Intellivision president Keith Robinson passes away
Industry mourns the man who saved the Intellivision brand
A notable figure in the games industry is sadly no longer with us.
A post on the Intellivision Facebook page reports that former president Keith Robinson has passed away. The exec suffered from kidney failure and cardiac arrest.
"His health had been declining in the last few months, but this was nonetheless a shock," the post reads. "Please know that all of you Intellevision fans brought immeasurable joy to his life. Thank you so much for that."
GamaSutra reports industry figureheads such as Frank Cifaldi and Antoine Clerc-Renaud have already shared their commiserations via Twitter.
Robinson is perhaps best known for saving the Intellivision brand in 1997 when he and fellow former programmer Stephen Roney acquired the exclusive rights to the brand and its games. Prior to this, the Intellivision console had been discontinued in 1990, with the INTV Corporation filing for bankruptcy before closing in 1991.
Robinson not only helped to release classic Intellivision titles for PC but also led the company into selling development tools that would let customers program their own games.
His relationship with the brand began in 1981 as a programmer and designer at Mattel Electronics, working on several Intellivision titles such as Tron Solar Sailer - a game he was unable to finish before moving into management.