Intellivision Amico - Tommy Tallarico introduction + Q&A

1 hour ago, Swami said:

It did, in fact, have a capacitive screen, but outdated firmware. The unit was in the Intellivision office when the IGN guy stopped by. It wasn’t sent over to the IGN guy. 

I think that's part of the confusion.  We're hearing the touch screen lag was due to outdated firmware that's since been fixed, but also hearing there was no lag.  But, I guess this is all moot, since players are more interested in memes and personal attacks than discussing the facts.

1 hour ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Probably mid to late July.

Thank you for the straightforward answer.  So, right now, would you say things are on-track?

This would be a good game for Amico.  It just released on the Switch. 

12 minutes ago, Toobin said:

 

I think that's part of the confusion.  We're hearing the touch screen lag was due to outdated firmware that's since been fixed, but also hearing there was no lag.  But, I guess this is all moot, since players are more interested in memes and personal attacks than discussing the facts.

There was lag at one point with the setup of the game when picking a fish on the touch screen. There was no lag observed during actual gameplay. They say the glitch in flow of the touchscreen during setup is fixed. 

All this talk about lag and personal attacks and memes... let’s get some more Cornhole footage going! 

20 minutes ago, Swami said:

There was lag at one point with the setup of the game when picking a fish on the touch screen. There was no lag observed during actual gameplay. They say the glitch in flow of the touchscreen during setup is fixed. 

Also important to add that the same exact screen on Shark! Shark! was shown by SmashJT on one of his videos working with "no lag" BEFORE the IGN article as well.

Once again proving the point that during production of typically anything gaming related things can change at any given day.  And anyone who has worked on a game will tell you that you are always optimizing from week to week or month to month.  You add things... it slows things down... you speed them up again... and then something else takes a hit.  And on and on and on and on.

If folks spent more time trying to understand how video games are actually made, maybe they wouldn't be so confused by such an insignificant point.

But again... the object of that particular group of liars is to sow doubt into the minds of people like Toobin and to make enemies of anyone who doesn't think like they do (their words, not mine).  Unfortunately it sounds like Toobin here buys right into the deception.  Buy hey... at least he's here asking questions which is a lot more than we can say about the obsessed stalkers.

What I find interesting is that Toobin asks me for additional proof of no lag... yet didn't care to see any proof that the people who come up with these misinformed rants are the ones constantly caught lying.

I wonder why that is?  Toobin... would you care to answer? 

I would think that if you were shown proof that these people who make these videos openly say how much they hate me and then lie about it... then openly say that people who like Amico or believe anything I say are enemies and need to be canceled and not allowed in the retro community... and then LIE about saying it.  Wouldn't that give you a little pause as to the accuracy of the information you've been seeing?  Just curious.  Let me know your thoughts.

Thanks!
 

1 hour ago, Toobin said:

But, I guess this is all moot, since players are more interested in memes and personal attacks than discussing the facts.

Yeah... I've wondered why the anti-Amico haters do that as well.

Great question.

50 minutes ago, Intellivision Master said:

This would be a good game for Amico.  It just released on the Switch. 

I'm not sure the name is very family friendly.

1 minute ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

I'm not sure the name is very family friendly.

 

 

 

Well you can change it. Lol.

Not directly Amico related but a nice interview with Hans Ippisch (President of European Operations for Intellivision Entertainment) on the MSN Digital's "Founders Keepers" (interviews with tech and gaming experts):

https://www.msm.digital/founders-blog/hans-ippisch/

It isn't very long interview, but I thought this was interesting on what he thought the most positive and negative change for the industry was - note that is the two sides of the same coin.

Quote

 

INTERVIEWER: You have been in the games industry for some time. And you have seen many trends come and go. From the beginning of your career to today: What has changed most positively in the industry, and what bothers you about the current situation?

HANS: The barriers to entry are much lower today; almost anyone can develop a game and upload it to the App Store or Google Play. At the same time, however, the odds of success are lower than ever given the flood of new releases every day.

 

This really points to the reason developers are attracted to the Amico's platform exclusive, development support & paid development model - it provides both built in promotion and financial risk reduction for small developers.

A Carnac The Magnificent Prediction!

Or you can just read the Tweet: (https://www.youtube.com/user/MurrayNJ08)

1 hour ago, Intellivision Master said:

This would be a good game for Amico.  It just released on the Switch. 

