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Mattel Electronics Portable Electronic Games

Contributed by Stephen Coles on Feb 3rd, 2015. Artwork published in
circa 1976
.
Football, 1977
Source: www.museumofplay.org Photo © Museum of Play. License: All Rights Reserved.

Football, 1977

“Mattel began making handheld electronic games in 1976, beginning with a handheld version of Missile Command. Games such as Auto Race and Football soon followed, and were sold through Sears. By 1978, these games were huge hits, selling as many as 50,000 per week. Mattel eventually turned their attention to the production of the Intellivision console system, but these early handheld games continue to remain an important part of their history with electronic games.” — Museum of Play

The Mattel Electronics logo appears to be Gemini Computer with customized ‘M’, ‘A’, and ‘N’.

Baseball, 1978
Source: www.flickr.com Photo by Joe Haupt. License: All Rights Reserved.

Baseball, 1978

Auto Race, 1976
Source: www.flickr.com Photo by Joe Haupt. License: All Rights Reserved.

Auto Race, 1976

Soccer, 1978
Source: www.flickr.com Photo by Joe Haupt. License: All Rights Reserved.

Soccer, 1978

Sub Chase, 1978
Source: www.flickr.com License: All Rights Reserved.

Sub Chase, 1978

Football 2, 1978
Source: www.flickr.com Photo by Joe Haupt. License: All Rights Reserved.

Football 2, 1978

Basetball 2, 1979
Source: www.flickr.com Photo by Joe Haupt. License: All Rights Reserved.

Basetball 2, 1979

Armor Battle, 1978
Source: www.flickr.com Photo by Corey Holms. License: All Rights Reserved.

Armor Battle, 1978

Football, 1977
Source: www.flickr.com Photo by Corey Holms. License: All Rights Reserved.

Football, 1977

Missle Attack, 1976. Logo a customized Futura Display?
Source: www.flickr.com Photo by Corey Holms. License: All Rights Reserved.

Missle Attack, 1976. Logo a customized Futura Display?

Basketball, 1978
Source: www.flickr.com Photo by Corey Holms. License: All Rights Reserved.

Basketball, 1978

Typefaces

  • Gemini Computer
  • Yagi Double
  • Breite fette Information
  • Futura Display
  • Antique Olive
  • Handel Gothic
  • Eurostile
  • Univers
  • Helvetica
  • Twentieth Century

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Artwork location

7 Comments on “Mattel Electronics Portable Electronic Games”

  1. Here’s a shot of Mattel’s Bowling handheld (sourced from Wikimedia Commons), which appears to be using Twentieth Century Ultrabold (or, at the very least, a very similar font):

    Photo: Joe Haupt (Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0)

  2. Thanks, Bryson! Added.

  3. Does anyone know what font the title “Soccer” is written in?

  4. I would have said custom, but considering that many other logos on these devices are based on fonts, I might be wrong.

    The closest one I can think of right now is Yagi Universal. It has the right s and c. Its weight is a tad too light, though, and there is no angled e among its alternates.

  5. Mattel Electronics Logo on the Backside of “Computer Gin” Manual, 1979. — Sahar ⟀ @cathlynsa

    I love how Gemini Computer and the blurry bitmap illustration share the same aesthetic.

  6. Did you see the animations that Wei Huang made? Pure genius.

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