Mattel Intellivision Games — The Sports Console
The Mattel Intellivision, launched in 1979 and nationally available from 1980, was the first serious competitor to the Atari 2600 — a console that offered noticeably superior graphics and sound through its General Instrument CP1610 processor and custom graphics chip. Mattel’s aggressive marketing directly compared Intellivision games to Atari 2600 versions, with television advertisements showing side-by-side comparisons that were generally favourable to the Intellivision’s more detailed graphics. The console sold approximately 3 million units throughout its commercial life.
The Intellivision’s game library was particularly strong in sports titles — Mattel’s licensing agreements with major sports leagues produced officially licensed NFL Football, MLB Baseball, NBA Basketball, and NHL Hockey games that were considered the definitive home sports simulations of the early 1980s. The distinctive disc controller, while initially controversial, allowed nuanced control well-suited to sports and strategy games. The Intellivision also featured the unique PlayCable service — one of the first cable TV game delivery systems — allowing subscribers to download games through their cable connection.
Tietokonemuseo Ata’s games:
A
Advanced Dungeons & Dagons CIB
Armor Battle CIB
Armor Battle B
Astrosmash CIB
Astrosmash LM (custom case)
Atlantis B (2)
Atlantis L
Auto Racing CIB (2)
Auto Racing (Mattel) B
Auto Racing (Sears) L
B
B-17 Bomber B
Basketball CIB
Beauty & The Beast L (2)
Bomb Squad CIB
Bowling CIB
Boxing CIB (2)
Boxing L
Burger Time CIB
Burger Time L (custom case)
Buzz Bomber L (custom case)
C
Checkers L
D
Demon Attack B (2)
Donkey Kong L
Dragon Fire L
Dragula CIB
F
Frog Bog L
Frogger CIB
G
Garnival L
H
Horse Racing CIB
Horse Racing B
I
Ice Trek CIB
L
Las Vegas Poker Blackjack CIB
Lock ’n’ Chase SW
Lock’n Chase CIB (2)
Loco Motion CIB
M
Major League Baseball CIB
Master of the Universe L (custom case)
Math Fun B
Microsurgeon CIB
Mission X L (custom case)
N
NASL Soccer L (2)
NBA Basketball LM
NFL Football B (2)
Night Stalker CIB (2)
Night Stalker L (custom case)
Night Stalker L (2)
Nova Blast L
P
Pitfall CIB
Poker & Blackjack CIB
Poker & Blackjack L
R
Roulette CIB
Royal Dealer SW
Royal Dealer L
S
Safecracker L
Sea Battle CIB (2)
Sharp Shot CIB (2)
Skiing CIB (3)
Snafu CIB
Snafu B
Soccer CIB (3)
Space Armada CIB
Space Armada L
Space Battle CIB (2)
Space Battle L
Space Hawk CIB (3)
Space Hawk L (custom case)
Space Hawk L (2)
Space Spartans CIB
Space Spartans SW (2)
Star Strike CIB (3)
Star Strike L (2)
Star Strike L (custom case)
Sub Hunt LM (custom case)
T
Tennis B
Tennis CIB
Trible Action CIB (2)
Trible Action L
Tron Deadly Discs CIB
Tron Maze-A-Tron L (custom case)
U
Utopia LM (custom case)
V
Vectron CIB
Vectron L (custom case)
W
White Water L