Classic console maker Intellivision announces plans to re-enter the market

Nowadays, Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo might all be butting heads in the console wars, but back in the 1980s that conflict was headed by Atari versus Intellivision. It seems that old school gamers will be taking a trip down memory lane, as Intellivision has revealed that it has something brand new in the works.

Intellivision made a name for itself in the 80s, with its original system claiming many ‘firsts’ in the gaming world. This includes being “the first 16-bit gaming machine, the first gaming console to offer digital distribution, the first to bring speech/voice to games, the first to license professional sports leagues and organisations and the first to be a dedicated game console and home computer.”

The console will “carry on the company tradition of ‘firsts' with its new concept, design and approach to gaming,” while focusing primarily on “families in the home,” which head of Intellivision’s push, Tommy Tallarico states is a “huge gaping hole in the market now.” This was adequately filled with Nintendo’s Wii until around 2012 with the release of its successor console and ultimate disappointment, the Wii U.

Image: Wikimedia Commons

Details are scarce on Intellivision’s new system, which has yet to receive a name, but the company has made it clear that it will avoid going toe-to-toe with the established home consoles currently on the market due to a lack of funding: “That would be insane, and we would need $1 billion,” explains Tallarico in an interview with VentureBeat.

Instead, the company will make a more affordable machine that will forgo 3D graphics and modern video applications such as Netflix in favour of a retro-focused approach, featuring an emulator and 10 new games at launch.

This seems like a different approach to its rival’s revival, with the Atari VCS being retro in aesthetic only. Instead, the Atari VCS will push 4K and HDR on a Linux-based operating system, coming with ten times the amount of titles on release with 100 games. Pre-orders for the Atari VCS have finally gone live on Indiegogo after numerous delays.

KitGuru Says: Unless Intellivision can come up with something as innovative as Nintendo’s Wii was, I am unsure how it will manage to penetrate the family-based gaming market any more than current consoles already have a foothold. Still, only time will tell.

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