However, while Atari went on to make other, more powerful systems, Intellivision quietly disappeared. To this day, I still argue with my cousins that my Intellivision was better than their Atari. The disk pad controller took some getting used to, but the gameplay completely sold me on the system. On a second sneak-play, I would get to try out the officially licensed 'Advanced Dungeons and Dragons' game. To my surprise, I loved it even though I only got to play the Blackjack game that came with it. I meticulously peeled back the seal so I could reseal it and systematically unboxed it so that I would be able to get everything back as it was. None of the screenshots looked like games I recognized, but the graphics did look much better than the Atari's. I went back to the closet, carefully noted the box's orientation, and then took it out to get a better look. However, a few days later, while my parents were out again, I got curious. I had no interest in playing it-I wanted an Atari or nothing. 'Mom and Dad opted for the cheap knock-off.' It was clearly a gaming system-I could tell from the dozens of screenshots decorating the box, but it was not an Atari 2600. I slid open the closet door ever so quietly, paranoid that they might hear me even though they were miles away at the time.Īmongst the various shopping bags holding what was obviously Christmas loot waiting to be wrapped, I saw a large box marked 'Intellivision.'

I just knew that this was the year I would be getting that Atari 2600 that I had been begging for on every Christmas and birthday for the previous two years. One day in 1979, during Christmas break, I snuck into my parents' bedroom while they were away to see if I could get a peek at what 'Santa' would be bringing.

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