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Personally, I don't know all that much about Digiplay, other than they initially seemed to be the Brazilian distributor for Mattel. Most of the original Mattel games localized for the Brazilian market had fully localized boxes, manuals, and even cartridge labels and overlays! Check out Psycho Stormtrooper's excellent site for lots more details!

Not only were the games localized, but so was the Master Component. Their variation of the original 2609, the 5368, even had localized text on the top of the unit, but was still tagged as being from Mattel Electronics. The documentation listed Digiplay as the distributor or some such, I think. The Intellivision II was also produced by Digiplay - and even had the Digiplay logo on the front of the unit in place of the Mattel logo.

It seems that Digiplay was not interested in doing things halfway. The boxes, manuals, labels, and overlays were almost always completely translated into Portuguese, and the manuals were even done up with full color covers! All of the boxes I've seen were also book-style boxes - even for games that Mattel delivered in cheaper kinds of boxes. Later releases, like Masters of the Universe: The Power of He-Man don't bear the Mattel logo at all. In fact, my He-Man lists "TM - IMAGIC" on the back of the manual!

So, time for another of my favorite activities : pulling a theory out of my a.. er, thin air, to explain what was going on... Perhaps someone out there who stumbles onto this site and has better knowledge can contribute and correct. Here it comes! My guess is that initially, Digiplay had an agreement to distribute the Intellivision system and worked out some sort of deal with Mattel. The deal involved a requirement to localize the games for the market. Then, a few things happened. The market started to soften in the U.S.A. in 1983, but, as things tend to operate in global markets, the crash didn't hit the Brazilian market yet - it probably lagged by several months or even a year or more. Digiplay also picked up permission to deliver Activision and Imagic games. Later, back in the U.S., Intellivision, Inc. / INTV Corp. kept the Intellivision alive as well, and Activision bought out Imagic. Perhaps they worked out a new deal with Intellivision, Inc.?

Why is that relevant? Well, there is one thing that's odd to me about the overlay situation here... Most of the original Mattel games released by Digiplay seem to also come with localized overlays. However, some seem to come with overlays that could have come from the Intellivision, Inc. era as well. By this, I mean that many I.I. copies of the original Mattel games came with overlays that had the Mattel Electronics copyright removed. Well, most of the Digiplay versions of the older Mattel games came with localized overlays produced on materials that are clearly very different from standard overlays. However, some later ones, like Reversi, come with overlays that are in English, but have no copyright date on them. Similarly, the Activision releases also have no copyright date on them. Strange indeed! Anybody out there have some good info on this?

The Digiplay variants are sought by collectors (like yours truly) often for these overlay variations, as well as their packaging differences. To my knowledge, the ROMs are identical to those sold in the U.S.A.

Cartridge Count 30/??


Title Item No. Manual Overlays Rarity Notes
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (Labirintos E Dragoes) Box Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (Labirintos E Dragoes) ???? Yes

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (Labirintos E Dragoes) Overlay

2

ER1Overlays have TSR copyright, but no Mattel copyright; game review / info
Astrosmash Box Astrosmash ???? Yes

Astrosmash Overlay

1

ER2Missing one overlay; overlay has gray background, no copyright; some Digiplay versions may be the competition ROM!; game review / info
Atlantis Box Atlantis ???? Yes

Atlantis Overlay

1

R2Game review / info
Auto Racing Box Auto Racing ???? Yes

Auto Racing Overlay

1

R2Game review / info
Basketball Box Basketball ???? Yes

Basketball Overlay

2

R3'No copyright' overlays in one copy, localized in the other; there are also some differences in the box and manual; game review / info
Beamrider Box Beamrider ???? Yes

Beamrider Overlay

2

R1Game review / info
Boxing Box Boxing ???? Yes

Boxing Overlay

2

R2Overlays in English without copyright information have been found; game review / info
Bump 'n' Jump Box Bump 'n' Jump ???? Yes

