Intellivision Amico - Tommy Tallarico introduction + Q&A

4 minutes ago, boxpressed said:

Not sure if this has been mentioned before, but a Blue Sky Rangers special edition console would be a good fit for the Amico's optimistic vision.

Oh that is a great idea! I'm imagining one in the blues used on the new boxes. Nice call 👍🏻

57 minutes ago, JasperAK said:

Probable, but Tommy will be first to market. Even with existing infrastructure, I doubt any of them could field a comparable system before the Christmas season. Plus, they are working on the next gen systems. They'd be foolish to split their resources to tap into an untested market. Amico is coming out at a great time. The big three are worried about selling new systems to the more hardcore gaming community. That should allow Tommy uncontested market penetration.

 

I think the controller is key to the success of the machine. If it is successful, the big three will take notice, but how long for their R&D to develop something that doesn't use any of the patents that Tommy has talked about.

 

Also, the big three have nothing to worry about. No one, I mean NO ONE is going to get Amico to take the place of their PS,Xbox,Switch. Tommy doesn't figure as a threat on their SWOT. He may have competition the following Christmas, but this year, I believe Amico will shine brightly all by itself.

 

The real thing I see though is that everything about Amico is different. Everything from the software and hardware developement, deployment throughout the retail sector, and general company ethos is unique. The big three would probably be stuck in trying to mimic what Amico does, but using their own design philosophies. You'd be more likely to see the vice-president idiots-in-charge take what's good about the Amico controller and mash it up with their own making a complete mess of it. Tommy and his company aren't shackled to any existing company nonsense. The big-3 vice-president idiots have probably already analysed the controller and rejected it because quite frankly the existing controller designs are the most efficient for the types of gameplay their systems offer. They've had 20+ years of fine tuning and those controllers haven't changed in recent memory.

 

Amico is going in a completely different direction. That's what Apple did under the helm of Steve Jobs. The only question in my mind: Is Tommy's thoughts about the market correct? Can he sell a non-discounted system at Kohls or Bed, Bath, and Beyond? Does this market really exist? I only wish my wife would let me put my money where my mouth is to invest in this.

 

P.S. The differences I mentioned earlier is where I believe the disconnect is with the gaming community now not realising how different everything about this system is. They are shackled by their own preconceived notions. I find it telling how people change their mind about this system after they get their hands on it. This is not a PS/Xbox/Switch killer. This is the system that will sit right next a PS/XBOX/Switch that gamers can play with their younger siblings. Shit. I can't wait to play a Berzerk-like game with updated graphics; can't stop playing Dr. Who vs. the Daleks on my Vader. My 5 and 7 year-olds love playing Warlords with me. Yeah I think there is a market for this.

Such an important post!  Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

I'm with you 100%.

32 minutes ago, popsicle said:

Overlays for baseball were absolutely a hindrance after you knew the keypad player positions...just hover your thumb over the 8 key (pitcher) and wait for that swing. It was no fun to play a newbie in baseball because they always had to look down during the action. Not a chance!

 

The Utopia keypad is firmly etched into my brain - no need for an overlay. Sea Battle , Space Battle, and Sub Hunt I used to know well enough to play without but need a little help these days. I've always needed the Space Spartans overlay. 

 

Oh, and I played Tarmin so much I could find my way around the controls blindfolded, drugged, and missing two fingers. Did anyone use the 'glance left' and 'glance right' buttons? I thought they were pretty useless, and slowed down movement. I liked to fully go around a corner and use the zero key (retreat) if there was a nasty monster there rather than spend time to glance ahead of time.

 

 

You memorized Utopia!  You have my complete and utter respect!!

2 hours ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

I liked it because it somewhat combined 3 of my favorite games at the time.  Donkey Kong, Crazy Climber and Elevator Action!

We definitely intend on adding some interesting elements from building to building.  I think it could work as a simple game to understand, but tough to master and complete.  I also think kids would love it if we make it super funny.

and maybe add some voice to Horrible Hank and make him taunt Bashful Buford lol 

2 hours ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

...or....

 

BOTH!!

 

oh man..that would be awesome 

1 hour ago, JasperAK said:

Probable, but Tommy will be first to market. Even with existing infrastructure, I doubt any of them could field a comparable system before the Christmas season. Plus, they are working on the next gen systems. They'd be foolish to split their resources to tap into an untested market. Amico is coming out at a great time. The big three are worried about selling new systems to the more hardcore gaming community. That should allow Tommy uncontested market penetration.

