LJN Video Art

The LJN Video Art is an educational home video game console that was developed and manufactured by LJN. The console was introduced in the year of 1985, but the exact release date is unknown. Video Art was intended to compete against television instead of the mainstream game consoles at the time, such as the Nintendo Entertainment System and the Sega Master System. Functionality was similar to basic personal computer paint programs such as MacPaint and Microsoft Paint, and also offered games with a coloring book.

A single cartridge was included in the product, that being the Video Art Activity Cartridge. It contains several wire frame drawings that can be colored, similar to a coloring book. Turning on the system without the cartridge inserted would give the user a blank screen which he/she could draw on. Other cartridges were made available for the system, however they are incredibly rare. These include:

• A Trip To The Zoo
• Disney Coloring Book
• Disney Story Book
• Looney Tunes
• Marvel Super-Heroes
• My Dream Day
• My Favorite Doll
• On the Move

Advertisements

The advertisements included a rap-style beat to try and give consumers some interest over the product.^[1] Unfortunately, even with these advertisements, LJN was still unsuccessful at selling the Video Art.

Console flops

Video Art had serious flaws that caused the downfall of the product.

The console used Twin-lead connectors with metal fork-shaped prongs, which are notoriously difficult to set up, as it required screwing them into your TV. The prongs had become outdated at the time, with its last use being in the late 70s, long before the system was released. This also required the consumer to use an older TV to be able to use the Video Art, as many new TVs did not have the correct attachments. Another flaw was the non-existent (though it did produce a static like sound similar to white noise) background music. This meant nothing was there to listen to and keep the user occupied, aside from the games. The sound has been described as unpleasant to the ears, and that the game would be better silent.

The system's joystick was also too stiff and had far too much travel to be able to draw with good precision. The top button would need to be depressed while simultaneously moving the joystick at the same time to draw. This made it difficult to move the joystick for precise drawing. A button on the console allowed the user to erase with the joystick instead of draw, and 2 buttons on the controller, one that would lock the cursor vertically, and the other horizontally. Unlike paint programs on PC and Apple, for example, there were no tools the user could use, with drawing, erasing or changing the color using the controller the only possible options. Squeaking noises were also made when moving the joystick, which annoyed many reviewers.

Loss of factors over time

Over time, a lot of factors had become lost. Introductory prices became unknown, including the console specifications and total units sold. In fact, the rarity of the product was such, almost no reviews are featured on the Internet.

The most well known review was done by James Rolfe, more commonly known as the Angry Video Game Nerd, which was uploaded to YouTube on December 22, 2014.

References