The Hasbro Nemo, Control-Vision

[@thomasmeeks6402]

Nice job! One missing element that never seems to get mentioned. But, as a minor team member that prepared one of the demo videos for presentation to Hasbro, it is important to me. (I prepared the demo for children's programming using Hasbro's Casey the Talking Robot as the main character.) The true brains behind the Control-Vision concept and electronic design was a brilliant engineer named John Perkins. John was the last remaining person retained by Hasbro to find applications for using it once they realized they could not get the price under $200. John had previously worked with Astrocade - The Bally Arcade team as a consultant and was a founder, along with Bob Ogdon of a video game company that produced product for several of the major video game companies in the early eighties. It was he that came up with the interleaved video concept and the electronics to grab and hold a video frame that made this system possible. I believe it actually is John Perkins, not Tom Zito, that is demonstrating the system at 00:30 in this video. kzbin.info/www/bejne/qIuzaJawfKaNipY John was given the rights to Control-Vision by Hasbro and continued to try to find a home for it in the cable television industry for a number of years. John Perkins passed away before the internet became the place to record and research history. So, it's important that his place in the history of the NEMO project and Control-Vision be told.

[@HistoricNerd]

Wow thank you very much for sharing this information. This was a difficult item to research. I reached out to a few people but never heard back. But this was an amazing piece of hardware that I wish had hit the market. Would you ever be willing to talk about your experiences with the system?

[@2beJT]

I had Casey as a kid! Loved that blue droid!

[@KMACKTIME]

this video was incredible. the quality is off the charts. you sir have my attention and this needs to been seen by retro game fans everywhere

[@HistoricNerd]

Wow, Thank you. I appreciate that. I figure I keep upping the quality people will come.

[@gex581990]

Dude 8bit Queens of the Stone Age music is amazing

[@PixelGameSquad]

Wonderful video man!! Editing is fantastic ❤️ I'm all about good editing so I really appreciate this channel

[@HistoricNerd]

Superhero Game Squad Thanks man! Loved your live stream yesterday.

[@Jenovi]

Excellent video to make your triumphant return to KZbin with. Have any Nemo prototypes been discovered?

[@HistoricNerd]

Jenovi I looked for a quite a while and the only found images of the prototype that are too blured to use. And the only image of a Nemo controller is in the numbnail. I had to kind of reconstruct the image to get it.

[@Gorilla_Jones]

Great work HN, I personally love FMV games. I played many point and click adventures and I eagerly awaited my SegaCD when it launched. For those connoisseurs of fine FMV among us, I for one am sad this never came to fruition.

[@HistoricNerd]

If only this thing would have come out. FMV games would have gotten way more wide spread.

[@chrispierceall3627]

It's always nice getting tech breakdowns as well as hearing about back office politics. Solid video my man, but Jesus don't ever use that photo of David Crane again, something unnatural in that smile of his.

[@HistoricNerd]

Chris Pierceall Lol I enjoyed using that pic too much. I sadly cut some of the tech break down because it's gets a lot more complex than I could really animate.

[@chrispierceall3627]

HistoricNerd I hear ya man, seems like you hit a good mix of detailed yet still digestible. Sometimes the Happy Meal, instead of a Thanksgiving feast, of information is the better way to go.

[@DeaDGoD_XIV]

I'm here after your latest live stream, keep up the good work

[@CorvetteZ06owner]

Amazing editing. You sir, have a new subscriber.

[@HistoricNerd]

Glad you enjoyed it.

[@tntheadbang]

The production value of these videos is just getting better and better. Really good work man.

[@HistoricNerd]

Thanks man! I'm finally getting better with cinema 4D, But there is still a lot more i can learn.

[@CaptNRetro]

too cool man..sad this never saw the light of day

[@HistoricNerd]

It would have been really cool to have seen one.

[@retrob3641]

Nice work, i learned a bunch of video game history I didn't know!

[@HistoricNerd]

RetroB I spent a while digging through the patents trying to figure out how the system works. I found the whole so interesting I had to share.

[@GoldenGrenadier]

Interesting find. It reminds me of consoles like the Ataribox, coleco chameleon, and the ouya except the Nemo looks like it had a lot of honest effort put into it.

[@HistoricNerd]

The cool thing about the Nemo was that it actually had pieces that live on today. Night Trap seems to had quite the revival so that's a piece of its legacy.

