Editing Microvision (section)

{{Short description|First handheld game console that used interchangeable ROM cartridges}}
{{distinguish|Macrovision}}
{{More citations needed|date=March 2023}}
{{Infobox CVG system
| title = Microvision
| aka = Milton Bradley Microvision<br/>MB Microvision
| logo = Milton Bradley Microvision Logo.png
| image = Milton-Bradley-Microvision-Handheld-FL.jpg
|caption = A Microvision with ''Block Buster'' cartridge inserted
| manufacturer = [[Milton Bradley Company]]
| family = 
| type = [[Handheld game console]]
| generation = [[Second generation of video game consoles|Second generation]]
| price = {{USD|49.99|1979|about=yes}}
| CPU = 
| media = [[ROM cartridge]]s
| unitssold = 
| topgame = 
| predecessor = 
| successor = 
| releasedate = {{Start date and age|1979|11}}
| discontinued = 1981
| cpu = [[Intel 8021]]/[[Texas Instruments TMS1000|TI TMS1100]] (on cartridge) clocked at 100 kHz
| display = 16 × 16 [[pixel]]s resolution
| memory = 64 bytes [[RAM]], 2K [[Read-only memory|ROM]]
| power = 1 × 9V battery (TMS1100 processors), 2 × 9V battery (Intel 8021 processors)
}}
The '''Microvision''' (aka '''Milton Bradley Microvision''' or '''MB Microvision''') is the first [[Handheld console|handheld game console]] that used interchangeable [[ROM cartridge|cartridges]]<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J1aAAwAAQBAJ|title=Game Preview|last=Sfetcu|first=Nicolae|date=2014-05-04|publisher=Nicolae Sfetcu|language=en}}</ref><ref name=NGen40>{{cite magazine |title=Cribsheet No. 15: Milton Bradley's Microvision |magazine=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]] |issue=40|publisher=[[Imagine Media]] |date=April 1998|page=25}}</ref> and in that sense is reprogrammable.<ref name=":1" /> It was released by the [[Milton Bradley Company]] in November [[1979 in video gaming|1979]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thepcmuseum.net/timeline.php|title=PC Timeline. The Freeman PC Museum... Largest Collection of Vintage Computers On The Web.|first=MICHAEL J. BARNES, ILTD DESIGN SERVICES|last=www.lookingtodraw.com|access-date=22 January 2017}}</ref> for a retail price of $49.99,<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title=Microvision by Milton Bradley – The Video Game Kraken|url=http://videogamekraken.com/microvision|access-date=2020-08-06|language=en-US}}</ref> equivalent to $212.00 in 2023.

The Microvision was designed by Jay Smith, the engineer who later designed the [[Vectrex]] video game console.<ref name=NGen40/> 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 demise in [[1981 in video gaming#Hardware|1981]].<ref>Donald Melanson, March 3, 2006, [https://www.engadget.com/amp/2006/03/03/a-brief-history-of-handheld-video-games/?guccounter=1 A Brief History of Handheld Video Games] [[Engadget]]</ref> According to [[Satoru Okada]], the former head of [[Nintendo]]'s [[Nintendo Research & Development 1|R&D1 Department]], the Microvision inspired the [[Game Boy]], the follow-up to [[Game & Watch]], after Nintendo designed around Microvision's limitations.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/olliebarder/2016/12/31/new-interview-with-satoru-okada-delves-into-the-hidden-history-behind-nintendos-gaming-handhelds/|title=New Interview With Satoru Okada Delves Into The Hidden History Behind Nintendo's Gaming Handhelds|last=Barder|first=Ollie|date=December 31, 2016|website=Forbes.com|access-date=22 January 2017}}</ref>