Intellivision Amico - Tommy Tallarico introduction + Q&A

3 hours ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

I played the hell out of that game on different emulators.  Fun and challenging.  Would love to see that one make a comeback.  Was partly the influence for the circus game you saw in our Gamescom trailer. 

 

I'm not sure that riding on a lion's back and having it jump through fiery hoops so you can grab bags of money, or having monkeys walk a tightrope just so you can jump over them, is going to meld with modern sensibilities. If you are going to upgrade Burgertime into Impossible Burgertime, you might want to turn Circus Charlie into Circus Carlee, where Carlee helps the poorly treated traveling animals escape.... 

Perhaps Carlee could jump through bureaucratic hoops until she gets circuses outlawed. 

Alternatively, perhaps she could run through Australia saving animals from the brush fires (hat to to my girlfriend for that idea...). 

5 hours ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Interested to know everyone's thoughts on this video and what they showed (not much).

 

At one point... around 16 minutes in he talks about "hoping to get Nintendo games" on to the Atari platform.

 

WTF??   

 

Super naive statement IMO.

 

I don't know about you guys... but I can't wait to navigate Facebook on my TV with the original Atari joystick.

🤓

I hope they succeed in some form... I really do.  I just don't see a path at this point.  Hope I'm wrong.
 

 

 

 

Pretty passionless.

There isn't much care or concern from the guy who is speaking (didn't pay attention to his name) and, whether he intended to or not, he successfully sold that it's going to be a boring, under powered computer. When he said "4k 60fps" I laughed, because he showed Borderlands 2 running moments later, which is nearly 10 years old now right?

Maybe he is hoping for the Nintendo phone apps ...? That would be interesting at least. But it sounds like he means hacking the box and adding emulation. Stupid thing to say in an interview...

At any rate - they are shooting for a very different market than Amico and I don't know how well this is going to sell as it does seem to be attempting to enter the same space as "The Big 3"

5 hours ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

"hoping to get Nintendo games"

The interviewer couldn't stop from laughing his ass off at that statement. 

There is no value here to the customer. It only has 32 Gigabytes of internal storage. I don't even think this thing is viable out of the box.
Any PC gamer wanting something like this is more than likely to scrap together something out of old components.

6 hours ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Interested to know everyone's thoughts on this video and what they showed (not much).

 

 

The VCS is a basically a hybrid Roku & Steam machine - except without the Steam library (natively) and with only a handful of channels compared to the Roku (assuming they all aren't just browser supported). And that is a problem because without software it is just very OK as a PC. It's AMD R1606G processor is pretty minimally powered (2 cores, 4 thread; Vega 3 graphics) for Windows/Linux based gaming. I know first hand because I have a cigar box sized mini PC under my TV right now with a Ryzen 2400G (4 cores, 8 thread, Vega 11 graphics - basically 2.5x to 3x as powerful) and it is great for casual games but you have go low/med and/or 720p on AAA games - remember with 2x the CPU & over 3x the GPU power. That means it will be fine for casuals, fine for watching streaming stuff, a good retro emulation box or a cute basic workload (i.e. Office) productivity machine. All of that is fine, but won't sell many machines and because it is clear they are leading with the hardware & hoping the software will follow how long before all of the shipped units are on eBay, sitting un-turned on for a year under a TV or the hard drive is wiped and they are permanently converted to just a Windows/Linux PC (much like I did with my Steam machine)?

For me the root cause of this is exactly what Tommy & IntelliMission pointed out - lack of plan & lack of passion. Nobody noticed the "Asteroids" or "Yars'" misspelling on the menus and notice how he struggles to walk the guy through getting into the sandbox mode (audio only, around 13:00). He really doesn't know his own machine, he is mostly involved in picking out the low bid to get a checklist completed. I believe he said that Atari controller optimized games will come in the Fall (probably through Antstream) so assuming they ship in March, backers will have to wait 6 months to get *streaming* support for their peripherals special features? People haven't waited even a couple of months before giving up on Stadia. Finally even mentioning Nintendo properties is either trying to plant hope seeds in the few blind fanboys left - or he has heard rumors of Nintendo starting a streaming service - which I guarantee you won't be a Atari VCS exclusive if it does come. Software is what makes hardware what it is - without it the Atari VCS is just a low power PC in a cute retro case.

