Voting Station

Vectrex

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Gaming Console

The Resume

    (October 1982-March 1984)
    Created by Western Technologies/Smith Engineering
    Purchased by Milton-Bradley (March 1983-March 1984)
    Slogan: 'Real Arcade Play at Home'
    Original name was Mini Arcade
    Built-in game: Mine Storm
    Retailed $199 (then $149 and finally $99)

Why Vectrex might be annoying:

    When almost all the gaming systems featured full color graphics Vectrex was monochrome.
    Games that wanted color used archaic cellophane templates that overlayed the screen.
    It was pretty heavy despite having a compact size.
    The monochrome monitor was 9 inches.
    Milton-Bradley after just a year returned the rights back to Smith Engineering.
    A handheld vectrex was in the works but never saw the light of day (1988).
    The built-in game, Mine Storm, was buggy and would crash at level 13.

Why Vectrex might not be annoying:

    Smith Electronics has allowed and even encouraged hobbyists to duplicate games and manuals as long as it is not for profit.
    Hobbyists produce new emulators and new games, more than twenty years after the system had ended production.
    It was famous for using a much sharper vector monitor (most systems use raster).
    The system won praise for having a sleek look. It only used a square foot footprint.
    It really wanted to be a home arcade so it used full scale arcade buttons and joystick.
    Some machines were converted to heart monitors.
    The fixed version of Mine Storm (Mine Storm II) was sent free on request, but few took advantage of the offer.
    It was the first game system to have optional 3D goggles.

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 15 Votes: 20.0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 15 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 10 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 10 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 26 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 5 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 5 Votes: 80.0% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 13 Votes: 61.54% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 8 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 14 Votes: 78.57% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 7 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 156 Votes: 67.95% Annoying
    In 2009, Out of 24 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2008, Out of 38 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2007, Out of 54 Votes: 75.93% Annoying
    In 2006, Out of 102 Votes: 64.71% Annoying