The Fairchild Channel F, short for "Channel Fun," was the first home video game console based on a microprocessor. It used ROM cartridges, called "Videocarts," instead of having games built into the system. Fairchild Camera and Instrument released the console in November 1976 across North America at a retail price of US$169.95, which is equal to $960 in 2025. It was first called the "Video Entertainment System," but Fairchild changed its name to "Channel F" the following year while still using the "Video Entertainment System" label.
The Fairchild Channel F sold about 350,000 units before Fairchild sold the technology to Zircon International in 1979. It sold far fewer units than the Atari VCS. The system was no longer sold in 1983.
History
In 1974, employees Wallace Kirschner and Lawrence Haskel from Alpex Computer Corporation created a prototype for a home video game. The device used an Intel 8080 microprocessor and had interchangeable circuit boards with ROM chips that could be inserted into the main unit. They tried to interest television companies in the system but were not successful. Later, they contacted Fairchild, which sent engineer Jerry Lawson to test the system. Lawson was impressed and suggested Fairchild license the technology. Fairchild agreed in January 1976.
Lawson worked with industrial designer Nick Talesfore and mechanical engineer Ronald A. Smith to develop the prototype into a working product. Lawson replaced the Intel 8080 with Fairchild’s F8 CPU. Talesfore and Smith redesigned the prototype’s keyboard into a single control stick and placed the ROM circuit boards into plastic cartridges that looked like 8-track tapes. They also helped design the 8 degrees of freedom hand controller. Talesfore collaborated with graphic designer Tom Kamafugi, who created the early game cartridge packaging.
John Donatoni, Fairchild’s marketing director, explained that the console used a business model where the hardware was sold at a low price, and profits came from selling game cartridges. Ogilvy handled the marketing campaign. Fairchild announced the console at the Consumer Electronics Show on June 14, 1976. The Federal Communications Commission approved it for sale on October 20. It was released as the Video Entertainment System (VES) for $169.95 and later renamed the Channel F. Channel F had 22 games, compared to Atari’s 187 games on its Video Computer System (VCS). Marketing included events like a Video Blackjack game with Ken Uston and commercials with Milton Berle.
Fairchild licensed the console to European companies, leading to clone versions in countries like Austria, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Saba Videoplay models were sold in Germany and Italy.
In 1980, Lawson started his own company, Video Soft. Talesfore continued working on the system at Fairchild, contributing to the improved System II. Key changes included removable controllers using Atari’s joystick port (not compatible with Atari), moving storage to the back of the console, mixing sound into the RF modulator for TV adjustment, and simplifying internal electronics with custom logic chips. This allowed for a smaller, modern-looking design.
Fairchild left the video game market in April 1979. Zircon International acquired the rights to the system and redesigned it as the Channel F System II. It featured removable controllers and audio from the TV instead of a built-in speaker. The System II sold for $99.95 or $69.95 with a trade-in. Zircon released four additional games, bringing the total library to 26 games.
Design
The Channel F console uses a microprocessor called the Fairchild F8. This processor was new and different from other processors at the time. Early chip packaging had limited pins, so some pins were used to connect the processor to other chips in the system. At least two chips were needed to create a working F8 system. Using standard pin layouts helped save costs, allowing the processor to include 64 bytes of internal scratchpad RAM. The VES/Channel F and System II each had one CPU and two storage chips (PSUs). A single-chip version of the F8 was used in the VideoBrain computer system.
The Channel F could display one plane of graphics with one of four background colors per line. Three plot colors (red, green, blue) were available, but they turned white if the background was black. The resolution was 128 × 64 pixels, with about 104 × 60 pixels visible on a TV screen. The VRAM (framebuffer) could only be used to write data and not for other purposes. The console had 64 bytes of scratchpad RAM, which was half the amount of the later Atari 2600. The Maze game (Videocart-10) and Hangman game (Videocart-18) used 1024 bits of static RAM on the cartridge, increasing manufacturing costs. The Chess game used 2048 bytes of RAM by connecting industry-standard ROM and RAM through an F8 memory interface. The F8 processor allowed the console to play against the computer in games, a first for consoles. Earlier machines required a human opponent. Tic-Tac-Toe on Videocart-1 and the Chess game both allowed players to compete against the computer, though the Chess game had long turn times depending on difficulty.
The Channel F was the first console with a pause function. A "Hold" button on the console froze the game, letting players adjust settings. The button’s function was controlled by code, so it could be used differently in other games.
The system’s controllers were designed by Lawson and built by Nicholas Talesfore. Unlike the Atari 2600 joystick, Channel F controllers had no base. Instead, they had a large handgrip with a triangular cap that could move in eight directions. The cap could also twist, acting as a paddle. The grip could be pushed down or pulled up to function as a fire button. The Model 1 console had a compartment to store controllers. The System II had detachable controllers with holders for the cable. Zircon later released a special controller called the "Channel F Jet-Stick," featuring an action button on the front.
The "Hold" button was unique to the console, allowing players to pause the game and adjust settings like time or speed. However, the button’s function was not universal, as it was programmed for specific purposes. Built-in games and some Videocarts included labels explaining the button’s role.
Despite the Channel F’s commercial failure, its controller design was praised for its innovation. Zircon later released an Atari joystick-compatible version called the Video Command Joystick. Early versions had only a downward motion as the fire button, while later models added a pull-up and twist function.
