The engineers/developers behind our classic consoles & computers

[gamecat80]

Title pretty much says it all. I wanted to devote a thread for the engineers and developers who made our classic consoles and computers possible.

 

Just off the top of my head:

 

- Nutting Associates were behind the development of the Bally Astrocade. I think Ken Lill (kenzre) was part of this group?

 

- Jay Miner designed the chips used in the Atari VCS and Atari 8-bit computer line.

 

- Ed Averett and Roberto Lenarducci were behind the development of the Magnavox Odyssey 2. Ed convinced Magnavox/Philips to develop a new video game console using Intel chips. He also programmed many games for the O2. Roberto was the engineer behind the Odyssey 2's hardware, including the membrane keyboard and controllers.

 

- Eric Bromley and Nuvatec were behind the development of the ColecoVision console. The ColecoVision uses Texas Instruments video and audio hardware.

 

 

Please feel free to add other consoles/computers & who developed/engineered them, or add to what I already have up.

[Retro Rogue]

 

- Nutting Associates were behind the development of the Bally Astrocade. I think Ken Lill (kenzre) was part of this group?

 

 

Dave Nutting Associates. Nutting Associates was his brother Bill's company that went out of business by '75.

 

- Jay Miner designed the chips used in the Atari VCS and Atari 8-bit computer line.

Jay miner and Joe Decuir.

[The Usotsuki]

Steve Wozniak - Apple ][

[Seob]

Odyssey - Ralph Baer

Commodore Amiga - Jay Miner

Edited December 22, 2014 by Seob

[Jess Ragan]

Jerry Lawson, Fairchild Channel F.

[BinaryStar]

Video of a recent panel @ CGE2014 with the designers of the Vectrex hardware, Jay Smith and Gerry Karr.

 

[gamecat80]

Dave Nutting Associates. Nutting Associates was his brother Bill's company that went out of business by '75.

 

 

Jay miner and Joe Decuir.

 

I was going from what I remembered off the top of my head. Thanks for the minor corrections.

 

 

Adding another one:

 

-- GCC was behind the development of the Atari 7800 and it's MARIA chip.

 

 

Thanks everyone. Keep them coming!

[Retro Rogue]

Commodore Amiga - Jay Miner

 

Jay Miner and Joe Decuir.

[CatPix]

In 1985, Jacques Lapacuer, Victor Zébrouck and Christian Petiot, left Texas Instrument France to create their own company, Exelvision, and their computer, based on the TI-99/44, correcting many of it's flaws (but adding others) : the EXL 100. They later created the Exeltel, a more powerful computer, still based on Intel processors, and added a modem compatible with the French telematic network, Minitel.

 

 

Alan Sugar got the ideas leading to the CPC then PCW computers (tho he probably didn't designed all of it by himself)

 

Clive Sinclair created Sinclair Research; Jim Westwood, working for him, designed the ZX80, ZX81 then the ZX Spectrum (as well as other Sinclair products).