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Microvision
Sign in to saveAlso known as MB Microvision, Milton Bradley Microvision
The Microvision (aka Milton Bradley Microvision or MB Microvision) is the first handheld game console that used interchangeable cartridges and in that sense is reprogrammable. It was released by the Milton Bradley Company in November 1979 for a retail price of $49.99, equivalent to $221.00 in 2025.
Key facts
- CVG system.name
- Microvision
- CVG system.aka
- Milton Bradley MicrovisionMB Microvision
- CVG system.logo
- Milton Bradley Microvision Logo.png
- CVG system.image
- Milton-Bradley-Microvision-Handheld-FL.jpg
- CVG system.caption
- A Microvision with Block Buster cartridge inserted
- CVG system.manufacturer
- Milton Bradley Company
- CVG system.type
- Handheld game console
- CVG system.generation
- Second generation
- CVG system.media
- ROM cartridges
- CVG system.discontinued
- 1981
- CVG system.cpu
- Intel 8021/TI TMS1100 (on cartridge) clocked at 100 kHz
- CVG system.display
- 16 × 16 pixels resolution
- CVG system.memory
- 64 bytes RAM, 2K ROM
- CVG system.power
- 1 × 9V battery (TMS1100 processors), 2 × 9V battery (Intel 8021 processors)
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Image
- Milton-Bradley-Microvision-Handheld-FL.png
Show 4 more facts
- Commons category
- Microvision
- publication date
- 1979-11-00
- discontinuation date
- 1982-00-00
- clock frequency
- 100
Sources (1)
via Wikidata · CC0
~9 min read
Article
10 sectionsContents
- Production
- Problems
- Screen rot
- ESD damage
- Keypad destruction
- Technical specifications
- Games
- Reviews
- See also
- References
The Microvision (aka Milton Bradley Microvision or MB Microvision) is the first handheld game console that used interchangeable cartridges and in that sense is reprogrammable. It was released by the Milton Bradley Company in November 1979 for a retail price of $49.99, equivalent to $221.00 in 2025.
The Microvision was designed by Jay Smith, the engineer who later designed the Vectrex video game console. The Microvision's combination of portability and a cartridge-based system led to moderate success, with Smith Engineering grossing $15 million in the first year of the system's release. However, its small game library, its small screen, and a lack of support from established home video game companies led to its discontinuation in 1981. According to Satoru Okada, the former head of Nintendo's R&D1 Department, the Microvision inspired the Game Boy, the follow-up to Game & Watch, after Nintendo designed around Microvision's limitations.