The Colecovision was a remarkable console for its era, entirely stifled by market conditions well beyond its control. From its brief time in the spotlight and less than three years of production, it remains a console that many have experienced, but few know anything about. Valiant efforts have been made to reach those behind the scenes in Coleco’s game department, like design director Jennell Jaquays, but the origins of the system have remained obscure.
It was by chance that I happened to contact Rob Schenck, who informed me that he was, in fact, the designer of the Colecovision console itself. For a longme, it had been assumed that hardware depart- ment head Eric Bromley had been the driver behind the project, but he never claimed to have started the development directly. In this interview, Mr. Schenck reveals the origins of the Colecovision, what it was like to work at Coleco, and his involvement with the infamous disaster – the Adam computer.
Robert Schenck: For starters, I was working for RCA in New Jersey, on the Phased Array Radar for the AegisMissile System. My wife has family in East Har ord, Connec cut, whom we would visit for holidays, etc.
During one such visit, I came across a job lis ng in the Har ord Courant, for an electronic design engineerworking in the R&D department on Coleco. I guess myacademic creden als and design on the cheap frommy Ham Radio hobby, made me suited for the needs of the R&D group.
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Any chance you could put me in contact with Mr. Schenck? I’d like to ask him a few questions about the MIOC.