<s>
The	O
Vectrex	B-Operating_System
is	O
a	O
vector	O
display-based	O
home	B-Device
video	I-Device
game	I-Device
console	I-Device
–	O
the	O
only	O
one	O
ever	O
designed	O
and	O
released	O
for	O
the	O
home	O
market	O
,	O
developed	O
by	O
Smith	O
Engineering	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Vectrex	B-Operating_System
,	O
in	O
contrast	O
to	O
other	O
video	O
game	O
systems	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
,	O
does	O
not	O
need	O
to	O
be	O
hooked	O
up	O
to	O
a	O
television	O
set	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
has	O
an	O
integrated	O
monochrome	B-Device
CRT	I-Device
monitor	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Peripherals	O
include	O
a	O
pair	O
of	O
3D	O
goggles	O
known	O
as	O
the	O
"	O
3D	O
Imager	O
"	O
and	O
a	O
light	B-Device
pen	I-Device
for	O
drawing	O
directly	O
on	O
the	O
screen	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Asteroids-inspired	O
Mine	B-Application
Storm	I-Application
is	O
built	O
into	O
the	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Vectrex	B-Operating_System
was	O
a	O
victim	O
of	O
the	O
video	O
game	O
crash	O
of	O
1983	O
and	O
was	O
discontinued	O
in	O
1984	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
its	O
commercial	O
failure	O
,	O
the	O
Vectrex	B-Operating_System
was	O
praised	O
for	O
its	O
software	O
library	O
,	O
unique	O
graphical	O
capabilities	O
,	O
and	O
built-in	O
monitor	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Vectrex	B-Operating_System
was	O
the	O
first	O
console	O
to	O
have	O
a	O
3D-based	O
peripheral	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
color	O
handheld	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
Vectrex	B-Operating_System
was	O
conceived	O
in	O
the	O
late	O
1980s	O
,	O
but	O
was	O
shelved	O
because	O
of	O
its	O
manufacturing	O
cost	O
and	O
the	O
success	O
of	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Device
Game	I-Device
Boy	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Vectrex	B-Operating_System
was	O
conceived	O
by	O
John	O
Ross	O
of	O
Smith	O
Engineering	O
in	O
late	O
1980	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
found	O
a	O
1-inch	O
cathode	B-Device
ray	I-Device
tube	I-Device
(	O
CRT	O
)	O
and	O
wondered	O
if	O
a	O
small	O
electronic	O
game	O
could	O
be	O
made	O
of	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
demonstration	O
of	O
a	O
vector-drawing	O
cathode	B-Device
ray	I-Device
tube	I-Device
display	I-Device
was	O
made	O
by	O
connecting	O
the	O
deflection	O
yoke	O
in	O
a	O
standard	O
television	O
to	O
the	O
channels	O
of	O
a	O
stereo	O
amplifier	O
fed	O
with	O
music	O
program	O
material	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
a	O
brief	O
hardware	O
and	O
software	O
development	O
period	O
,	O
the	O
Vectrex	B-Operating_System
was	O
unveiled	O
on	O
7	O
June	O
1982	O
at	O
the	O
Summer	O
Consumer	O
Electronics	O
Show	O
in	O
Chicago	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Milton	O
Bradley	O
's	O
greater	O
resources	O
allowed	O
the	O
Vectrex	B-Operating_System
to	O
be	O
released	O
in	O
parts	O
of	O
Europe	O
by	O
mid-1983	O
and	O
,	O
through	O
a	O
co-branding	O
agreement	O
with	O
Bandai	O
,	O
in	O
Japan	O
as	O
well	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
the	O
video	O
game	O
crash	O
of	O
1983	O
turned	O
Milton	O
Bradley	O
's	O
support	O
of	O
the	O
Vectrex	B-Operating_System
into	O
a	O
costly	O
mistake	O
,	O
even	O
despite	O
reducing	O
its	O
price	O
by	O
25%	O
and	O
then	O
later	O
50%	O
in	O
desperation	O
to	O
sell	O
units	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
February	O
1984	O
,	O
after	O
losing	O
$31.6	O
million	O
on	O
the	O
Vectrex	B-Operating_System
,	O
Milton	O
Bradley	O
announced	O
the	O
discontinuation	O
of	O
the	O
console	O
and	O
cancelled	O
development	O
of	O
new	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Prior	O
to	O
the	O
Vectrex	B-Operating_System
's	O
discontinuation	O
,	O
a	O
successor	O
console	O
with	O
a	O
color	O
screen	O
had	O
been	O
planned	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
the	O
rights	O
reverted	O
to	O
Smith	O
Engineering	O
,	O
the	O
company	O
made	O
plans	O
to	O
revive	O
the	O
Vectrex	B-Operating_System
as	O
a	O
handheld	O
,	O
but	O
the	O
imminent	O
arrival	O
of	O
Nintendo	O
's	O
Game	B-Device
Boy	I-Device
put	O
an	O
end	O
to	O
those	O
