Atari is a legendary name in video game history. Back in its prime, Atari revolutionized home gaming with its Atari 2600 console, selling 30 million units.
In the 70s and 80s, Atari’s main competitor wasn’t Nintendo or Sega, but Intellivision, a name many might not remember today. Now, in an unexpected twist, Atari has acquired Intellivision, ending their long-standing rivalry.
“Bringing Atari and Intellivision together after 45 years ends the longest-running console war in history,” said Mike Mika, Studio Head at Digital Eclipse, Atari’s parent company.
This move shows that even the fiercest gaming rivals can set aside their differences to bring joy to gamers who remember their glory days.
“This was a rare opportunity to unite former competitors and bring together fans of Atari, Intellivision, and the golden age of gaming,” said Wade Rosen, Atari Chairman and CEO.
With this acquisition, Atari is also adding over 200 games to its library. It’s unclear if any of these games will appear on Atari systems, but they plan to release new installments of these games on the current Amico console.
Intellivision has been working on a retro version of its Amico console, and this project will continue independently of Atari’s acquisition.
Recently, the gaming industry has seen more cooperation among former rivals. Sony and Microsoft, for example, reached an agreement to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation for the next 10 years, despite a lengthy battle over Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
Even the FTC eventually stepped back, allowing the deal to go through, making Microsoft the owner of the biggest game publisher in the industry.
It’s great to see these companies focusing on serving gamers. Let’s keep the competition in the games themselves!
