Second generation consoles were defined by the microprocessor. In 1976, the Fairchild Channel F (known in the UK as the Grandstand) became the first home games machine to employ one, heralding a new era of colour and sound.
The limited printed circuit boards of the first generation gave way to complete games stored on cartridges, while those unwieldy dials became directional control sticks.
So when a series of coin-operated machines - Taito's Space Invaders, Namco's Pac Man and Nintendo's Donkey Kong - started gobbling up coins in arcades all over the world, the consoles were well placed to bring these arcade experiences into the living room.
It was Atari who best understood the importance of having these coin-op juggernauts on its 2600 system. Its conversion of Space Invaders was an instant success - perhaps gaming's first 'killer app' - a game so appealing that people bought the console just to play it. This helped Atari become the dominant force in the console market, outselling its closest rival, the Intellivision, by nearly ten to one.
Atari's later 'killer apps' effectively killed the market. Gamers who bought Pac Man demanded refunds in droves, while a shoddy cash-in based on ET also bombed. Thus ended the second generation, in what became known as the “video game crash of 1983”.
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