Intellivision Computer: For the HECS of It
After fraud investigations by the Federal Trade Commission in 1982 due to consumer complaints about the vapourware Keyboard Component computer add-on Mattel had heavily hyped upon introduction of the original Master Module, monthly $10,000 FTC fines are levied against the company until a computer add-on is offered nationally to consumers. Mattel has the Keyboard Component in a four-city test marketing stage, said cities including Seattle and New Orleans. The computer add-on is a box into which the Master Component fits, giving users access to a 60-key tactile keyboard, built-in cassette tape storage, and an 8-bit 6502 CPU. It provides a screen resolution of 160×192 pixels and allows for 15 colours and eight moving sprites on-screen at a time. It is also to include a voice synthesizer chip to add speech effects to compatible games.
The low-priced Commodore computers, however, have lowered price expectations for consumer computers, and the high production expense for Mattel’s unit means a daunting price tag of up to $800 for the 18K RAM version, while the 2K version will only set you back $300. At these prices, at least two major retail chains have let it be known they wouldn’t carry the expansion device. Due to this out-of-reach pricing, the Keyboard Component is eventually dropped by Mattel, and at the January 1983 CES announces its replacement: the HECS, or Home Electronic Computer System, which will retail for around $150. The new system revolves around the Computer Adapter, adding 12k of ROM and 2K of RAM to the Intellivision. Included with this is the plug-in 49-key chiclet-style Computer Keyboard, and support a magnetic data storage system and a thermal printer is promised for later. An optional RAM cartridge called the Program Expander, pluggable into the top of the Computer Adapter, promises to add as much as 32K of RAM and 12K of ROM to the HECS.
The ECS Music Synthesizer, shown with other ECS components
This computer module add-on for the Intellivision also adds three new sound tones, for a total of six. Offered optionally is the four-octave 49-key Music Synthesizer keyboard. Mattel Electronics Design & Development VP Richard Chang’s love of musical toys and games ensures the keyboard is including in the design of the ECS. Taking advantage of this piece of equipment unique to a video game console is a program initially titled Astromusic, a musical version of Astrosmash where instead of falling rocks and spinners, the player shoots down notes by hitting the right keys on the synthesizer. Two other programs are planned to support the Synthesizer: Melody Maker and Music Conductor. The former allows users of the music keyboard to record up to six musical tracks for later playback and saving using the cassette interface, along with the ability for real-time adjustment of tempo and key to any track. The latter program provides exercises and drills to increase user proficiency at playing. Despite all this musical potential for the Music Synthesizer, only Astromusic, renamed as Melody Maker, is released for the device.
The ECS Synthesizer Intellivision add-on, with Astromusic game for it inset, 1983
An advanced baseball game for the system is previewed by Mattel spokesperson George Plimpton over the 1982 Christmas season. Titled World Series Baseball, it features close-up pitching views and split screen inset boxes of the base runners al la Coleco’s Super Action Baseball for the ColecoVision. Also, as the last game designed to use the Intellivoice, users with that device, as well as the ECS, can enjoy speech synthesis in the baseball game. This also makes World Series Baseball the first and only Intellivoice game not to require the Intellivoice unit in order to play it. Speaking of America’s favourite pastime, one of the big drawbacks of the original Major League Baseball game for the Intellivision is addressed with the announcement of Major League All Star Baseball for the Master Component. To be released in the latter half of 1983 with the revised title World Series Major League Baseball, the game allows for solitaire play against the computer.
Also announced for the computer add-on are educational games to utilize the license agreement with animation studio Hanna-Barbera, featuring Flintstones, Scooby-Doo and Jetsons characters. Users who want to program their own games will have to contend with the built-in Intellivision BASIC, and can use the provided cassette recorder interface with a regular tape recorder and tapes to store their creations. On the upside, this unique flavour of BASIC includes a function called “Character Extraction”, where would-be game programmers can lift character figures out of the program code from any Intellivision cartridge, for use in their own game designs.
Intellivision Computer: A Keyboard At Last
This all sounds very good, but after the system reaches stores later in 1983 as the Entertainment Computer System (ECS), the printer, storage system, and RAM expanders never materialize. It is good news for Mattel, however: along with the company offering a rebate for the 4000 Keyboard Components that have been produced and sold to consumers, the FTC is satisfied with the initial release of the ECS and stops the fines. The RS-232 port included in the design is a kind of consolation prize for users who might be disappointed with the missing peripherals from Mattel, allowing them to purchase compatible printers and equipment from other manufacturers for use with the ECS.
Computer keyboard for the Intellivision ECS, 1983
The inside view of the UK flavour of the ECS Computer Adapter, image from 1983
The Age of the Mattel Aquarius Computer
Mattel Electronics then feels the need to enter the growing stand-alone home PC market, and they find the system close to home… Radofin Electronics of Mountain View, California. Based on Radofin’s line of computers utilizing Zilog’s ubiquitous CPU, Mattel develops the Aquarius Home Computer System and introduces it at what is a very busy 1983 CES in Las Vegas for the company. The price of this new machine will be steadily slashed as the home computer price wars rage, starting from around $140 when introduced at the show, down to around $100 before its slow rollout in April, and then quickly down to $79 after that. This, in the face of speculation by market analysts that the Aquarius computer system has cost the company $50 million in development costs. Mattel’s entry in the home computer shootout sports a 3.5 MHz Z80A CPU, but only a paltry 4K of standard system RAM. There are 4K and 16K memory packs available to boost this . Two graphics modes are offered: a high-res display at 320×192 and a low-res text mode at 40×24; 256 total characters are available, including the full ASCII character set. Also on the graphics front, the system has access to 16 colours. A barebones version of MS BASIC is built into the 8K of ROM of the computer; an extended version is promised later. Users can expand their computer language library with an available cartridge version of LOGO. All of this in a discreet case measuring just 13 in. by 6 in. by 2 in.
When the moon is in the Seventh Hou…goddamn I can’t get that song out of my head!
1983 CES promotional material for Mattel’s Aquarius home computer system
The Aquarius has a 49-key keyboard but in the dreaded rubber-chiclet style, only literally this time: an honest appraisal would probably have the tiny keys SMALLER than chiclets . To further muddy the waters for users trying to operate the computer, there is no space bar… a small SPACE key is located on the far side of the bottom left row. Opposite this on the other end is the RETURN key, therefore flying in the face of a standard computer keyboard layout. The format of this keyboard does, however, make possible keyboard templates that can be installed over top to give quick reference for commands. To save works pecked out on the anemic and non-standard keyboard is a tape cassette Data Recorder device. Offered as well is a thermal printer rated at 80 characters a second, up to 40 columns wide, utilizing rolls of 4 3/4″ thermal paper. A switch located at the back of the printer can put the device in either graphics, mixed or text mode. These devices are also to be available along with the computer in a complete package called the COM/PAC at a price pegged around $500.
Enjoyable read, nice work!
Thanks for the kind words, and thanks for reading it!
On page 3, the name of the Demon Attack porter is Gary Kato, not Gary Kabe.
Corrected. I also spelled original Demon Attack creator Rob Fulop’s name wrong IN THE SAME SENTENCE, so I fixed that little boo-boo too. Thanks for the the pointer, and thanks for reading!
Great article, but you misspelled Gary Gygax’s last name.
Oops, that’s a -7 hit in intelligence, I would think. Corrected, thanks for the catch. And thanks for reading!