VIDEO GAMES PLAY AND GET MONEY

Cover to Cover Intellivision Spring 1986 Catalog pp 10 11

We are leafing through the Triton Products Intellivision catalog for the spring of 1986, after the mid-80s industry crash -- there was still a lot of old Mattel stock in the liquidators warehouse, and enough interest to spur development of a few new games.  Today, were up to pages 10 and 11.

Page 10 features more of the old Mattel titles, ready to go out the door at discounted prices:


Math Fun used to be Electric Company Math Fun, now bereft of its Childrens Television Workshop license but exactly the same game.  Las Vegas Poker & Blackjack was the original Intellivision pack-in game, but boxed copies were sold separately after the Intellivision II was released.  Utopia was a classic early resource management and strategy game, making good use of the consoles 16-bit CPU as the player tried to develop and manage an island nation.  And Space Battle was a simple space shooter; a modified version was seen on 1980s television, with a fixed sight and a voice-activated firing feature allowing viewers to call in and play for prizes.  In my childhood neck of the woods, it was featured on a program known as Barneys Clubhouse POWWW!


Page 11 brings us a number of accessories, including one that made the Intellivision II a must-have for any hardcore gamer:


The Cassette n Game File appears to have been a generic cartridge and audio cassette case; the Protective Cover was just that, and while the description only mentions the Intellivision II, there is a separate item number for the Intellivision I and III.  The Cartridge/Contact Cleaners look like generic computer edge card swabs, but Im sure they worked fine on the Intellivision cartridges.

And last but not least, the Intellivision IIs best feature -- detachable, therefore replaceable, hand controllers.  Of course, the flat keys were not as easy to feel out as the original consoles raised buttons, and a few games didnt run well or at all on the second-generation machine -- but for the long term, moving away from hardwired controllers was a very good idea.  The ad copy also mentions support for 4 players, but as far as I know the Intellivision II only had two controller ports -- Mattels add-on Entertainment Computer System provided additional controller ports, so this description is probably cobbled together from old marketing materials.