POKEY, an acronym for Pot Keyboard Integrated Circuit,[1] is a digital I/O chip designed by Doug Neubauer at Atari, Inc.[2] for the Atari 8-bit computers. It was first released with the Atari 400 and Atari 800 in 1979 and is included in all later models and the Atari 5200 console. POKEY combines functions for reading paddle controllers (potentiometers) and computer keyboards as well as sound generation and a source for pseudorandom numbers. It produces four voices of distinctive square wave audio, either as clear tones or modified with distortion settings.[3] Neubauer also developed the Atari 8-bit killer application Star Raiders which makes use of POKEY features.
POKEY chips are used for audio in many arcade video games of the 1980s including Centipede, Missile Command, Asteroids Deluxe, and Gauntlet. Some of Atari's arcade systems use multi-core versions with 2 or 4 POKEYs in a single package for more audio channels. The Atari 7800 console allows a game cartridge to contain a POKEY, providing better sound than the system's audio chip. Only two licensed games make use of this: the ports of Ballblazer and Commando.
The LSI chip has 40 pins and is identified as C012294.[4] The USPTO granted U.S. Patent 4,314,236 to Atari on February 2, 1982 for an "Apparatus for producing a plurality of audio sound effects".[5] The inventors listed are Steven T. Mayer and Ronald E. Milner.
- ^ "I. Theory of Operation". Atari Home Computer Field Service Manual - 400/800. Atari, Inc. pp. 1–11.
- ^ Hague, James (2002-06-01). "Interview with Doug Neubauer". Halcyon Days. Retrieved January 14, 2008.
- ^ "Chapter 7: Sound". De Re Atari. Atari, Inc. 1982.
- ^ Michael Current, "What are the SALLY, ANTIC, CTIA/GTIA, POKEY, and FREDDIE chips?", Atari 8-Bit Computers: Frequently Asked Questions
- ^ Atari, Inc. (1979-01-24). "Apparatus for producing a plurality of audio sound effects". United States Patent. Retrieved January 14, 2008.