 

I think the controller is key to the success of the machine. If it is successful, the big three will take notice, but how long for their R&D to develop something that doesn't use any of the patents that Tommy has talked about.

 

Also, the big three have nothing to worry about. No one, I mean NO ONE is going to get Amico to take the place of their PS,Xbox,Switch. Tommy doesn't figure as a threat on their SWOT. He may have competition the following Christmas, but this year, I believe Amico will shine brightly all by itself.

 

The real thing I see though is that everything about Amico is different. Everything from the software and hardware developement, deployment throughout the retail sector, and general company ethos is unique. The big three would probably be stuck in trying to mimic what Amico does, but using their own design philosophies. You'd be more likely to see the vice-president idiots-in-charge take what's good about the Amico controller and mash it up with their own making a complete mess of it. Tommy and his company aren't shackled to any existing company nonsense. The big-3 vice-president idiots have probably already analysed the controller and rejected it because quite frankly the existing controller designs are the most efficient for the types of gameplay their systems offer. They've had 20+ years of fine tuning and those controllers haven't changed in recent memory.

 

Amico is going in a completely different direction. That's what Apple did under the helm of Steve Jobs. The only question in my mind: Is Tommy's thoughts about the market correct? Can he sell a non-discounted system at Kohls or Bed, Bath, and Beyond? Does this market really exist? I only wish my wife would let me put my money where my mouth is to invest in this.

 

P.S. The differences I mentioned earlier is where I believe the disconnect is with the gaming community now not realising how different everything about this system is. They are shackled by their own preconceived notions. I find it telling how people change their mind about this system after they get their hands on it. This is not a PS/Xbox/Switch killer. This is the system that will sit right next a PS/XBOX/Switch that gamers can play with their younger siblings. Shit. I can't wait to play a Berzerk-like game with updated graphics; can't stop playing Dr. Who vs. the Daleks on my Vader. My 5 and 7 year-olds love playing Warlords with me. Yeah I think there is a market for this.

Everything you said is really good, sound points up and down.  I do want to counter a couple points though.  Tommy may disagree with me in part on the first.

"No one, I mean NO ONE is going to get Amico to take the place of their PS/Xbox,Switch".  I think this holds true for the present audience.  Nintendo/Sony/Microsoft current-gen owners are not looking at Amico as a replacement. 

But if you expand this to "The Big Three have nothing to worry about - no potential buyer who would buy a PS/Xbox/Switch is going to get Amico instead".. there actually I think Amico's success does nibble at one of Nintendo's "safe" markets.  As Tommy has said before, when parents want to buy something safe for their kids, they think Nintendo.  They've always thought Nintendo.  Nintendo isn't spending a fortune to market itself as a system allowing uncensored violence and sex on its machines, but it is quietly allowing them.  It is showcasing these games in its Nintendo Directs and E3 announcements.  Its marketing replaces children and family playing its systems with 20-somethings breaking out their Switch at the party, on the train, at the biergarten.  Nintendo is coy about what its system is and resting on its laurels of what it has worked hard to be over forty years of home console presence.  It's family-friendly, as it has always been the family friendly machine; but it is adding content to its eShop and major AAA titles it's promoting that parents wouldn't allow their children to play, that score on the far end of ESRB ratings.  It's advertising to multiple markets, and not informing the one market (parents of younger children) that the other market (games intended for adult consumption) exist on the platform.  It's having it both ways.  Good for Nintendo.

Amico, by squarely and loudly promoting itself as THE solution for family-friendly gaming, by targeting 60m+ families with children ages 2-7.. is going to present a choice for would-be Nintendo buyers in 2020, 2021 and beyond.  Nintendo Switch - with games at a high price point, mostly a single family member machine, and likely some advertising pointing out the non-family friendly content Nintendo's been ambivalent in allowing.  Or Intellivision Amico - with games at a lower price point, probably an all-family member machine, the same advertising stressing it's E10+ or lower rating.  

