y-bot Posted September 1, 2008 Share Posted September 1, 2008 I don't know if this has been mentioned before but I found an article from 1983 about Romox, Xante, Gameline, Playcable and others here: http://209.85.141.104/search?q=cache:oMLAC...p;client=safari I met a man today who said the VIC-20 was named after him and that he held the patent on "joystick". His name is Victor Ivashin and he was at the Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle looking around today. y-bot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rom Hunter Posted September 1, 2008 Share Posted September 1, 2008 I don't know if this has been mentioned before but I found an article from 1983 about Romox, Xante, Gameline, Playcable and others here: http://209.85.141.104/search?q=cache:oMLAC...p;client=safari I met a man today who said the VIC-20 was named after him and that he held the patent on "joystick". His name is Victor Ivashin and he was at the Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle looking around today. y-bot Interesting. Thanks for sharing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2600Lives Posted September 1, 2008 Share Posted September 1, 2008 VIC-20 = Video Interface Chip. Dunno where the 20 comes from, but every old VIC owner knows where that name originates from. Ralph Baer created the first video game sticks, and unless the guy was 90 some odd years old, then the original patent dates back to the early 1900s and was used for airplanes, if I remember correctly. Still, very interesting article. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S1500 Posted September 1, 2008 Share Posted September 1, 2008 I keep meaning to visit the area where Romox formerly resided, as it is in the twin cities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rik Posted September 1, 2008 Share Posted September 1, 2008 Link doesnt work,says "NOT FOUND" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
y-bot Posted September 1, 2008 Author Share Posted September 1, 2008 He holds the patent for "joystick mechanism" http://www.freepatentsonline.com/4156130.html I'm aware of what VIC stands for but I'm sure it's based on his name as well. y-bot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianoid Posted September 1, 2008 Share Posted September 1, 2008 Well, is he getting paid? I own the patent for Coca Cola, but for some reason it just doesn't stand up in patent court. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2600Lives Posted September 1, 2008 Share Posted September 1, 2008 He might have a patent on some sort of proprietary control mechanism. I've honestly never heard that the VIC was based off of anyone's name. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
y-bot Posted September 1, 2008 Author Share Posted September 1, 2008 Well, is he getting paid? I own the patent for Coca Cola, but for some reason it just doesn't stand up in patent court. He got paid for something. He said he retired when he was 38. He said he worked on a PASCAL version of the Commodore PET and his company was involved in making some Atari games as well. y-bot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
y-bot Posted September 2, 2008 Author Share Posted September 2, 2008 Link doesnt work,says "NOT FOUND" http://cachefly.oreilly.com/radar/r1/09-83.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRV Posted September 2, 2008 Share Posted September 2, 2008 Interesting, indeed. I found that same newsletter over the weekend while searching for info on Renaissance Technology. Ty Roberts, co-founder and CTO of Gracenote, developed Milton Bradley's Survival Run while working there. Anyway, I've tried contacting Vic Ivashin, who is now CTO of Human BioSystems. I hope he replies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rik Posted September 2, 2008 Share Posted September 2, 2008 Link doesnt work,says "NOT FOUND" http://cachefly.oreilly.com/radar/r1/09-83.pdf Nope,still doesnt work,F%$K it,thanx anyway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
y-bot Posted September 2, 2008 Author Share Posted September 2, 2008 Link doesnt work,says "NOT FOUND" http://cachefly.oreilly.com/radar/r1/09-83.pdf Nope,still doesnt work,F%$K it,thanx anyway Try a Google search "ivashin commodore" and it's the second link from the top Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rik Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 Link doesnt work,says "NOT FOUND" http://cachefly.oreilly.com/radar/r1/09-83.pdf Nope,still doesnt work,F%$K it,thanx anyway Try a Google search "ivashin commodore" and it's the second link from the top Aha,got it,thanx a million y-bot!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadow460 Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 So they thought electronic distribution could be the next big thing for video games in 1983. ROFL!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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