Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball — frequently asked questions
- What platforms is Major League Baseball on?
- Major League Baseball was released on Atari 2600, Intellivision.
- When did Major League Baseball release?
- Major League Baseball was first released on December 31, 1980.
About Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is an action baseball game for two players. The game follows most professional baseball rules and allows you to control all of the players on the team. You can throw a variety of pitches (from curve balls to fast balls), steal bases, tag players out, bunt, try for a home run, and in the event of a tie the game goes into extra innings! Several difficulty levels are available which control the game speed and whether or not stealing bases is allowed.
Summary via IGDB.
Major League Baseball on Wikipedia
Major League Baseball is a 1988 baseball video game developed by Atlus and published by LJN for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It is notable for being one of the first video games licensed by Major League Baseball, although it was not endorsed by the Major League Baseball Players Association. Without the backing of the Players Association, the game could not name the actual players, although it was able to use their numbers, thus accurately portraying the contemporary teams and their rosters. In doing so, it became the first baseball game for the Nintendo Entertainment System to carry official Major League Baseball licensing and lineups.
Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA 4.0).
Game details
- Platforms
- Atari 2600, Intellivision
- Developer
- APh Technological Consulting
- Publisher
- Mattel Electronics
- Game modes
- Multiplayer
- Themes
- Action
- Series
- MLB
Details via IGDB.
Reception
Every version compared
Prices, contemporary reception and the studio credited for each release
| Platform | Year | Loose | Complete | Sealed | Period reviews | Built by | Fake risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intellivision | 1979 | $4 | $10 | $35 | Rating R · Graphics 9 · Game Play 8 · Longevity 8 | Mattel | Low (look-alike) |
Release timeline
- Intellivision1980
- Atari 26001982
First release on each platform, from IGDB’s records of this game’s ports and editions. Remakes are separate games with their own pages, so they are not listed here.
We haven’t priced or authenticated the versions without a section on this page yet.
Collector value & authenticity
Intellivision · PriceCharting sold data · Verified 2026-10-20
Other releases and variants
| Release | Loose | Complete | Sealed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sold as "Baseball" | $4 | $12 | $45 |
How often it sells
- Loose: about once a month
- Complete: about 2 times a month
- Sealed: about once a month
Sales frequency from PriceCharting's completed-sale records, as of 2026-10-20.
Price over time
- Loose
- Complete
A loose copy sold for about $1.00 in Apr 2009, $4.64 five years ago, and $4.03 as of Oct 2026.
Show as table
| Month | Loose | Complete |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 2010 | $2.00 | — |
| Jan 2011 | $1.98 | — |
| Jan 2012 | $1.30 | — |
| Jan 2013 | $0.87 | — |
| Jan 2014 | $1.74 | $3.25 |
| Jan 2015 | $3.69 | $4.99 |
| Jan 2016 | $10.50 | $5.47 |
| Jan 2017 | $5.00 | $4.75 |
| Jan 2018 | $4.10 | $8.59 |
| Jan 2019 | $4.91 | $6.47 |
| Jan 2020 | $3.00 | $4.92 |
| Jan 2021 | $2.55 | $5.24 |
| Jan 2022 | $6.15 | $7.49 |
| Jan 2023 | $7.50 | $8.61 |
| Jan 2024 | $3.07 | $8.19 |
| Jan 2025 | $3.66 | $7.56 |
| Jan 2026 | $3.86 | $9.76 |
| Oct 2026 | $4.03 | $9.91 |
Monthly price estimates from PriceCharting's completed-sale records, sampled quarterly, through Oct 2026.
Documented sales
1,085,700 cartridges shipped by Mattel as of June 4, 1983
The best-selling Intellivision cartridge that was not packed with the console, and the last date for which Mattel's figures are available. Quoted from Mattel's records by the Blue Sky Rangers, its former programmers.
Source: Mattel Electronics' figures, as quoted by the Blue Sky Rangers
Release record
| Territory | Product # |
|---|---|
| North America Mattel Electronics | 2614 |
- North America: Product number confirmed by a scan of the box.
- Region
- NA
- Released
- 1979
- Controller
- Hand controller
- Players
- 2
- Authenticity
- Low
Mattel's two-player baseball cart, built to look like a real diamond, and by most accounts the Intellivision's best seller.
Major League Baseball came from Mattel Electronics and the APh programming group, and it is a two-player game: the computer will not take the other dugout. You get nine fielders a side, an umpire calling balls and strikes, a scoreboard, and a full nine innings. Wikipedia describes it as the best-selling game in the Intellivision's history, and the licence from Major League Baseball covered only the league's logo on the box, not team or player names.
Joystik's December 1982 review praised how closely it matched the real thing in look, play and sound, and the magazine listed it among its picks again in September 1983. That is the case for owning it: it was the Intellivision's showpiece sports title, and a boxed copy is an easy, inexpensive way to see why Mattel pushed the console on its sports lineup.
How it was made
Mattel Electronics published it with APh Technological Consulting as developer. It was also sold as Baseball and, after Mattel's shutdown, as INTV's Big League Baseball.
What the press said at the time
| JoyStik Vol. 1 No. 3 | December 1982 | Rating R · Graphics 9 · Game Play 8 · Longevity 8 |
“Good as some of the other manufacturers’ cartridges are, however, the Mattel version simply blows them away.”
“The Intellivision game not only plays like real baseball, it looks like real baseball and even sounds like real baseball.”
“Here's the standard against which all video sports should be measured. Aside from the initially awkward keypads (they feel fragile, though under the game's strain they stay sturdy), the game is tops in graphics, sound effects and authenticity.”
“A few may quarrel with our choice of Major League Baseball as the best all-around baseball simulation, but few will deny that it boasts the best visuals.”
JoyStik’s capsule ratings run from one star to five.
How the Intellivision version differs
Sears sold the Intellivision game without the Major League Baseball license for its private-label Super Video Arcade console, and Mattel's M Network produced the 2600 conversion, Super Challenge Baseball.
Electronic Games treated the Intellivision game as the groundbreaking original: Mattel adapted it for 2600 play under the M Network logo.
Worth knowing
- From the Intellivision manual. This manual is titled Baseball and its overlays read Professional Baseball; the later World Series Major League Baseball is a different cartridge that needs the keyboard.
- From the Intellivision manual. Four game speeds: pressing 1, 2 or 3 picks a slower speed, while pressing the disc gives the fastest, Professional League speed.
- From the Intellivision manual. Every hit is a grounder, so a batter can never fly out, even on a foul, though home runs can still be hit.
Before you buy
Needs a second person; there is no computer opponent. Mattel packed two keypad overlays with this cart, so a complete copy has both, and the box and manual make up much of a boxed copy's value. Sears sold it in its own box under the plain title Baseball, and INTV Corporation later reissued it as Big League Baseball. If you want a solo game, INTV's later World Championship Baseball adds a computer opponent. Loose carts are among the cheapest in the library.
Major League Baseball screenshots
Watch on YouTube
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