INTV II cart port physically blocks SECAM games?

[+thegoldenband]

As I mentioned in another thread, I recently acquired a sealed, French-language copy of the CBS Electronics version of Mouse Trap. Unlike the Coleco versions of these games, the European releases are supposedly compatible with the Intellivision II.

 

With this knowledge in hand, I opened it up today. However, when I went to put the cartridge into my Intellivision II, it wouldn't fit. It'd go about halfway in, and then wouldn't budge any further.

 

When I inspected the cartridge, I found that there were three short, evenly spaced vertical plastic slats, about 1/4" above the PCB (on the label side). They're each about 1/4" tall, and spaced about 3/4" apart, and stop about 7/16" from the edge of the cartridge case. These slats aren't present in my other cartridges. I also noticed that my cartridge was labeled (in French) "exclusively for SECAM-system TVs", which makes sense since it's of French origin.

 

Then I checked my Intellivision II. Sure enough, there's a 2" piece of black plastic that rests on top of the cart connector, and this seems to be what's blocking the game. Other carts have enough room to fit around it, but these vertical slats bump straight into it.

 

So: what's the deal? I'd always heard that Intellivision was basically immune to NTSC/PAL issues, and completely region-free, but this physical barrier can't be anything but deliberate. Do all SECAM-region carts have these slats? What about PAL-region carts?

 

And: is this black plastic barrier present on all Intellivision IIs? How about Intellivision I and III, do they have it?

 

In a thread on Digital Press, someone in Missouri mentions having a SECAM Mouse Trap, and doesn't mention anything about a fit problem. So I'm guessing that at least one of the US models didn't have this barrier.

 

I guess I'm just trying to figure out who's locking out whom!

Edited February 7, 2010 by thegoldenband

[Rev]

very interesting.up until now,i too thought all intv games were region free.i was planning on buying some cbs versions too.

Edited February 7, 2010 by revolutionika

[+thegoldenband]

Well, the black plastic barrier might be an Intellivision II thing -- I'm not sure -- so it'd be great if you could check your console(s) and see which ones have it. (If I owned a second console, I'd check myself!) For all I know, this could be exclusive to SECAM carts, or to CBS carts, or...

Edited February 7, 2010 by thegoldenband

[4Ks]

I have an Intellivision 1, and there's nothing in the cartridge slot like what you mentioned in your Intellivision 2. So I'm assuming it's just another one of those INTV 2 quirks (aka flaws), such as not being able to play certain Coleco games. But for all I know, INTV 3 could have that anti-SECAM plastic block too.

[IntellivisionDude]

I think both my Intellivision II's have this plastic barrier you mentioned. Both my systems are the ones without the red strip down the center of the system. So maybe someone who has a red strip model can check theirs?

[zylon]

Both my INTV1 and Tandyvision do not have this blocker piece. My recent INTV2 does have it.

[+thegoldenband]

I think both my Intellivision II's have this plastic barrier you mentioned. Both my systems are the ones without the red strip down the center of the system. So maybe someone who has a red strip model can check theirs?

Meant to reply to this earlier -- mine has the red strip.

 

Both my INTV1 and Tandyvision do not have this blocker piece. My recent INTV2 does have it.

Thanks for this. I suppose my next question then is whether the barrier is easily removable, and if so, whether the games will play normally once it's removed. I hadn't noticed this before, but INTV Funhouse has a CBS page which mentions that:

 

Of course, my assertion is based on only a few data points - plugging the CBS version of Mouse Trap into an Intellivision II console and finding that it worked. One irritating thing is that some of the CBS cartridge cases appear to have been modified slightly, making the game difficult, if not impossible, to insert into an NTSC console.

I would say "impossible", at least without modifications to the cart or console.

 

Once again, I find myself wondering: what function does the barrier serve? Did Mattel introduce it with helpful intentions, as a way of physically differentiating INTV I's from II's? But the barrier doesn't block Coleco carts (50% of which don't work), only CBS carts (which allegedly all do).

 

So then, why is it that the cart version that actually works with an INTV II is the one that doesn't fit? What would motivate Coleco/CBS to go along with that? Is it an attempt at region lockout, since the INTV II allegedly wasn't released in Europe? Ideally, we'd have a PAL CBS cart to compare, to make sure these slats aren't a SECAM-only thing.

Edited February 11, 2010 by thegoldenband

[+thegoldenband]

Just as an update, I picked up a Tandyvision yesterday (which is a clone of the original Intellivision), and the SECAM Mouse Trap fits and plays with no problems. So whatever motivated the issues described above, it's not NTSC vs. SECAM incompatibility.