Mattel Electronics
Moby ID: 463
- M Network - A division of Mattel Electronics that created games for the Atari 2600.
Overview edit · view history
Mattel Electronics was a subsidiary of toy-maker Mattel, founded in 1977. They were responsible for designing and manufacturing Mattel's video game console and all-around entertainment system, Intellivision. Additionally, they developed video games for both their own and the competitors' gaming platforms.
Mattel Electronics introduced Intellivision to the market in 1979, Fresno, California. Thanks to smart advertising and technical superiority against Atari's 2600 console, the unit sold well in the following years. The success determined Mattel to produce different peripherals for Intellivision, such as the keyboard and the entertainment computer system (ECS).
To expand their game library, Mattel Electronics hired various programmers, designers, artists to develop new titles. By 1982, the division numbered over 100 employees. In 1982, the staff numbers increased from 100 to 1000.
This was all short-lived, as the company recorded $394 million in losses by 1983. This decline was determined by various causes: the emergence of a new competitor console, Colecovision, sporting similar technical capabilities to Intellivision; diminished sales for the system in 1983, coupled with increased expenses for the production of new titles; the saturation of the market with new games etc.
As a result, by 1984 Mattel closed or sold off all its non-toy-related subsidiaries. Mattel Electronics was laid to rest on the 20th of January, 1984.
Credited on 93 Games from 1976 to 2010
Displaying most recent · View all
| Space Cadet (2010 on Windows, Xbox 360) |
| X3V0LuX (2004 on Atari 2600) |
| Swordfight (2000 on Atari 2600) |
| Uno (1999 on Game Boy Color) |
| Air Duel (1993 on DOS) |
| Bad Street Brawler (1987 on DOS, NES, Commodore 64...) |
| Tower of Doom (1987 on Intellivision, Windows, Xbox 360) |
| Thin Ice (1986 on Intellivision, Windows, Xbox 360) |
| Triple Challenge (1986 on Intellivision) |
| Thunder Castle (1984 on Intellivision, Xbox 360, Windows) |
| Masters of the Universe: The Power of He-Man (1983 on Atari 2600) |
| Masters of the Universe: The Power of He-Man (1983 on Intellivision) |
| Motocross (1983 on Intellivision, Xbox 360, Windows) |
| Pinball (1983 on Intellivision, Xbox 360, Windows) |
| Kool-Aid Man (1983 on Atari 2600) |
| Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Treasure of Tarmin Cartridge (1983 on Intellivision, Mattel Aquarius) |
| Buzz Bombers (1983 on Intellivision, Windows, Xbox 360) |
| Vectron (1983 on Intellivision, Xbox 360, Windows) |
| Adventures of Tron (1983 on Atari 2600) |
| Air Raiders (1983 on Atari 2600) |
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History +
- 1984
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The in-house development group is closed.
- 1983
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The company introduces a new peripheral innovative for the time: IntelliVoice, a voice synthesis device which produced speech when used with certain games.
- 1983
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A redesigned model, called the Intellivision II is introduced. It featured detachable controllers and sleeker case, the System Changer (which played Atari 2600 games on the Intellivision II), and a music keyboard add-on for the ECS.
- 1980
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The Intellivision console goes nationwide in the US with a price tag of $299 and a pack-in game: Las Vegas Blackjack.
- 1978
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The company starts development of the Intellivision console.
Trivia +
To promote the Intellivision console, and attack Atari, the company produced a series of ads starring actor and journalist George Plimpton.
Mattel Electronics, Inc. was located in Hawthorne, California in 1983.
Besides producing several dozen original video games for the Atari 2600 (under the name "M-Networks"), the Mattel toy company was also responsible for producing and marketing their own very successful video game system, the "Intellivision."
The Intellivision hit the national market in 1980 for the somewhat steeper cost of $299. Atari originally released their historic "Atari 2600" console in 1978 for $199. The marketing for the Intellivision was very successful, however, and proved to be a strong competitive threat to Atari. The Intellivision was unmistakably superior to the Atari 2600 in many ways, however, and sold over 175,000 units during their first year of production.
They had a short run of success, and closed the doors on their Intellivision division in 1984. It was the first victim of the Video Game market crash that occurred during the latter part of 1983 and early 1984.
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Related Web Sites +
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Intellivision Lives!
Official Intellivision site with complete information on Mattel Electronics
Frequent Collaborators
Companies- 31 games with APh Technological Consulting
- 20 games with Intellivision, Inc.
- 16 games with Microsoft Corporation
- 16 games with Xbox Game Studios
- 16 games with Krome Studios Pty Ltd.
- 10 games with Mattel Canada Inc.
- 4 games with Data East Corporation
- 4 games with INTV Corp.
- 4 games with Sears, Roebuck and Co.
- 2 games with Blue Sky Rangers, Inc.
- 6 games with Mark Urbaniec
- 6 games with Andy Sells
- 6 games with Hal Finney
- 5 games with Mark Lesser
- 5 games with Patricia Lewis Du Long
- 5 games with Bill Goodrich
- 4 games with Tom Loughry
- 4 games with David Warhol
- 4 games with Ken Smith
- 4 games with David Rolfe
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