Milton Bradley, 1979 — No GPU. CPU is the cartridge.
▓▓▓▓▓▓ ║ ROM ║ ▓▓▓▓▓▓
Insert Cartridge — Drop any ROM file here
The CPU, ROM & game logic live inside the cartridge
· bytes
MICROVISION
NO GPUCPU = CARTRIDGE16×16 LCD
PADDLE
128
← → Paddle | Space = Button
⚡ The 0.1 MHz CPU in each cartridge directly drives every pixel — no graphics chip exists.
Registers
I/O Ports
Controls
Disassembly
RAM (64 bytes)
Clock
No ROM Loaded0 FPS—~0.1 MHz (CPU in cartridge)
About Microvision
The Milton Bradley Microvision (1979) was the first handheld game console with interchangeable cartridges.
🧠 Cartridge-Based CPU
The console unit only contains the display, battery, and controls. The brain — the CPU, ROM, and all game logic — lives entirely inside each cartridge. When you swap cartridges, you swap the computer itself.
🚫 No GPU — CPU Drives Pixels Directly
There is no dedicated graphics chip. The ~0.1 MHz processor inside the cartridge acts as a primitive GPU, bit-banging the 16×16 pixel monochrome LCD by directly controlling I/O ports. It rapidly scans columns and writes row data to create simple, blocky, black-and-white visuals.
🎨 Overlay Dependence
Because the screen is only 16×16 pixels, many games used plastic overlays placed on top of the screen to provide colors, static backgrounds, score areas, and UI elements the LCD couldn't display.
🎮 Simple Logic
The processor handles collision detection and simple movement, mapping these events directly to the pixel grid. Input comes from a single paddle dial and one action button.
This emulator implements an Intel 8021 (MCS-48 family) CPU with full instruction set emulation. Load any ROM file to try it out!