[@MellowGaming]

Never knew much about the Nemo. Could never get my head around how it would work with VHS tapes despite how many times I heard about it. The diagrams you used really helped. Still baffles me that VHS could hold multiple track though.

[@HistoricNerd]

Honestly it was a really cool piece of tech to read about it. I wish i had recorded a conversation i had with my engineer buddies about. They had some really fun things to say about it.

[@HeroJournalism]

Man, that price jump - I'm having Amico flashbacks!!

[@HistoricNerd]

Yeah it's pretty tragic how market factors like that can smash a consoles chances before it even releases

[@HoudiniFontmeister]

Great video. Enjoyed it bro

[@townlinetim876]

I never knew that this existed. I had to find out from a Historic Nerd. Yeah history.

[@HistoricNerd]

TownLine Tim I'm glad you now know about. :D I was surprised there aren't any other videos about it.

[@JunkBallMedia]

Fascinating content yet again. Rock on, HN.

[@HistoricNerd]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@legomasteranimations4765]

The nemo sounded way ahead of its time

[@HistoricNerd]

@@legomasteranimations4765 It was and wasn't at the same time. It certainly offered an incredible interactive film element that offered quality viduals that wouldnt be matched until the mid to late 90s. But game play it kinda lagged behind it what it could offer outside of FMV type games. But really who knows what could have come out of it, if it had been successful.

[@retrorevolutions4590]

Cool new channel to check out looks awesome I love video game history stuff pumped got alot of backpog to go through now :) nice music as well btw love the rolling synth and drums

[@HistoricNerd]

Retro Revolutions glad you're enjoying it!

[@retrorevolutions4590]

HistoricNerd love it man just got it playing in the background in the lab while I work it's awesome

[@HistoricNerd]

I actually just started watching your Lynx video. That's bad ass. Glad your enjoying the channel. You might like my Sega SVP video although it has some tech errors but I think it still holds up.

[@retrorevolutions4590]

HistoricNerd thanks dude I will check it out glad you liked it you may like the psp console one though it's not as good quailty videos as I just started making them at that point the build is insane a fully consolized psp

[@DoSGamingNetwork]

Great video, I learn something new everytime I watch one of your videos!

[@HistoricNerd]

DoS Gaming Network Glad to hear it. I learn a ton every time I make one of these things.

[@CommodoreFan64]

Awesome video, but I'm kind of glad this never came out, as today trying to preserve the games stored on digital multitrack VHS would have been a pain in the butt.

[@HistoricNerd]

Yeah, Im pretty sure these systems would have broken quite often because of all the mechanical parts.

[@harrisonmode8046]

Amazing job. Thanks

[@HistoricNerd]

Harrison Mode glad you liked it.

[@Gooberslot]

I wonder how cramming multiple video tracks on a VHS tape would have affected the picture quality. It still probably would have looked better than the Sega CD. :)

[@HistoricNerd]

Gooberslot from what I understand it actually didn't impact the video quality that much. It just significantly lowered the length of footage on the tape however.

[@fattiger6957]

I am so glad fmv games were just a quick fad. Sure, it's fun to watch them now and laugh at how cheesy they are, but it is certainly a good thing for the industry that they never became the norm. Video games didn't need live action footage to become cinematic and storytelling powerhouses. MGS proved that in 1998 (there may be earlier examples, but IMO MGS was the first game to rival hollywood movies in presentation)

[@HistoricNerd]

Thats what I find so interesting about this console. It could have started a different console war one independent of the standard consoles more movie focused. If i read the patent correctly it could have potentially doubled as a game system like a colecovision but beefed up with a bunch more Vram. So who knows where this could have gone. I found the whole thing really interesting.

[@fattiger6957]

HistoricNerd It is interesting, but I don't think it would have made fmv games the big thing in gaming. They are just too limiting with how the player can interact with them. A few years later, we did get the age of fmv games and most would prefer to forget those days. I just think that this would have ended up being a novelty at best with its design philosophy (even the most story heavy games have some replay value, for the most part) Even nowadays the David Cage style cinematic games are pretty niche compared to other genres.

[@HistoricNerd]

Very true, Its possible FMV games could have burned out 4 years sooner. I found it really interesting that other companies had plans for their own FMV game systems had the Nemo launched.

[@swampdonkey4919]

With CGI becoming more and more photorealistic, we basically already have games that look like FMV but are fully interactive, don't we?

