Here is the original concept art for an unproduced Kenner video game console. The art is a mixture of pen and marker on white paper, and is mounted to a presentation board. It measures 24″ wide x 19″ high.
The art is dated 1981 and gives us an interesting look into a market Kenner may have wanted to dip their toe in. The home video game industry was going full force in 1981 with consoles like the Atari 2600, Intellivision, and Colecovision all battling for their share of the market. With video games all the rage at the arcades and at home, Kenner certainly would have at least entertained the idea of getting into the lucrative home video game action. This concept art obtained from the Kenner Morgue shows that a Kenner console was at least considered.
We now know that a Kenner home video game system never became a reality, and history shows that Kenner may have dodged a bullet by not going forward with the idea. The home video game market experienced a massive crash in 1983 that didn’t begin to recover until 1985 when the Nintendo NES started gaining popularity in the United States.
The above close-up shows that controller storage and a carrying handle were features considered for the console.
As always, if you worked on this unproduced video game console or have any information about it, we would love to hear from you!
Do you actually know this was for a video game system? The format and size of the cartridge insert looks suspiciously like their 70s Super-8 based Snoopy/Star Wars based cartridges. This could have been a 2XL style game toy rather than an actual video game system judging by the look. Especially because there’s no concept for controllers or controller ports shown.