A Legacy of Innovation
Intellivision was the first 16-bit game console, a full two generations before it became the industry standard.
The original Intellivision system was so popular it sold across three decades (1979 – 1990).
Intellivision was the first video game console to have a built-in PAUSE feature on the controller.
The Intellivision control disc was the first game console to offer a directional thumb pad, which was the predecessor to what later became the industry standard directional pad (D-Pad).
Intellivision was also the first game console to allow for 16 directions while offering 4 action buttons and a 12-button keypad, which opened up greater game play options and control.
Intellivision was the first console to have built-in screen burn-in protection by blacking out the TV after a few minutes of game inactivity. This vision and idea was the precursor to the entire “screen saver” concept.
The very first video game to have speech/voice was the 1979 Intellivision release of Major League Baseball.
The Intellivision was the first console to incorporate professional sports licensing for its sports games; the boxes were emblazoned with official logos from Major League Baseball (MLB), National Football League (NFL), National Hockey League (NHL), National Basketball Association (NBA), Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA), North American Soccer League (NASL), Professional Bowlers Association (PBA), American Backgammon Players Association (ABPA), the United States Chess Federation (USCF) and the U.S. Ski Team.
Intellivision was the first game console to offer digital distribution of video games through the PlayCable. This device connected to the Intellivision cartridge port and allowed for the downloading of games through a cable TV subscription.
New York Yankee legend and Hall of Famer, Mickey Mantle, was the TV and print ad spokesman for the PlayCable product, released in 1981.
Intellivision had the largest home console software library in the world with the release of their cross-platform "System Changer" device, allowing Atari® 2600 games to be played on the Intellivision system.
With the release of the Keyboard Component, Intellivision was one of the first video game systems able to be used as a home computer.
The Intellivision game Utopia™ was the very first “real time strategy” and city building/god game.
Intellivision was the first home console to use a tile-based playfield, which allowed for the display of detailed graphics and color with very little RAM.
Mattel Electronics introduced the very first handheld electronic video game with the 1977 release of Auto Race.
The Intellivision Music Synthesizer was the first game console or home computer to offer a musical synthesizer keyboard, allowing people to play and create music using technology.
Intellivision was the first game console to have a complete built-in character font. Intellivision's system font had complete upper and lowercase alphabets, numerals, and almost all of the punctuation and symbols found on standard computer keyboards.
Intellivision was responsible for the first “Console War” when it launched a national ad campaign against then rival Atari®, by using side-by-side comparisons with journalist George Plimpton as its spokesman.