[@jacklazzaro9820]

Neat, you should work with the Gaming Historian to have your own TV show

[@HistoricNerd]

Sega Sonic that'd be fun.

[@pigs18]

They authorized the production of THREE games: Night Trap, Sewer Shark, and Police Academy with the latter never getting past the filming stage.

[@HistoricNerd]

Interesting. Can't say police academy came up in my research when I was making this video

[@pigs18]

@@HistoricNerd It's a recent revelation. Mark Tramell (NBA Jam) worked on the NEMO project and revealed last year in interviews that he is in possession of the recordings.

[@HistoricNerd]

That's really cool. Thank you for sharing that

[@HistoricNerd]

Did you happen to have a link to any of the interviews. Id love to add those to the video description.

[@pigs18]

@@HistoricNerd www.polygon.com/features/2018/10/31/17997106/nemo-hasbro-vhs-console-mark-turmell (It's near the end of the article.)

[@tylerbowling]

Huge fan recently, and big into retro. I've noticed you use quite a bit of narrative quotes, and I'm further reaching out to you if you would like another baritone/bass voice in you work. Keep up the stellar work otherwise!

[@HistoricNerd]

Hit me up on Twitter @historicalnerd. If you have a voice sample I'd love to hear it. I have another project coming up that I may be able to use you it in.

[@tylerbowling]

@@HistoricNerd unfortunately, I do not use Twitter, Instagram, or anything of that flavor. I could upload it to SoundCloud, and send you a link.

[@HistoricNerd]

If that doesn't work. [e-mail] is also a good way to talk with me.

[@HerecomestheCalavera]

Very informative video. I've heard of the Nemo years ago but never understood how a game like Sewer Shark could work on a VHS. I didn't know about the multi-track system, this is the first time I've heard it mentioned. It is odd they would choose VHS and invent their own multi track tapes when CDs and Laserdisc were around. I suppose they would have been too expensive. I never considered a system that could use CEDs, that is interesting. By the late 80s the CED was dead so perhaps the discs and technology to play them could be had fairly cheap.

[@HistoricNerd]

It's a really interesting idea. I think the advantage was that VHS allowed for data storage and video at a much lower price point than laserdisc. Also because of its wider adoption the tech to mass produce the players was already established. Also based on some sources I read the VHS players they were working on were much more durable than the laserdisc arcade systems. The CED tech is really interesting as well. I think since RCA kinda went under from trying to sell it I think it very well could have been an abandoned patent, not sure in this, but it would probably have been really cheap to license.

[@STR82DVD]

Fantastic man. Thanks!

[@HistoricNerd]

@@STR82DVD thanks for stopping by and watching! This video hasn't gotten a lot of love over the years.

[@STR82DVD]

@@HistoricNerd Well, I've lived, as an adult, every generation of gaming. I'm down with anything retro lad. Pretty much right up to the 4th gen - the best Gen 😉.

[@RewindMike]

those 3D models are 😍

[@RewindMike]

I would've been excited for this!! The concept seems like a good idea but as we all know, FMV games didn't do well on the Sega CD. Makes me wonder what could have been if the fad started earlier though. Like, what if kubrick hoped on board??? Guess we'll never know.

[@HistoricNerd]

Took forever to render lol

[@HistoricNerd]

Man a kubrick FMV game would have amazing

[@godzilla7391]

Great video !! Kudos

[@HistoricNerd]

Godzilla 73 Thanks man.

[@alexk8792]

Those VRAM chip manufacturers...They screwed everything up for the ControlVision!

[@HistoricNerd]

Alex K I've been researching the chip famine of 1988 and it's causes and the political and ecnomic issues that caused it are really interesting. Been working on a video for it but there is a lot of stuff to cover. But yeah the control vision fell victim to it and even legend of Zelda was impacted by it.

[@segaunited3855]

@@HistoricNerd You mean 1987. Nintendo of America is to blame for the ROM chip Shortage of '87. Minoru Arikawa caused it. Nemo was junked in Early 1988.

[@Gaber820]

Good stuff Ian. Could it play VHS movies?

[@HistoricNerd]

Gaber820 From what I understand yes it could. It's a pretty complex VHS system but Tom zito said in a interview it could. So it could have been like a early PS2 and doubled as a movie player.

[@Gaber820]

HistoricNerd 100-200 dollars sounds like it would have been a steal; if it had that capability.

[@chrispierceall3627]

I wonder if using it as a VHS player would kill the system faster, that's a lot of mechanical parts moving in there.

