ColecoVision vs. Intellivision

[sn8k]

5 hours ago, ls650 said:

Ouch! 

I owned both. Well after they both died. Intellivision had like 10-12 good games. The rest sucked. I spent hours playing Demon Attack, Thunder Castle, Tower of Doom, Dracula, B52 Bomber, lock n chase, NightStalker, swords and serpents and both D&D games.

 

It had it's games. Colecovision just rules. Factor in todays homebrew and Coleco definitely has the upper hand. Say what you will about back then but you cant deny that Coleco has seen some sick releases in it's "death"

[sn8k]

4 hours ago, 1980gamer said:

The intellivision has the best 2 player sports games.  I still like MLB better than any other baseball game.  I did like Hardball on the C=64 a lot and Wii was unique as well.

Pete Rose on 2600 and or 7800 was better. Both had exact same gameplay, graphics were just better on 7800. I have never played Super Action Baseball, but MlB was one of the games I had along with NFL when I had an Intv II. Pete Rose is THE baseball game of the time.

[AtariLeaf]

Colecovision hands down. I love me some arcade ports and CV has more and they are done better. Homebrew scene is vastly superior too. Having said that the intellivision has some great games I just HATE that friggen controller. At least with the cv there are other controller options. If the makers of the Phoenix do an intellivion core that's best of both worlds imo and a cart adapter to play the real thing would be incredible

[1980gamer]

I guess the Intellivision games are just toooo complex for most of this 8 direction 1 button crowd. 

And in the same time frame as the CV, the C=64 had much better graphics, sound, game play and ports.

 

The CV had the 4 sprite per line limit.  I always hated that on the TI as well.  Again, I actually like the CV and TI.  TI games mostly created around the 4 sprite limit but with ports... You get disappearing Fireballs etc.

 

The CV was designed much later than the Intellivision and should have had a huge advantage. Just as Intellivision had over the VCS.

 

Again, if you had an Intellivision II.  I totally get you HATING the controller.  It was a BAD implementation that may have saved a few pennies. 

 

Pete Rose is a very good looking game, but it still doesn't give you the control over the game that MLB does.  I hate games that select players for me!  I am playing, not the computer.

If I want to WATCH a baseball game, it will be a real one.  In reality, I kinda hate baseball right now.  I guess it helps me take a nap!  LOL

 

[+LS650]

14 hours ago, sn8k said:

Intellivision had like 10-12 good games.

How many good games does a console need before it is considered worthy?

[sn8k]

23 minutes ago, ls650 said:

How many good games does a console need before it is considered worthy?

More than 12

[sn8k]

It is worthy I guess, those 12 games were really good. Im just used to having alot more on Atari. I still take Coleco over intellivision.

[sn8k]

Looking at the homebrew scene included....

 

Its not a bad console to own actually. Now. It wasnt back then.  Kind of want one now because I actually liked the discs on the controller.

[mr_me]

20 hours ago, sn8k said:

Pete Rose on 2600 and or 7800 was better. Both had exact same gameplay, graphics were just better on 7800. I have never played Super Action Baseball, but MlB was one of the games I had along with NFL when I had an Intv II. Pete Rose is THE baseball game of the time.

Pete Rose was 1988; that's ten years after intellivision baseball and five years after intellivision world series.  Everyone was making better sports games after it was shown how they should be done on intellivision.  Even Accolade's hardball was two years after intellivision world series.  Intellivision had about a dozen sports games, all of them were really good, most of them groundbreaking.  Still, through the 1990's I couldn't stand playing sports games with eight way controllers 

[+Black_Tiger]

On 12/31/2020 at 5:12 PM, sn8k said:

I owned both. Well after they both died. Intellivision had like 10-12 good games. The rest sucked. I spent hours playing Demon Attack, Thunder Castle, Tower of Doom, Dracula, B52 Bomber, lock n chase, NightStalker, swords and serpents and both D&D games.

 

It had it's games. Colecovision just rules. Factor in todays homebrew and Coleco definitely has the upper hand. Say what you will about back then but you cant deny that Coleco has seen some sick releases in it's "death"

I guess you haven't actially looked into Intellivision homebrew?

 

All of the Intellivision's strengths that the Colecovision lacks, like hardware scrolling, have been put to great use and rom sizes were the biggest bottleneck bitd.

 

Games like this are impossible on Colecovision:

 

 

[sn8k]

6 minutes ago, Black_Tiger said:

I guess you haven't actially looked into Intellivision homebrew?

 

All of the Intellivision's strengths that the Colecovision lacks, like hardware scrolling, have been put to great use and rom sizes were the biggest bottleneck bitd.

 

Games like this are impossible on Colecovision:

 

 

How many more ways do we need to play this game? Im takin Prisoner of War over this. I dont care how impressive this may be to you. It is not compelling stuff atleast to me, Im not a programmer. Its mario. On intellivision. 

[JL]

Both systems had their strengths and weaknesses. Colecovision if the coding was there could produce excellent Arcade ports that in at least in one case, Ladybug, exceeded the arcade.