14 hours ago, save2600 said:

Video sports games in general... ugh. Biggest problem for me (and many others) when trying to play a game like Hockey or Basketball, is keeping track of who has the ball or puck. Too many players on a crowded field, usually made worse by poor color choices, camera angles or perspectives. AND what direction is the goal I'm supposed to be going for? I forget half the time. lol   

 

Make the players too fast and forget about it!   🤣

That's really what all our discussion is about here, making these games a higher quality but easy to play.  What you describe is the problem with today's sports games - too cluttered and way too many buttons to memorize what they do.  That's what the beauty of Intellivision was all about back in the day!  I agree that NHL hockey needed to be sped up a lot!

7 hours ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Interested to know everyone's thoughts on this video and what they showed (not much).

 

At one point... around 16 minutes in he talks about "hoping to get Nintendo games" on to the Atari platform.

 

WTF??   

 

Super naive statement IMO.

 

I don't know about you guys... but I can't wait to navigate Facebook on my TV with the original Atari joystick.

🤓

I hope they succeed in some form... I really do.  I just don't see a path at this point.  Hope I'm wrong.
 

 

 

 

The only way to get Nintendo games is, Nintendo leaves console market, much likes Sega.

The problem with Intellivision hockey is not the speed, it's the acceleration.  The programmer probably didn't skate and programmed in acceleration, and deceleration, trying to be realistic.  In reality acceleration and stopping and changing direction is much faster on ice skates than running.

8 hours ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Interested to know everyone's thoughts on this video and what they showed (not much).

 

At one point... around 16 minutes in he talks about "hoping to get Nintendo games" on to the Atari platform.

 

WTF??   

 

Super naive statement IMO.

 

I don't know about you guys... but I can't wait to navigate Facebook on my TV with the original Atari joystick.

🤓

I hope they succeed in some form... I really do.  I just don't see a path at this point.  Hope I'm wrong.
 

 

 

I can't be the only one that doesn't have a set top box with a web application.  I wouldn't mind if Amico quietly had an internet web/media app, and network media app.

I didn't think nintendo ever developed for an atari system, like the interviewer suggested.  But yeah does Antstream have anything compelling in their retro video game library?  Because like the atari guy said you could unofficially put any retro emulator on the thing, but I don't think that's a big selling point.

Atari is obviously limiting themselves to Atari fans, which is not insignificant.  I don't know if Atari fans will like that paddle controller.  I haven't priced inexpensive, quiet, hdmi PCs but as Grudgeq pointed out I wouldn't be surprised if you could do better elsewhere.

It would be interesting to see Amico use some media apps that you can control with the touch screen on the pad or maybe some functionality with the touch screen (showing videos). But nothing beyond Netflix or Youtube. 

7 hours ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Interested to know everyone's thoughts on this video and what they showed (not much).

 

At one point... around 16 minutes in he talks about "hoping to get Nintendo games" on to the Atari platform.

 

WTF??   

 

Super naive statement IMO.

 

I don't know about you guys... but I can't wait to navigate Facebook on my TV with the original Atari joystick.

🤓

I hope they succeed in some form... I really do.  I just don't see a path at this point.  Hope I'm wrong.
 

 

 

 

Nothing new shown.  But Michael was a little more clear about expectations.

They're obviously really banking on enthusiasm generating enough sales for this as a nostalgic dip into classic games.. I don't know if that number looks closer to 30,000 sales or 150,000 sales - but some number of online purchases will see this, see enough polish and the Atari vault, Antstream, hundreds of games, promising itself to be a unique platform for future games.. some number of shoppers with disposable income will pick it up.  I think that number is in the tens of thousands, but I don't know what sort of market research they've done.  While there's been plenty of devices doing multiple things Atari is promoting here, it hasn't been quite done in this combination with Atari's branding.  What's the value of that?  We'll see.

I thought the interviewer pitched softball questions, but, that's OK.  That gets to Atari's talking points.  Ideally the consumer gets more info from this video, but that's not how these pieces work.