Seems familiar. I must have ran across it as an arcade game at some point or maybe an unpublished Colecovision game. It wasn't in my MAME folder.

2 minutes ago, Swami said:

Seems familiar. I must have ran across it as an arcade game at some point or maybe an unpublished Colecovision game. It wasn't in my MAME folder.

It was an arcade game.  It was also on the SG-1000.

3 minutes ago, Intellivision Master said:

It was an arcade game.  It was also on the SG-1000.

Seeing as it was ported to MSX and SG-1000, cousins of the Colecovision, I'm thinking either unpublished Colecovision MSX conversion or one of the last batch of pixelboy SG-1000 conversions. Opcode used to try to raise money by selling "protos" of occasional MSX conversions for the ColecoVision in a limited run of five for $500 a pop. It would really suck, except you can always play them on an MSX emulator for free.

Gaming Chitchat Show: Ep5 - A Chat With Tommy Tallarico Of Intellivision EXCLUSIVE REVEALS INTERVIEW

EDIT: Lots of good info and exclusives in this one - he asked tons of good questions, some you have heard before but several new & interesting that Tommy mentioned some brand new info on. HIGHLY recommended.

1 hour ago, Swami said:

There was lag at one point with the setup of the game when picking a fish on the touch screen. There was no lag observed during actual gameplay. They say the glitch in flow of the touchscreen during setup is fixed. 

See, that's a great and concise answer.  But statements from Intellivision Entertainment have flatly said "No lag" (which, again, reasonably can be accepted to mean no perceivable lag).  Here, you say there was lag.  Now, the extent to which the lag is an issue isn't seemingly a big deal.  The official response to the issue, however, is my concern.

1 hour ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Also important to add that the same exact screen on Shark! Shark! was shown by SmashJT on one of his videos working with "no lag" BEFORE the IGN article as well.

 

[...]

 

If folks spent more time trying to understand how video games are actually made, maybe they wouldn't be so confused by such an insignificant point.

[...drama...]

What I find interesting is that Toobin asks me for additional proof of no lag... [...drama...]

 

I wonder why that is?  Toobin... would you care to answer? 

[...drama...]

Again, and maybe I wasn't clear enough before, I don't care about the drama behind the scenes between you and whomever your beefs are with.  I don't care if they started it or what they said most recently.  It means nothing to me, and throwing it back at me as a defense for your actions...  well, "But Mom, they were doing it tooooooo!" didn't work for me when I was 8 and isn't going to work as an answer for me now that I'm 41.
 

You asked why I ask you for proof of no lag.  Let me follow that with a question for you, then I'll answer.

Is SmashJT an official spokesperson for Intellivision Entertainment?  Does SmashJT's statements represent Intellivision Entertainment?  If so, I'll gladly watch every SmashJT video out there.  If not... that's why I'm coming to YOU and asking YOU in a A & Q thread for YOU, Tommy.  I want to hear what Intellivision Entertainment's stance on the statements made by IGN are.  Not what RandomYoutuber2779's experience is.

You imply that I don't know how video games are made.  I can assure you, I quite well understand the specifics you're talking about.  99 bugs in the code, patch one, 105 bugs in the code.  I get it.

But what I don't really get is that this system was supposed to be launched 8 months ago.  You and a few others keep pushing the line "it's not due out for five more months!", no it is OVERDUE at this point.  And, yes, I fully understand that the pandemic and related issues has thrown things off significantly.  But this product has now missed two different ship dates, with each delay being announced a few months out and being explained by chip/part shortages.  Not by the operating system or software not being ready.

And it's okay that it isn't ready.  Absolutely, I'd rather you push back the release until the product is ready, until you can fulfill your promises, and until you have something worthy of the Intellivision name you're putting on the product.  I don't want a low quality product that is just using the Intellivision name as branding like we saw a few years ago with those terrible LCD games.  I want you to succeed and I want the INTELLIVISION Amico to be something you're proud of.

At this point, you are eight months overdue, the one independent, reputable press report is something you've attacked for getting facts wrong, and when I come here to directly ask questions, you and others attack me, insult my intelligence, give evasive answers, and try to bring up drama that I don't care about.

Again, I ask, as of this moment, to the best of your knowledge, do you believe the system is likely on track for a 10/10/2021 release date with founder editions to be in customers' hands prior to that date?

