freewheel Posted September 14, 2015 Share Posted September 14, 2015 On a side note: I assume those are Intellivision II add-ons that work with the III that is shown in the brochure? So what was going to be under that little door on the console itself? I originally thought "keyboard" port until I saw the computer add-on on the next page. Volume control maybe for the voice synthesis and rest/power controls? It's fun to speculate. Keeping in mind that this may just be a wooden mockup and they never actually settled on the controls/inputs: Supposedly the plan was to have the Intellivoice built in. Now, in theory the volume control for it didn't strictly *need* to exist (this has been discussed to death in the Programming forum) however who knows. Early plans would almost certainly have included space for it, "just in case". The door could also be for joystick ports - it was supposed to be wireless, but I could see them including the ability to plug in corded controllers as well. Hell, we still do this today - in 1983 it would have been considered an absolute must. We didn't have Li-ion batteries back then. No way would wireless-only have survived the market. Plus, they planned for 4 joystick ports. Maybe this was P3 and P4. Realistically we'll never know unless an actual prototype (or pictures of the insides) surfaces. Given what little I know of the history of this thing, my money is on it never actually being produced. It sounds like they never actually got it to the stage of writing games for it, just some mockup screens. If you don't have even a development kit, odds are you don't have your shells designed (at least back then). This DEFINITELY needs to be addressed in the next Intellivisionaries "ask Keith". No, not the brochure controversy. But I'd love to hear if he has any specific recollections as to how close this thing came to physical reality, now that we have this kinda detail to drool over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolfy62 Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 Thanks everyone, glad you like it. I'll have clearer pics soon. My dad thinks that may be the only one left in existence as they only made a handful of them originally. I'll post any other cool stuff we find. We need a re-print for everyone here! Great stuff!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pimpmaul69 Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 We need a re-print for everyone here! Great stuff!!! i dont collect ads but i think i might need a reprint of this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KylJoy Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 I'm guessing that the Intellivision III controllers in the images were just a mock-up and that the artists got the controllers upside-down and that the stick was supposed to be at the bottom. At least, I can't imagine moving the stick to the top like shown. My inspiration for my thoughts are the images of happy family members gleefully pressing the number pad buttons with their index fingers. I certainly never did that. I'm right-handed and: held the controller primarily in my left hand used left my thumb to press number keys and left-side action buttons used my left-hand index finger and ring finger to press right side action buttons used my right thumb to work the disc and press other number pad buttons Am I the only one that was thumb-centric? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pimpmaul69 Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 I'm guessing that the Intellivision III controllers in the images were just a mock-up and that the artists got the controllers upside-down and that the stick was supposed to be at the bottom. At least, I can't imagine moving the stick to the top like shown. My inspiration for my thoughts are the images of happy family members gleefully pressing the number pad buttons with their index fingers. I certainly never did that. I'm right-handed and: held the controller primarily in my left hand used left my thumb to press number keys and left-side action buttons used my left-hand index finger and ring finger to press right side action buttons used my right thumb to work the disc and press other number pad buttons Am I the only one that was thumb-centric? my thoughts on why the joystick is on top is because it would be harder to see/touch the bottom row of keys. It probably would be easy to accidently hit the joystick going for the keys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr_me Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 (edited) The Intellivision III is okay, but I don't know about the joysticks. I'll wait for the Intellivision IV to upgrade. I remember from one of the podcasts that this thing existed in the lab in wirewrap form. And that the plan was for new games to be developed for the Intellivision first and then modified for a "III" version with improved graphics. I'd be surprised if they had prototype joysticks. That extra button on the joystick must be tied to the top side button, otherwise there would be four action buttons instead of three, Here's an old magazine (joystick 83/7 page six) mentioning the vaporware, they must have seen the brochure. It also says "scheduled to be released this fall". http://arcarc.xmission.com/Magazines%20and%20Books/Joystik%20Magazines%20%2810%20Issues%29/Joystik_Vol1-6_83-Jul.pdf edit: I also remember from the podcasts that this thing could easily have been released but they kept making changes/adding features and delaying development. Edited September 15, 2015 by mr_me 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+nurmix Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 I agree, we need to do a more in-depth segment on the Intellivision III in a future episode. I think Keith has already said all that he remembers about it, but I'll see if he can put me in touch with others who were involved with it, so we can get more details. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0078265317 Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 At least, I can't imagine moving the stick tothe top like shown. But that's how 5200 is. Stick on top and keypad on bottom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pimpmaul69 Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 But that's how 5200 is. Stick on top and keypad on bottom. coleco too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BydoEmpire Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 And in both cases (and the 7800) the controllers can be pretty uncomfortable for long sessions. You could debate how easy or difficult it would be to reach the keypad buttons if they were on top, but ergonomically I think the stick on the bottom would be more comfortable. Having the fire button (only) on top of the stick is a terrible idea. Who knows what the final version would have looked like had it ever made it out, though. Is it just me, or do the keypad buttons on the controller look like Aquarius keyboard buttons? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+pboland Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 (edited) I know its mostly marketing speak but, what do you think they meant by: "Tactile feedback keypad and action button" The brochure also states that Colecovision and Atari 5200 DO NOT have this with their controllers. I thought maybe they were referring to rubber like buttons (since that's what the keypad looks like), but the Atari 5200 keypad and actions buttons already have the rubbery feel. Maybe a clicking feel, but Colecovision has that on their keypad. So, what are they referring to? I'm guessing it's just a marketing mumbo jumbo for they feel good. Edited September 15, 2015 by pboland Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KylJoy Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 But that's how 5200 is. Stick on top and keypad on bottom. Yes, but the Intellivision controllers were BETTER because they had the disc on the bottom. So it MUST BE A MISTAKE! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freewheel Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 Having the fire button (only) on top of the stick is a terrible idea. It wasn't, in 1982. I grew up with Commodore joysticks that had the fire button on the stick, and much preferred them - at the time anyway. We had several where you could use the button on the stick, or the base - and I always used the stick. Of course these days I can hardly play anything like that, because separate control and buttons are hard-wired into my brain post-NES. But at the time? A lot of people thought the one-handed operation was superior. In the case of this joystick, one hand can hit the action buttons and one the joystick - so you can use TWO buttons without moving your fingers at all. PROGRESS! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freewheel Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 I know its mostly marketing speak but, what do you think they meant by: "Tactile feedback keypad and action button" The brochure also states that Colecovision and Atari 5200 DO NOT have this with their controllers. page.jpg I thought maybe they were referring to rubber like buttons (since that's what the keypad looks like), but the Atari 5200 keypad and actions buttons already have the rubbery feel. Maybe a clicking feel, but Colecovision has that on their keypad. So, what are they referring to? I'm guessing it's just a marketing mumbo jumbo for they feel good. I've always felt that the Intellivision controllers had the best "feedback" when pressing the keypad. A fairly satisfying click. The Coleco was a bit mushy, and the 5200 was even worse. I suspect that was their intent with this, but those rubbery buttons would probably have been as mushy as the 5200. Keep in mind that it's very likely that a prototype controller never even existed, so this was all marketing wishes anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+pboland Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 (edited) I've always felt that the Intellivision controllers had the best "feedback" when pressing the keypad. A fairly satisfying click. The Coleco was a bit mushy, and the 5200 was even worse. I suspect that was their intent with this, but those rubbery buttons would probably have been as mushy as the 5200. Keep in mind that it's very likely that a prototype controller never even existed, so this was all marketing wishes anyway. Just for the record, since you have stated it twice in the context of my posts. Yes, I get the fact that the Intellivision III never existed as a real product outside of maybe a non functioning mock-up which is what I assumed I was looking at from the beginning. As a matter fact I stated as much in my first post to this topic: And it makes one wonder if this mock-up (non functioning I'm sure) still exists? I too would love high res images of this literature. They sure would make a great poster. Edited September 16, 2015 by pboland Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bikeguychicago Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 I would send the scans to Keith Robinson as well. I'm sure he would love to have copies of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bikeguychicago Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 The Intellivision community really needs a museum site like Curt has done with the Atari Museum site. Intellivision Lives has a lot of things but not everything and then there are other sites like the Papa Intellivision site referenced before. It would be great if all of these artifacts were collected in one location. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+intvsteve Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 Intellivision.us probably has the closest thing to a 'museum' in terms of collecting images across the broad spectrum - especially catalogs, brochures, posters, and so on. Of course the official Intellivision Lives site is the 'canon' for the history of the system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Intellfan Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 Intellivision.us probably has the closest thing to a 'museum' in terms of collecting images across the broad spectrum - especially catalogs, brochures, posters, and so on. Of course the official Intellivision Lives site is the 'canon' for the history of the system. My vote is for INTV Funhouse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
intvdave Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 I see that few, if any, care for the Library section of the Intellivision.us website. IntvSteve, would you like to put the library images on your site? This is little need for thte Intellivision.us website. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rev Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 I use both Intellivision.us Library and Intvfunhouse about 48/48 % each when researching and looking for info about Intellivision. And maybe 4% Intellivisionlives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+nurmix Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 I see that few, if any, care for the Library section of the Intellivision.us website. IntvSteve, would you like to put the library images on your site? This is little need for thte Intellivision.us website. I find that surprising, and a little disappointing, as we've directed people to intellivision.us countless times on the podcast. And personally I find it a valuable resource - along with INTVFunhouse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Rick Reynolds Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 I'm in the same boat as others - I use the library feature of intellivision.us as part of my research for the show. It's a great resource. I wouldn't stand in the way of some kind of consolidation of materials, but I really like the library. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mthompson Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 I see that few, if any, care for the Library section of the Intellivision.us website. IntvSteve, would you like to put the library images on your site? This is little need for thte Intellivision.us website. Man, Intellivision.us has been one of my go-to site for lots of the resources archived there. It's got scans of many things I haven't seen anywhere else, and they're great quality. If these materials have to move, I hope they land someplace familiar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uveprom Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 Excellent brochure, thanks for post, waiting best pictures, thanks, i want to see the specs better, and games, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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