Things I like:

• Present the modern controller as fairly standard.  If this is an enthusiast/modder system, if that's a tenet, then - it is pretty universal and won't scare off any small devs.
• Showcased the class joystick.  It's simple, but they added upgrades where they could.  We know Atari's small - but I think they did a decent homage to the classic CX joystick.  The light-up ring is nice polish.  The gloss dish, the button on the side for attention to better ergonomics, showing off the twist as a solution to paddle-type games (not ideal, but we can work with it)
• Talking up their partner Antstream in having 200 games available by launch.  Packages some value
• Clarifying that Atari post 2013 had to turn around after running itself into the ground.  I think their narrative IS scrappy, squarely focused small player finding their feet. 
• Mentioned the games division.
• Putting themselves apart from a "console" and clarifying that they're a computer interfaced through your TV.  That will help the audience understand what they're getting.
• Still on path for March release.  Sounds like March 31st-ish is way more likely than March 5th-ish.  But March. 
• Stressed that this is Atari getting its foot in the door.  Acknowledging they can't bank everything on this, but it's an important step.  Flashbacks and licensing deals are not their vision of Atari (doubly good).
• At their core, they see themselves as a hardware company.  Good.
• The Nintendo comment I thought was handled OK actually.  Should've been outright dismissed, it isn't in the cards, the reporter seemed a little under-informed (they tend not to be experts, they're just told which person their media site secured an interview with, so no knock to the reporter) - but he then tried to clarify what Atari is (without kicking themselves) and give the generic "yeah we'd love to work with them".  Honestly, who wouldn't? 

Things I didn't like:

• Still no unique games.  Couldn't they have laid out two or three games their own games division had in plan over the next few years?  They can't commit to this?
• Dependent on hobbyists and devs coming to them.  They can't wait for devs to want to fall in love with their classic controller and want to make games for it.  Where's the legwork?  Who've they been talking to?  Why haven't they been talking to small developer studios and pitching ideas or *receiving ideas*?
• No mention of what an Atari OS does differently or why it's a selling point to the consumer
• Stop talking about kickstarting and what you put out on Indiegogo.  Put out the system proposed (with all its modifications and stripped down current iteration).  But no need to keep referencing that somewhat defensively "we've always said, since that Indiegogo campaign, that this was an open platform".. you're now 8-10 weeks from shipping.  This is a product now.  Thank the funders who supported you.  But don't artificially minimize your relevance by only talking about that campaign.  We should assume other investors and additional funding is at play.  At some point this should have transitioned from kickstarted campaign to full-on product development and company initiative. 
• Still calling it a box.  It's not a cablebox.  Boxes to stream sound a little dated now - we've moved on to Chromecasts, Amazon Fire Cubes, Firesticks, Roku Plus and Ultra and Express, NVIDEA Shields, Apple TV, Android TV... if the centerpiece of what this is, is its interface with the tv, call it your Atari entertainment platform.  Call it the Atari TV Mate, the Atari digital media all-in-one.. something that conveys what it could be, better than the vague and somewhat dated "box", which was conceptual in it's earliest reveal.

Hopeful this finds a large enough audience not to sour retailers and any audience appetite for Atari moving forward.  I'd be super excited to pay some sort of premium for a system that had an exclusive Crystal Castles - build and share levels, see other players' best runs in ghost mode.  I've commented a couple times about how Atari is missing the opportunity to exclusively redesign its classic titles, but that would be pivotable for the audience excited for this.  I'd love to see SOME developers or homebrew scene putting a little bit of resources toward getting unique games on this.  But it is at the end of the day a hobbyist toy on one end, a high end streaming device that doesn't appear optimized for how people are used to navigating these streaming services, and a pc that you can build and operate on your tv (not sure how much need/appeal this gets).

8 hours ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Interested to know everyone's thoughts on this video and what they showed (not much).

 

At one point... around 16 minutes in he talks about "hoping to get Nintendo games" on to the Atari platform.

 

WTF??   

 

Super naive statement IMO.

 

I don't know about you guys... but I can't wait to navigate Facebook on my TV with the original Atari joystick.

🤓

I hope they succeed in some form... I really do.  I just don't see a path at this point.  Hope I'm wrong.
 

 

 

 

This was just painful to watch. I honestly feel sorry for the backers at this point.

I could not help but note he kept referring it to it as 'the box' throughout the interview, at one point clarifying after he accidentally said 'console' something like 'We do not call it a console because it is an open platform; it will be whatever the users make of it'. Then started talking about installing Windows and Linux, running Steam, streaming...

So basically it is a half-finished PC (Users will need to buy and install a larger drive, and then buy and install an operating system for it) for the living room in a admittedly snazzy Atari-themed case.

The joysticks do not look half bad, though having the paddle built into the main joystick seems an odd choice as you would expect it to constantly spin a bit during use as a joystick and is a small grip/knob for use as a paddle. It seems an interesting idea, but I suspect in actual use it is going to under-perform at both.

I am also still waiting for them to announce another delay. As he pointed out in the interview it is basically Chinese New Year; and every factory in China shuts down for 4-6 weeks. As the board design is still being finalized for production, there is no way they will meet their already previously delayed March shipping date.

