History of video games/Platforms/BSS 01

History Development thumb|The East Berlin "Death Strip" - 1984. To make the BSS 01, western chips had to be smuggled through the tightly controlled border into East Germany. The system used imported chips from the United States of America, a rare occurrence due to the prevalence of clone chips and serious export restrictions on legal transport of such chips to communist nations. These chips were likely obtained by funneling them through a network of fake companies to hide their use from export regulations and then smuggled across the border to East Germany.Retropolis #104: Piep-Show jenseits der Mauer - BSS 01 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gg7GYgEBbVk 17 November 2020 Launch The BildSchirmSpiel 01 (BSS 01) was released sometime around 1980 in East Germany for 500 East German marks, playing games similar to Pong.OLD-COMPUTERS.COM : The Museum https://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?st=3&c=944 www.old-computers.com 15 November 2020Gaming Beyond the Iron Curtain: East Germany https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7xndvitLa8 17 November 2020 This cost of the console was prohibitive, costing as much as a worker would make in a half month.pongmuseum.com - and the ball was square... RFT - TV Spiel BSS 01 made in DDR - GDR http://pongmuseum.com/collection/rft-tvspiel-ddr-gdr.php pongmuseum.com 17 November 2020 Legacy thumb|An educational session held at Halbleiterwerk Frankfurt Oder in 1988. The price was reduced to 330 East German Marks in 1984, when the system was discontinued having sold 1,000 consoles, in order to focus production on alarm clocks with radios.BSS 01 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BSS_01 Wikipedia 15 November 2020 en 11 November 2020BSS 01 / Bildschirmspiel 01 - DDR Konsole - OhrBIT (04.06.2017) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmb_KFSkJf0 17 November 2020 Around the reunification of East Germany with West Germany in 1990, most East German computer organizations folded.Schmid John Tribune International Herald East German chip zone is growing despite global slowdown : Silicon Saxony dodges crisis (Published 2002) https://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/13/business/worldbusiness/IHT-east-german-chip-zone-is-growing-despite-global.html The New York Times 17 November 2020 13 March 2002 This included the BSS 01 manufacturer Halbleiterwerk Frankfurt Oder (HFO), which ceased operations around 1991.East German CPU's The CPU Shack Museum http://www.cpushack.com/east-german-cpus/ 17 November 2020 Despite widespread unemployment initially, the computer industry had returned to former East German areas by 2000.McGrane Sally ONLINE OVERSEAS; Their Roots Give Former East Germans an Edge (Published 2000) https://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/25/business/online-overseas-their-roots-give-former-east-germans-an-edge.html The New York Times 17 November 2020 25 October 2000 Retrospective The BSS 01 serves as a unique example of how a Warsaw Pact country approached building a video game console during the Cold War, and the barriers that had to be surmounted to create it. It furthermore shows how social factors surrounding the release of a console could cause it to sell poorly, in this case a high cost compared to standard worker wages. Technology The BSS 01 uses a GI AY-3-8500-7 chip and produces black and white graphics. Gallery External Resources BSS 01 BSS 01 Old Computers - BSS 01 page with history and specs. Pong Museum - BSS 01 page with history, photos, and specs. Game Medium - BSS 01 page with history. References 2100%__NOTOC__