The Control-Vision (codenamed NEMO) is an unreleased

video game console A video game console is an electronic device that Input/output, outputs a video signal or image to display a video game that can typically be played with a game controller. These may be home video game console, home consoles, which are generally ...

developed by Tom Zito. It is notable for using

VHS VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s. Ma ...

tapes rather than

ROM cartridge A ROM cartridge, usually referred to in context simply as a cartridge, cart, cassette, or card, is a replaceable part designed to be connected to a consumer electronics device such as a home computer, video game console or, to a lesser extent, ...

s, prompting the creation of game content which survived on into much more advanced

CD-ROM A CD-ROM (, compact disc read-only memory) is a type of read-only memory consisting of a pre-pressed optical compact disc that contains computer data storage, data computers can read, but not write or erase. Some CDs, called enhanced CDs, hold b ...

platforms.

History

Originally codenamed "NEMO", initial development began in 1985 and was supported by

Nolan Bushnell Nolan Kay Bushnell (born February 5, 1943) is an American businessman and electrical engineer. He established Atari, Inc. and the Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre chain. He has been inducted into the Video Game Hall of Fame and the Consu ...

's company Axlon. The team, which included

Apple Computer Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, in Silicon Valley. It is best known for its consumer electronics, software, and services. Founded in 1976 as Apple Computer Co ...

co-founder

Steve Wozniak Stephen Gary Wozniak (; born August 11, 1950), also known by his nickname Woz, is an American technology entrepreneur, electrical engineer, computer programmer, philanthropist, and inventor. In 1976, he co-founded Apple Inc., Apple Computer with ...

, created a prototype using a modified

ColecoVision ColecoVision is a second-generation home video-game console developed by Coleco and launched in North America in August 1982. It was released a year later in Europe by CBS Electronics as the CBS ColecoVision. The console offered a closer expe ...

console to combine interactive images with a video stream transmitted through a cable. As a storage medium, NEMO employs VHS tapes that contain computer data alongside interleaved tracks of video and audio that can be toggled. To take the project beyond prototype status, they searched for a partner who would fund further development. The

Hasbro Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment holding company founded on December 6, 1923 by Henry, Hillel and Herma ...

toy company agreed to invest $7 million in exchange for the video game rights to the technology. Three short trial games were finished by the middle of 1986: ''Scene of the Crime'', a four-minute interactive mystery; ''Bottom of the Ninth Inning'', a baseball game; and an interactive music video for the song " You Might Think" by

The Cars The Cars were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1976. Emerging from the New wave music, new wave Subculture, scene in the late 1970s, they consisted of Ric Ocasek (rhythm guitar), Benjamin Orr (bass guitar), Elliot Easton (l ...

. The next step was the interactive movie '' Night Trap'', inspired by ''Scene of the Crime'', and filmed in December 1986 in Pawtucket,

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

, the hometown of Hasbro. In 1987, Zito created the second full-size game named '' Sewer Shark'', in one month's filming time and at a cost of $3 million. After filming for ''Sewer Shark'' was completed, and two months prior to the 1989 release, Hasbro abandoned the project because the projected price was deemed uncompetitive against the well established and much cheaper

Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on 15 July 1983 as the and was later released as the redesigned NES in several test markets in the ...

. Zito purchased the rights to the games and stored everything in a Rhode Island warehouse. In the late 1980s, Zito hired Mark Turmell, who go on to create ''

NBA Jam ''NBA Jam'' is a List of basketball video games, basketball video game series based on the National Basketball Association (NBA). Initially developed as arcade games by Midway Games, Midway, the game found popularity with its photorealistic digi ...

'' and ''Smash T.V.'', to develop two more interactive games, ''Citizen X'', and a licensed tie-in game of '' Police Academy''.

Legacy

It was not until the early 1990s that the CD-ROM became an affordable mass storage medium for video game consoles, enabling

full-motion video Full-motion video (FMV) is a video game narration technique that relies upon pre-recorded video files (rather than sprites, vectors, or 3D models) to display action in the game. While many games feature FMVs as a way to present information duri ...

(FMV) games at home. Sega was looking for content for the 1992 introduction of the

Sega CD The Sega CD, known as in most regions outside North America and Brazil, is a CD-ROM accessory and format for the Sega Genesis produced by Sega as part of the fourth generation of video game consoles. Originally released in November 1991, it ca ...

accessory for the Genesis console. They contacted Zito, who created versions of '' Sewer Shark'' and '' Night Trap'' for Sega CD through his Digital Pictures company. Ports to other systems would soon follow. Footage of a presentation of a NEMO prototype to Hasbro executives can be found in the Sega CD version of ''Night Trap'' when entering a

cheat code Cheating in video games involves a video game player using various methods to create an advantage beyond normal gameplay, usually in order to make the game easier. Cheats may be activated from within the game itself (a cheat code implemented by ...

. Lawrence H. Bernstein, working for

Milton Bradley Company Milton Bradley Company or simply Milton Bradley (MB) was an American board game manufacturer established by Milton Bradley (1836-1911) in Springfield, Massachusetts, Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1860. In 1920, it absorbed the game production o ...

at that time, plays ''Scene of the Crime'', the prototype of ''Night Trap''. A playable version of ''Scene of the Crime'' can be found in '' Night Trap: 25th Anniversary Edition''.

Games

* ''Scene of the Crime'' (1986) * ''Bottom of the Ninth Inning'' (1986) * '' You Might Think'' (1986) * '' Night Trap'' (1986) * '' Sewer Shark'' (1987) * ''Citizen X'' (1988) * '' Police Academy'' (1988)

References

Bibliography

External links

VHS: The Future of Gaming
at

GameSpy GameSpy was an American provider of online multiplayer and matchmaking middleware for video games founded in 1999 by Mark Surfas. After the release of a multiplayer server browser for Quake, QSpy, Surfas licensed the software under the GameS ...