PlayCable was an online service introduced in 1980 that allowed local cable television system operators to send games for the Intellivision over cable wires alongside normal television signals. Through the service, subscribers would use a device, called the PlayCable adapter, to download the games for play on their Intellivision. It was the first service that allowed users to download games for play on a video game console. PlayCable was not widely adopted, due in part to high costs for users and operators, as well as limitations of the PlayCable adapter. The service was discontinued in 1984.
PlayCable was an online service introduced in 1980 that allowed local cable television system operators to send games for the Intellivision over cable wires alongside normal television signals. Through the service, subscribers would use a device, called the PlayCable adapter, to download the games for play on their Intellivision. It was the first service that allowed users to download games for play on a video game console. PlayCable was not widely adopted, due in part to high costs for users and operators, as well as limitations of the PlayCable adapter. The service was discontinued in 1984.
==History== PlayCable was developed as a joint venture between Mattel and General Instrument. The PlayCable service was deep in development even before the Intellivision was widely released. In 1979, tests of the service were announced for several cities, including Moline, Illinois, Jackson, Mississippi and Boise, Idaho. The service was officially launched in June 1980. Subscriptions were available for a monthly fee, allowing users access to a selection of games through cable television providers that supported the service. Up to 20 titles were available each month. Former professional baseball player Mickey Mantle appeared in commercials for the service. According to a CED Magazine article, the service was available in thirteen cities in 1981, including Fayetteville, New York. Initial estimates by Mattel projected that the service would have 1 million subscribers within five years, but as of Spring 1983, fewer than 3% of households which could access PlayCable were subscribed. Cable operators complained about the high cost of the computer needed to run the service as well as the cost of the in-home PlayCable adapters; the adapters proved to be inadequate to run the larger Intellivision games being produced. In addition, Mattel Electronics was losing millions of dollars due to the video game industry crash of 1983 and stopped all new hardware development in August that year. PlayCable was discontinued in 1984, three years after it was introduced.
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