1979 · Mattel Electronics · US · console
Mattel Intellivision
Marketed by George Plimpton with the slogan "Intelligent Television", Mattel’s console boasted a true 16-bit CPU, realistic licensed sports simulations, and…
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Marketed by George Plimpton with the slogan "Intelligent Television", Mattel’s console boasted a true 16-bit CPU, realistic licensed sports simulations, and the groundbreaking Intellivoice voice add-on.
The primary heavyweight challenger to the Atari 2600 in the early 1980s. Its games were significantly deeper with complex tactical rules, real-time baseball pitching, and strategic naval warfare.
Under the hood
- CPU
- General Instrument CP1600 (16-bit) @ 894 kHz
- Sound chip
- General Instrument AY-3-8914 (3 channels of sound + noise)
- Graphics
- 159 × 96 resolution, 16 colors, 8 hardware sprites
- Media
- ROM Cartridges with slide-in controller plastic overlays
What it cost
only about 10% of a month’s pay in 1983 · about $312 today
| US launch list price ($299 with Las Vegas Poker & Blackjack) |
$299 (1979)
roughly a third of a month’s pay · about $1,292 in today's money |
|---|---|
| Intellivision II price ($99) | $99 (1983) |
| Units sold | ≈3,000,000 estimate Over 3 million units sold. |
What it's worth now
Moderate $30–70 working
One of the cheapest retro libraries to complete (most games $3–15). The essential controller overlays are the pieces that go missing.
A guide to collectibility, not a valuation — real prices depend on condition, completeness and demand.
Why it mattered
The primary heavyweight challenger to the Atari 2600 in the early 1980s. Its games were significantly deeper with complex tactical rules, real-time baseball pitching, and strategic naval warfare.
Emulating it today
| Emulators | jzIntv, FreeIntv |
|---|---|
| Setup effort | Easy to run (3 on this site's scale) |
| Controls | The original controller does not map perfectly to a standard modern pad; expect to customize controls. |
| Runs on a handheld | Yes |
Requires the Executive ROM (`exec.bin`) and Graphics ROM (`grom.bin`) in the BIOS folder. Emulators often benefit from virtual controller overlays. The emulator names above are starting points, not a promise that every title or accessory behaves identically. Computer platforms usually add model selection, disk handling and keyboard setup even when CPU emulation itself is mature.
system firmware or BIOS
Requires `exec.bin` (8 KB) and `grom.bin` (2 KB) in RetroArch system folder.
How many files you need: 1. Start with the firmware for the exact model and region you are emulating; some families need additional revisions for later models.
Where it stands legally: Firmware normally remains copyrighted. The clean route is to extract it from hardware you own unless the rights holder offers a download or licensed package.
Firmware details checked 2026-08. Emulator requirements change — see Libretro documentation for the current list.
Where the software is
Preservation catalogues describe verified dumps; they do not grant permission to download commercial software. A curated, correctly matched set is easier to use than an undifferentiated archive.
Copyright: Commercial software remains copyrighted unless its owner explicitly released or relicensed it. Homebrew, public-domain programs and current reissues should be treated separately from abandoned commercial titles.
This site names preservation projects and explains what they are. It does not link to ROM downloads.
Where to start
- Astrosmash Fixed Shooter
Mattel’s hyper-responsive falling meteor and missile shooter.
- Utopia Strategy / City Builder
Don Daglow created the very first 4X / turn-based civilization sim on a home console.
- AD&D: Cloudy Mountain Action RPG / Dungeon
Official Dungeons & Dragons dungeon exploration with bow combat.
- B-17 Bomber Flight / Combat Simulation
Famous for realistic Intellivoice speech: "B-17 BAWWW-MER!"
- BurgerTime Arcade Action
The definitive home conversion of Data East’s burger-stepping arcade.
- Major League Baseball Sports
The first baseball game with base-running and pitcher balls/strikes.
- Night Stalker Maze Action
Claustrophobic maze shooter with spider robots and bats.
- Shark! Shark! Action / Survival
Eat smaller fish to grow while dodging the deadly great white shark.
- Tron: Deadly Discs Action game
- Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Treasure of Tarmin Role-playing
The verdict
Pioneered complex sports sims, 16-bit processing, and voice synthesis. The unique 16-direction directional disc and 12-key numeric keypad require some controller overlay mapping.
The strongest software can be rewarding, but original controls and setup assumptions may matter more than screenshots suggest.
- Worth it if
- Players curious about the second wave, before the crash and willing to learn how the original machine worked.
- Not for
- Anyone who wants a large, instantly accessible library and no model, firmware or control decisions.
Scored 3/5 for fun today and 4/5 for historical importance. Those two scores decide the label at the top — a machine can matter enormously and still be no fun.
Read more & watch
This page is 75% complete against the facts we try to record for every system. Gaps are shown as gaps.