[@Gaber820]

Chris Pierceall I'm sure ur right about that. Everything has a finite lifespan, especially moving parts. Thing is, if it costs nearly the same price as a VCR; who cares?

[@HistoricNerd]

That is certainly a factor. I think the systems would have lasted as long as your standard VCR, The Nemo would have read tapes faster than a normal VCR so it possible mechanical failure would have happened sooner though.

[@Boojakascha]

I love the Action Max. I think it wouldn't have failed, if WOW did not go bankrupt because of a stupid incident. Also the Action Max 2 would have had multiple video tracks similar to the Control Vision. They worked on that.

[@HistoricNerd]

Boojakascha I honestly hadnt come across any information about the action max 2. That's something I'll have to read about. I find FMV games really interesting and I'd love to read what the action max 2 had planned given a better base tech to work with.

[@Boojakascha]

^^I was exited too. Sadly there is not much written. I got to know it doing an interview with Ron Brody for the Action Max game called Hydrosub:2021.

[@HistoricNerd]

I just checked out your channel. I am loving the light gun game reviews.

[@Boojakascha]

Thank you very much Ian, that's a great compliment from your mouth. You have an outstanding channel yourself. I think you are one of the most talented artists on KZbin.

[@HistoricNerd]

Thank you! I really appreciate that. I've always had a deep love of light gun games so your channel is right up my alley.

[@DarkwingMantis98]

Another good one, and no CDi

[@HistoricNerd]

Mike Mitchell is that a statement wanting a CDi video?

[@DarkwingMantis98]

HistoricNerd KZbin frowns on those kind of threats

[@Gaber820]

One could argue that having Tom Zito alone, makes this video, borderline CDi.

[@rocconido2192]

The narrator sounds like Jim from the office!

[@HistoricNerd]

Just don't tell Dwight!

[@Loeildechat]

2:37 so this is why you needed to draw extra hair.

[@HistoricNerd]

Ryo Saeba Yep :) I thought it looked good enough you almost can tell it's drawn

[@JunkerDC]

how could they do the trap scenes with this system must be with v ram

[@HistoricNerd]

Basically the tape had multiple tracks going at once and it would jump between them and use the vram to fill in the gaps. REALLY simplified explaination.

[@maxwarboy3625]

internet archive

[@retrogameroom9019]

Anyone know if the prototype exists

[@HistoricNerd]

Actually yes, the prototype does exist, if you beat night trap you can see the prototype being used to play scene of the crime. Tom Zito apparently still has it but I didnt think to try and contact him when making this video.

[@retrogameroom9019]

@@HistoricNerd come on let's pool or checkbooks

[@isabellaereshki]

why was the co-founder of activision working for bushnell after atari floundered and the game industry crashed...did he sabotage this console too like activision keeps allegedly sabotaging the game industry and allegedly sabotaged the atari 2600?

[@HistoricNerd]

My understanding is that he came on board with Zito after he split with Nolan. But innovative game ideas attract all kinds I'd imagine :)

[@isabellaereshki]

@@HistoricNerd oh, okay. I just would have thought he'd still be at Activision getting it going or keeping it going instead of working for Bushnell like it says in the video, do CEO types usually work hourly or lower level jobs for other companies in the game industry or tech industry? It also amazes me how under funded and understaffed some of the tech companies were. I doubt one guy nowdays could walk up to say Hasbro and get a big contract for like 100k or a million dollars or something for them and 3 to 5 other high school or college students with seemingly no clue to put together a new console or new computing device or type of computer or something. But even huge names like Sony and Nintendo seemingly started surprisingly small scale cobbler things together it seems. Though I guess sometimes it still happens today since Linus from LTT channel apparently started with himself and a camera opening boxes to promote new products and packaging and now he owns his own business and dozen or two dozen people working there his own mini media empire kind of across USA and Canada with business trips to Japan and China.

[@cassidybb10]

Incredibly interesting. Obviously a failure. Buy. So many ideas at such an early stage in video games everyone but Nintendo, prior to huge technological leaps in power and connectivity, was just throwing things at the wall to see if it stuck. Some stuck, but better yet morphed into what we have today. Now, again, except for Nintendo, all we get is more power and higher resolution slash what we used to call "mom it has better graphics!" I remember when I was 9 playing the NES, and obviously dumb but thinking lol, how does the system work? Is someone at Nintendo playing the enemies?