It took more than 40 years, but the last embers were finally snuffed out and the early console wars finally put to rest once Atari purchased the Intellivision brand from Intellivision Entertainment LLC, which owns the rights to over 200 titles and the Intellivision trademark. It seems to have disappeared. His two brands were once at odds in the late 1970s and early 1980s, but that is now just history.
In addition to branding and licensing opportunities, Atari plans to expand physical and digital distribution of Intellivision games, according to the announcement. Additionally, there seems to be the possibility of a completely new game, although it's unclear what exactly that will be.
Atari-owned studio Digital Eclipse is known for putting together an impressive collection of emulated old games that blends arcade with museums, so creating something similar to, say, an Atari 50 for the Intellivision would seem like a natural next step. It's telling that the first quote in the press release announcing Atari's new acquisition comes from Digital Eclipse studio head Mike Mika:
Acquired the Intellivision brand and game library. 👏”This was a very rare opportunity to unite former competitors and bring together fans of the Golden Age of Gaming.” – Wade Rosen Former Intellivision rebrands and continues to distribute Amico consoles pic.twitter.com/jncWwKq3GoMay 23, 2024
“After 45 years, Atari and Intellivision will merge, ending the longest console war in history,” Mika said. While this is a perfectly appropriate and accurate statement, it is somewhat unusual for Digital Eclipse to be the first quote in an announcement. something We won't speculate any further, but it will certainly be fascinating to see what the team takes on with their newly acquired library.
Meanwhile, Intellivision Entertainment LLC will continue to rebrand and develop the Amico game console under license from Atari to distribute Intellivision games. This is assuming it gets released. Intellivision Amico, which is likely to become simply Amico in the future, was first announced in 2018, but development hasn't always been smooth sailing. In November 2023, the company behind it basically said they couldn't afford to make a physical console at the time.
“Atari is a valued partner and we are confident they will be responsible stewards of the storied Intellivision brand,” said Phil Adam, CEO of Intellivision Entertainment. “We look forward to expanding our collaboration and bringing a wide range of new Atari and Intellivision titles to the Amico and Amico Home family gaming platforms.”
If you don't know about Intellivision yet and are interested in purchasing one, you can always check out our list. Best Intellivision Games.
