Have you ever wondered what is ‘under the hood’ of your favourite video gaming system? I was curious and embarked on finding out just what kind of silicon was at the heart of our favourite systems – from home computers, consoles to handhelds. Some of this silicon horsepower has even become as famous as the systems they run. We pried open a few machines and checked in their engine bay.
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| Systems: | CBM-II, Commodore 64 / 128 and Max |
| Function / Features: | The legendary sound chip created by MOS Technologies for Commodore’s home computers / systems. |
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| Systems: | Commodore 64 / 128 |
| Function / Features: | The VIC-II graphics chip was created by MOS Technologies for Commodore’s highest selling home computer, the C64 and its bigger brother, the C128. The VIC-II could display a whopping 16 colours! |
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| System: | Atari Jaguar |
| Function / Features: | The Jaguar’s infamous pair, Tom and Jerry (no, not the cartoon characters!) processors are responsible for the graphics and sound respectively. Tom also controls the Object and Blitter processing smarts, whereas joystick control is Jerry’s responsibility. |
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| System: | Atari 2600 |
| Function / Features: | The Television Interface Adapter (TIA) is at the heart of the Atari 2600. It is responsible for creating the sights and sounds of your favourite (and not so favourite) games. |
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| System: | Atari Lynx |
| Function / Features: | Mikey is the custom central processing unit (MOS 65C02 CPU) and sound engine of the Lynx. The luscious visuals on the Lynx are all due to Suzy, the graphics processor. |
[…] Display: VIC-II chip […]