 

My best memories reside with Colecovision playing Venture and especially Ladybug with my siblings - I still recall our amazement the when we first "discovered" the Vegetable Harvest.

 

Edited January 2, 2021 by JL

[sn8k]

13 minutes ago, Black_Tiger said:

I guess you haven't actially looked into Intellivision homebrew?

 

All of the Intellivision's strengths that the Colecovision lacks, like hardware scrolling, have been put to great use and rom sizes were the biggest bottleneck bitd.

 

Games like this are impossible on Colecovision:

 

 

I never said Colecovision was the stronger more capable console. Intellivision has a 16 bit processor. It was the most powerful console of the 3 but only showed it in 3 or 4 games. It barely looked better than 2600, if it even really did....aside from the handful of games.

 

At the end of the day it comes down to the talent behind the games. ChampGames and Major Havok do things on 2600 today I don't feel should be possible. But they do it amazingly. Its gonna take more than scrolling to impress me.

 

There is a dream team behind Colecovision these days and they got the games to prove it. Mario is impressive

 

But it aint this impressive. 

 

 

[sn8k]

I was introduced to Coleco in 2000, Intellivision a few years after that. I had no childhood attachment to either of these systems. So I was able to look at both without bias. My first console was an NES, the second was a Genesis, the rest isnt important. I shouldnt like these games, the ones from my time were technically much better.  But for some weird reason I fell in love with the Colecovision. The look, the games, the odd unique sounds. Something about it just kicked total ass. It feels like its a console from an alternate universe. It doesnt feel like it belongs here.

 

7800 is another console I feel strongly about, but i dont know if thats because It plays 2600 games and I own the one prototype I spent nearly 2 decades trying to secure....Missing In Action. Love the movie, had to have the game at ALL COSTS.

 

Intellivision is a good console if thats all you knew as a kid. Its decent today. I wouldnt mind owning one again. I actually liked the controllers. I have my favorites on it. If the phoenix gets an intellivision core...... chances are Ill be playing NightStalker or Tower of Doom for hours on end.

 

But I know 3rd place when I see it. If the crash never happened, Coleco was on track to whoopin that ass.

[Keatah]

Like all the pioneering consoles back in the day, CV had its place and area of expertise. That would be home translations of select licensed arcade games.

 

Atari VCS = Action

Intellivision = Strategy

Colecovision = Arcade

 

..and that's how we saw it. Moving from console whenever we wanted a different class of games to play. We also saw CV as being at the forefront of graphics. Closest to the arcade of everything in town - for a little while - till it was eclipsed by advancing technology.

 

 

 

 

[+Black_Tiger]

2 hours ago, sn8k said:

I never said Colecovision was the stronger more capable console. Intellivision has a 16 bit processor. It was the most powerful console of the 3 but only showed it in 3 or 4 games. It barely looked better than 2600, if it even really did....aside from the handful of games.

 

At the end of the day it comes down to the talent behind the games. ChampGames and Major Havok do things on 2600 today I don't feel should be possible. But they do it amazingly. Its gonna take more than scrolling to impress me.

 

There is a dream team behind Colecovision these days and they got the games to prove it. Mario is impressive

 

But it aint this impressive. 

 

 

That isn't Colecovision and even the SGM1 is an enhancement device from decades into the future.

 

You can hook a PS5 to a Colecovision and call it Colecovision, but the fact that you'd even want to says more about how much you really appreciate the authentic console.

[+sixersfan105]

1 hour ago, Keatah said:

Like all the pioneering consoles back in the day, CV had its place and area of expertise. That would be home translations of select licensed arcade games.

 

Atari VCS = Action

Intellivision = Strategy

Colecovision = Arcade

 

..and that's how we saw it. Moving from console whenever we wanted a different class of games to play. We also saw CV as being at the forefront of graphics. Closest to the arcade of everything in town - for a little while - till it was eclipsed by advancing technology.

 

 

 

 

^^^ THIS ^^^
 

I have both the CV and INTV (specifically the Sears Super Video Arcade, in all of its late 70s glory) and I must say that I prefer the gaming experience on the INTV. The CV definitely does arcade ports better than the INTV (partially b/c Colecovision purposely made awful games for the rival Intellivision, but I digress) but the CV's overall library is kinda "meh" to me. The INTV library is much more varied and has some excellent originals. I'll echo some of the other posters in suggesting to try out some of the later INTV Corporation games, like Tower of Doom, Thunder Castle, Diner and Thin Ice. Also, Imagic released some INTV exclusives, too, that are quite excellent. 
 

Also, the Intellivision homebrew scene is INCREDIBLE right now. While the CV has the Super Game Module (SGM), it's hard to even find a site that sells SGM games right now. Meanwhile, there are several places to buy Intellivision homebrew, and seemingly a new INTV homebrew is announced every day. 
 

I rarely play my CV but often fire up my Inty. It's a shame the CV launched when it did in the 80s, otherwise it probably would have had some staying power. 

