Coleco Adam: Even Cabbage Patch Kids Couldn't Save Them

The ColecoVision was a successful and quite capable video game console introduced in 1982. Much of its initial popularity was due to an excellent pack-in version of Nintendo's Donkey Kong. The subsequent Coleco Adam was an attempt to capitalize on this success by adding a full-fledged computer system to the main unit. You could buy it in two configurations: A standalone system, or as an add-on for your ColecoVision unit.

The unit included a "typewriter quality" daisywheel printer and external keyboard, with a serviceable word processing package in ROM. It also included a (somewhat unreliable) proprietary high-speed tape drive for program storage. For some peculiar reason, the power supply was in the printer case – the machine wouldn’t turn on without the printer attached.

The system was priced at a hefty $595. It included 80K memory, a respectable 3.58 MHz Zilog Z-80A microprocessor and three Motorola 8501 "support processors" for memory/tape/keyboard scanning, and full compatibility with ColecoVision game titles. Unfortunately, the system just wasn’t ready for prime time – a significant number of Adams were returned to the factory (as many as 50% of the tapes were returned because of defects), and Coleco lost millions.

Without the Adam, Coleco might have been able to weather the video game meltdown in the mid-1980s -- especially if they had continued to license top-notch game titles from Nintendo. Sadly, the ColecoVision game console itself was discontinued in early 1984 after selling more than 6 million units (versus a piddly hundred thousand or so Adam PCs). That left the market wide open for Nintendo.

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