Coleco: Difference between revisions

| image_size = 200px

| foundation = {{Start date and age|1932}}

| location = [[West Hartford, Connecticut]], U.S.

| industry = {{ubl|[[Toy industry|Toys]]|[[Video game industry|Video games]]}}

| products = {{ubl|[[Leather]] goods|[[Toy]]s|Above ground [[swimming pool]]s|[[Video game]]s|[[Consumer electronics]]<ref name="Woutat">{{cite news|title= Coleco Discontinues Its Adam Computer Line |newspaper= The Los Angeles Times|date=1985-01-03|url= https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-01-03-fi-11281-story.html|access-date=2010-08-26 | first=Donald | last=Woutat}}</ref>|[[Coleco Telstar series]]|[[ColecoVision]]|[[Coleco ADAM]]|[[Coleco Gemini]]|[[Cabbage Patch Kids]]}}

'''Coleco Industries, Inc.''' ({{IPAc-en|k|ə|ˈ|l|iː|k|oʊ}} {{respell|kə|LEE|koh}}) was an American company founded in 1932 by Maurice Greenberg as '''The Connecticut Leather Company'''.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.concord-sots.ct.gov/CONCORD/PublicInquiry?eid=9744&businessID=0082578 | title=Commercial Recording Division | access-date=June 10, 2017 | archive-date=July 3, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180703021854/https://www.concord-sots.ct.gov/CONCORD/PublicInquiry?eid=9744&businessID=0082578 | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title= Coleco moves out of the cabbage patch|work= The New York Times|date=1985-07-21|url= https://www.nytimes.com/1985/07/21/business/coleco-moves-out-of-the-cabbage-patch.html?&pagewanted=2|access-date=2010-08-07 | first=N. R. | last=Kleinfield}}</ref> The name "COLECO" is an abbreviation derived from the company's original name which combines the first two letters of "Connecticut," "Leather," and "Company."<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.pgpedia.com/c/coleco#:~:text=Martin%20Greenberg%20founded%20the%20Connecticut,two%20sons%2C%20Leonard%20and%20Arnold | title=Coleco }}</ref> It was a successful toy company in the 1980s, mass-producing versions of [[Cabbage Patch Kids]] dolls and its [[video game console]]s, the [[Telstar (game console)|Coleco Telstar]] dedicated consoles and [[ColecoVision]].<ref>{{cite magazine|title= Dividends: New Woes for Coleco|magazine= Time|date=1984-03-19|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,950049,00.html

Dozens of companies rushed to introduce game systems after the release of [[Atari]]'s successful ''[[Pong]]'' console and the company entered the [[video game console]] business with the [[Coleco Telstar|Telstar]]. Nearly all of the new game systems were based on [[General Instrument]]'s "''Pong''-on-a-chip". General Instrument had underestimated demand, resulting in severe shortages. However, Coleco was one of the first to place an order and therefore one of the few companies to receive the full order. Though dedicated game consoles did not last long on the market, their early order enabled Coleco to [[break-even|break even]].

Coleco returned to the video game console market in 1982 with the launch of the [[ColecoVision]].<ref name="NGen15">{{cite magazine |title=The Next Generation 1996 Lexicon A to Z: Coleco |magazine=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]] |issue=15 |publisher=[[Imagine Media]] |date=March 1996 |page=31 |url=https://archive.org/details/nextgen-issue-015/page/n31/mode/2up |access-date=2023-11-14}}</ref> The system was quite popular and more powerful than the [[Atari 2600]],<ref>{{cite magazine |title=The Next Generation 1996 Lexicon A to Z: ColecoVision |magazine=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]] |issue=15 |publisher=[[Imagine Media]] |date=March 1996 |page=31 |url=https://archive.org/details/nextgen-issue-015/page/n31/mode/2up |access-date=2023-11-14}}</ref> and came bundled with a copy of ''Donkey Kong''.<ref>{{cite news |last1=McFerran |first1=Damien |title=Feature: How ColecoVision Became the King of Kong |url=https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2010/09/feature_how_colecovision_became_the_king_of_kong |url-status=live |work=[[Nintendo Life]] |date=18 September 2010 |access-date=2023-11-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231004145625/https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2010/09/feature_how_colecovision_became_the_king_of_kong |archive-date=2023-10-04}}</ref> The console sold 560,000 units in 1982. Coleco also hedged its bet on video games by introducing a line of [[ROM cartridge]]s for the Atari 2600 and [[Intellivision]], selling six million cartridges for both systems, along with two million sold for the ColecoVision for a total of eight million cartridges sold in 1982. It also introduced the [[Coleco Gemini]], a clone of the popular Atari 2600, which came bundled with a copy of ''Donkey Kong''.<ref>{{cite book |title=1982 Annual Report |date=April 8, 1983 |publisher=Coleco |pages=3–4, 17}}</ref>

"Coleco" as a brand name has been owned by several entities since it was created in 1961 by Coleco Industries, Inc.

* [http://www.colecovisionzone.com/ ColecoVision Zone] - Comprehensive archive of photos and documents.