plans	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Smith	O
has	O
also	O
allowed	O
duplication	O
of	O
the	O
original	O
Vectrex	B-Operating_System
software	O
on	O
a	O
not-for-profit	O
basis	O
to	O
allow	O
Vectrex	B-Operating_System
owners	O
to	O
obtain	O
the	O
original	O
titles	O
at	O
low	O
cost	O
or	O
for	O
free	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Voltage	O
ramps	O
are	O
produced	O
that	O
the	O
monitor	O
uses	O
to	O
steer	O
the	O
electron	O
beam	O
over	O
the	O
face	O
of	O
the	O
phosphor	O
screen	O
of	O
the	O
cathode	B-Device
ray	I-Device
tube	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
cathode	B-Device
ray	I-Device
tube	I-Device
is	O
a	O
Samsung	B-Application
model	O
240RB40	O
monochrome	B-Device
unit	O
measuring	O
9	O
×	O
11inches	O
,	O
displaying	O
a	O
picture	O
of	O
240mm	O
diagonal	O
;	O
it	O
is	O
an	O
off-the-shelf	O
picture	B-Device
tube	I-Device
manufactured	O
for	O
small	O
black/white	O
television	O
sets	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
vector	B-General_Concept
CRT	I-General_Concept
display	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
one	O
in	O
the	O
Vectrex	B-Operating_System
does	O
not	O
require	O
a	O
special	O
tube	O
,	O
and	O
differs	O
from	O
standard	O
raster-based	O
television	O
sets	O
only	O
in	O
the	O
control	O
circuits	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
design	O
is	O
a	O
great	O
deal	O
smaller	O
than	O
the	O
electronics	O
found	O
in	O
the	O
free-standing	O
,	O
full-sized	O
Asteroids	B-Application
arcade	O
machine	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
development	O
,	O
for	O
a	O
short	O
period	O
of	O
time	O
,	O
the	O
possibility	O
of	O
using	O
the	O
6502	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
was	O
considered	O
,	O
but	O
later	O
its	O
performance	O
was	O
considered	O
insufficient	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
3-D	O
Imager	O
,	O
invented	O
by	O
John	O
Ross	O
,	O
turns	O
the	O
2-D	O
black-and-white	O
images	O
drawn	O
by	O
the	O
Vectrex	B-Operating_System
into	O
a	O
color	O
3-D	O
experience	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
user	O
looks	O
through	O
this	O
to	O
the	O
Vectrex	B-Operating_System
screen	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Vectrex	B-Operating_System
synchronizes	O
the	O
rotation	O
of	O
the	O
disk	O
to	O
the	O
software	O
frame	O
rate	O
as	O
it	O
draws	O
6	O
screens	O
:	O
with	O
the	O
right	O
eye	O
covered	O
:	O
the	O
left	O
eye	O
red	O
image	O
,	O
then	O
green	O
,	O
and	O
then	O
the	O
blue	O
image	O
is	O
drawn	O
,	O
and	O
then	O
,	O
while	O
the	O
left	O
eye	O
is	O
covered	O
by	O
the	O
black	O
180-degree	O
sector	O
:	O
the	O
right	O
eye	O
red	O
,	O
green	O
,	O
and	O
then	O
the	O
blue	O
image	O
is	O
drawn	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Only	O
one	O
eye	O
will	O
see	O
the	O
Vectrex	B-Operating_System
screen	O
and	O
its	O
3	O
associated	O
images	O
(	O
or	O
colors	O
)	O
at	O
any	O
one	O
time	O
while	O
the	O
other	O
will	O
be	O
blocked	O
by	O
the	O
180-degree	O
mask	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Vectrex	B-Operating_System
software	O
generates	O
its	O
own	O
frame-rate	O
and	O
compares	O
it	O
to	O
an	O
index	O
signal	O
from	O
the	O
glasses	O
once	O
per	O
revolution	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
light	B-Device
pen	I-Device
allows	O
the	O
user	O
to	O
"	O
draw	O
"	O
,	O
to	O
create	O
images	O
and	O
to	O
indicate	O
,	O
on	O
the	O
screen	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
has	O
a	O
photo-detector	O
that	O
can	O
see	O
the	O
bright	O
spot	O
of	O
the	O
vector-drawing	O
display	O
monitor	O
when	O
it	O
goes	O
by	O
under	O
the	O
light	B-Device
pen	I-Device
's	O
position	O
where	O
it	O
is	O
being	O
held	O
to	O
the	O
screen	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
photo-detector	O
feeds	O
internal	O
pulse-catching	O
circuits	O
that	O
tell	O
the	O
Vectrex	B-Operating_System
and	O
its	O
software	O
of	O
the	O
event	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Vectrex	B-Operating_System
draws	O
a	O
spider-web-like	O
search-pattern	O
to	O
track	O
the	O
pen	O
's	O
location	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Vectrex	B-Operating_System
light	B-Device
pen	I-Device
was	O
invented	O
by	O
John	O
Ross	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
order	O
to	O
enhance	O
