For gamers who grew up in the 1970s and 1980s, this headline is probably causing you to do a double take. Atari has announced that it has purchased the Intellivision brand and certain games from Intellivision Entertainment LLC. As a result of the acquisition, Intellivision Entertainment LLC will rebrand, while continuing its business of developing and distributing the Amico game console, with a license from Atari to continue to distribute new versions of the Intellivision games on the Amico console.
In a press release, Atari confirmed it is planning to expand digital and physical distribution of legacy Intellivision games, with the possibility of creating new ones. It will, of course, explore brand and licensing opportunities to create value from the Intellivision properties. Perhaps the most entertaining part of this news is a quote from Mike Mika, Studio Head at Digital Eclipse, an Atari-owned game studio: “Uniting Atari and Intellivision after 45 years ends the longest-running console war in history.” The truth is, though, the war between Atari and Intellivision ended a long time ago, as neither brand has been relevant in the console space for decades.
Atari’s purchase gives it the rights to over 200 titles from Intellivision’s portfolio and the Intellivision trademarks. To celebrate the announcement, Atari.com is selling new Intellivision t-shirts starting today, with more apparel and collectibles to come.
