Intellivision
Summary
Faced with Atari’s dominance, Mattel initially hesitated to enter the console business and concentrated on handhelds. Their great success encouraged the company to push ahead with development of the Intellivision, which had begun in 1977.
At launch, it was the most advanced console available and far outperformed the Atari 2600. Mattel also had the resources for aggressive marketing, and the Intellivision, with its library of 125 games, became Atari’s first serious competitor.
With the help of the PlayCable extension, it is possible for the first time to download games via a cable provider. The streaming service is years ahead of its time and will not succeed with only about 20,000 subscribers.
The Intellivision is one of the most prominent victims of the 1983 video game crash. As a result, Mattel loses hundreds of millions of dollars and withdraws from the console business for over twenty years.
Technical specifications
- CPU: General Instrument CP1610 16-Bit-Mikroprozessor, 894,886 kHz
- RAM: 371 Byte
- Resolution: 160×196 pixels
- Colours: 16
- 8 sprites
- Sound: three-channel sound (Soundchip: GI AY-3-8914)
Sources and further links
Connections in the collection
Software in the collection
- Intellivision Cartridges · 34 titles
In the exhibition concept
- Generation 2 – A new market · Area Konsolen 1, Section 9
Mentioned in
Keywords
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