Hello and welcome back to The Last Official Release – the genuine article as far as tracking what the last games released worldwide for your favourite console are. “Genuine article” is in the eye of the beholder, of course, but in this series, I search the interwebs high and low hoping to find a correct answer – and maybe, just maybe, you’ll find it interesting. A full list of what I’ve already covered can be found below – eleven consoles and counting – but today, I’m covering the Intellivision, released in 1979 by Mattel. Yes, the very same Mattel who produced toys of preference during your adolescence that weren’t video games.
They were not to be the gatekeepers of the Intellivision for long, though, as during 1984 they sold the business to their own former Senior Vice President of Marketing, Terrence Valeski and some other investors who would later become INTV Corporation. They continued the popular competitor to the Atari 2600 until 1990, where it was discontinued, having racked up over 3 million units sold total.
And for once, the final last game is consistent worldwide. This is not that surprising, however, since INTV Corp. published it themselves. One year before the system was discontinued, Spiker! Super Pro Volleyball would see release in the fall of 1989. Developed by Realtime Associates, who were formed by ex-Mattel employees with the explicit purpose of developing Intellivision titles, the game is as advertised: yep, it was volleyball.
Its programmer, Steve Ettinger was a keen player of the sport and (likely) easily convinced Realtime Associates president, Dave Warhol of the idea since at the time his residence and office overlooked volleyball courts in California. They received the green light from INTV Corp. to develop the title, but it ultimately sat in limbo for a year while the funds were raised to get it published. By the time it finally saw the light of day, the Intellivision was all but wrapped up – so it didn’t see the widest release. Because of that, it begs a hefty fee if you wish to own it in the present. As for writing, I saw a boxed and complete copy for $5000US. If you were considering buying it, I would take a deep and long look into your financial situation before making a final decision.
Just like Dave Warhols real-life view, I’m sure.
On a brighter note, Realtime Associates are still around today. They created content for a wide range of consoles throughout the 1990’s and early 2000’s, and these days focus on more ‘serious’ games covering topics like health education and history. You can check out their website here.
Previously, on The Last Official Release:
Super Nintendo Entertainment System – Metal Slader Glory: Director’s Cut (2000)
Sega Genesis – Frogger (1998)
Sega Master System – Mickey’s Ultimate Challenge
Game & Watch – Mario the Juggler
PS1 – Schnappi: 3 Fun-Games
N64 – Tony Hawks Pro Skater 3
Game Gear – The Lost World: Jurassic Park
NES – The Lion King
Atari 2600 – Klax
Game Boy – Shikakei Atama o Kore Kusuru: Kanji/Keisan no Tatsujin
Dreamcast – Karous
Growing up while the fifth generation of consoles reigned supreme meant that Brendan missed out on much of the 80’s and early 90’s of gaming the first time around. He either lacked the cognitive ability to play them, as naturally, he was a baby - or he simply didn’t exist yet. Undeterred, Brendan started a blog called Retro Game On in 2011. This followed his exploits as he collected and played everything he could get his hands on no matter what the release date. While RGO is mainly YouTube focused these days concentrating on video reviews and historical features, the itch to do some old fashion writing never went away. More recently, Brendan has been a staff writer for the gaming website, GameCloud, mostly focusing on the indie gaming scene in his locale of Perth, Australia.
