Antstream Arcade has one of the most interesting libraries of many gaming subscription services. With games spanning from the early 1970s to the late 1990s/early 2000s, as well as many homebrew indie games. However, one notable classic gaming system which hasn’t got its library on Antstream Arcade is the Intellivision which was released in 1979 and went up against the widely popular Atari 2600 or Atari VCS as it was known at the time. So in this editorial, I want to discuss why I think Intellivision could be the next console to join the ranks of Antstream Arcade.
So Are Intellivision Games Able To Run On Antstream Arcade?
Let’s start with the easier part, Would Intellivision games be able to run on Antstream Arcade? The easy answer is yes as despite the awkwardly designed controller of the Intellivision the game system would be easy to emulate with modern keyboards, but with modern controllers might need you to tap a button a couple of times more than originally intended. The second thing we have to factor in is the ownership of the rights to many Intellivision games, as of now we are under the impression that BBG Entertainment owns the Intellivision games Shark Shark and AstroSmash (alongside owning the Boulder Dash franchise). The main company we have to factor in here however is Atari.
Atari has been a big supporter of Antstream Arcade licensing games from five of their classic gaming machines, but also by buying a 10% stake in Antstream Arcade in June 2023. So why is Atari relevant here? well on the 23rd of May 2024, Atari announced that they had bought the Intellivision brand, game library and trademarks (besides their ill-fated Amico system).
With this acquisition, Atari now has control over popular Intellivision games including Cloudy Mountain, Star Strike and Thunder Castle which could easily be licensed to Antstream Arcade. (Note: We are assuming these titles are under Atari as besides the previously mentioned Shark Shark and Astrosmash there has been no other confirmed sale of Intellivision assets. Atari has acquired over 200 games from Intellivision the games listed above are included in the sale, we assume, besides the two mentioned to be controlled by BBG Entertainment).
So Will Antstream Arcade License Intellivision Games?
Now we ask: what is the likelihood that we will see Intellivision games on Antstream Arcade? Well, we will start with the two games owned by BBG Entertainment because they’re a more interesting case. BBG Entertainment currently has dozens of versions of games in the Boulder Dash franchise on Antstream Arcade and as a small game developer and publisher, it would make so much sense for this small team to license Shark Shark and Astrosmash as well if Antstream Arcade offers support for Intellivision games in the future.
Now whether Atari who owns a majority of the assets of Intellivision will license their games to Antstream Arcade, I think it’s very likely. With Atari having a lot to gain by putting more of their own games on Antstream due to owning a percentage of the company, I don’t see an outcome where Atari isn’t willing to provide more games, including those from Intellivision to the Antstream platform.
What do you think? Do you think Antstream Arcade will get games from Intellivision in their library? Let us know on social media.
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