game	O
number	O
(	O
EU	O
)	O
Release	O
date	O
Microprocessor/s	O
1	O
Block	B-Application
Buster	I-Application
Block	O
BusterBlock	O
BusterBlock	O
BusterBlock	O
BusterCasse	O
Brique	O
11111	O
TI	O
MP3496-N1	O
or	O
TI	O
MP3450A	O
2	O
Bowling	O
BowlingBowlingBowlingBowlingBowling	O
22222	O
TI	O
MP3475NLL	O
3	O
Connect	O
Four	O
Connect	O
44	O
GewinntVier	O
Op'n	O
RijForza	O
4Puissance	O
4	O
55555	O
Signetics	O
Intel	B-Device
8021	I-Device
or	O
TI	O
MP3481NLL	O
4	O
Pinball	B-Application
PinballPinballFlipperFlipperFlipper	O
44444	O
TI	O
MP3455NLL	O
5	O
Mindbuster	O
N/A	O
N/A	O
TI	O
MP3457NLL	O
6	O
Star	O
Trek	O
:	O
Phaser	O
Strike(later just Phaser Strike )	O
Shooting	O
StarShooting	O
StarShooting	O
StarShooting	O
StarShooting	O
Star	O
33333	O
TI	O
MP3545	O
7	O
Vegas	O
Slots	O
N/A	O
N/A	O
?	O
</s>
<s>
9	O
Sea	B-Application
Duel	I-Application
Sea	O
DuelSee-DuellDuelDuello	O
Sul	O
MareBataille	O
Navale	O
(	O
Battleship	O
)	O
66666	O
?	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Microvision	B-Application
was	O
featured	O
in	O
Friday	O
the	O
13th	O
Part	O
2	O
(	O
1981	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
