Atari has announced that it has acquired the Intellivision brand and game library, putting to rest a 45-year-old rivalry between the two classic gaming companies.
In a post on the official Atari website, the company says it’s bought the brand and “certain games” from Intellivision Entertainment LLC, whose name might still be in your recent memory thanks to the disastrous Amico debacle.
That debacle may well be set to continue, though, because Atari says it hasn’t acquired that aspect of the business. Instead, Intellivision Entertainment will apparently rebrand and continue distributing the Amico. Atari is also granting the company a license to distribute newer versions of Intellivision games on the Amico. Ow, my head.
According to Atari, the legendary retro gaming company will “seek to expand digital and physical distribution of legacy Intellivision games”, and new games under the brand name might also be on the cards.
Atari also says that the console war between itself and its (now-former) rival is “arguably…the first console war of consequence” and “the longest-running console war in history”, although I’m not sure either participant was particularly interested in fighting towards the end.
More than 200 Intellivision properties, along with the Intellivision trademark itself, are included in this purchase, but Atari doesn’t specify what those 200 properties actually are.
Still, given the disastrous history of the Amico and the reputation of its “visionary” Tommy Tallarico, it’s arguable Atari has bought the best parts of Intellivision and left the most toxic ones behind.
Atari CEO Wade Rosen, who purchased the company back in late 2022, describes the Intellivision purchase as “a very rare opportunity to unite former competitors” and bring together retro gaming fans of all stripes.
Intellivision Entertainment head Phil Adam, meanwhile, says he’s confident Atari will be a “responsible steward of the storied Intellivision brand”.
It’s not yet clear what kind of games or projects this purchase will yield, but expect Atari to dig deep into the Intellivision vaults to see what it can salvage. Stay tuned for more.
