I grew up with the Atari, Intellivision and Commdore 64, I still have them and they still get some play time. Anytime I see some sort of related retro tech, I am immediately interested in knowing more. Recently, I stumbled upon a new Commodore 64 main board, now I have stumbled up on this, a new console from Intellivision. It is scheduled to launch on 10 October 2020 at the price of US $149 – $179.
I am very intrigued in this as for me personally, the game I enjoyed the most was “B-17 Bomber” with the voice synthesis module and secondarily, “Burger Time.” I have many, many logged hours on this console.
Interesting Facts About the Intellivision
This sparked me to do some reading about the original system. Until recently, I was unaware of several things. It was the first 16-bit console. The CPU was a General Instrument CP1600 clocking in at about 2 Mhz. It had a 3-channel sound chip with a noise generator which was essentially “borrowed” from arcade machines of the time.
The Intellivision was the very first game console to offer “downlodable content” through their PlayCable service. The adapter connected into the Intellivision cartridge port which added the capability of downloading games through a cable TV subscription.
The Intellivision also kicked off the first “Console War” against its rival, the Atari. I think they are all friends now. Not sure if there is still a war going on between the modern consoles or if they all get along. I’m a bit disconnected there and I don’t care to research it.
In a sense, the Intellivision started us down a path that makes me generally dislike so much about the industry, downloadable content… console wars… irritating commercials… But I still have much admiration and a warm place in my heart for the Intellivision.
New Console Specifications That Caught my Eye
Not surprisingly, All games are targeted and rated for E as in Everyone. They are going to resurrect the PlayCable of sorts as games are downloadable at the price of $2.99 to $7.00. Instead of a cartridge, they are including WiFi and Ethernet Connectivity. The launch will include several build-in reimagined Intellivision classics and at least 20 more games through the Intellivision Online Store.
It comes with 2 Bluetooth controllers with wireless onboard charging but the system is capable of up to 8 players. Each controller has a 3.5 in, 2:3 aspect ratio, color touchscreen, speaker and microphone. There will be a free downloadable application which will enable mobile phone usage as additional controllers.
This system will have an “Expansion Interface” and the ability to purchase additional software, presumably to include 3rd party. Although, not explicitly written the authors of the additional software, I am sure there will be an SDK released at some point. There isn’t any mention of the specifications of the Expansion Interface but I do hope it is something that is industry standard.
Why I am interested
My initial interest stems from the fact that it is a nod to the technology I grew up with. The creators of this machine are not only taking cues from the original but are taking modern technology and concepts that are interesting. On one side, the controllers for the Intellivision were great because of the matrix of buttons and interactions with games, on the other side, they were also kind of clunky and you had to look down at them a lot, even after you got used to them because you couldn’t feel were specific buttons were unless you didn’t have the game-specific overlay on the controller. This touch screen enabled controller, although wireless, might be just as great and useless and regardless, I think it will be fun to play. Including your mobile device as additional controllers could make for some very interesting game play too. I am very interested in how they accomplish this.
Since there is software that can be downloaded, what I am really hoping, although have no reason to believe it to be available, is a video streaming box as well. Currently, I still use my Wii to watch Netflix until the end of the month and will have to replace it at some point.
The Nintendo Wii was, in my estimation, the best gaming console ever produced with the Wii U being a very close second. Perhaps a slightly different execution of the Gamepad could have made the Wii U brilliant. This new Intellivision could potentially have something like 8 Gamepads with none of them being the required primary controller. This could be the direction the Wii should have gone.
I really want this to be a media streaming device with some kind if similar interaction I have between my Android phone with KDE Connect to the Plasma Desktop. The specific feature is using the mobile phone as an input device to the computer. Something like that would be pretty fantastic and handy. This would also make the Intellivision the most compelling new gaming console I have yet seen.
Final Thoughts
I am a fan of pretty much any kind of retro tech. The particular systems that interest me most are those that were influential in my youth. The Intellivision was not as influential as the Commodore 64 but it is a system that brings a giant smile to my face.
I am going to be watching this project with great interest. I am hoping that it will develop into the product with the feature sets I desire enough to spring that $149 – $179 for the machine. I am very interested in seeing how they can make it old and new in the same stroke. So far, they are saying what I want to hear and I am excited.
Further Reading
General Instrument CP1600 at Wikipedia
Ultimate 64 | A New Commodore 64 main board
KDE Connect – Mobile and Desktop Convergence
