Ah, the once mighty Connecticut Leather Company! So, how a leather company got into Cabbage Patch Kids and video games is beyond me. In any case, the ColecoVision really was a pretty cool system.

Ostensibly, there were two things that really put the ColecoVision on the map:

• Expansion Module #1 : Atari 2600 Adapter
• Donkey Kong

Without a doubt, Coleco had a solid strategy when they entered the market. Despite lawsuits, coming out of the gate with the Atari 2600 adapter was a master stroke. Combine that with landing the hottest arcade game at the time, the system was built for expansion, and that most of their titles would be arcade licenses released on the Atari 2600 and Intellivision as well and you've got a powerful marketing message and presence.

The graphics on this console were truly a step up from the Intellivision - actual arcade-quality graphics! Having not dug into the system specs, I think that the ColecoVision actually used a Z80-based processor, which, if memory serves, was basically what many arcade machines of the day used. The main problem I had with the Colecovision was that it seemed prone to flicker, the controllers were oversized and painful to use for a long period of time, and despite the extra processing and graphics power, it still only had sixteen colors. For an interesting comparison of the ColecoVision and Atari 5200, go here.

I played tons of ColecoVision at my cousin Mike's house and really did enjoy the system. They had lots of cool add-ons, like the steering wheel and roller controllers, and actually delivered a decent computer module add-on - the ADAM. But ultimately, the system was killed in The Crash. Too bad.

Still, about twenty more games were released for the Coleocovision than the Intellivision in the system's heyday, and possibly even more consoles were sold. Perhaps the longer lifespan of the Intellivision, with the later Super Pro and System III releases, changed that–I don't know. In any case, because the ColecoVision used standard hardware (processor, RAM), and therefore (at least in the early 'retro' days, it had a more active homebrew community than the Intellivision. Ironically, the Intellivision Productions folks have released more new ColecoVision cartridges (1) than Intellivision cartridges (0)!! (Due, undoubtedly, to the challenges of Intellivision's more idiosyncratic parts list.)

Title		Item No.	Manual	Vendor	Rarity	Notes
	Beamrider	VS-003	Yes	Activision	U1	Manual unfolds to be a nice poster; not much of a graphics upgrade from the Intellivision version, it seems, but have not played much
	Pitfall II: Lost Caverns	VS-008	No	Activision	U1	Loose cartridge; haven't played enough to judge this one vs. Atari VCS version
	Pitfall!	VS-001	Yes	Activision	U3
	River Raid	VS-002	Yes	Activision	U3
	Centipede	70004	Yes	Atarisoft	C3	Cracked the shinkwrap on this puppy in July 2003! Supports the roller controller
	Defender	70002	Yes	Atarisoft	C3	Cracked the shinkwrap on this puppy in April 2003!
	BurgerTime	2430	Yes	Coleco	U1	Pretty nice box, though manual's a bit iffy; sad that Mattel didn't get to do this port ... or would they have exacted revenge for Donkey Kong? The world will never know.
	Carnival	2445	Yes	Coleco	C3	Another squishy box from Coleco
	Congo Bongo	2669	Yes	Coleco	R3	Whatever the glue was for that red price sticker is, it seems invincible; gameplay just as icky as on Intellivision and Atari 2600 versions, it seems
	Donkey Kong	2411	No	Coleco	C3	Loose
	Donkey Kong Junior	2601	Yes	Coleco	C2	Pretty rough, as most Coleco boxes seem to be; looks like Rover may have chewed on it a bit, but it plays fine
	Gorf	2449	No	Coleco	U2	Loose cartridge only
	Lady Bug	2433	Yes	Coleco	C3	Sadly a bubble-envelope shipping victim
	Mouse Trap	2419	Yes	Coleco	C2	What is it with Coleco's boxes... they are so flimsy
	Omega Race	2448	No	Coleco	U2	For use with the Roller Controller
	Slither	2492	Yes	Coleco	C3	Pack-in with Expansion Module #3 - if that's what the Roller Controller can be called; have manual for roller controller and Slither cart; pretty good shape
	Smurf Rescue in Gargamel's Castle	2443	Yes	Coleco	C2	Overall decent shape for a Coleco box
	Subroc	2614	No	Coleco	U2	Loose cartridge only
	Super Action Baseball	2491	Yes	Coleco	C1	Pack-in game with the Super Action controllers; includes Score Pad (part number 91994)
	Turbo	2413	Yes	Coleco	C3	Pack-in with Expansion Module #2; have manual for steering wheel and Turbo cart; box tattered but foams still there!
	Venture	2417	Yes	Coleco	C3	Great shape!
	Zaxxon	2435	No	Coleco	C3	Loose
	Nova Blast	IM 6609	Yes	Imagic	U2	Imagic really upgraded the graphics compared to the Intellivision release; black tray without cardboard backing
	Popeye	9810	Yes	Parker Brothers	U3	Box opens on top; unlike the Atari VCS and Intellivision versions, this box does NOT have the word baloon showing Popeye hawking the instant-win scratch-off game
	Q*bert	9800	No	Parker Brothers	C2	This cart seems a little bit wider than other ColecoVision shells, based on how it fits into a game holder from back in the day
	Facemaker	FMK-CV	No	Spinnaker	U2	Loose; label is spotty; no idea how I got this one
	Fraction Fever	FRF-CV	No	Spinnaker	U2	Loose; label is spotty; no idea how I got this one
	Jukebox	JUK-CV	No	Spinnaker	U2	Loose; label is nice; no idea how I got this one
	Learning with Leeper	LLL-901	No	Sierra On-Line	U1	Nice shiny, clean label
	Galaxian		Yes	CollectorVision	HB	Originally by Atarisoft, CollectorVision release in Coleco-style packaging, but with full-color manual
	Lock 'n' Chase		Yes	CollectorVision	HB	CollectorVision release in Coleco-style packaging, but with full-color manual
	Frostbite		Yes	Team Pixelboy	HB	Budget release
	Kaboom!		Yes	Team Pixelboy	HB	Budget release
	Remember the Flag		Yes	Team Pixelboy	HB	Budget release