Why do you suppose we never saw very many true "sequels?"

[Intelligentleman]

For as popular as some Intellivision games were, it strikes me as odd that we never got an Astrosmash 2, for example. I suppose the crash of 83 brought about an untimely end to the original configuration of Mattel Electronics. Still, you'd think there was enough time to make sequels out of the earliest games. Armor Battle, Space Battle, etc... (Although, I guess Space Spartans was kinda like a sequel to Space Battle).

[+cmadruga]

I think during those times (early 80s) consumers were really looking for arcade ports.
In the absence of those, I think consumers probably looked for whatever would carry through word of mouth. 
Sequels really didn’t register... just think how expensive and harder to find games were. Why would you buy the same game again?

[Sinjinhawke]

Well there is Diner which is a sequel to Burgertime.  The sports games mostly all got sequels/upgrades.   Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Jr.  

 

Mattel seemed to be trying to cover the bases first.  Sea, Armor, Space and Land Battle.  

 

I don’t think Mattel was in the game long enough to push out sequels.   They weren’t even a lot in the arcades yet.  Mrs. Pac-Man wasn’t an official sequel.  We did have Defender/Stargate, DK/DK Jr and Asteroids/Asteroids Deluxe. 
 

But that was a long time ago and I’m old and barely remember my name.  Probably got it all wrong. 

[mr_me]

Other than the sports cartridges, a Masters of the Universe cartridge was the only other sequel I'm aware of that was in development at Mattel in 1983 before they closed.  Actually, PizzaTime was also in development in 1983/84 and could have been considered a BurgerTime sequel.  Land Battle could be considered an Armour Battle sequel, although it's still a two player only game.

 

In 1983, things were starting to fall apart at Mattel.  Like Sinjinhawke suggested they just weren't around long enough.  Maybe, eventually when the Intellivision IV was to come out would we have seen sequels.

Edited February 26, 2020 by mr_me

[+cvga]

It felt like lots of the later titles were sequels.

 

Sports:

Major League Baseball => World Championship Baseball => World Series Major League Baseball

NFL Football => Super Pro Football

Basketball => Slam Dunk Super Pro Basketball

Hockey => Slap Shot Super Pro Hockey

Golf => Chip Shot Super Pro Golf

Soccer => World Cup Soccer

 

Other:

Burgertime => Diner

Math Fun => Learning Fun I

Word Fun => Learning Fun II

Checkers, Chess, Backgammon => Triple Challenge

AD&D Cloudy Mountain => Treasure of Tarmin => Tower of Doom

 

Sorta:

Space Battle => Space Spartans

Tron Deadly Discs => Maze-a-Tron => Tron Solar Sailer

 

 

[+cmadruga]

I think there's a difference between a "sequel" and "thematic similarity".

A sequel in my mind involves some kind of continuity. Something that one game picks off where the last one left.

 

 

I think only Tron and AD&D would qualify, and that's stretching it. Maybe Diner.

 

Re-implementations of board or sports games do not qualify in my view.

Edited February 26, 2020 by cmadruga

[+cvga]

16 minutes ago, cmadruga said:

I think there's a difference between a "sequel" and "thematic similarity".

A sequel in my mind involves some kind of continuity. Something that one game picks off where the last one left.

 

 

I think only Tron and AD&D would qualify, and that's stretching it. Maybe Diner.

 

Re-implementations of board or sports games do not qualify in my view.

I don't see how you not count the sports games as sequels, even by your definition. They each start with the original title and greatly add to it.

 

Learning Fun I & II build upon and offer more than Math Fun and Word Fun. They are undoubtedly sequels although I agree with your point regarding Triple Challenge.

 

Ironically, the Tron games are so different, you could make a case that they aren't sequels. They just share a licensing agreement.

[+cmadruga]

I'm really not familiar with LF I&II, so I will take your word for it.

 

Tron games are different, but they generally make reference to different parts of the movie. Maze-a-Tron happens in the "same universe" I guess. It's all very loose, that's why I said it was a stretch.

 

On the sports games, my perspective is this: the sport is what it is. You may create better or more realistic implementations, but it's the same sport. No thematic continuity to speak of.

Is FIFA 20 a sequel to Intellivision Soccer? Is FIFA 20 even a sequel to FIFA 19? I don't know.

 

 

[Flojomojo]

How about Intellivision II, with broken compatibility and worse controls? From back when sequels were often worse than the originals. 

 

I don't think game sequels were nearly as big in the early days as they were on the NES and later.
 

In the arcade, we had Asteroids Deluxe, and semi-sequels like Super Cobra, Frenzy, and Donkey Kong Jr which were new twists on old games. Stargate, I guess. 
 

Apart from the stuff mentioned above, I can't think of many Atari/Intellivision era sequels besides Pitfall II, by which time Intellivision was mostly dead. 

[mr_me]

I don't consider the Tron games sequels just as Treasure of Tarmin is not a sequel to AD&D.  One does not build on the other.  They can be considered series.

 

World Series is so different from MLB that I don't consider it a sequel.  You might consider Super NFL Football a sequel to NFL Football even though it's not an update like Super Pro Football.

 

Space Spartans and Space Battle are too different in my opinion.

 

The learning games are just a collection of unrelated games.

 

Triple Challenge is a reissue of previously published games.  They are the same games.

[+cmadruga]

Hehe... I never thought the definition of a sequel could be so tricky. 

[Papy]

On 2/26/2020 at 1:53 PM, Intelligentleman said:

For as popular as some Intellivision games were, it strikes me as odd that we never got an Astrosmash 2, for example. I suppose the crash of 83 brought about an untimely end to the original configuration of Mattel Electronics. Still, you'd think there was enough time to make sequels out of the earliest games. Armor Battle, Space Battle, etc... (Although, I guess Space Spartans was kinda like a sequel to Space Battle).

I like to believe it was a time when innovation was seen as more important than sequels. Maybe it's because people in the industry in the early days were more "pioneers" than businessmen. It looks to me the crash kind of forced the industry to take fewer risks and therefore to capitalize more on previous games. I guess it's a question we'd have to ask to people who were developing games at the time.

 

 

[+cvga]

On 2/26/2020 at 1:53 PM, Intelligentleman said:

For as popular as some Intellivision games were, it strikes me as odd that we never got an Astrosmash 2, for example.

Or did we? I own this but have never played it.

 

[jointfilms.com]

Diner was def a sequel to Burgertime although it was released well after the Intellivision's heyday. 

Even though they changed the character names it's hard denying Tropical Trouble isn't a Beauty & The Beast sequel.

and yeah I agree the Tron and D&D games felt more like part of a series as opposed to sequels.

Edited February 29, 2020 by jointfilms.com

[BSRSteve]

27 minutes ago, jointfilms.com said:

Diner was def a sequel to Burgertime although it was released well after the Intellivision's heyday. 

Even though they changed the character names it's hard denying Tropical Trouble isn't a Beauty & The Beast sequel.

and yeah I agree the Tron and D&D games felt more like part of a series as opposed to sequels.

Though Diner was originally developed as Masters of the Universe II at Mattel, then converted later by INTV.