[sn8k]

41 minutes ago, Black_Tiger said:

That isn't Colecovision and even the SGM1 is an enhancement device from decades into the future.

 

You can hook a PS5 to a Colecovision and call it Colecovision, but the fact that you'd even want to says more about how much you really appreciate the authentic console.

I do appreciate the authentic console experience. I just love how the future is looking brighter than ever. And no one said anything about a PS5.

 

See Colecovision had this cool feature where it could be expanded upon..........

 

And people are doing just that. Expanding upon it. That's no reason to get defensive.  It is what it is.

 

Am I going to say that Amico is bullshit because it's 3D and not a representation of  it's classic 2D graphics? Thats years more advanced than intv1 or 2.

 

No.

 

Its called oppinion. Enjoy your intellivision. Dont seek validation on my account just so you can justify why you play it. Just play the damn thing.

 

Yeah im a Colecovision guy who thinks intellivision was shit and is just ok now.

 

Move on.

 

 

 

 

[simbalion]

I can only speak from a retro-gaming perspective, but I have to go with Intellivision. Don't get me wrong, I got a Colecovison years ago before I scored an INTV 1 for $5 off a neighbor and a week later an INTV II and some games a garage sale for $6. I loved the Colecovision when I first got it, but it's off the shelf parts design has caused me heartache in recent years. I choose the INTV for its durability. I have had three Colecovisions (Still have two), but the first one went black screen on me and my family forced me to toss it. Got another one, but it goes flaky after being played for ten minutes and my mom bought me a beautiful unit that suddenly quit recognizing one of the controllers and now seems dead too. I have six Intellivision systems I have gotten cheap over the years and only one actually died on me, my Tandyvision. One of my INTV II units had a dead power supply when I found it, but a late friend of mine actually solved that when he gave me a tote full of power bricks and there was a good one in there. Also, when I found my INTV III a few years back I was able to buy boxed games for $1-$2 each at local game resale shops as no one wanted them. When it comes to INTV the only issue I have had are their controllers breaking down (At least on the early and INTV models) due to the flex circuit under the disk eventually cutting through. Although hard to use, I have yet to find a dead INTV II controller. I admit, it's been a few years and I need to dust off my INTV systems for some play, so I might get a rude awakening! All the old systems have their pros and cons, but the DOA or malfunctioning attitude of the Coleco turned me off to collecting for it. It's a shame as it is a good system as well, but I really wish Coleco hadn't been so cheap!

Edited January 3, 2021 by simbalion

[sn8k]

This discussion has led me to do something drastic. I'm giving it another shot.

 

Nightstalker, Demon Attack, Utopia and both D&D games coming in the mail.

[sn8k]

One works, the other was given to me along with the first for free. It powers on, no video signal. So I got 1 and a half intellivisions, 6 boxed games, 4 loose. $100 CAD.

 

Cant say I care about any of the games it came with.

 

Im excited for my ebay purchases to arrive.

[sn8k]

And I also didnt think these controllers would work good. I had zero faith. Never used or played an int1.  Just touching the disc, I felt that intv2 discs would be better. They just felt crappy at first. But actually using them in game........ these things are way more responsive hence why the entire disc doesnt need to float like on intv 2. The disc doesnt need to move around as much and i find it so precise. I think these may be the best controllers.

 

Nothing compares to retrogameboyz work I feel, but as a stock controller from the late 70's, these things work surprisingly well. My mind is blown. Intv 2 controllers are dog shit by comparison. I liked the disc but hated the buttons. I like disc and buttons better on intv1

[mr_me]

Sea Battle and NFL Football are excellent but are for two players only.  Space Battle, Sub Hunt, and Skiing are also among the best cartridges for the system.

[1980gamer]

The funny thing for me is..  It was a monumental task narrowing down my top 10 Intellivision games.

I have a hard time getting to 10 Colecovision games!  Someone talked about Ladybug...  Yes!  That is a top 5 game!  Maybe top 3.

 

I have an SGM and MANY sgm games.  I have 2 phoenix systems.  I have the Multi Cart.  I have played many many games for the CV.

I like a lot of them.  But very few "call me" to play them. 

 

If I see arcade games in my travels, I always look at what is available.  I don't always drop a quarter.  If I see Q*bert or Galaga  I always play it!  That is what I am talking about.

 

QIX  and Gravatar are 2 more... But I can't remember the last time I had the pleasure to play these on original hardware?

[simbalion]

I dug out my Sears Super Video Arcade (INTV) and have been enjoying it again so far. The controllers on this unit are in really good shape and I have to remind myself not to mash on the discs as they are quite responsive yet. Actually found a copy of Centipede for the system on my way around today, so a definite bonus and I can't wait to dig out the rest of my games and try out. If I recall, Sub Hunt blew me away the first time I played it as I can recall feeling the actual stress of being depth charged. Perhaps once I finish shaking off this migraine, I'll dig out my Coleco systems and see if I can finally threaten one of them into working again.