If Amico is successful, it won't just be by bringing in people who otherwise wouldn't buy a system.  Some percentage of Amico purchases invariably would've been buyers who would've picked up a Switch in a scenario where Amico didn't exist.  They were swayed.  A little less pie for Nintendo.  It won't break them by any stretch of the imagination.  But Nintendo has a board of shareholders.  They'll have to explain why sales may not be quite as high as hoped, and this upstart machine out of Irvine is all over tv talking up family-friendly and it's sold millions and internal sales data from Nintendo show a year-over-year decline in younger families market.

Honestly, I think that's why they're getting so much grief from a YouTube/podcast duo that are routinely defending Nintendo and crass in any news on Amico.  They push back about Tommy not prefacing every statement about the need for a family-friendly console with "Nintendo already exists so we're just eating their market", (even though they've also recognized that Nintendo's marketing is now for 20-somethings, and they're leaving an opening on their bread-and-butter kid-centric appeal).  They recognize part of Amico's broad appeal will take some share from Nintendo.  And there comments routinely make me suspect they don't believe the market is inherently expandable - their approach is like it's all a zero-sum game.  Which is I think why they are increasingly so outright dismissive (when early segments were a little more wait-and-see approach).

And Tommy is ever diplomatic here, always pointing out that mobile and board games are the competition.  Which is 100% right.  But Amico I think should be most worrisome for Nintendo's marketing department.  They can ignore it, and suffer marketshare loss over time among families with young children.  They can double-back to where they were a few years ago, in not allowing such content without jumping through hoops, making it a more family-friendly machine and marketing as such.  Or they can use Amico's presence to differentiate themselves, no longer little kid Nintendo but the portable machine for millennials and teens, shift away from kids content in an appeal for more of Sony's market.  I think it'll probably be the ignore it option, lean on their IPs and portability, but Amico's burgeoning success means slightly lowered sales figures for Nintendo.

The other point I wanted to maybe contend is I think Nintendo is the one company that may be looking more at the design of Amico's controllers and taking a bit more note.  Nintendo is alone in focusing on user interface and experience moving forward, they've said the experience with the controller is the next evolution in gaming.  And they are alone in (now and again) veering away from modern controller design in the last 30 years among the Big 3 (with the Wii mostly, but the N64 was a gamble in using three handles to hold the controller three intended ways).  Sony and Microsoft are pouring everything into terraflops and 4K or 8K or Special K with almonds.  If Amico is a runaway success, they'll build their own copycat simple phone-like accessory and assume it'll bring in the same appeal.  Of course, Amico's controller is much more than its design principles - it rests its success on game design creating games that revolve around the controller features and the group play dynamics that emerge from more than two people playing together.  Sony is just going to task some C level team to recreate the thing, like they responded to the Wii with glowing lollipops, like they responded to the N64 with dual-sticks, like they responded to the NES Classic with the hobbled together PlayStation Classic.  Microsoft gets the importance of its controller design but I think they're happiest to go the route feedback from PC gamers and their customers give them.  The result is some variation of the modern controller with each generation, with $100m more R&D thrown in every 7 years into the next iteration.  So yeah, a couple of those companies VPs aren't all that interested and happy with the formula.  Nintendo though.. they're going to be watching Intellivision with some interest from a few fronts.

3 hours ago, Blarneo said:

"What is the worst kept secret in the world, Alex?"

Reminds of this off-topic video
 

Tommy is there any Dart games in the works? i was playing a pretty neat one last night on the PSP and i was thinking

that the game would be really cool to play with the Amico controllers 

25 minutes ago, ASalvaro said:

Tommy is there any Dart games in the works? i was playing a pretty neat one last night on the PSP and i was thinking

that the game would be really cool to play with the Amico controllers 

Darts is a great idea, especially with the touch screen

1 hour ago, RetroAdvisoryBoard said:

Everything you said is really good, sound points up and down.  I do want to counter a couple points though.  Tommy may disagree with me in part on the first.

 

"No one, I mean NO ONE is going to get Amico to take the place of their PS/Xbox,Switch".  I think this holds true for the present audience.  Nintendo/Sony/Microsoft current-gen owners are not looking at Amico as a replacement. 