My final note is despite it being pointed out to them a week and some ago, they still have 'Asteroid' and 'Yar's Revenge' in their demo. One would think they would have corrected these embarrassing typos of flagship Atari products by now.

I am starting to wonder if I will be playing my Amico before the Atari indiegogo backers recieve their VCS II's? As the only thing we have seen the VCS II actually do so far is run Windows and Steam, I imagine many campaign backers are going to be disappointed if and when they receive their 'Atari Box' (as that seems to be what is is being called again?).

40 minutes ago, mr_me said:

The problem with Intellivision hockey is not the speed, it's the acceleration.  The programmer probably didn't skate and programmed in acceleration, and deceleration, trying to be realistic.  In reality acceleration and stopping and changing direction is much faster on ice skates than running.

 

I can't be the only one that doesn't have a set top box with a web application.  I wouldn't mind if Amico quietly had an internet web/media app, and network media app.

 

I didn't think nintendo ever developed for an atari system, like the interviewer suggested.  But yeah does Antstream have anything compelling in their retro video game library?  Because like the atari guy said you could unofficially put any retro emulator on the thing, but I don't think that's a big selling point.

 

Atari is obviously limiting themselves to Atari fans, which is not insignificant.  I don't know if Atari fans will like that paddle controller.  I haven't priced inexpensive, quiet, hdmi PCs but as Grudgeq pointed out I wouldn't be surprised if you could do better elsewhere.

Yeah... having more acceleration on the skaters is what we want to do.

As all of us here probably know... Nintendo DIDN'T ever develop anything for Atari.  They probably saw that games like Donkey Kong & Popeye were on the 2600 at one point and assumed Nintendo did that... not knowing it was really Coleco or Parker Bros.

48 minutes ago, 1001lives said:

It would be interesting to see Amico use some media apps that you can control with the touch screen on the pad or maybe some functionality with the touch screen (showing videos). But nothing beyond Netflix or Youtube. 

Disney+ maybe.

If they paid us a lot of money and gave us game licenses for Frozen, Marvel, etc. 

27 minutes ago, Tavi said:

I am also still waiting for them to announce another delay. As he pointed out in the interview it is basically Chinese New Year; and every factory in China shuts down for 4-6 weeks. As the board design is still being finalized for production, there is no way they will meet their already previously delayed March shipping date.

Yeah.  I think this is the reality at this point... and they know it. 

I have it on good authority that they are still looking for a loan or investor to fulfill the IndieGogo campaign manufacturing.  The manufacturing cost on this has got to be at least $250 at MINIMUM (probably closer to $300 considering they wont have "bulk" numbers.  They sold 10,000 units through crowdfunding.  

So, they need at least $2.5M - $3M to manufacture.  Call it at least $3M when you include packaging, shipping to the U.S. and then shipping to their backers around the world. 

But wait... that is the number they raised on IndieGogo and was spent to create the machine.  So where is the next $3M coming from?  Atari SA (French parent holding company) is separate to this remember.  Atari SA only licensed the name to this new Atari hardware division.  At least that is my understanding.  But who knows... they could have gotten the manufacturing money from somewhere.  I'm not sure who would do such a thing...  Man, that must have been a hard sell!  "Please give us $3M to manufacture a product that gets destroyed online for 2 years.  There won't be any profit from the manufacturing of these 10,000 units, but the hope is that we get them out there and everyone starts buying them and we'll make a $20 - $30 margin that we can then give you a part of."   That would take hundreds of thousands of units just to pay back the initial loan or investment.  I hope they have a rich uncle or something.  No investor or bank would do that deal.

But, maybe they do have the money (lets hope so!).  But even if they had the money in hand right now and they are in China right now finalizing production... I still don't see a way that backers will get the product by March.  China is about to shut down for about a month for the Chinese New Year.  That includes most manufacturing.  They won't start making these until the end of February if they're lucky.  Which means probably won't have 10,000 produced until the end of March.  Then they need to ship to the U.S., then they'll need to ship to their backers.  Easily it's the end of April at this point.  And that's assuming everything goes correctly.

I hope for the backers sake they make it for March... but considering what I know in regards to how this all works... I'd put my money on "doubtful".  Lets hope I'm wrong.

8 hours ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Interested to know everyone's thoughts on this video and what they showed (not much).

 

At one point... around 16 minutes in he talks about "hoping to get Nintendo games" on to the Atari platform.

 

WTF??   

