The end of the first console war
With this acquisition, Atari ends the very first console war, almost 45 years later, and long before the raging Nintendo vs Sega in the playground, who were then joined in their battle by challengers Sony and Microsoft. As a reminder, the Intellivision, for Intelligent Television
is a console designed and marketed by Mattel, launched in 1979, only two years after the Atari 2600.
Official press release
Atari, one of the world’s most iconic consumer brands and producers of interactive entertainment — today announced the acquisition of the Intellivision brand and certain games from Intellivision Entertainment LLC. Intellivision Entertainment LLC will rebrand and continue its business of developing and distributing the Amico-branded game console with a license from Atari to continue to distribute new versions of Intellivision games on the Amico console.
Atari will look to expand digital and physical distribution of older Intellivision games, potentially create new games, and explore branding and licensing opportunities as part of a long-term plan to create value from the properties Intellivision.
The union of Atari and Intellivision after 45 years ends the longest console war in history, said Mike Mika, studio head of Digital Eclipse, a game studio owned by Atari.
The first Intellivision home video game console was released by Mattel Electronics in 1979 and the console platform sold approximately 5 million units through 1990. Atari and Intellivision arguably fought the first war of major consoles in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Mattel went so far as to enlist actor George Plimpton to appear in a series of commercials comparing the two systems, as well as in a eight-minute video shown at Gamescom.
It was a very rare opportunity to reunite former competitors and bring together fans of Atari, Intellivision and the golden age of gaming, said Wade Rosen, Atari Chairman and CEO.
This redemption, the exact amount of which is not known, includes rights to more than 200 titles from the Intellivision portfolio and Intellivision brands.
Atari has been a valuable partner and we are confident that it will be a responsible steward of the renowned Intellivision brand,” said Phil Adam, CEO of Intellivision Entertainment. We look forward to our expanded collaboration and the prospect of bringing a wide range of new titles to the Amico family gaming platform.
To mark the occasion, new Intellivision t-shirts are available starting today on Atari.com, with more Intellivision apparel and collectibles to come
.
Do not hesitate to tell us which console was in your living room, and to share with us any memories you may have, whether on Atari, Intellivision or any other medium, in the comments below.