 

But if you expand this to "The Big Three have nothing to worry about - no potential buyer who would buy a PS/Xbox/Switch is going to get Amico instead".. there actually I think Amico's success does nibble at one of Nintendo's "safe" markets.  As Tommy has said before, when parents want to buy something safe for their kids, they think Nintendo.  They've always thought Nintendo.  Nintendo isn't spending a fortune to market itself as a system allowing uncensored violence and sex on its machines, but it is quietly allowing them.  It is showcasing these games in its Nintendo Directs and E3 announcements.  Its marketing replaces children and family playing its systems with 20-somethings breaking out their Switch at the party, on the train, at the biergarten.  Nintendo is coy about what its system is and resting on its laurels of what it has worked hard to be over forty years of home console presence.  It's family-friendly, as it has always been the family friendly machine; but it is adding content to its eShop and major AAA titles it's promoting that parents wouldn't allow their children to play, that score on the far end of ESRB ratings.  It's advertising to multiple markets, and not informing the one market (parents of younger children) that the other market (games intended for adult consumption) exist on the platform.  It's having it both ways.  Good for Nintendo.

 

Amico, by squarely and loudly promoting itself as THE solution for family-friendly gaming, by targeting 60m+ families with children ages 2-7.. is going to present a choice for would-be Nintendo buyers in 2020, 2021 and beyond.  Nintendo Switch - with games at a high price point, mostly a single family member machine, and likely some advertising pointing out the non-family friendly content Nintendo's been ambivalent in allowing.  Or Intellivision Amico - with games at a lower price point, probably an all-family member machine, the same advertising stressing it's E10+ or lower rating.  

 

If Amico is successful, it won't just be by bringing in people who otherwise wouldn't buy a system.  Some percentage of Amico purchases invariably would've been buyers who would've picked up a Switch in a scenario where Amico didn't exist.  They were swayed.  A little less pie for Nintendo.  It won't break them by any stretch of the imagination.  But Nintendo has a board of shareholders.  They'll have to explain why sales may not be quite as high as hoped, and this upstart machine out of Irvine is all over tv talking up family-friendly and it's sold millions and internal sales data from Nintendo show a year-over-year decline in younger families market.

 

Honestly, I think that's why they're getting so much grief from a YouTube/podcast duo that are routinely defending Nintendo and crass in any news on Amico.  They push back about Tommy not prefacing every statement about the need for a family-friendly console with "Nintendo already exists so we're just eating their market", (even though they've also recognized that Nintendo's marketing is now for 20-somethings, and they're leaving an opening on their bread-and-butter kid-centric appeal).  They recognize part of Amico's broad appeal will take some share from Nintendo.  And there comments routinely make me suspect they don't believe the market is inherently expandable - their approach is like it's all a zero-sum game.  Which is I think why they are increasingly so outright dismissive (when early segments were a little more wait-and-see approach).

 

And Tommy is ever diplomatic here, always pointing out that mobile and board games are the competition.  Which is 100% right.  But Amico I think should be most worrisome for Nintendo's marketing department.  They can ignore it, and suffer marketshare loss over time among families with young children.  They can double-back to where they were a few years ago, in not allowing such content without jumping through hoops, making it a more family-friendly machine and marketing as such.  Or they can use Amico's presence to differentiate themselves, no longer little kid Nintendo but the portable machine for millennials and teens, shift away from kids content in an appeal for more of Sony's market.  I think it'll probably be the ignore it option, lean on their IPs and portability, but Amico's burgeoning success means slightly lowered sales figures for Nintendo.

 

The other point I wanted to maybe contend is I think Nintendo is the one company that may be looking more at the design of Amico's controllers and taking a bit more note.  Nintendo is alone in focusing on user interface and experience moving forward, they've said the experience with the controller is the next evolution in gaming.  And they are alone in (now and again) veering away from modern controller design in the last 30 years among the Big 3 (with the Wii mostly, but the N64 was a gamble in using three handles to hold the controller three intended ways).  Sony and Microsoft are pouring everything into terraflops and 4K or 8K or Special K with almonds.  If Amico is a runaway success, they'll build their own copycat simple phone-like accessory and assume it'll bring in the same appeal.  Of course, Amico's controller is much more than its design principles - it rests its success on game design creating games that revolve around the controller features and the group play dynamics that emerge from more than two people playing together.  Sony is just going to task some C level team to recreate the thing, like they responded to the Wii with glowing lollipops, like they responded to the N64 with dual-sticks, like they responded to the NES Classic with the hobbled together PlayStation Classic.  Microsoft gets the importance of its controller design but I think they're happiest to go the route feedback from PC gamers and their customers give them.  The result is some variation of the modern controller with each generation, with $100m more R&D thrown in every 7 years into the next iteration.  So yeah, a couple of those companies VPs aren't all that interested and happy with the formula.  Nintendo though.. they're going to be watching Intellivision with some interest from a few fronts.

