Intellivision Amico - Tommy Tallarico introduction + Q&A

I have a question for Tommy. I’m in Canada and I’m wondering when pre-orders will open here. I have my 2 FE on order but I am anxiously waiting to pre-order 6 extra controllers 😎

Cyrus Martin's channel has reappeared (not sure what happened) with two great videos, a video review of the controller (closed to comments) and some Rigid Force Redux Enhanced co-op gameplay.

On 4/3/2021 at 4:10 AM, Zee said:

Had a weird dream. I was having breakfast with my wife but I was also at some video game convention (this is in Toronto). I then see a silhouette of a guy with a guitar and I say to my wife "hey that's Tommy Tallarico Intellivision president! The Amico must be here to try". I walk up to Tommy and he somehow knows me immediately "hey Michael!" He then shows me the Amico and some game I'd never seen before and I end up playing it for a bit. Dream over.

Are you sure that was a dream???    Check your pockets... you may find an Amico disc in there.

Just have to put a plug in for AAA last night. Watch OEB Pete get confused over the word 'bea' (Confused Pete is my favorite kind of Pete, right after Evil and Normal), calls for a Retro Bro striptease, Smash JT in a hot tub, oh and there was lots of hands on Amico and office tour talk if you are interested in that kind of stuff:

On 4/3/2021 at 5:12 AM, Silverbot said:

Cool! Well at least it didn’t get any weirder!!! 😂👍

I'm just pissed he forgot the part where I drove him around in a Ferrari to get ice cream!

I'm gonna need to get a less powerful hypnotic amulet.

MICHAEL.... YOU'RE GETTING SLEEPY...

On 4/3/2021 at 3:32 PM, CurlyQ said:

I'm just glad you put the Intellivision on his lap.

4 minutes ago, GrudgeQ said:

Just have to put a plug in for AAA last night. Watch OEB Pete get confused over the word 'bea' (Confused Pete is my favorite kind of Pete, right after Evil and Normal), calls for a Retro Bro striptease, Smash JT in a hot tub, oh and there was lots of hands on Amico and office tour talk if you are interested in that kind of stuff

It was a fun show last night.  It got crazy at times.  AAA after dark.  Lol.  If only Tommy was there.

On 4/3/2021 at 4:53 PM, RxScram said:

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

That reminds me... you're 3 months overdue for providing your first born to us so we can use as slave labor.

Slade & Erik have already complied. 

Time is ticking!!  Lets GO!!! 

🤣😇🥰

On 4/3/2021 at 6:06 PM, Intellivision Master said:

 

That was really fantastic and well done!  Cyrus is GREAT!!!!!!!!!

On 4/3/2021 at 6:07 PM, Intellivision Master said:

 

Very cool to hear his thoughts at the end! 

He told me he will be doing multiple videos over the next week or so.  He said he wants to do one that focuses just on the controller and another one focusing on the games.

On 4/3/2021 at 11:05 PM, Starpaddler said:

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

No.  Not during that part.

On 4/3/2021 at 11:05 PM, Starpaddler said:

 

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

Now that we have a little more time we're just going back and seeing if there are little things here and there that we can include in the final product.

On 4/3/2021 at 11:05 PM, 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 

 

Not yet.  I believe I was just talking about how Bill originally worked on those.  

On 4/4/2021 at 1:32 AM, CurlyQ said:

Hahahhaa!   LOVE IT!!

On 4/4/2021 at 5:05 AM, 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. 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.

I've stopped watching and responding to their insanity at this point.  The more they open their mouths the crazier they sound and the worse it makes them look at this point.

One of my friends told me (and it seems you have confirmed) they complained that people weren't wearing masks in Texas... yet the two of them sit 3 feet apart in a confined space in California and never once wore masks over the past year.

Hypocrisy at it's finest.  How embarrassing. 

Looking forward to them becoming the Coleco Chameleon of retro Youtubers.  

9 minutes ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

That was really fantastic and well done!  Cyrus is GREAT!!!!!!!!!

 

I especially love the slow pan across all of the classic controllers through history. For people here on AA it is a great trip down memory lane, for a large chunk of the younger population it is a reminder that the XBox style controller wasn't first carved out of stone in the Neolithic period and has existed ever since

On 4/4/2021 at 6:42 AM, GrudgeQ said:

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.

Great quote (and post) Grudge.  So glad you had the opportunity to try it for yourself and come to the conclusion that you and many others have.

And I can't wait for folks to see the new video that is dropping in a few hours!
 

22 hours ago, GrudgeQ said:

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.

 

 

 

 

WOW!!  This was an AMAZING write-up!!

Thanks for giving your honest thoughts in such a detailed way.

YOU ROCK!!!

2 minutes ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

And I can't wait for folks to see the new video that is dropping in a few hours!

Awesome.  Looking forward to it.

11 hours ago, Cranker said:

I have a question for Tommy. I’m in Canada and I’m wondering when pre-orders will open here. I have my 2 FE on order but I am anxiously waiting to pre-order 6 extra controllers 😎

We don't have an exact date yet... but I'll make sure to post it here and on social media and our mailing list when we do.  From what I've heard internally from our sales folks, I'm assuming early to mid summer.

Thanks!

15 hours ago, GrudgeQ said:

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

 

This was a great one!  SmashJT comes in around the 22 minute mark and gives a lot more details about his visit on Friday.

I think a lot of folks here will be interested in what he had to say overall.

26 minutes ago, Intellivision Master said:

It was a fun show last night.  It got crazy at times.  AAA after dark.  Lol.  If only Tommy was there.

I was hard at work finishing up some Finnigan Fox sound design and spending time with my wife!

1 minute ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

I was hard at work finishing up some Finnigan Fox sound design and spending time with my wife!

 

 

 

I understand.  It just would have been funny with you there during all the craziness.  

17 minutes ago, GrudgeQ said:

I especially love the slow pan across all of the classic controllers through history. For people here on AA it is a great trip down memory lane, for a large chunk of the younger population it is a reminder that the XBox style controller wasn't first carved out of stone in the Neolithic period and has existed ever since

Seeing that big ass Saturn controller really threw me for a loop!  I forgot how crazy and huge that thing was!



Grudge... did you notice that when all the small kids were playing that they could hold the controller comfortably?  We spent a lot of time and focus testing designing it for different sized hands!

I have question. I plan on having 8 controllers and am wondering how many games with allow 8 players. I’m assuming that baseball with allow for 8 players among others (ice cream game ?) Even though it’s a great option , I don’t want people to have to use phones when they come over.(I hope I can have friends over by October)  It will be expensive, especially in Canada 🇨🇦 but what the heck ! It’s only money 💰 😜