<s>
PlayCable	B-Device
was	O
an	O
online	O
service	O
introduced	O
in	O
1980	O
that	O
allowed	O
local	O
cable	O
television	O
system	O
operators	O
to	O
send	O
games	O
for	O
the	O
Intellivision	B-Operating_System
over	O
cable	O
wires	O
alongside	O
normal	O
television	O
signals	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Through	O
the	O
service	O
,	O
subscribers	O
would	O
use	O
a	O
device	O
,	O
called	O
the	O
PlayCable	B-Device
adapter	O
,	O
to	O
download	B-Protocol
the	O
games	O
for	O
play	O
on	O
their	O
Intellivision	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
the	O
first	O
service	O
that	O
allowed	O
users	O
to	O
download	B-Protocol
games	O
for	O
play	O
on	O
a	O
video	B-Device
game	I-Device
console	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
PlayCable	B-Device
was	O
not	O
widely	O
adopted	O
,	O
due	O
in	O
part	O
to	O
high	O
costs	O
for	O
users	O
and	O
operators	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
limitations	O
of	O
the	O
PlayCable	B-Device
adapter	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
PlayCable	B-Device
was	O
developed	O
as	O
a	O
joint	O
venture	O
between	O
Mattel	O
and	O
General	O
Instrument	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PlayCable	B-Device
service	O
was	O
deep	O
in	O
development	O
even	O
before	O
the	O
Intellivision	B-Operating_System
was	O
widely	O
released	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
less	O
than	O
3%	O
subscription	O
rate	O
was	O
still	O
higher	O
than	O
the	O
rate	O
of	O
Intellivision	B-Operating_System
sales	O
in	O
markets	O
where	O
PlayCable	B-Device
was	O
not	O
available	O
,	O
and	O
Intellivision	B-Operating_System
Productions	O
reports	O
that	O
PlayCable	B-Device
was	O
popular	O
where	O
available	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Cable	O
operators	O
complained	O
about	O
the	O
high	O
cost	O
of	O
the	O
computer	O
needed	O
to	O
run	O
the	O
service	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
the	O
cost	O
of	O
the	O
in-home	O
PlayCable	B-Device
adapters	O
;	O
the	O
adapters	O
proved	O
to	O
be	O
inadequate	O
to	O
run	O
the	O
larger	O
Intellivision	B-Operating_System
games	O
being	O
produced	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
,	O
Mattel	B-Operating_System
Electronics	I-Operating_System
was	O
losing	O
millions	O
of	O
dollars	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
video	O
game	O
industry	O
crash	O
of	O
1983	O
and	O
stopped	O
all	O
new	O
hardware	O
development	O
in	O
August	O
that	O
year	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Initial	O
estimates	O
by	O
Mattel	O
projected	O
that	O
the	O
service	O
would	O
have	O
1	O
million	O
subscribers	O
within	O
five	O
years	O
,	O
however	O
PlayCable	B-Device
was	O
discontinued	O
in	O
1984	O
,	O
three	O
years	O
after	O
it	O
was	O
introduced	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PlayCable	B-Device
channel	O
was	O
broadcast	O
from	O
a	O
PDP-11	B-Device
minicomputer	B-Architecture
located	O
at	O
the	O
subscriber	O
's	O
cable	O
company	O
using	O
dedicated	O
frequencies	O
within	O
the	O
FM	B-Algorithm
Band	I-Algorithm
of	O
the	O
cable	O
line	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
PlayCable	B-Device
adapter	O
peripheral	O
would	O
be	O
inserted	O
into	O
the	O
cartridge	O
slot	O
of	O
the	O
Intellivision	B-Operating_System
Master	O
Component	O
and	O
connected	O
to	O
the	O
cable	O
line	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
turned	O
on	O
,	O
the	O
firmware	O
within	O
the	O
PlayCable	B-Device
adapter	O
tuned	O
its	O
FM	O
receiver	O
to	O
the	O
PlayCable	B-Device
catalog	O
channel	O
,	O
always	O
broadcast	O
at	O
107.7MHz	O
,	O
and	O
downloaded	O
a	O
program	O
to	O
the	O
adapter	O
's	O
RAM	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Users	O
chose	O
a	O
title	O
to	O
play	O
using	O
the	O
Intellivision	B-Operating_System
controller	O
keypad	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
8K	O
of	O
memory	O
inside	O
PlayCable	B-Device
adapters	O
proved	O
to	O
be	O
insufficient	O
for	O
the	O
larger	O
games	O
that	O
Mattel	O
started	O
to	O
release	O
in	O
1983	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
this	O
point	O
PlayCable	B-Device
was	O
compatible	O
with	O
90%	O
of	O
Mattel	O
's	O
catalogue	O
of	O
Intellivision	B-Operating_System
titles	O
,	O
with	O
only	O
Chess	O
and	O
three	O
Intellivoice	O
games	O
proving	O
problematic	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Compatibility	O
fell	O
with	O
the	O
introduction	O
of	O
12K	O
and	O
16K	O
titles	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
Pinball	O
and	O
Bump	O
N	O
Jump	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
games	O
dependent	O
on	O
the	O
Intellivision	B-Operating_System
Entertainment	O
Computer	O
System	O
(	O
ECS	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
this	O
,	O
47	O
titles	O
in	O
the	O
full	O
61	O
game	O
Mattel	O
catalogue	O
were	O
compatible	O
with	O
PlayCable	B-Device
when	O
Mattel	B-Operating_System
Electronics	I-Operating_System
closed	O
its	O
Intellivision	B-Operating_System
business	O
in	O
early	O
1984	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Therefore	O
,	O
the	O
fact	O
that	O
PlayCable	B-Device
was	O
restricted	O
to	O
first	O
party	O
titles	O
,	O
effectively	O
blocking	O
33	O
compatible	O
third	O
party	O
games	O
,	O
had	O
a	O
larger	O
impact	O
on	O
the	O
potential	O
catalogue	O
of	O
games	O
the	O
service	O
could	O
have	O
offered	O
.	O
</s>