 

 

I actually do agree with you... I just can't say it out loud because I just open myself up for more criticism where there doesn't need to be any.  Let it just happen naturally as opposed to me trying to declare it could happen. 

I'm reminded of this video.  Never met this person, don't know who he is... but it is a different perspective then the typical hardcore gamer may be inclined to believe.  
 

55 minutes ago, ASalvaro said:

Tommy is there any Dart games in the works? i was playing a pretty neat one last night on the PSP and i was thinking

that the game would be really cool to play with the Amico controllers 

Yep!!  Sure is!

Motion controlled or touch screen!

7 minutes ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

I'm reminded of this video.  Never met this person, don't know who he is... but it is a different perspective then the typical hardcore gamer may be inclined to believe.  
 

 

I really don't think his daughter 'just dropped' the 2DS. Mine's been tossed and still works great. 😱😱😱🤬

Overlays were absolutely beautiful though. Such cool ways to give a game more control options (especially for games like Utopia) and they gave the controller an individual personality depending on what game you were playing. I loved them on the Jaguar too.

Well... I take that back. I loved them on Alien vs Predator on the Jaguar, because you got your own unique little layout depending on what you were (human, alien, etc) which made it feel that much cooler. Jag did not utilize them well overall though.

1 hour ago, RetroAdvisoryBoard said:

Everything you said is really good, sound points up and down.  I do want to counter a couple points though.  Tommy may disagree with me in part on the first.

 

"No one, I mean NO ONE is going to get Amico to take the place of their PS/Xbox,Switch".  I think this holds true for the present audience.  Nintendo/Sony/Microsoft current-gen owners are not looking at Amico as a replacement. 

 

But if you expand this to "The Big Three have nothing to worry about - no potential buyer who would buy a PS/Xbox/Switch is going to get Amico instead".. there actually I think Amico's success does nibble at one of Nintendo's "safe" markets.  As Tommy has said before, when parents want to buy something safe for their kids, they think Nintendo.  They've always thought Nintendo.  Nintendo isn't spending a fortune to market itself as a system allowing uncensored violence and sex on its machines, but it is quietly allowing them.  It is showcasing these games in its Nintendo Directs and E3 announcements.  Its marketing replaces children and family playing its systems with 20-somethings breaking out their Switch at the party, on the train, at the biergarten.  Nintendo is coy about what its system is and resting on its laurels of what it has worked hard to be over forty years of home console presence.  It's family-friendly, as it has always been the family friendly machine; but it is adding content to its eShop and major AAA titles it's promoting that parents wouldn't allow their children to play, that score on the far end of ESRB ratings.  It's advertising to multiple markets, and not informing the one market (parents of younger children) that the other market (games intended for adult consumption) exist on the platform.  It's having it both ways.  Good for Nintendo.

 

Amico, by squarely and loudly promoting itself as THE solution for family-friendly gaming, by targeting 60m+ families with children ages 2-7.. is going to present a choice for would-be Nintendo buyers in 2020, 2021 and beyond.  Nintendo Switch - with games at a high price point, mostly a single family member machine, and likely some advertising pointing out the non-family friendly content Nintendo's been ambivalent in allowing.  Or Intellivision Amico - with games at a lower price point, probably an all-family member machine, the same advertising stressing it's E10+ or lower rating.  

 

If Amico is successful, it won't just be by bringing in people who otherwise wouldn't buy a system.  Some percentage of Amico purchases invariably would've been buyers who would've picked up a Switch in a scenario where Amico didn't exist.  They were swayed.  A little less pie for Nintendo.  It won't break them by any stretch of the imagination.  But Nintendo has a board of shareholders.  They'll have to explain why sales may not be quite as high as hoped, and this upstart machine out of Irvine is all over tv talking up family-friendly and it's sold millions and internal sales data from Nintendo show a year-over-year decline in younger families market.

