Mattel - Baseball Canadian Version

Game:  Baseball
Company:  Mattel
Model No.:  2942
Year:  1978
Power: 1 9-volt battery or AC adapter

Notes:  Probably the most recognizable electronic baseball game ever made, Mattel's Baseball introduced an entire generation of children to portable gaming.  This was a game (along with the Mattel Basketball) that was played for countless hours in my childhood.

The game was sold in two different style boxes - the one pictured below is the larger box with a flap on the left side.  This version of the game was packaged in bubble wrap.

The game itself is no different than the version sold in the U.S. and does not have a different model number.

The box is different than the U.S. version in that the text is bilingual.  The instructions are bilingual as well, however, the format is completely different.  The U.S. versions were sold with a booklet-style instruction manual.  The Canadian version is a long, two-sided sheet that is folded like a map.

Box front

Box back

Bilingual instruction sheet

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Mattel - Baseball (Reconditioned)

Game:  Baseball
Company:  Mattel
Model No.:  1190
Year:  1978
Power: 1 9-volt battery or AC adapter

Notes:  Mattel Baseball is probably the most recognizable electronic baseball game ever made. When these games were introduced in the late 1970s and sold throughout the early 1980s, they were expensive enough that malfunctioning games were returned for repairs.  (The 1980 JCPenny catalog listed the original (not reconditioned) game for $32.88 or about $95.00 in today's money.) After the repairs were made, the reconditioned models were then repackaged and sold again.  

The box and instruction manuals were labeled as a "Reconditioned Game" and the designation was incorporated into the printed box art and manual cover - it was not just a sticker applied to the box.

The game was then sold under a different model number (1190) than the original (2942) as can be seen on the back of the box.  The game itself is not different, however, and can be distinguished only by the presence of a little sticker on the inside of the battery compartment showing that the unit had been repaired.

The game was packaged with bubble wrap but the length of the instruction manual was actually longer than the box, so expect to find the manual folded over the top of the game in the box or folded in half. Accordingly, a manual in the best possible condition will inevitably have some wrinkling where it was bent to fit in the box.

These versions are exceedingly rare and comprise no more than 1 out of 100-250 games found in today's collector marketplace.

Box front - "Reconditioned Game" is printed on the box and is not a sticker

Box back - note Model No. 1190 (the original game is 2942)

Game front - no different than original

Game back - note that instruction sticker is not replaced and shows 2942 model no.

Repair sticker in battery compartment.

Instructions

Mattel - Baseball

Game:  Baseball
Company:  Mattel
Model No.:  2942
Year:  1978
Power: 1 9-volt battery or AC adapter

Notes:  Probably the most recognizable electronic baseball game ever made, Mattel's Baseball introduced an entire generation of children to portable gaming.  This was a game (along with the Mattel Basketball) that was played for countless hours in my childhood.

The game was sold in two different style boxes - the one pictured below is the flapless version, with the game packaged in bubble wrap.  A second version has the same sized box with a flap and slightly different graphics.  The game in the box with a flap is packaged in Styrofoam.

Box front

Box back

Game front

Game back

Intellivision - Major League Baseball

Game:  Major League Baseball
Company:  Mattel
Game System:  Intellivision
Model No.:  2614
Year:  1979

Notes:  As a kid, you were either an Atari kid or an Intellivision kid.  I was an Atari kid, and although the graphics on the games were clearly inferior, I just never got the feel for the Intellivision's controllers.

This game was part of Mattel's advertising campaign highlighting how much more realistic their games were than those of the Atari 2600.

Think the pitcher on the cover art was modeled after Goose Gossage?

Box front

Box back

Game cartridge

Instructions

Overlays

George Plimpton ad

Mattel - Classic Baseball

Game:  Classic Baseball
Company:  Mattel
Model No.:  43386
Year:  2001
Power:  2 AA batteries

Notes:  A slightly redesigned version of Mattel's 1978 baseball game, this came packed in a plastic blister package either alone or in a combination package with Classic Football.

The game, itself, is a darker brown than the original and includes a sound option button so that the sound can be muted.  This is a nice feature; however, the sound in this game is actually important to help distinguish the kind of pitch that is being thrown.

On the back of the game, the battery door now has a screw to keep it in place.

Game front

Game back

M-Network - Super Challenge Baseball

Game:  Super Challenge Baseball
Game System:  Atari 2600
Company:  M-Network (Mattel)

Notes:  This game was issued in three different versions, the first featured a black end label with blue writing, the second is a white label and the third is a silver label.

Box front

Box back

Cartridge label variations

Instructions (color)

Instructions (black & white)

Mattel - World Championship Baseball

Game:  World Championship Baseball
Company:  Mattel
Model No.:  3201
Year:  1980
Power:  6 C batteries

Notes:  Much larger and advanced than Mattel's original Baseball, this is one of the few VFD baseball games ever produced.

Box front

Box back

Game front

Instructions

Game bottom roster sticker 

Bottom side instruction sticker