Technical Specifications:
– CPU Microprocessor: Fairchild F8 (8-bit) operating at 1.7897725 MHz (NTSC colorburst /2). PAL versions: 2.0000 MHz (gen. 1), 1.9704972 MHz (gen. 2, PAL colorburst *4/9).
– RAM: 2 KB VRAM (128 × 64 × 2 bits) for the write-only framebuffer (four Mostek MK4027 or MK4015 4Kx1bit DRAMs), plus 64 bytes of scratchpad memory.
– Additional SRAM: Supported via cartridges. Maze and Hangman used 1K x 1 bit SRAM. Chess used 2048 bytes of RAM.
– Resolution: Approximately 3-107 columns and 2-62 rows visible on a TV, depending on the display. Columns 125 and 126 controlled the palette per row. VRAM could cover 128 × 64 pixels.
– Refresh Rate: 60 Hz.
– Colors: 8 colors (black/white lines or lines with background grey/blue/green and red, green, or blue pixels).
– Audio: 120 Hz, 500 Hz, and 1 kHz beeps (can be modulated for different tones). Audio quality was better on the System II.
– Input: Two custom game controllers, hardwired in the original model or removable in the System II.
– Output: RF modulated composite video signal, hardwired in the original model or detachable in the System II.
Games
Twenty-seven cartridges, called "Videocarts," were officially sold to customers in the United States during the time Fairchild and Zircon owned the console. The first twenty-one of these were released by Fairchild. Some of these cartridges could play more than one game and were usually priced at $19.95 (equal to about $91 in 2020). The Videocarts were yellow and about the same size and texture as an 8-track music cartridge. They often had colorful artwork on their labels. The earlier artwork was created by artist Tom Kamifuji and directed by Nick Talesfore. The console had two built-in games, Tennis and Hockey, which were both similar to the game Pong. In Hockey, players could change the direction of the reflecting bar by turning the controller knob and move it anywhere on the playing field. Tennis was similar to the original Pong, but players could move forward and backward.
A sales brochure from 1978 listed "Keyboard Videocarts" for sale. Three examples were K-1 Casino Poker, K-2 Space Odyssey, and K-3 Pro-Football. These cartridges were meant to work with a Keyboard accessory, which is shown on the Channel F II box. Brochures released later, after Zircon took over from Fairchild, did not mention this accessory or the term "Keyboard Videocart."
One cartridge, called Videocart-51 and named "Demo 1," was released outside the numbered series. It appeared in a single sales brochure sent in the winter of 1979 after Zircon acquired the company. This cartridge was not listed for sale after that brochure.
Other cartridges included:
– Democart (briefly available to the public)
– Democart 2
- Keyboard Videocart-1: Casino Poker
- Keyboard Videocart-2: Space Odyssey
- Keyboard Videocart-3: Pro-Football
A German electronics company called SABA released some cartridges that worked with the console but had differences from the original versions. These included:
– Videocart-1 Tic-Tac-Toe with German words
– Videocart-3 with different abbreviations in German
– Videocart-18 with changed graphics and a German word list
In 2021, a group of new "Homebrew" games were released on the website itch.io by a retro game developer named Arlasoft. These included versions of mobile puzzle games like Tents & Trees, 2048, and Threes, as well as a version of the classic arcade game Centipede. A hidden game could be started using a secret button combination, and the box and instruction booklet provided clues about the code needed. These games were released on cartridges labeled Videocart-29.
Reception
The Channel F came to market before the Atari VCS. However, after the VCS was released, sales of the Channel F dropped because of the types of games available. Most Channel F games were slow-paced and focused on education or intellectual challenges, while the VCS launched with fast-paced action games. Even after Fairchild redesigned the Channel F II in 1978, the company could not match the sales of the VCS and its games. By 1979, when Fairchild sold the technology to Zircon, about 350,000 units of the Channel F had been sold in total.
In 1982, Ken Uston reviewed 32 games in his book Ken Uston's Guide to Buying and Beating the Home Video Games. He gave high ratings to some Channel F games, including Alien Invasion and Video Whizball, calling them "the finest adult cartridges currently available for the Fairchild Channel F System." However, when Uston compared all Channel F games to over 200 games for other consoles, the Channel F ranked last. He rated most Channel F games as "average" or "below average." Uston noted that nearly half of the Channel F games were "high in interest," calling this "an impressive proportion." He also said that "Some of the Channel F cartridges are timeless; no matter what technological developments occur, they will continue to be of interest." His overall conclusion was that the games "serve a limited, but useful, purpose" and that the "strength of the Channel F offering is in its excellent educational line for children."
In 1983, after Zircon announced it would stop making the Channel F, Video Games magazine reviewed the console. It called it "the system nobody knows" and described its graphics and sounds as "somewhat primitive by today's standards." The magazine noted that Space War was "may be the most antiquated game of its type still on the market." It gave the 25 Channel F games an average "interest grade" of three ("not too good") on a scale from one to ten and an average "skill rating" of 4.5 out of 10. However, the magazine said Fairchild "managed to create some fascinating games, even by today's standards," including Casino Royale (actually Videocart-25, Casino Poker), which it called "the best card game, from blackjack to bridge, made for any TV-game system." It also praised Dodge-It ("simple but great"), Robot War ("Berzerk without guns"), and Whizball ("thoroughly original … hockey with guns"). The magazine concluded that only people interested in nostalgia, video game collecting, or card games would buy the Channel F in 1983.