 

Super naive statement IMO.

 

I don't know about you guys... but I can't wait to navigate Facebook on my TV with the original Atari joystick.

🤓

I hope they succeed in some form... I really do.  I just don't see a path at this point.  Hope I'm wrong.
 

 

 

 

This reminds me: remember earlier in the thread, when you pointed out how The Pokemon Company is technically its own separate entity, when discussing Nintendo's stocks after Pokemon Go? Would this apply to gamer licensing too, like Pokemon's educational PC titles in the past? Or is that all tied up in Nintendo exclusivity?

(Gonna go ahead and assume all the mainline titles are co-copyrighted by Nintendo themselves...As well as all the spinoff titles on Nintendo systems.)

14 minutes ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

 But even if they had the money in hand right now and they are in China right now finalizing production... I still don't see a way that backers will get the product by March.  China is about to shut down for about a month for the Chinese New Year.  That includes most manufacturing.  They won't start making these until the end of February if they're lucky.  Which means probably won't have 10,000 produced until the end of March.  Then they need to ship to the U.S., then they'll need to ship to their backers.  Easily it's the end of April at this point.  And that's assuming everything goes correctly.

 

 

Which is why starting manufacturing in March/April and shipping for stores in October makes sense

2 minutes ago, 1001lives said:

Which is why starting manufacturing in March/April and shipping for stores in October makes sense ! haha

Lead time is apparently a concept the French folks know nothing about 😳

It's nice to see Tommy asking and the forum answering for a change. 🖖

The most positive thing out of the Atari VCS disaster is the entertainment, Atari's recent history has probably enough material for a movie, some kind of comedy-drama. The most negative aspect is that it can impact the perception of the Amico by the general public as "just another potentially failed retro console". But then again, Sony was also a newcomer in 1994 and they came just after the CDI, the Jaguar and the 3DO and I don't think the potential Amico buyers will ever know about the Hatari VCX.

1 hour ago, RetroAdvisoryBoard said:

Talking up their partner Antstream in having 200 games available by launch.  Packages some value

That's 2000 games but it's a monthly subscription service and I'm not sure about the value.

https://www.pcgamesn.com/antstream-game-streaming

56 minutes ago, Tavi said:

The joysticks do not look half bad, though having the paddle built into the main joystick seems an odd choice as you would expect it to constantly spin a bit during use as a joystick and is a small grip/knob for use as a paddle. It seems an interesting idea, but I suspect in actual use it is going to under-perform at both.

Reminds of the Channel F and Astrocade controllers.  Those old controllers might actually be more ergonomic.

21 minutes ago, Battlefish said:

This reminds me: remember earlier in the thread, when you pointed out how The Pokemon Company is technically its own separate entity, when discussing Nintendo's stocks after Pokemon Go? Would this apply to gamer licensing too, like Pokemon's educational PC titles in the past? Or is that all tied up in Nintendo exclusivity?

 

(Gonna go ahead and assume all the mainline titles are co-copyrighted by Nintendo themselves...As well as all the spinoff titles on Nintendo systems.)

According to wikipedia nintendo is part owner and shares ownership of the copyrights with two other companies;  but nintendo soley owns the pokemon trademark outside of Japan.

1 hour ago, Tavi said:

I could not help but note he kept referring it to it as 'the box' throughout the interview, at one point clarifying after he accidentally said 'console' something like 'We do not call it a console because it is an open platform; it will be whatever the users make of it'. Then started talking about installing Windows and Linux, running Steam, streaming...

In unrelated news - I am excited to announce I am a starting my own car company! It is called "Open Sandbox Motors" and it finally gives the customers the freedom they desire. Why choose from a handful of options like 'air conditioning' when we give you everything below and then you can make it any sort of car you want. From a sports car to a hearse - anything is possible!

40 minutes ago, 1001lives said:

Which is why starting manufacturing in March/April and shipping for stores in October makes sense

Confirmed! Atari VCS shipping to backers 10/10/2020!

1 minute ago, IntelliMission said:

It's nice to see Tommy asking and the forum answering for a change. 🖖

 

The most positive thing out of the Atari VCS disaster is the entertainment, Atari's recent history has probably enough material for a movie, some kind of comedy-drama. The most negative aspect is that it can impact the perception of the Amico by the general public as "just another potentially failed retro console". But then again, Sony was also a newcomer in 1994 and they came just after the CDI, the Jaguar and the CDO and I don't think the potential Amico buyers will ever know about Atary BMX.

