Intellivision Amico - Tommy Tallarico introduction + Q&A

On 12/3/2020 at 1:01 AM, GD Mof said:

Thanks for the advice. Sounds like you're in the know! So a PC demo aimed at less powerful hardware would suffice then?

Yep!  He is in the know for hardware stuff... considering he is one of the main architechs of the system!!   

I would target Android initally.  Not PC.

6 minutes ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

 

We've been preparing and slowly moving things in since November 1st.  A few hardware folks and software folks have slowly started coming in... but the majority of people are still working from home due to COVID restrictions.

And now... just yesterday...  we get the news that all non essential businesses in southern California must shut their doors for the next 3 weeks.  A new 3 week MINIMUM lock-down leading up right into the holidays.  Ugh!

 

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/california-governor-introduces-new-stay-home-order-amid-covid-19-n1249918

 

So to answer the question.  No... the company didn't all move in on December 1st as we have been planning for the past few months.

That's a shame.  I was hoping you and the team could make the move.  Damn COVID. 

2 minutes ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

 

We've been preparing and slowly moving things in since November 1st.  A few hardware folks and software folks have slowly started coming in... but the majority of people are still working from home due to COVID restrictions.

And now... just yesterday...  we get the news that all non essential businesses in southern California must shut their doors for the next 3 weeks.  A new 3 week MINIMUM lock-down leading up right into the holidays.  Ugh!

 

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/california-governor-introduces-new-stay-home-order-amid-covid-19-n1249918

 

So to answer the question.  No... the company didn't all move in on December 1st as we have been planning for the past few months.

Move to Florida.  Even NY is getting stupid with this.  Long Island isn't too bad, mostly everything is open.  I have a lot of close friends in State and County PDs and they all say the same thing... It's to a point that people are loosing thier minds more than getting sick.  We're social animals by nature.

Being in the FD I'm all for safety and health, I've been to houses that were positive and all, but business should stay open and just be sensible about it.  

No political talk here... This is just one of those things we all live with now. 

On 12/3/2020 at 6:45 AM, martianman2012 said:

I'm telling you Tommy, IE may wanna hire Curly. Everyone of his pics immediately looks good and legit from your company 😄

What makes you think we haven't already?

23 hours ago, Hwlngmad said:

Some good information and I will say that the Amico does have some good value with it.  However, regarding the Switch, it frequently does come bundled with a game and the joy cons can be used individually.  Granted, they are not great to use, but I have seen and done so myself.  Regardless, it is whatever floats your boat.  Definitely I think have the Amico entering the console gaming space is a good thing and hopefully it finds success.

There is definitely some cross-over between what Switch & Amico offer.  But there are more "different" and "unique" things about both systems as opposed to similar.  Which like you mentioned is a good thing for gaming.

That being said... take a look at Sony & Microsoft.  They couldn't put out a more similar offering at the same time for about the same pricing.  And they've been doing it for over 25 years now.  Yet both of them sell tens of millions of units and have made billions of dollars.  

It seems like there are certain folks out there (not you... but others) who can't wrap their heads around the idea that someone should be allowed to try and go after the family/casual market in gaming.  They seem to be insulted and take it very personally that we are even attempting to try.  Very strange to me, but typically comes from a very elitist hivemind type of hardcore fanboy gamer.  The overwhelming majority of gamers love the idea of new and unique things and new and unique products.  The elitist fanboys probably see something new as something that will compete with the thing they love.  Kinda ridiculous thinking in my opinion, but you gotta respect and appreciate their passion for the product they love.

8 minutes ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

What makes you think we haven't already?

 

 

 

I'm looking forward to his sweater line just in time for the winter snow in January... 

22 hours ago, Bixler said:

Just popping in to say this console looks far more promising of a product than whatever it is Atari is about to put out... good luck! It looks like the Amico won't be able to play original carts, but all the same, this reminds me that I believe I have a few boxes of Intellivision CIB games at my parents' house that I should call about soon... wonder what happened to them.

 

EDIT: Just going to add that the woodgrain limited edition is so, SO tempting. I've bookmarked the page to really take a look at this over the weekend.

Hi Bixler!,

Thanks for stopping by and giving your thoughts.  Let me know if you have any specific questions about Amico or anything else.

Thanks!

21 hours ago, jaybird3rd said:

Quite an impressive legacy!  It's even more impressive that in all those years, the Intellivision never really went away; as video games grew and changed, the Intellivision maintained a constant presence, always finding innovative ways to introduce the Intellivision library to new audiences.  Happy Anniversary, and cheers to everyone who has kept Intellivision going strong ... from Mattel and INTV from 1979 to ~1990, to Intellivision Productions into the 2010s, to Intellivision Entertainment—and the many independent developers and publishers still supporting the original Intellivision—today!

Yes!  Absolutely!!   We wouldn't be where we are today if not for all the passionate folks who came before us and kept the company alive and privately held.  A vast difference between what happened with Atari since the early 80's when Nolan sold to Warner Bros.  

So in that way... the fact that Intellivision wasn't as popular as Atari at the time... has enabled the company and product to exist in the form that it does today.  I wake up every day so grateful for the opportunity to help bring the Intellivision name to the masses once again.  A dream come true and something that me and my younger brother would discuss in great detail in our wood paneled basement in 1981.  And of course... thank you to everyone here for having the passion and interest to want to see it succeed.  Your support really means a lot.

❤️

1 hour ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

 

That does seem a little on the high side, but it does look like the build and materials are very high end.  Hard to tell exactly without holding it.  They will probably sell a certain number at that price on launch and then quickly try to get it under $100.  I would bet that COVID component and materials pricing (and the fact that now Arcade 1up is distributing and need their cut) has something to do with the higher price.  They may have originally planned it as a $99 MSRP initally and then a year later getting it down to $79, etc.  That is probably the sweet spot for this product (just like I say that I believe $199 will be the sweet spot for Amico).

 

Another thing about retail and distrubution that folks may find interesting (who haven't dealt with this kind of thing) is that retailers have the power to put things on sale which in turn could completely destroy the product in other retail outlets.  So you need to always be careful with initial pricing when you don't have the power and pull that companies like Sony, Microsoft & Nintendo do.  The pricing "wars" that go on between Walmart, Costco and Amazon are legendary.  We are very fornuate to have 3 people on our sales team with a combined 100 years experience in selling video games to retailers.  So lots of knowledge and experinece in making sure those types of things won't occur with Amico.

No one can predict the future, but having all of the fail safes on hand does sometimes make the difference between a retail product failing and succeeding.

 

 

 

 

In top of the high price , when you have to order it from the US (I’m in Canada) and pay duty etc ....it adds up fast !! Too bad. I really wanted it. 

20 hours ago, bigdaddygamestudio said:

Christmas 1979, ah  good memories.  I remember we got the Intellivision and my dad was all into kerosene heaters back then to save heating money, so dependent on where you were in the house it was either 50 degrees or 100 degrees.  LOL..  So me and my brothers played that system on xmas in our shorts, sweating and having the time of our lives.

 

I recall my mom was the bookkeeper for a big sporting good store back then, and for some reason they were going to sell the Intellivision, and once we heard that, we bugged and bugged my mom, and sure enough she made sure we got the first one off the truck.   Our friends were amazed by the Intellivision since it was so new and so much better than Atari, which in 1979 was still the big newish game system. I know that she also let us open it and play one game a week early, before xmas since we were driving her nuts.

 

The Intellivision wasnt cheap I know since me and my brothers had to "pool" our big xmas gift into it. Back then, each Xmas me and my 2 brothers would get one big gift each ( 100-150 bucks in 1979) and maybe 3 or so mid level gifts $30-50ish and a bunch of you know.. crap ( socks, shirts, shoes LOL)  So in order to get the Intellivision we had to negotiate with our parents, i think it cost us all our big gifts..  it was so so worth it though.  They got us 4 or so games as well ( we were a lil spoiled) and from there on out, me and my brothers (who all did odd jobs growing up with my dads company to make our own money) would pool together our money into an Intellivision slush fund, and for the next two years or so we bought every intellivision game released.  We would go to Kiddie City every few weeks and if there was a new game, we would buy it with our slush fund.  

 

Great times, and best console I ever had.  

Great story!!  Thank you for sharing!

Love hearing these.

20 hours ago, bigdaddygamestudio said:

I was never able to take care of a fish tank, but this one, this one I think I can handle. Now just to find a place for it.

 

Aren't they great!  

I have the Baseball, Utopia & Space Armada as well.

Aside from Arcade 1up, this is one of the only companies that we currently have a licensing deal with to make product.  

17 hours ago, [email protected] said:

Yo Tommy didn't you say that there was going to be an article in aarp. We just got it for December and I didn't see it ?

Everyone decided to hold it a month or so as it is better for us to have it out there closer to the launch.

1 hour ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Our big retailers tell us that $249 for the type of experience we are presenting will definitely work for year one and potentially year two.  They also agree that at $199 they will start to fly off the shelves.  These folks know their customers... that is why they are so successful and literally the biggest corporations on the planet.  They're not successful because they guess and hope for the best.   

 

The other thing to consider is this...

 

Nintendo Wii - realeased 15 years ago with 1 controller and 1 tech demo.

 

$249

 

So anyone who says that non-gamers, casual gamers or families aren't willing to spend $249 on a casual video game console for the living room that everyone can play... may not understand retail, family buying and the game industry.  And that was 15 years ago!  

 

I totally understand that Nintendo has a trusted and huge name in the video game industry.  But so does Intellivision (on a much smaller scale).  It will be our goal and mission to introduce that trust and value to tens of millions of people around the world who have never heard of Intellivision.  A task that we feel the product is up for.  All people need to do is play it.  That's all.  We see it happen time and time again with familes.  And most of the time (and like Cranker mentioned as well) people think the pricing is great and would pay up to $299.  

Elitist hardcore gamers love to equate Amico pricing to the Switch but always leave out the fact that after 4 years on the market... there is a REASON why those people haven't purchased a Switch yet.  Nintendo has all of the marketing power and partnerships in the world.  We are doing something different from them.  Something that all of the people who haven't bought a Switch (or PS or Xbox) WANT.  Very simple concept for a non-biased reasonable person to understand.

 

 

I do agree that priced under $199 might lump  the Amico in with all of the retro consoles being released every other day. $249 on release is perfect followed with $199 price when it’s feasible . (I would pay any price since I have no interest in the newer consoles)  399 ? Sold ! 499 ? Sold ! 😂 

1 hour ago, Intellivision Master said:

Atari Master approves.  LOL.

Whose that?  I only know Intellivision Master!

1 minute ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Whose that?  I only know Intellivision Master!

 

 

You know him.  He's an old friend.  LOL.  🤣

1 hour ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Aren't they great!  

I have the Baseball, Utopia & Space Armada as well.

 

Aside from Arcade 1up, this is one of the only companies that we currently have a licensing deal with to make product.  

 

 

They do look cool.  What if Intellivision brought out retro re-imagined versions of these?  Wouldn't that be something?

2 hours ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

And... if you go the opposite way it looks like this...

 

Amico with one controller and no games = $149

 

Now people will think it's some cheap knock-off system... and for the audience we're going for who just want to play simple games together right out of the box... that audience then wouldn't exist.  So we would be killing the one thing that makes us unique to everyone else.

 

 

 

Nice! 😂It seems some people will never understand it otherwise. Same goes for people thinking they get the best deal buying a 49$ printer to later realize they have to buy an HDMI cable and ink cartridges separately.

On 12/2/2020 at 4:03 PM, Intellivision Master said:

 

Remember when my twin brother Rainbow mentioned waking up and seeing he was being probed by Aliens? And then he saw a head Alien with the name Tallarico on his work (torture) jersey? Yeh... betting now Rainbow was not in a space-ship but down in SoCal being "probed" by Intellivision all in the betterment of the damn Amico!!!

~ Rainbow is NOT happy!

👽

1 hour ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Great story!!  Thank you for sharing!

 

Love hearing these.

always nice with fun memories pop back into your brain. Just one of the things that makes Intellivision special.

Oh and one more thing, late next week be on the lookout for a PM from me, my new game Outta Sight is finished and besides a few playtesters, you'll be the first to check it out.

4 minutes ago, bigdaddygamestudio said:

Oh and one more thing, late next week be on the lookout for a PM from me, my new game Outta Sight is finished and besides a few playtesters, you'll be the first to check it out.

Will there be a sequel?  Maybe call it Outta Mind.  Like the old saying, "Outta sight, outta mind.

4 hours ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

 

Would love to see pics of your collection!  And anyone elses as well!

Here's a quick view of my short stack collection.  I'm not an avid collector, I just like what I like and try to get stuff that looks good.  I don't have boxes for all.my units, as I don't have space for them, nor is anything displayed.

So to cover it....

The two Sears units that are i. Front of boxes.  The left unit is my oldest one and was frankensteined out of a few non-working units.  It was my Retropie console until.i found a better one.  To my surprise, I have the two Sears box variants as well.  The Sears unit sitting in front of the beat-up box is a correct numbers matching box and unit.  I bought it because the unit was in fantastic shape and is my best looking, original Sears unit.  Unfortunately the box looks like crap.  

