Episode 735: Intellivision (Patreon)

Kevin: The home video game boom of the early 1980s may have been dominated by the Atari 2600, but the system didn’t exist in a vacuum. There were a few challengers to the throne before the console market melted down that did a pretty successful job of carving out a nice share for themselves. One of the most successful and iconic of these was the Mattel Intellivision: an odd machine with a bizarre system architecture, an infamously unusual controller, and maybe the finest gaming spokesman in history with George Plimpton. It also has its own “personality” to its game library that really sets it apart from its competitors. Quite simply, you could not find its blend of sports, strategy, and unusual action anywhere else at the time, and even after the market crash the system held on through the rest of the 1980s, finding a space alongside its rival the 2600 as newer platforms like the NES took over store shelves and living rooms.

Joining me to celebrate this weird little machine are Tom Boellstorff and Braxton Soderman, two people who not only grew up with Intellivisions but are the authors of the excellent history book Intellivision: How a Video Game System Battled Atari and Almost Bankrupted Barbie, available for sale through MIT Press and digitally for free through its Open Access platform. It’s hard to think of anyone better positioned to speak to all the weird stuff Mattel was involved in with the Intellivision, from novel uses of existing technology to play games over the telephone or by downloading them to your console, or even how the Intellivision was designed from the ground-up for unique home gaming experiences in a way the 2600 was not. And now that Atari owns the Intellivision and is getting these games out there again, hopefully this podcast will encourage you to check some of them out. My advice: You can’t go wrong with Night Stalker, Thin Ice, and Chip Shot!

Art: Amanda Neipris | Edits: Greg Leahy

13:24 - Intellivision in Hi-Fi: Compare This! | "Also Sprach Zarathustra" (Store Demo)

22:55 - Snafu BGM

31:56 - Intellivision in Hi-Fi: Melody Blaster (Blaster's Blues)

41:41 - Tron (1982 Film): The Light Sailer

53:32 - Shark! Shark! BGM | Intellivision in Hi-Fi: Maple Leaf Rag (Magic Carousel)

1:02:43 - Buzz Bombers BGM

1:15:36 - Theme from Barney's Army (1979 TV Show)

1:27:45 - Barbie (2023 Film): Choose Your Fighter

1:42:37 - Intellivision in Hi-Fi: Surfin' on Thin Ice | Blow Out BGM

1:52:16 - Thunder Castle BGM

2:02:40 - Mind Strike BGM

2:13:04 - Intellivision in Hi-Fi: My Intellivision (1982 Mix)

Closing - Intellivision in Hi-Fi: My Intellivision (1982 Mix) (cont.)