I think the VCS/Amico comparisons/impact pretty much ends with our community - I can't see the cross-over damage to the general public.  The general public didn't crowd-fund the VCS.  The general public doesn't know it's a thing.  Casual buyers won't know (or care) about the roller coaster mistakes and red flags of some obscure three year project.  The end products are so completely aimed at different audiences and doing different things, the VCS may not even be visible on a store shelf or highlighted on a retailer website.  The VCS and Amico proposed within a year of each other and launching the same year may get a mention in some future entertainment news piece but even then, we're consuming our news and entertainment in such a segmented manner now, I doubt those pieces get much exposure anyway.  I really don't think it hurts anybody from a consumer perspective.

It DOES probably affect potential investors and retail buyers if some poorly planned system launches and is an abject failure generating zero interest, because THEY'RE looking for the most relevant market examples that line up with what the next console maker is trying to do.  Even if very different goals, very different methods and markets, that's just extra work for that future system.  It surely was a hill for Intellivision to surpass in shaking off the Ouya's thud, even though approach, market, research, development, software and business plans are completely different.  It's a hurdle to get past anyone burned or with superficial awareness of this market. 

4 hours ago, 1001lives said:

Pretty passionless.

 

There isn't much care or concern from the guy who is speaking (didn't pay attention to his name) and, whether he intended to or not, he successfully sold that it's going to be a boring, under powered computer. When he said "4k 60fps" I laughed, because he showed Borderlands 2 running moments later, which is nearly 10 years old now right?

 

Maybe he is hoping for the Nintendo phone apps ...? That would be interesting at least. But it sounds like he means hacking the box and adding emulation. Stupid thing to say in an interview...

 

At any rate - they are shooting for a very different market than Amico and I don't know how well this is going to sell as it does seem to be attempting to enter the same space as "The Big 3"

 

Not quite sure what to say. I’d like to see them succeed but I’m not sure what they are trying to do given the lack of information among other things.

26 minutes ago, RetroAdvisoryBoard said:

The end products are so completely aimed at different audiences and doing different things, the VCS may not even be visible on a store shelf or highlighted on a retailer website.  The VCS and Amico proposed within a year of each other and launching the same year may get a mention in some future entertainment news piece but even then, we're consuming our news and entertainment in such a segmented manner now, I doubt those pieces get much exposure anyway.  I really don't think it hurts anybody from a consumer perspective.

Superficially, they can both be seen as consoles emulating a retro appeal. I could see where there is some potential for Tommy to face competition if the VCS both launches and has a compelling lineup of classic games that actually run properly and are set at an affordable price.

There is potential for some overlap in customers who are looking for a fun game machine that can let them play classics with their family/parents again. In that respect, Atari VCS is keeping things original without re-imagining, so someone who played a lot in the 70s and 80s can literally just play again without even "relearning" what he or she is looking at, especially with the same retro VCS control stick.

Of course, this is way too idealistic. In reality, there's probably not a chance in hell someone who used to play the 2600 is going to go out and search for the VCS and pick it up and start playing VCS games. They would have funded the indiegogo or they'll probably have it ordered online anyway.

The VCS does have potential to drum up marketing and hype for other retro console potentials, though, like the Amico, and competitors in the smaller realm of retro machines like this aren't a bad thing. More talk is good for everyone. 

Ultimately, I believe it boils down to marketing. If (in this incredibly surreal and not realistic situation) grandpa looks at the Atari VCS and Amico on a shelf, sees reimagined Centipede vs classic Centipede, he may just go with the classic because it's what he knows. But again, none of this is going to happen. Amico is going to be on store shelves, in more aisles, (maybe even toy aisles) and VCS, if it even comes out, will just be mistaken as a flashback console.

The VCS lacks it's own original identity. Amico actually looks like the next step if you gradually proceed from Intellivision, Intellivision 2, Intellivision 3 (if it had come out, Tommy probably has a prototype though), etc. The VCS just looks like a small plastic box that has no real reason to be designed that way. 

11 hours ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

We're very different in that regards.  And although being on a shelf at retail isn't a slam dunk for success by any means... it's a huge step up from only being sold online.

 

Hi Tommy!  Just wondering....will Intellivision have in-store demonstration kiosks/displays at retail? 

In any event, I can't begin to state how excited I am for your launch.  I never thought I'd see the day where there'd be same-year launches for Xbox, Playstation, Atari and intellivision.  What kind of alternate timeline did I land myself in!  

Amico doesn't do what Nintendoes... or something: