Intellivision Amico - Tommy Tallarico introduction + Q&A

6 hours ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

I think some of you may enjoy this...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You should see the NDA the employee's have to sign!

9 hours ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

No.  That has not changed.  Consoles are not painted.  A really awesome technique is being used for the Special Editions.  In fact Smash JT did a video yesterday at our offices where we go into detail about the process.  I'm sure he'll be dropping that video over the next few weeks... and rest assured that @Intellivision Master will be posting it here within minutes of it's release!  

 

 

Hehe no doubt 😀

That sounds awesome Tommy. Im a sucker for high end manufacturing techniques, and glad to hear that nothing has changed

4 hours ago, Intellivision Master said:

 

Cool to see more people in the office than in the last tour and hearing about the final stages of the battery testing; and obviously seeing more game play. 
 

A few observations 

1) I’m curious if the sections with music dubbed over was because Tommy had said something during those times he didn't want released yet

2) Nice to see IE putting in the detail to the level that includes deadening the controller beds.  Another example showing their total quality design approach

3) Did I get right that Space Spartans and Space Hawk are both “in work”.  Great news if accurate, and have not heard this confirmed previously 

On 4/1/2021 at 12:34 PM, Intellivision Master said:

In a sea of mediocre NES games comes the Adventures of LOLO. A diamond in the rough.

Very fond memories of this one. Great upbeat music as well!

Word to the wise: This game will require you to put your thinking cap on. And, it will make your brain hurt, 🤕 it's not a game for everyone.

3 hours ago, Starpaddler said:

 

3) Did I get right that Space Spartans and Space Hawk are both “in work”.  Great news if accurate, and have not heard this confirmed previously 

No, that's not what was said.

I didn't want to watch P&I's take on the Frisco event until I was mentally prepared. After a few days, I've given it a shot and boy they are way off. They're starting to look more and more desperate every time. Among the things they said:

- Pat said the console has a 20% chance of coming out on 10/10.

- They start with an ad hominem regarding the masks, when they know they are optional in Texas.

- They only talked about Rigid Force Redux Enhanced and Dynablaster, the two games that are not totally exclusive, refusing to make any comment about Skiing, Shark! Shark! or Astrosmash.

- They literally insult every single youtuber who likes the Amico, "we're not mentioning them because they are a******s".

- They insist there is extreme and visible lag "because the console and the controller are two Android systems communicating with each other" and "only companies with the know-how, like Nintendo, can remove this lag".

- Pat asks where is the multiplayer exclusive aspect of Rigid Force Redux Enhanced (it looks like he wasn't paying attention when this was shown in one of the videos)

- Pat keeps repeating the conspiracy about Intellivision Entertainment running out of money from investors and needing to do this event to desperately attract more investors in Republic, implying he, unlike the Amico fans, "knows how bad the situation is".

- Pat feels bad for the people who will buy the console and the investors because apparently he knows that the console will be unplayable due to the supposed lag that only they perceive without trying the machine.

So I think that's it. No need to make any comments, as we've literally proven them wrong multiple times with the investor thingy and also more recently with the lag stuff.

While Tommy and his team are happy, and Amico fans are happy, haters are clearly nervous, and to me that's what counts. We're enjoying the ride and these people are somehow afraid that this becomes a success while desperately trying to make it sound as if they're informing the public of the potential failures of the product, problems that they perceive at a distance while refusing to try it.

1 hour ago, IntelliMission said:

I didn't want to watch P&I's take on the Frisco event until I was mentally prepared. After a few days, I've given it a shot and boy they are way off.

I think I said this in a response to an event video so I will repeat it here:

I went to the Frisco event hoping the Amico was good and I left knowing it is good.

I have noticed that the narrative has already started  to change from some of these self proclaimed Amico “experts” in that “there was lag and now it was fixed”. To anyone paying attention their source of their “lag” videos and the actual event were numerous people had hands on experience and said there is no lag was *weeks*. If it was an issue that was so easy to fix of course it would

have been fixed long ago. They are trying desperately to not look like liars but instead just look like liars and  fools.

Because these people have an agenda they try to fill any negative space were there is no information with false information. Then once real information comes out they have to pick up and move those goal posts one more time. Kind of hilarious if you think about it, and their little island of misinformation gets smaller and smaller as the Amico gets closer to launch.

I personally have a lot of *my* money in Amicos on the line, so I am vested in knowing if this console is good or not. The Frisco event has just made me more excited with the controllers being solid, the games fun, people immediately engaging & playing together and the graphics & sound on point - it is just exactly the console that Tommy has described so far.

Cyrus Martin has closed his YouTube channel 😔 

My Impressions on the Amico Controller

Overall, the Amico controller is second behind the console's philosophy (i.e. the core of the Amico 10 commandments), that make the Amico the Amico. It is different than any modern controller but besides the disc, it familiar at the same time.

• The controller has some substance, it isn't heavy but it isn't light either. It has a solid feel in the hand.
• It is a lot narrower & rectangular than modern controllers with their bat like shape, which means it tends to sit up higher in your hand. Here is me one handing an Amico and XBox 360 controller. This should give you some sense of scale (although note that is NOT the play position for either controller):

• The plastic feels 'quality', there is no flex or creak and the plastic feels good in the hand (we have all felt cheap plastics, so this is what I am referring to). Basically it is the sort of plastic you would feel on an Nintendo Pro, XBox of PS5 controller.
• The front is poly-carbonate and feels hard and smooth (very much like glass). You don't feel any depression over the screen for example when running your finger across. It just feels smooth & responsive. I have noticed in their assembly video the screen is bonded directly to this top plate and this is reflected in that the screen appears on the the surface of the controller, not buried down inside a bit.
• The controller sides and back have a matte finish which adds grip - this isn't a slippery controller in any way.
• The disc also has this matte surface which gives it a bit of velvety feel. It has grip but turns under your finger without significant friction.
• There are also no sharp edges or pinch points, it feels comfortable in the hand.

• The controller screen isn't super high res (320 x 240) but at it's size (3.2 inches per the FAQ) and the information it is trying to show (i.e. a transition graphic or a few buttons) it works great
• The Amico doesn't have super high button count games. Often the disc or the screen will be one or two buttons if used during action game play, and maybe a few more before the game starts or when you are at a natural pause in the game (like in Hot Wheels Colossal Crash when you are knocked out and are setting one of three traps). At no time are you forced to select a fiddly onscreen button during action game play.
• The disc color ring to indicate your player's color is useful in two ways. First new players can figure out which reticle/ship/player they are, and with a glance you can tell who the other players are too (useful for seeking your revenge in Collassal Crash). Note my camera washed out the light blue color of the disc - it was much more blue in person and matched the 2nd from the left plane on the screen (which is my plane)

• As stated many times, I couldn't feel any lag while playing. I used the touch screen in Missile Command, the disc in Skiing & BiPlanes and the shoulder buttons in all of them. All were totally responsive (and yes, even when I told my Skier to plow into the tree line - unfortunately it responded perfectly 🤥)
• The buttons have a nice tactile mechanical click but are easy to press down and the dish face centers your fingers so you don't get 'button slip' during frantic pressing

• Tommy (below) is holding the controller in the typical way that I saw most people use it (including myself). Even though I am an OG Intellivision guy, the landscape position just seemed immediately natural.
• Note how the controller sits up higher in your hand and your fingers naturally curl around in the back into the built-in finger well, and on the front and top to the should buttons, disc and screen
• In the world's worst analogy, an XBox controller kind of feels like you are holding two eggs glued to a center platform while the Amico controller feels like a curved bar of soap (not in texture, it isn't slippery, just talking shape here). Held this way each bottom corner rests in the natural crook below the pad of your fingers.
• Because most Amico games are designed for multiple inputs it often doesn't matter if it is easier for you to, say, tap the disc or hit one of the two shoulder buttons, all three might be active as buttons. It seems Intellivision design philosophy on this is to give people as many options as possible without having to ask them any questions.
• People who say 'wouldn't this be better with front buttons?' don't realize the modified hold position means that your hand isn't forced over the front like with an XBox/PS controller. This is just people projecting what they 'know' onto a controller they have never held in hand. Your natural finger positions are pointers over the top shoulder buttons (whatever 'top' is in whatever way you are holding it, you can rotate the controller to disc left or disc right) and your thumbs hover over the disc and over the screen. Any screen buttons would push things out of position and just shrink the screen, which is your major source of information and/or giant button zones. If you HAVE to have a tactile button on front you can put on the Intellvision sticky dots, but I doubt the vast majority of people will.

9 minutes ago, Silverbot said:

Cyrus Martin has closed his YouTube channel 😔 

2 days ago he was on the Next Level Gaming podcast for the first time, so I assume he wants to concentrate on that to avoid Youtube drama on his own channel.

Grudge Q,

Thank you for the very detailed review of the Amico controller.  It's much appreciated.  

On 4/2/2021 at 2:14 PM, Intellivision Master said:

This is so cool.  I like seeing these old catalogues.  Thanks for sharing Silverbot.

I’ve posted this link previously:

http://wishbookweb.com

It has a lot of old catalogs from Sears, JC Penney, Montgomery Wards, and more going back many decades.  The late 70’s and early 80’s are my favorite of course! It is cool to see the earlier ones though.
 

Happy Easter to those that celebrate!

18 minutes ago, Saldo said:

I’ve posted this link previously:

 

http://wishbookweb.com

 

It has a lot of old catalogs from Sears, JC Penney, Montgomery Wards, and more going back many decades.  The late 70’s and early 80’s are my favorite of course! It is cool to see the earlier ones though.
 

Happy Easter to those that celebrate!

Thanks for sharing.  I clicked on the link but it doesn't work.  If I type in wishbookweb then I can access the website.

8 hours ago, CurlyQ said:

Wow,how amazingly cool is this one?

Keep them coming CurlyQ, another outstanding creation for sure!👏👍😊

1 hour ago, Intellivision Master said:

Thanks for sharing.  I clicked on the link but it doesn't work.  If I type in wishbookweb then I can access the website.

http://Wishbookweb.com

This one works. I think I messed up the imbedded link when I corrected a spelling error.

2 minutes ago, Saldo said:

http://Wishbookweb.com

 

This one works. I think I messed up the imbedded link when I corrected a spelling error.

 

 

Thank you.  This one does work.  

8 hours ago, mr_me said:

No, that's not what was said.

Yea, re-listened to it a third time (this time on a more robust stereo) and better understood what was said. Guess it may have been a case of wishful thinking 😋

Grudge Q

Thanks very much for your controller review, looks like you had a lot of fun. 👍😀

9 hours ago, IntelliMission said:

- They start with an ad hominem regarding the masks, when they know they are optional in Texas.

Not a problem when you insist on recording your podcast inches apart from each other, completely maskless... 🤔🤔

Just a reminder Amico All Access is live in about 30 minutes 

5 hours ago, Battlefish said:

14 hours ago, IntelliMission said:

- They start with an ad hominem regarding the masks, when they know they are optional in Texas.

Not a problem when you insist on recording your podcast inches apart from each other, completely maskless... 🤔🤔

Texas is open with no mask requirement. Many people have antibodies at this point, and you will see this more and more every week as areas approach herd immunity. 
 

I think it will be a bumpy transition back, as some think masks should never have been required, up to some will always want them going forward. 

POLITICS ALERT—I will now run away from this, and keep my mind on gaming.