M Network was a video game division of

Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in more ...

that, in the 1980s, produced games in cartridge format for the

Atari 2600 The Atari 2600, initially branded as the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS) from its release until November 1982, is a home video game console developed and produced by Atari, Inc. Released in September 1977, it popularized microprocess ...

video game system.

History

In the early 1980s, Mattel's

Intellivision The Intellivision is a home video game console released by Mattel Electronics in 1979. The name is a portmanteau of "intelligent television". Development began in 1977, the same year as the launch of its main competitor, the Atari 2600. In 1984, ...

video game console was a direct competitor to Atari's Video Computer System (VCS), better known as the Atari 2600. Although Mattel designed and produced video game cartridges for their own system, the company surprised the industry by also releasing simplified versions of its games for the 2600 under the M Network label. M Network produced home ports of popular arcade games, including ''

BurgerTime originally released as in Japan, is a 1982 arcade game developed by Data East initially for its DECO Cassette System. The player is chef Peter Pepper, who must walk over hamburger ingredients located across a maze of platforms while avoiding c ...

'', '' Bump 'n' Jump'' and '' Lock 'n' Chase'' (all 1982) as well as original titles such as '' Tron: Deadly Discs'' (1982 – based on the Disney movie) and '' Kool-Aid Man'' (1983), one of the earliest " promogames", originally available only via

mail order Mail order is the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote methods such as: * Sending an order form in the mail * Placing a telephone call * Placing ...

by sending in UPC symbols from

Kool-Aid Kool-Aid is an American brand of flavored drink mix owned by Kraft Heinz based in Chicago, Illinois. The powder form was created by Edwin Perkins in 1927 based upon a liquid concentrate called Fruit Smack. History Kool-Aid was invented by E ...

containers. Mattel programmers (named by ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program TV listings, listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine, TV Guide Mag ...

'' as the " Blue Sky Rangers") were also encouraged to develop video game tie-ins with other Mattel properties; games such as '' Masters of the Universe: The Power of He-Man'' (1983), leveraging Mattel's

Masters of the Universe ''Masters of the Universe'' (sometimes referred to as the ''He-Man'' or ''She-Ra'' series) is a sword and planet-themed media franchise created by Mattel. The main premise revolves around the conflict between He-Man (the alter ego of Prince Ada ...

media franchise A media franchise, also known as a multimedia franchise, is a collection of related media in which several derivative works have been produced from an original creative work of fiction, such as a film, a work of literature, a television program ...

, were released. M Network cartridges made for the 2600 were physically similar to Intellivision cartridges, but with a base designed to fit the 2600's larger cartridge slot. Most of the names were changed for the 2600 version; ''

Astrosmash ''Astrosmash'' is a fixed shooter video game for the Intellivision console, designed by John Sohl, and released by Mattel Electronics in 1981. The player uses a laser cannon to destroy falling meteors, bombs, and other targets.''Astrosmash'', Ma ...

'' was, for example, renamed ''Astroblast''. Although Mattel, through M Network, released cartridges for Atari consoles, they balked at allowing Atari to release cartridges for the Intellivision: in the early 1980s the company filed a lawsuit against Atari alleging that Atari had stolen Mattel's trade secrets when it hired former Mattel employees to develop a line of Intellivision-compatible cartridges.

References

{{Mattel Mattel Atari 2600 Defunct video game companies of the United States