You could totally make this in the early 2000s. Back then PIC, Atmel (pre-arduino), 8051, and Z80 chips were super cheap and accessible. Everything, including

You could totally make this in the early 2000s. Back then PIC, Atmel (pre-arduino), 8051, and Z80 chips were super cheap and accessible. Everything, including the MCUs, were standard through-hole components. Perfboard was regularly used for quick prototyping, and etching hand drawn circuit boards was accessible (IIRC one of the first articles I remember reading in the then new Make magazine back then was about DIY circuit board etching). There was a Radioshack on almost every street corner and you could get most of the parts to build this right there.