Thank you, Mr. Tallarico.

23 minutes ago, Toobin said:

See, that's a great and concise answer.  But statements from Intellivision Entertainment have flatly said "No lag" (which, again, reasonably can be accepted to mean no perceivable lag).  Here, you say there was lag.  Now, the extent to which the lag is an issue isn't seemingly a big deal.  The official response to the issue, however, is my concern.

What official response? The firmware in question was from before and fixed before the demoes where lag was brought up. So, the "no lag" which can *only* mean no perceptible lag, since "absolutely no lag" is impossible was true when it was said. Tommy has said that. Some controller half way round the world doesn't get updated for some reason is not "the sky is falling" and needs an immediate official response for some anonymous whoever. Every so often some overly aggressive anonymous comes in the thread requiring official answers to some loaded questions that sound a lot like accusations. Who wants to encourage that? We've certainly got a ton more information than you would get during development from Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo or even Blaze. If you want to blame somebody for a lack of "official statements" to every rumor, you can blame the trolls for trying to use everything Tommy and the fans say against them in any way they can. It is relevant whether you like it or not.

In addition, tommy does not like to speak officially about things too far ahead of time as this is really supposed to be a more casual Q&A from what I understand, not a grill session, but Tommy can clarify that, if he wants.

Can we just move on from the negativity please?  I don't post a lot here, but I do try to read this thread throughout the week.  It's usually something fun and positive to look forward to.  Can we please take it back to that?

@Toobin, it seems that your issues are complicated enough to start your own thread topic rather than taking over this thread.

3 hours ago, Toobin said:

 

I think that's part of the confusion.  We're hearing the touch screen lag was due to outdated firmware that's since been fixed, but also hearing there was no lag.  But, I guess this is all moot, since players are more interested in memes and personal attacks than discussing the facts.

As has been said previously, the IGN writer experienced "no lag" on the TV display,  but felt the controller display was laggy.

52 minutes ago, Swami said:

What official response?

Earlier in this very thread, Mr. Tallarico posted "There are many videos out there at this point from people who have played it and specifically mentioned zero perceivable lag.".  I can find additional quotes if you would like, but I don't thinkmit would help.

49 minutes ago, LinemanDoc said:

Can we just move on from the negativity please?  I don't post a lot here, but I do try to read this thread throughout the week.  It's usually something fun and positive to look forward to.  Can we please take it back to that?

 

@Toobin, it seems that your issues are complicated enough to start your own thread topic rather than taking over this thread.

Hi!  Thanks for your concern, but this is a Q&A thread for Mr. Tallarico of Intellivision Entertainment, is it not?  Is it supposed to be a thread for only positive questions?  For compensated fans to post unrelated videos?  I don't see the goal of starting a second Q&A thread because you, personally, are not a fan of my questions.  But if you have questions for Mr. Tallarico,  positive or otherwise, please do ask them!

@Toobin: This is a Q&A thread, true enough, but your dominating the thread with your grilling and grandstanding is becoming wearisome.

You claim that you "don't care" about "drama" that has transpired before, but as a new user who signed up here only yesterday, it is incumbent upon you—and upon every new member of any community, for that matter—to learn about the community you have chosen to interact with before demanding that others in that community engage with you entirely on your terms.  As others have said, we have had to put up with individuals who have abused the Q&A format of this thread to engage in "concern trolling" (look it up) and other negative behaviors which are against our community guidelines and against the rules of this particular subforum.  As someone who seems to have closely followed the Amico project in general, and the discussions here on AtariAge in particular, you are no doubt already aware of this—and by signing up and posting here, you have agreed to abide by the aforementioned rules.

Viewed in that context, your aggressive and confrontational tone can only be interpreted as an attitude of deliberate disrespect, so it should not be a surprise to you if our other members are less than receptive to it.  That said, nobody here has "attacked" or "insulted" you; the petty and minor comments that you have already reported to the moderators on multiple occasions barely rise to the level of good-natured ribbing, certainly compared to the comments regularly exchanged almost anywhere else on the Internet.  Your abuse of the reporting system further supports the impression that your intention in signing up here was to be a deliberate nuisance—if not to act as a proxy for the very previously-banned trolls who caused the "drama" that you claim not to care about.

