Entex Industries Information
Entex Industries, Inc.[1] was a toy and electronic game manufacturer based in Compton, California.[1] The company was active during the 1970s and 1980s.
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Background
The company was formed in 1970 by G.A. (Tony) Clowes, Nicholas Carlozzi and Nick Underhill.[1] It was based at 303 West Artesia Blvd[2], Compton. Its name was derived from taking Nicholas' and Tony's initials and adding an 'X' on the end to form NTX, which when spoken sounds like Entex.[1] Nick Underhill's initial was not included as he had joined the company after the name had already been chosen, but before it opened for business.[1] The company logo consisted of an RAF bullseye with a smiling face in the middle.[2] In 1980, the company achieved sales in excess of $100 million.[2] The company folded in the early eighties, due in part to increasing competition from video game consoles and computer games which quickly became a preferred form of entertainment, much to the cost of the electronic games industry.[3]
Products
The company originally made model kits and Lego-like connectable toy bricks called Loc Blocs[1], before later moving into the handheld and tabletop electronic game market. Electronic games produced by Entex have been described as "high end"[4] and "high-quality"[3] and the company itself used the motif "Games for the discriminating player"[4], indicating that the more expensive end of the market was specifically targeted. Many Entex products were rebadged and sold under license outside the US.[5]
Conventional Electronic Games
Entex produced LCD, LED and VFD-based electronic games, including 3-D Grand Prix, Blast It, Defender and Pac Man 2 amongst others.[2]
Programmable Electronic Games
In order to compete with video consoles[3], Entex introduced two cartridge based tabletop electronic game systems in 1981-1982, called Select-A-Game and Adventure Vision.[3]. In particular, the Adventure Vision, along with its cartridges have become highly sought after collector's items.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g "ADVENTURE VISION: A History of Entex and the rarest Tabletop system". Jim Combs, Video Game Trader Magazine, Issue #2, February 2008. http://www.videogametrader.com/archives/features/adventure_vision.htm. Retrieved 2009-06-04.
- ^ a b c d "Entex Handheld Games". The Handheld Games Museum. http://www.handheldmuseum.com/Entex/index.html. Retrieved 2009-06-04.
- ^ a b c d "Entex Adventure Vision". Atari Gaming Headquarters. http://www.atarihq.com/museum/nonatari/advvisn.php. Retrieved 2009-06-04.
- ^ a b "Entex Games". miniarcade.com. http://www.miniarcade.com/entex/entex.htm. Retrieved 2009-06-04.
- ^ "Entex Pac Man 2". The Handheld Games Museum. 2009-06-04. http://www.handheldmuseum.com/Entex/PacMan.htm.
Categories:
- Electronic games
- Defunct companies based in California
- Toy companies of the United States
- Companies based in Los Angeles County, California
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