the	O
display	O
visuals	O
of	O
the	O
Vectrex	B-Operating_System
,	O
every	O
commercially	O
released	O
game	O
included	O
its	O
own	O
unique	O
translucent	O
plastic	O
screen	O
overlay	O
that	O
accompanied	O
the	O
cartridge	B-Protocol
(	O
a	O
concept	O
first	O
seen	O
with	O
the	O
Magnavox	B-Device
Odyssey	I-Device
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
some	O
early	O
arcade	O
machines	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Instead	O
of	O
physically	O
touching	O
the	O
CRT	B-Device
screen	I-Device
,	O
four	O
tabs	O
on	O
the	O
Vectrex	B-Operating_System
console	O
securely	O
held	O
them	O
in	O
place	O
in	O
front	O
of	O
it	O
,	O
with	O
a	O
small	O
gap	O
between	O
the	O
actual	O
screen	O
and	O
the	O
overlay	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Each	O
overlay	O
also	O
displayed	O
the	O
title	O
and	O
logo	O
of	O
each	O
game	O
,	O
along	O
with	O
a	O
colored	O
border	O
or	O
design	O
,	O
to	O
add	O
cosmetic	O
flair	O
to	O
the	O
Vectrex	B-Operating_System
(	O
much	O
like	O
an	O
arcade	O
machine	O
with	O
its	O
marquee	O
or	O
side	O
art	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
of	O
the	O
Vectrex	B-Operating_System
's	O
library	O
consisted	O
of	O
ports	O
of	O
arcade	O
hits	O
,	O
most	O
of	O
them	O
brought	O
to	O
the	O
console	O
through	O
a	O
licensing	O
deal	O
with	O
Cinematronics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
liquor	O
company	O
Old	O
Mr.	O
Boston	O
gave	O
out	O
a	O
limited	O
number	O
of	O
customized	O
Clean	O
Sweep	O
cartridges	B-Protocol
,	O
with	O
a	O
Mr.	O
Boston	O
sticker	O
on	O
the	O
box	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
itself	O
had	O
custom	O
text	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
player	O
controlled	O
a	O
top	O
hat	O
rather	O
than	O
a	O
vacuum	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Byte	O
in	O
1982	O
called	O
Vectrex	B-Operating_System
"	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
greatest	O
game	O
machines	O
we	O
have	O
seen	O
this	O
year	O
...	O
 [ Vectrex ] 	O
is	O
a	O
good	O
bet	O
to	O
score	O
big	O
with	O
the	O
consumer	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
David	O
H	O
.	O
Ahl	O
stated	O
in	O
Creative	B-General_Concept
Computing	I-General_Concept
Video	O
&	O
Arcade	O
Games	O
in	O
1983	O
that	O
"	O
Vector	O
graphics	O
really	O
do	O
make	O
a	O
difference	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
strong	O
line-up	O
of	O
games	O
helps	O
immensely	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
late	O
1995	O
,	O
there	O
has	O
been	O
a	O
Usenet	B-Application
community	O
of	O
hobbyists	O
writing	O
games	O
for	O
ParaJVE	O
,	O
a	O
Vectrex	B-Operating_System
emulator	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Its	O
emulation	O
is	O
also	O
a	O
compound	O
of	O
MESS	B-Application
(	O
included	O
in	O
MAME	B-Device
,	O
so	O
RetroArch	B-Application
too	O
via	O
libretro	B-Application
)	O
,	O
DVE	O
,	O
lr-vex	O
,	O
Vecx	O
,	O
with	O
a	O
Wii	B-Operating_System
version	O
called	O
VectrexWii	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Schematics	O
for	O
a	O
"	O
Vectrex	B-Operating_System
Multicart	O
"	O
cartridge	B-Protocol
is	O
available	O
,	O
allowing	O
several	O
games	O
to	O
be	O
packed	O
on	O
one	O
cartridge	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
also	O
several	O
people	O
manufacturing	O
and	O
selling	O
newly	O
made	O
games	O
,	O
some	O
complete	O
as	O
cartridges	B-Protocol
with	O
packing	O
and	O
overlays	O
in	O
the	O
style	O
of	O
the	O
original	O
commercially	O
released	O
games	O
,	O
others	O
with	O
varying	O
degrees	O
of	O
packaging	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
New	O
hardware	O
has	O
also	O
been	O
developed	O
for	O
the	O
Vectrex	B-Operating_System
in	O
recent	O
years	O
,	O
including	O
a	O
light	B-Device
pen	I-Device
that	O
addressed	O
the	O
limitation	O
of	O
the	O
original	O
version	O
by	O
including	O
buttons	O
that	O
replace	O
the	O
second	O
controller	O
required	O
on	O
the	O
original	O
version	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
daughterboard	O
that	O
addresses	O
the	O
well-known	O
buzz	O
in	O
the	O
system	O
's	O
audio	O
(	O
bypassing	O
the	O
original	O
audio	O
circuitry	O
on	O
the	O
power	O
board	O
in	O
favor	O
of	O
a	O
module	O
installed	O
elsewhere	O
within	O
the	O
cabinet	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
