Intellivision Sprint – Atari remakes the console that tried to beat it

By Ricardo de Jong ·

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Two black Intellivision Sprint controllers with gold number keypads and gold control discs

In 1979 Mattel launched the Intellivision to take on the Atari 2600. The ads were mean. The fans were meaner. People still argue about it online. Then in 2024 Atari bought the Intellivision brand, and the argument ended in the least dramatic way possible.

The Intellivision Sprint is Atari’s remake of its old enemy: a plug-and-play retro console with 45 built-in games, HDMI output and two wireless versions of those famous phone-keypad controllers. It came out in the US on December 5, 2025, for the system’s 45th anniversary.

I love that this exists. It’s like Coca-Cola releasing a Pepsi Classic.

Intellivision Sprint console with its two wireless controllers docked on top

What is the Intellivision Sprint?

It’s a full-size recreation of the original console, gold trim and fake wood included, built by Atari with PLAION REPLAI (the team behind the Atari 2600+ PAC-MAN Edition). You plug it into your TV with HDMI and pick a game from a menu.

The 45 games are the system’s greatest hits: Astrosmash, Shark! Shark!, B-17 Bomber, Night Stalker, Utopia, Thunder Castle and a whole lot of sports. Baseball, Super Pro Football and Slap Shot hockey are all there. Atari also added Boulder Dash, which the Amazon listing calls its first official Intellivision release.

The detail that makes it clever is the controllers. The originals had a 12-button keypad and a round disc instead of a joystick. Each game had a plastic overlay you slid over the keypad so you knew which button did what. The Sprint keeps all of that. The controllers are wireless now, they dock into the top of the console to charge, and every game comes with two newly designed overlays, one per player.

The good and the not-so-good

What I like:

  • It looks and feels like the real thing. Paul McNally at The Escapist says that from a distance it could pass for an original.
  • Docking the controllers to charge them is smart, and it’s also where they live, so they don’t vanish into the couch.
  • Two-player games without hunting for a second controller. Lon Seidman at Lon.TV says Shark! Shark! is more fun with a friend.
  • B-17 Bomber talks. Lon.TV points out its synthesized voice calling out enemy fighters, which was wild for a home console in the early 80s.

What could be better:

  • No cartridge slot. Your old Intellivision carts stay in the attic.
  • Video tops out at 720p at 60 frames per second, according to Lon.TV.
  • No power adapter in the box. It runs on USB-C, so bring your own brick.
  • The disc takes getting used to. Lon.TV calls it closer to a rocker pad, and The Escapist notes the buttons use switches instead of the old membrane, so it feels different.
  • Some favorites are missing. The Escapist wanted TRON: Deadly Discs and AD&D: Cloudy Mountain.

Who is the Intellivision Sprint for?

Anyone who grew up on Team Intellivision and still has opinions about it. It’s also a good gift for a parent or uncle who “never got into video games” but lights up at the word Astrosmash. The sports games and the two included controllers make it an easy couch game for two.

Skip it if you were firmly Team Atari. In that case the Atari 2600+ plays real cartridges, and the handheld Atari Gamestation Go packs a pile of Atari classics into one device.

Where can I buy the Intellivision Sprint?

It’s on Amazon US for about 150 bucks at the time of writing (October 2026). Add a USB-C power adapter if you don’t have a spare one.

Forty-five years later, the console war ends in a group hug. Take my money.