 

Honestly, I think that's why they're getting so much grief from a YouTube/podcast duo that are routinely defending Nintendo and crass in any news on Amico.  They push back about Tommy not prefacing every statement about the need for a family-friendly console with "Nintendo already exists so we're just eating their market", (even though they've also recognized that Nintendo's marketing is now for 20-somethings, and they're leaving an opening on their bread-and-butter kid-centric appeal).  They recognize part of Amico's broad appeal will take some share from Nintendo.  And there comments routinely make me suspect they don't believe the market is inherently expandable - their approach is like it's all a zero-sum game.  Which is I think why they are increasingly so outright dismissive (when early segments were a little more wait-and-see approach).

 

And Tommy is ever diplomatic here, always pointing out that mobile and board games are the competition.  Which is 100% right.  But Amico I think should be most worrisome for Nintendo's marketing department.  They can ignore it, and suffer marketshare loss over time among families with young children.  They can double-back to where they were a few years ago, in not allowing such content without jumping through hoops, making it a more family-friendly machine and marketing as such.  Or they can use Amico's presence to differentiate themselves, no longer little kid Nintendo but the portable machine for millennials and teens, shift away from kids content in an appeal for more of Sony's market.  I think it'll probably be the ignore it option, lean on their IPs and portability, but Amico's burgeoning success means slightly lowered sales figures for Nintendo.

 

The other point I wanted to maybe contend is I think Nintendo is the one company that may be looking more at the design of Amico's controllers and taking a bit more note.  Nintendo is alone in focusing on user interface and experience moving forward, they've said the experience with the controller is the next evolution in gaming.  And they are alone in (now and again) veering away from modern controller design in the last 30 years among the Big 3 (with the Wii mostly, but the N64 was a gamble in using three handles to hold the controller three intended ways).  Sony and Microsoft are pouring everything into terraflops and 4K or 8K or Special K with almonds.  If Amico is a runaway success, they'll build their own copycat simple phone-like accessory and assume it'll bring in the same appeal.  Of course, Amico's controller is much more than its design principles - it rests its success on game design creating games that revolve around the controller features and the group play dynamics that emerge from more than two people playing together.  Sony is just going to task some C level team to recreate the thing, like they responded to the Wii with glowing lollipops, like they responded to the N64 with dual-sticks, like they responded to the NES Classic with the hobbled together PlayStation Classic.  Microsoft gets the importance of its controller design but I think they're happiest to go the route feedback from PC gamers and their customers give them.  The result is some variation of the modern controller with each generation, with $100m more R&D thrown in every 7 years into the next iteration.  So yeah, a couple of those companies VPs aren't all that interested and happy with the formula.  Nintendo though.. they're going to be watching Intellivision with some interest from a few fronts.

 

 

I cannot dispute anything you posted. Brilliant points.

When we got the Switch for the family this past Christmas, we didn't see it as particularly well suited to our family, but my daughter was interested in Zelda and Pokemon. After a month she only plays Minecraft and Go Vacation. She completely ignores Pokemon Shield, because--I think--it's too complicated for her. My 5yo son also plays Go Vacation but just messes around. He's not good at it at all.

So I think you got it right on with the bolded section above. In a few years when Nintendo comes out with their next system, and my kids are 10 and 8, will it take the place of our Amico? Maybe. But I am pretty sure come this October (I think the kids are going to get an early Christmas present--or I will let them play MY Amico and get them one for Christmas) that they will dive into the easier gameplay. Remember that this is the type of gameplay that most of us here started with. Fun co-op or competitive that doesn't need 100 hours of playtime for someone to excel at. Switch doesn't seem to have much like that.*

* I picked Mario and Sonic Olympics for very much this reason. Simpleish games that they could play competitively. While they played it for the first few weeks, I think some of the games were way too complicated and some of them way too easy. And now much to my surprise, they ignore the game.

13 minutes ago, 1001lives said:

Overlays were absolutely beautiful though. Such cool ways to give a game more control options (especially for games like Utopia) and they gave the controller an individual personality depending on what game you were playing. I loved them on the Jaguar too.

 

 

Well... I take that back. I loved them on Alien vs Predator on the Jaguar, because you got your own unique little layout depending on what you were (human, alien, etc) which made it feel that much cooler. Jag did not utilize them well overall though.