The third Sears unit in front is my oldest Sears unit with a J102 sequence serial number and Mattel  HK 1979 manufacturers date on it. 

To it's left is the Radio Shack Tandyvision One.  Serial #P2 001062, Mattel HK 1979 manufacturer date.  Its all original, as you see it is as I got it.  The only difference between the Mattel Intellivision and the Tandy One is not only the wood, but the notches cut into the upper housing for the game controller side buttons.  So it leads me to believe that Radio Shack didn't just buy the rights to sell them, but may have had them specific designed for them, much like Sears did.  

The Sylvania unit is original as well. Ser# 1899033 Mattel USA manufacturer date 1979.  The only issue I had with this one is that the serial number label fell off, so I had to glue it back on.  It is not the same color "metal" as the Mattel version.  It's more of a pewter color.  I like it, it's toned down and looks more industrial than the Mattel built 2609.

Behind the Sylvania is my SSVA Retropie unit.  It's a prestine Sears unit that is now running Retropie on a Raspberry Pi3b+.  I can always swap the top as all the cutting and modding was done to the base. It's sitting on the proper Tele-Games case/cover that would have been sold around the same time.  We had the case with my SSVA back in the 80s...so it made sense to me to match it up.

Next to that is my Sears Tele-Games Heavy Sixer with matching wood grain to the SSVA. You might notice I like the Sears units.  Lol.  I do.  We had a Sears charge card, so my parents bought everything Sears back then.  If you're going to collect Atari units...don't forget this one...and get the Heavy Sixer version if you buy Atari. It's often over-looked but it's the original 2600.   This one was a mess and needed a complete teardown and rebuild.  It's complete and restored back to working condition 

Lastly are the two Mattel units.  The difference between these I hope can be seen in the picture.  The color on the forward unit is far more gold then the rear most unit with the disticks.  I had asked on the forum years ago if there was some sort of reason for this, but it seems to be just a variation in the production of the gold trim between years.  

And of course .. the three covers.  They are all originals.  The brown vinyl was a nice score.  It's in very nice shape, while the 2 canvas covers look great, buy still have a smoke smell to them from whatever household they came from.  

The Flashback unit is now a Retropie unit heavily modified to include and internal power supply and room for 4 controllers. Two USB in the front under the lip of the 2 front inputs.  I hope to do a complete write-up on how I did all that soon.  

I hope you enjoyed this ..I've never shown anyone my collection as I never had anyone ask.  Lol.  

I do think we should have a pinned thread for all this.  It would be cool to see all the differences and variations.  

One last little fun note.  My Tele-Games game case actually has the gold sticker on the top part, which is very rare to see.  Took me several purchases to get one, on a good plastic cover.  

4 hours ago, LePionnier said:

Great memories ! 👍

Do you remember what was the four games ?

Man now your putting my mind to the test.  I know they were suppose to pack in NFL, but I not sure what the pack in was or if there was one.  The games I think were kinda weird collection. Black jack, Baseball, math fun, and maybe a tank game? IIRC.   But we loved them all, we had that system on day and night.

57 minutes ago, IMBerzerk said:

 

The third Sears unit in front is my oldest Sears unit with a J102 sequence serial number and Mattel  HK 1979 manufacturers date on it. 

That's not a manufacturing date.  That's the year the mould was designed.  The chips inside will have manufacturing dates.

53 minutes ago, bigdaddygamestudio said:

Man now your putting my mind to the test.  I know they were suppose to pack in NFL, but I not sure what the pack in was or if there was one.  The games I think were kinda weird collection. Black jack, Baseball, math fun, and maybe a tank game? IIRC.   But we loved them all, we had that system on day and night.

The tank game would be Armor Battle.  Intellivisions were pretty rare in 1979.  What city were you in?

10 minutes ago, mr_me said:

The tank game would be Armor Battle.  Intellivisions were pretty rare in 1979.  What city were you in?

just outside Philly. 

14 minutes ago, mr_me said:

That's not a manufacturing date.  That's the year the mould was designed.  The chips inside will have manufacturing dates.

 

The tank game would be Armor Battle.  Intellivisions were pretty rare in 1979.  What city were you in?

Was 1980 the first retail year?  What year was the Sears unit put out on shelves?  I don't remember what year I had gotten mine for Xmas. 

Had to be Xmas 1981.