View Full Version : Could anyone explain the success of the Videopac in Europe?
courtesi96
05-27-2008, 09:15 PM
It seems like there is a huge following for the Videopac in Europe. I'd like to hear from those who know why this might be? I know the Atari 8 bit computers were fairly popular but I don't hear much about the 2600.
Any input would be appreciated
swlovinist
05-27-2008, 10:20 PM
I know that my friend and NWCGE memeber Hans from from Germany, he might be able to know why it was successul more than me. Honestly the system was not a bad one, and one that if marketed well I could see as competition for the "early" 2600. I guess every country had a different draw to different systems, and that there might have been a surge of advertisement to pull a country towards one system over another. A good example of this is the megadrive...not really that popular overseas, but hugely successful in the US. Vice versa would be the TG-16, hugely popular overseas, and a distant third here. Heck, even the 2600 was not successful in Japan.
Ed Oscuro
05-27-2008, 10:54 PM
A good example of this is the megadrive...not really that popular overseas, but hugely successful in the US.
I think the Mega Drive did well in Europe, following on the success of the SMS. It was second to the Nintendo consoles and the PC-Engine, it seems, but still has a great library.
A better example is the SMS, which reportedly did very well throughout much of Europe and Brazil (where it is reportedly still a popular system c. 2002), where it replaced the Odyssey^2 (which I think also was and still is popular there).
Vice versa would be the TG-16, hugely popular overseas, and a distant third here.
Marketing (possibly entirely a lack of marketing - so actually maybe a cashflow problem). Also, the TG-16 did incredibly poorly in Europe, as it basically was a release of the U.S. system with some fiddling about done to make it work on PAL televisions. It takes U.S. game cards, which wouldn't have been readily available in Europe.
Heck, even the 2600 was not successful in Japan.
Releasing months before the Famicom will do that to you.
swlovinist
05-27-2008, 11:09 PM
concerning the megadrive, I was talking mostly about the Japan region and the failure of the megadrive there. Ed, good points brought up though, again, I live in the US and am just bringing up possibilities.
Ed Oscuro
05-27-2008, 11:31 PM
No harm done, I hope. :)
I think the Mega Drive did well in Europe, following on the success of the SMS. It was second to the Nintendo consoles and the PC-Engine, it seems, but still has a great library.
A better example is the SMS, which reportedly did very well throughout much of Europe and Brazil (where it is reportedly still a popular system c. 2002), where it replaced the Odyssey^2 (which I think also was and still is popular there).
Marketing (possibly entirely a lack of marketing - so actually maybe a cashflow problem). Also, the TG-16 did incredibly poorly in Europe, as it basically was a release of the U.S. system with some fiddling about done to make it work on PAL televisions. It takes U.S. game cards, which wouldn't have been readily available in Europe.
Releasing months before the Famicom will do that to you.
MegaDrive was number one console in UK, in front of SNES.
TG-16 was never released in Europe, as you said, only NTSC imports were available.
SMS did better than NES because of marketing and , most of all, pricing. SMS games were GBP 29.00, NES games were GBP 50.
VideoPac did excellent in Europe, but mainly on the continent, eg Germany, Netherlands (being Philips). I think parents thought the VideoPac was also educational, due to the keyboard. Philips also did good advertising in Europe for the VP, and the price was right.
Ed Oscuro
05-28-2008, 02:53 AM
MegaDrive was number one console in UK, in front of SNES.
I wasn't sure about that point, actually. I'll take your word for it!
TG-16 was never released in Europe, as you said, only NTSC imports were available.
The PAL TG-16 system was released in Europe, or at least some part of it, or could be ordered via catalog. This is a fact, since I know such systems exist. They certainly weren't widely distributed, however.
SMS did better than NES because of marketing and , most of all, pricing. SMS games were GBP 29.00, NES games were GBP 50.
Sounds like a deal to me! Another nifty fact, thanks.
The PAL TG-16 system was released in Europe, or at least some part of it, or could be ordered via catalog. This is a fact, since I know such systems exist. They certainly weren't widely distributed, however.
Yeah I heard about that, Spain or Italy probably, but the anticipated official release of the TG16 in Germany and UK never happened, as stated in C&VG magazine (UK) and Aktueller Software Markt (Germany)
Trevelyan
05-28-2008, 01:33 PM
MegaDrive was number one console in UK, in front of SNES.
SMS did better than NES because of marketing and , most of all, pricing. SMS games were GBP 29.00, NES games were GBP 50.
I'm from the UK & believe both of these statements to be true although I can't quite recall the NES/SMS price difference. A lot more people I knew had a SMS & then a Megadrive.
I remember Megadrive games being around £10 cheaper than SNES titles for new releases, but I chose my MegaDrive I think because of the Arcade nature of some of the games I'd experienced (Golden Axe & Streets of Rage, though I think the latter I'd played on a SMS).
Regarding pre 1990 my memory gets a little hazy, I was only 8! but I remember the C64, BBC Micro's & later the Acorn Archimedes' being popular, as well as Amiga's. I came across a 2600 way back when & a Pong only console, but I've never come across a Videopac, never knew anybody who had one.
Soviet Conscript
05-28-2008, 01:41 PM
Yeah I heard about that, Spain or Italy probably, but the anticipated official release of the TG16 in Germany and UK never happened, as stated in C&VG magazine (UK) and Aktueller Software Markt (Germany)
hmmm
well i know for a fact the unit is real, i have one.
though i'm not sure it was "officially" released in any european nation, only test marketed in extremely limited quantities. not much information on the subject but acually i beleive the places it was test marketed were Spain and the UK (London area) though i definitly can't confirm that. the box and instructions for the PAL unit are all completely in English, no multi-language manual.
ccc---
08-06-2008, 05:04 PM
At least here in Austria, Philips had a much better marketing than Atari had. I am pretty sure that this is the main reason for the success of the Videopac system here. I think The Netherlands, France and Austria were the Top 3 Videopac countries. The Netherlands as the home of Philips of course. France maybe had good Philips marketing too - and they had the Jopac games for example ...