Developer · Publisher

Mattel Electronics

Part of Mattel

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 January 20th, 1984. In January 1984, 2 weeks after the January CES, the rights to the Intellivision and games were purchased by INTV Corp., which was started by the former marketing VP of Mattel Electronics, Terry Valeski. Game development and publishing continued until INTV's bankruptcy in 1990, and the Intellivision rights were sold by Mr. Valeski to Ultimatte Corp. in 1997. Ultimatte then licensed all rights to Intellivision Productions.