| The Philips Tele‑Game ES 2201, also known as the Tele‑Spiel, was the first console in Philips’ Tele‑Game series, released in Europe in late 1975 and sold until 1976. It retailed for about 150 Deutsche Mark or 400 French Francs and was one of the earliest European home video game consoles. Designed with no microprocessor, its electronics relied on discrete components and simple ICs to produce a black‑and‑white Pong‑style game. The unit did not display scores on the TV screen; instead, it featured two mechanical sliders on the console enclosure to keep track of player points up to 15. Output was by RF signal only, and sound was absent. Included with the console was the “Federball” cartridge, and up to four additional game modules were sold separately for the same price range. These were add‑on circuit boards that activated different games by wiring variations, not program code. The hardware used linear potentiometer paddle controllers and was powered by a 9 V battery. The system’s cartridges simply connected parts of the internal circuitry to change gameplay. Sales reached into the tens of thousands before Philips replaced it in 1977 with newer models integrating multiple games on a single chip. |
|||||
 |  |  |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |  |  |