 

i don't remember Donkey Kong coming with an overlay...unless i was so distraught about how bad the game was i flung them someplace without realizing it 

16 minutes ago, 1001lives said:

Overlays were absolutely beautiful though. Such cool ways to give a game more control options (especially for games like Utopia) and they gave the controller an individual personality depending on what game you were playing. I loved them on the Jaguar too.

 

 

Well... I take that back. I loved them on Alien vs Predator on the Jaguar, because you got your own unique little layout depending on what you were (human, alien, etc) which made it feel that much cooler. Jag did not utilize them well overall though.

 

You should see what they look like on the screen!  Super beautiful!!!

I think it's time we admit that nowadays many products that used to be for children are instead aimed to 30-40 year olds: comic books, Pixar movies, Mario and Zelda games... Just an impression.

Those 30-40 year olds are no other than the children who enjoyed said products 20-30 years ago.

23 minutes ago, 1001lives said:

Overlays were absolutely beautiful though. Such cool ways to give a game more control options (especially for games like Utopia) and they gave the controller an individual personality depending on what game you were playing. I loved them on the Jaguar too.

 

 

Well... I take that back. I loved them on Alien vs Predator on the Jaguar, because you got your own unique little layout depending on what you were (human, alien, etc) which made it feel that much cooler. Jag did not utilize them well overall though.

 

Speaking of which... is there a thread or website that exists that has ALL of the overlays and different variations in one place?  Would be super cool to see them layed out like you did (next to each other).

Would also be cool to offer something like that for free on Amico.. as part of the "history" or whatever.  Download ALL of the original overlays and see them on your Amico controller with a quick little history and write up of each game!
 

Wanted to make sure folks saw the latest TJ video about spells, dice rolling and the Amico controller.

Great ideas and I think he's on to something! 

8 minutes ago, IntelliMission said:

I think it's time we admit that nowadays many products that used to be for children are instead aimed to 30-40 year olds: comic books, Pixar movies, Mario and Zelda games... Just an impression.

 

Those 30-40 year olds are no other than the children who enjoyed said products 20-30 years ago.

If my 7yo can't play Pokemon on the Switch, she sure won't be able to play Breath of the Wild. To be fair though, she couldn't legend of Zelda on the NES either. I guess it's hard making games for 7yo that aren't Sesame Street.

Along with a monthly updates channel, or weekly updates, or whatever, the Amico should have some historical pieces too. Maybe a "On this week in INTV history..." or something. Perhaps a small news icon at the bottom of the Amico's home screen?

It could include a game, the overlay, and history of the game. Along with perhaps a link to buy the re-imagined version :^)

I found this:

http://www.intvfunhouse.com/overlays/table.php

But it doesn't lay them all out side by side. 

I'm going to sell our Switch, all our kids do is watch YouTube on it... 

Overlays:

http://www.tomheroes.com/Video Games FS/video games/intellivision/intell overlays/overlays.htm

http://www.tomheroes.com/Video Games FS/video games/intellivision/intell overlays/overlayA.htm

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45 minutes ago, JasperAK said:

But I am pretty sure come this October (I think the kids are going to get an early Christmas present--or I will let them play MY Amico and get them one for Christmas)

Do not take a chance if you want 2 Amico consoles ! Because there is a good chance that there will have shortage of console near Christmas.

So buy them way before ! 😉

4 hours ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

The mobile app is fun and simple way for more people to play some of the more simple party style games without the burden of having to buy 2, 4 or 6 more controllers.  VALUE is very important to us in regards to our customers.  Unlike the rest of the game industry that only comes with one controller and FORCES you to buy multiple controllers ranging from $50 - $200 each!  Just to play a multi-player game!  Folks will say... but you can divide the Switch controllers and play 2 players.  No... not true... not all the time.  Here's an example...