If you wish to change that impression, then the "drama" of your own, which you have been creating from your very first post, needs to stop.  The Amico is a video game console, after all, and a relatively inexpensive one at that.  There is no need to catastrophize it to the extent that you have.  We want to encourage questions which reflect a genuine interest in and curiosity about any of the topics we discuss on AtariAge—if that were not the case, you would not have been permitted to continue to the extent that you have—but your high-strung demeanor is greatly out of proportion to anything being discussed here, and is indicative of a different motivation.  If you are not interested in changing that impression, we will have no choice but to respond accordingly.

14 minutes ago, Toobin said:

Hi!  Thanks for your concern, but this is a Q&A thread for Mr. Tallarico of Intellivision Entertainment, is it not?  Is it supposed to be a thread for only positive questions?  For compensated fans to post unrelated videos?  I don't see the goal of starting a second Q&A thread because you, personally, are not a fan of my questions.  But if you have questions for Mr. Tallarico,  positive or otherwise, please do ask them!

You are attempting here to dictate to others how and in what way they should engage with the topic.  That is not your place to do, certainly not as someone who has been a member here for one whole day.  As I said in my previous post, this kind of aggressive behavior needs to change if you wish to continue to participate in this community.  This will be your last warning.

11 hours ago, Toobin said:

Hello again, Tommy.

Thanks again for joining the conversation.  However, again, I ask that you leave the drama at the door.  I'm not interested in your "haters" or those "out to destroy the company".

 

Also, I kindly ask that you drop the personal attacks.  Trying to "shame" me or claiming I am "detached from reality" is not productive conversation.  Again, I ask that we focus on the Amico.  That's why we're all here, right?

 

Here's the biggest difference between @RandomYoutuber2997 making a statement that X is true and you saying X is true.

 

If the console ships and consumers find that X is not true, there is ZERO recourse for legal restitution against @RandomYoutuber2997.  Even if there are consumer protection laws that may apply regarding compensated sponsorships and truth in advertising laws, and even if a court would find one or more random Youtuber to be liable for any false statements they may have made, my guess is that these individuals are largely what you'd call judgement proof.  I seriously doubt any significant consumer of the Amico would be able to reacquire any significant amount of their initial investment from them.

 

Intellivision Entertainment, however, is a different story.  I sincerely don't think you or those who are helping you market the brand would be willing to put out an official Intellivision Entertainment video stating something that is simply factually incorrect.  If Intellivision Entertainment puts out a video that includes false statements of fact and doctored video, this would open the door wildly for litigation once the product is released and consumers find out they were presented with false information via official channels.

If Intellivision Entertainment puts out a video showing and stating little to no perceivable lag or input problems, then 100%, I would believe you because, frankly, I can't imagine you and yours being stupid enough to do something so damaging and opening you up to so much liability.

 

Hope that helps you understand where I'm coming from.

So, just to be clear, it sounds more like you want an official statement from IE in case you or others need proof of them lying about the lag issue (which you seemed so concerned about), so that you'd have legal recourse to recover damages? Are you worried about an investment of multiple thousands of dollars you made in IE or just a $100 deposit on pre-ordering a console?
 

Either way, I think if it's causing you to be concerned to the point of asking the same question a dozen times, which definitely won't be definitively answered in this thread to your satisfaction, then maybe you should find out about getting a refund on the investment you've made in the company, and/or just getting a refund on your deposit. You could always wait until it came out and decide then whether it is worth buying. No harm no foul at that point. 

3 minutes ago, jaybird3rd said:

You are attempting here to dictate to others how and in what way they should engage with the topic.  That is not your place to do, certainly not as someone who has been a member here for one whole day.  As I said in my previous post, this kind of aggressive behavior needs to change if you wish to continue to participate in this community.  This will be your last warning.

Hi!  Thanks for the reply.

You are correct, it isn't really my place to tell someone how they should engage with this topic.  However, mynreply was directed to someone else telling me how I should engage with the topic.  Will you be issuing that same person the same warning you issued me, or is this a special case just for me?

7 minutes ago, jaybird3rd said:

That said, nobody here has "attacked" or "insulted" you; the petty and minor comments that you have already reported to the moderators on multiple occasions barely rise to the level of good-natured ribbing, certainly compared to the comments regularly exchanged almost anywhere else on the Internet.

