Mattel is known for Barbie, not for pioneering the first 16-bit home video game console or triggering an FTC investigation. This episode follows the Intellivision from its origins in Mattel's Blue Sky Group research division in the mid-1970s, through aerospace engineer David Chandler's partnership with General Instrument, to a 1980 nationwide launch at $275 that positioned the machine as a sophisticated alternative to Atari, complete with George Plimpton mocking the competition in side-by-side TV commercials.

We break down the engineering that made it work, including tile-based graphics that conserved expensive RAM, the built-in Exec software that acted like an early game engine but throttled games to 20 Hz, the 12-button keypad with plastic overlays, and the golden disc that became the ancestor of the modern D-pad. Then we cover the unrave ...