My wife & I both love video games... but we never really play them together because our tastes are somewhat different and the games we both like don't even have couch co-op multiplayer.  We wanted to play something fun and quick on the Switch so we got the Wheel of Fortune game.  Wheel of Fortune is a 3 player game.  We wanted to play 2 players and the computer would be controlled by AI.  Now Wheel of Fortune has pretty simple controls.  Only one player goes at a time (never 2) and all you really need is to choose a letter and press a button to pick it.  That's it.  (btw... it will be a LOT easier on Amico with a touch screen!  Only 1 button press as opposed to having to use a d-pad or analog stick to rifle though all the letters... or... just SAYING the letter!!!).  Anyway... getting back to the Switch story.  Because you can only have one player at a time playing or picking letters, wouldn't you have thought it would be easy for one person to just PASS the 1 controller to the other player?  Or at the very least... split up the Switch controller so that we both have an end?  But no!!!  NONE of those options are available!!  The way they set it up is that you pick the letters with the left side of the Switch controller and you enter the letter with the right button on the controller.  So, for a $10 experience they expected us to pay another $50 just so we could play 2 player Wheel of Fortune!  This is what the industry has become in a lot of cases.  The industry wants to figure out all the ways it can suck as much money out of the consumer as they can.  How can they make something that should be so easy and couch co-op... and turn it into something difficult because no one thinks about couch co-op as a main focus.  It's lazy... and I'm tired of it.

In the instance of Amico... this isn't a problem.  A game as simple as Wheel of Fortune and many of our casual games can absolutely be played just using a mobile device.  Giving a family of four an opportunity to play a fun and simple game together without gouging them an additional $150 - $200 for extra controllers is our plan.  Think Jackbox... but on a much bigger scale... and with EVERY game in our library.

Will the Amico mobile app replace the physical Amico controller in all games?  Heck no.  Especially for the more tactile/arcade type experiences.  But as you may have read... we are also doing something very unique that we haven't yet revealed in regards to "how" we are utilizing mobile devices.  I think you'll be impressed after E3.

I'm not worried in the least bit that the big 3 are all of a sudden going to change their entire history to try and take our market share.  If they do... that means we've already become a HUGE success!   

It takes YEARS and tens of millions of dollars and resources to create a video game console.  Sony & Microsoft are locked in to their new systems for the next 7 years.  Nintendo is in the middle of theirs and by the time their new system is out... we'll be in the market for at least 3 - 4 years... lots of time to establish ourselves as the true simple, affordable, family and co-op machine.  But like I mentioned.. if we've made enough noise to raise the eyebrows of the top 3... then we've already won. 

 

Their answer to "only having kids games" are the super confusing parental controls that not a lot of parents set because of the complexity.. or they are under the misconception that it's a Nintendo... so it must be kid friendly (when in reality... it's the EXACT opposite and the Switch has the MOST adult, violent, mature and even rape content... that the others do not).

Besides... those systems would need to completely change their controllers and entire operating systems in order to be seen as "easy".  You could GIVE AWAY FOR FREE a Switch or PS or XBOX to my dad... and he would still never play it.

Just remember... only 6.67% of people who play video games are playing them on "the big 3".  I don't really care what they do.  They are not our competition.  Simple and fun games COMPLETELY DOMINATES gaming... and there is a reason for that.  Because the big 3 have their own paths that they have chosen to focus on.  Which is GREAT!  I'm not trying to tear them down... I'm a big PS fan (although find it difficult to find and enjoy games with others in the same room).  But there is a HUGE gaping hole for providing folks with a simple, affordable and co-op experience in the living room.  The Wii has already proven this 14 years ago when they became the 3rd biggest selling home console of all time (102 million units sold generating over $50 Billion in revenue).  Just remember... those 93.3% of people playing video games... are only doing it by themselves and are getting annoyed with in-app purchases, in-app ads, loot boxes, zero curation, etc.  We provide them a family friendly alternative.

Hope that helps to answer your questions. 

 

 

I am so glad you answered as you did because it allows me to go ahead and push back a little bit and ask some tough questions.

1) Both in the quoted reply and in several interviews you mention rape games, as well as games involving children being raped/molested/ect., on the Switch, do you feel it necessary to lie about the contents of Switch titles in order to promote the Amico? If you feel your claim is valid then I'd love for you to provide examples of your claims.

2) I didn't say create a brand new system, I said create "kids" versions with hardwired parental controls. These are already present in the new Call of Duty game as any profile under a certain age is restricted from going online and playing the game.

3) How exactly will the Amico parental controls, time limiting parental controls you previously talked about, be easier or more intuitive than the ones on the Big 3 consoles? Additionally why do you feel going to the "Settings" tab then the "Parental Controls" tab is too hard for parents to figure out?

4) To speak about your Wheel of Fortune gameplay experience, why are you putting the blame on the console maker, intendo, instead of the developer of the game Ubisoft?

5) Will Amico have online leader boards for their games?