 

[...]for the very previously-banned trolls that you claim to know nothing about.

There have been multiple posts attacking and insulting me.  You may think they're minor and petty, and that's fine - I reported them instead of calling them out because I don't want them to be the center of discussion.  I want to talk about the Amico.  If you want to take this to PM instead of derailing the entire thread, I would absolutely support that.

Also, please don't strawman me or put words into my mouth.  I have never claimed to be unaware of anyone else involved in the drama here or elsewhere.  In fact, I even directly referenced a reddit post earlier.  You're trying to make me into something I'm not and that's not a fair representation of the facts.

What I said, very clearly, multiple times, is that I DO NOT CARE about the drama.  I want to talk about the system, the games, and the brand.  And here you have misrepresented me, protected those who have personally insulted me, reprimanded me for choosing to respond to someone in-kind (that you absolutely failed to hold them to the same standard) and have gotten me to type a four paragraph, completely off topic response that you will probably now use as an excuse to ban me.

Let's talk about Amico.  If you wish to continue, please feel free to pm me.

12 minutes ago, cmart604 said:

So, just to be clear, it sounds more like you want an official statement from IE in case you or others need proof of them lying about the lag issue (which you seemed so concerned about), so that you'd have legal recourse to recover damages? Are you worried about an investment of multiple thousands of dollars you made in IE or just a $100 deposit on pre-ordering a console?
 

Either way, I think if it's causing you to be concerned to the point of asking the same question a dozen times, which definitely won't be definitively answered in this thread to your satisfaction, then maybe you should find out about getting a refund on the investment you've made in the company, and/or just getting a refund on your deposit. You could always wait until it came out and decide then whether it is worth buying. No harm no foul at that point. 

I think a statement from an official from Intellivision Entertainment holds much more weight than that of a random Youtuber or otherwise compensated fan.  The fact that it would give investors potential recourse is *why* is gives an official statement more weight.

1 hour ago, Toobin said:

Hi!  Thanks for the reply.

You are correct, it isn't really my place to tell someone how they should engage with this topic.  However, mynreply was directed to someone else telling me how I should engage with the topic.  Will you be issuing that same person the same warning you issued me, or is this a special case just for me?

It is not your place to take it upon yourself to "respond in kind" to other members, either.  Whatever anyone else may have said or done, it is up to you to choose how you react.  Whether or not anyone else is also warned is no concern of yours.

Quote

There have been multiple posts attacking and insulting me.  You may think they're minor and petty, and that's fine - I reported them instead of calling them out because I don't want them to be the center of discussion.  I want to talk about the Amico.  If you want to take this to PM instead of derailing the entire thread, I would absolutely support that.

Also, please don't strawman me or put words into my mouth.  I have never claimed to be unaware of anyone else involved in the drama here or elsewhere.  In fact, I even directly referenced a reddit post earlier.  You're trying to make me into something I'm not and that's not a fair representation of the facts.

 

What I said, very clearly, multiple times, is that I DO NOT CARE about the drama.  I want to talk about the system, the games, and the brand.  And here you have misrepresented me, protected those who have personally insulted me, reprimanded me for choosing to respond to someone in-kind (that you absolutely failed to hold them to the same standard) and have gotten me to type a four paragraph, completely off topic response that you will probably now use as an excuse to ban me.

For someone who claims not to care about the drama, you certainly seem intent on creating it.  You are evidently not genuinely interested in having a discussion, because the needlessly aggressive and negative approach you have chosen—splitting hairs, bickering, getting picayune over trivia, etc.—is not conducive to having a discussion, especially a discussion in which disagreements and different points of view can be entertained peacefully.  Since this is a discussion forum, that is the only "excuse" we should need to conclude that you are not a good fit here.

(And okay, fine, I corrected my statement to say "the very previously-banned trolls who caused the 'drama' that you claim not to care about."  Like so many of the nitpicking "points" that you've seized upon and raised over and over again ad nauseum, it makes no difference whatsoever.  That you chose to seize upon that, out of everything else I said in my post, is enlightening and revealing in itself.)

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Let's talk about Amico.

Actually, I think it's time for you to take a break from talking about the Amico, at least in this venue.  I'm sure the rest of us can and will keep the conversation going—complete with the diversity of opinion we've always encouraged here—without your input.