Bump 'n' Jump Overlay

1

R1Game review / info
BurgerTime Box BurgerTime ???? Yes

BurgerTime Overlay

2

R2Each overlay made of slightly different material; game review / info
Buzz Bombers Box Buzz Bombers ???? No

Buzz Bombers Overlay

2

ER2Missing manual; overlays seem the same as non-copyright Intellivision, Inc. version; game review / info
Demon Attack Box Demon Attack ???? Yes

Demon Attack Overlay

2

R2Game review / info
Desafio Estelar Box Desafio Estelar ???? Yes

Desafio Estelar Overlay

2

R3Overlays have Activision logo, but no part number or copyright info; localized title for The Dreadnaught Factor on box and manual; game review / info
Frog Bog (Pântano dos Sapos) Box Frog Bog (Pântano dos Sapos) ???? Yes

Frog Bog (Pântano dos Sapos) Overlay

2

R3Brazilian Portuguese overlays; game review / info
Futebol Soccer Box Futebol Soccer ??? Yes

Futebol Soccer Overlay

1

R3My copy seems to be defective, or gone bad during storage somehow; game review / info
Happy Trails Box Happy Trails ???? Yes

Happy Trails Overlay

1

R1Game review / info
Las Vegas Poker & Blackjack Box Las Vegas Poker & Blackjack ???? Yes

Las Vegas Poker & Blackjack Overlay

1

R3Brazilian Portuguese overlays, missing one overlay - need condition upgrade; game review / info
Lock 'n' Chase Box Lock 'n' Chase ???? Yes

Lock 'n' Chase Overlay

2

R3Brazilian Portuguese overlays; game review / info
Masters of the Universe - The Power of He-Man Box Masters of the Universe - The Power of He-Man ???? Yes

Masters of the Universe - The Power of He-Man Overlay

1

ER2Game review / info
Math Fun (Brincando com a Matemática) Box Math Fun (Brincando com a Matemática) ???? No

Math Fun (Brincando com a Matemática) Overlay

2

R1Need manual; ocalized mylar overlays confirmed; unclear if the papery style also exist; game review / info
Night Stalker (Perseguição Noturna) Box Night Stalker (Perseguição Noturna) ???? No

Night Stalker (Perseguição Noturna) Overlay

2

R3Brazilian Portuguese overlays; missing appropriate (Digiplay, Rua Acará) manual; game review / info
Pinball Box Pinball ???? No

Pinball Overlay

2

ER1Really, really rare; need info about box, manual, and overlays; game review / info
Pitfall! Box Pitfall! ???? Yes

Pitfall! Overlay

2

R3Overlays have Activision logo, but no part number or copyright info; game review / info
Reversi Box Reversi ???? Yes

Reversi Overlay

1

ER2Overlays not localized - no copyright; game review / info
River Raid Box River Raid ???? Yes

River Raid Overlay

2

ER2Overlays are actually better quality than standard issue; game review / info
Shark! Shark! Box Shark! Shark! ???? Yes

Shark! Shark! Overlay

2

R3Brazilian Portuguese overlays; could use an upgrade; game review / info
SNAFU Box SNAFU ???? Yes

SNAFU Overlay

2

R2Overlays partially localized in Brazilian Portuguese; game review / info
Space Armada Box Space Armada ???? Yes

Space Armada Overlay

1

ER2Missing one overlay; game review / info
Space Battle Box Space Battle ???? Yes

Space Battle Overlay

1

R2Fast ROM variant; no copyright on overlays; game review / info
Image not available Space Hawk ???? No

2

R2This release is only speculated to exist - has not been found yet; don't have information about overlays; game review / info
Tennis Box Tennis ???? Yes

Tennis Overlay

2

R3Brazilian Portuguese overlays; game review / info
Triple Action Box Triple Action ???? Yes

Triple Action Overlay

2

R3Brazilian Portuguese overlays; game review / info
Tron Discos Mortais Box Tron Discos Mortais ???? Yes

Tron Discos Mortais Overlay

1

R2Game review / info