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Intellivision Lives: Tommy Tallarico Will Relaunch 1980s Console (venturebeat.com)
craters writes: A wave of nostalgia has hit gamers, with Nintendo and Atari taking advantage with launches, both recent and pending, of older game consoles. Now they'll have a new competitor with Intellivision Entertainment. Originally released in 1980, the Intellivision console and its successors sold millions of units over three decades. The new Intellivision system (name TBA) will carry on the company tradition of "firsts" with its new concept, design and approach to gaming. The original Intellivision system generated many "firsts" in the video game industry including the first 16-bit gaming machine, the first gaming console to offer digital distribution, the first to bring speech/voice to games, the first to license professional sports leagues and organizations and the first to be a dedicated game console and home computer.
I am sick of all this Nostalgia stuff.
I don't get it either. Those most likely to want something like this are probably exactly the same people who are quite capable of setting up one of the many emulators available, then downloading any number of very good ROMs to get their BurgerTime fix.
The last time I tried it on one of the many Raspberry Pis I have lying about it took an hour or so and we had a nice afternoon fooling about.
Certainly not something I would spend any money on though.
Unlike someone else who commented I don't think 'nostalgia' is such a bad thing. Why? Because it seems that 'games' aren't so much about 'games' anymore, they're about how much money they can leech out of your wallet. I'm sure many more people than anyone realizes just wants to play a simple, non-online, non-massive-multiplayer game for fun, not make a second career out of it because it's so involved and complex; newer isn't always better, and even if newer is better it doesn't mean older and simpler things all have to be thrown in the trash and forgotten, they still have value. So you get these 'classic' game packages, no cartridges required, and unlike the old hardware it just works. Plug it into your TV and play it, no huge investment of time or money required, don't need to tie up your phone or computer with it, etc.
That's also why Nintendo's retro consoles did not sell at all.
Oh wait.
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You know, for those of us who never developed the preternatural fast twitch reflexes for modern games, and probably those people who have kids .. these games represent just simple easy gaming without an endless grind.
Many of these games had surprisingly good gameplay, because they had so little graphics to work with.
If you don't like it, don't fucking buy it.
Meanwhile, I'm sure you've thrown out all of your old music and photos, are deeply entrenched in dubstep and bro-culture, Instagramming your meals (which is just a nostalgia for a Polaroid camera), and grooming your hipster beard.
If Nintendo would make that damned classic easier to get, I'd buy one .. because I cut my teeth with two buttons and a joystick, and would probably enjoy those games infinitely more than a level grind, with in app purchases, social fucking media, and in-game ads. Because I hate every aspect of on-line gaming and the modern shit which comes with it.
That Nintendo is once again re-releasing this with a limited run and can't keep them in stock tells me people are buying.
Hell, I know at least two people who have their original NES hooked to their TV, and their kids still play it.
So, seriously dude, get over your fucking self, and deal with it.
Magnavox Odyssey 2 came out in 1978 and offered computer programming modules, wiping out the Intellivision claim of "first to be a dedicated game console and home computer."