Milton Bradley Microvision (1979-1981)

Microvision

🥇First Commercially-Released Handheld Video Game System to Use Interchangeable ROM Cartridges

The Milton Bradley Microvision, launched in 1979, was a piece of engineering wizardry that effectively invented the handheld console category a full decade before the Game Boy. Designed by Jay Smith (who later created the Vectrex), it was the first portable system to feature interchangeable cartridges, though with a bizarre architectural twist: the console itself was a "dumb" shell containing only the LCD and controls, while the CPU was actually housed inside each individual cartridge. This allowed each game to use a different processor, like the Intel 8021 or TI TMS1100, but it also made the cartridges vulnerable to static electricity—a "fatal shock" from a user’s finger could instantly fry a game's brains. Despite its 16x16 pixel monochrome screen and a voracious appetite for 9-volt batteries, the Microvision was a massive initial success, grossing $15 million in its first year. However, its legacy in 2026 is defined by a tragic chemical flaw known as "screen rot," where the primitive LCD seals fail and the liquid crystals leak or darken, making working original units exceedingly rare and highly prized by collectors who perform modern screen transplants to keep the "1970s future" alive.

Source: eBay Auction