Intellivision Amico - Tommy Tallarico introduction + Q&A

8 hours ago, Nolagamer said:

So back to our regularly scheduled topic lol.  I know you said tempest and asteroids will  come to amico. ..so tommy any other possible vector style games reimagined or completely new?....always been a fan of the style ....star wars was prob my favorite vector style game.

great idea...i love Vector games and it's amazing after 40 years they STILL look cool 

8 hours ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Thank you so much for your thoughts and support.  I really means a lot.

I'm going to copy your post and print it out and put it on my wall.  I'll be reading your post a few hundred times, or whenever the nitwits chime in.   

Thank you again.

And please don't worry... they're not distracting us at all.  I can only sleep 3 - 4 hours a day so coming here and sometimes dealing with the negativity is good thing for my brain.  But mostly... I really love the majority of the community here... and I get to interact and hopefully someday meet cool, like-minded folks like yourself.
 

You're welcome.  I'll be putting a copy up of your response in my shop, I need reminding there are like-minded people like you out there also. 

If you ever need a motivational speaker, I'll get the van out from down by the river, and head for California!

2 Things for Tommy

1. Will Intellivision Games be Available in the store to buy?

2. Will you have overlays for Games on the Amico?

39 minutes ago, ASalvaro said:

great idea...i love Vector games and it's amazing after 40 years they STILL look cool 

As long as the vectors are better than the Atari Anthology’s Asteroids on the PS2.  So fuzzy I thought there was something going bad on my TV. PMPs Atari 7800 version was sharper than the PS2 version. 

51 minutes ago, Swami said:

As long as the vectors are better than the Atari Anthology’s Asteroids on the PS2.  So fuzzy I thought there was something going bad on my TV. PMPs Atari 7800 version was sharper than the PS2 version. 

As I watched the Break Out video, I was thinking about how tight and defined the lines looked, and that vector games would probably do well on Amico.

We shall see.  

Aside from Tempet, Tempest Tubes and Asteroids...a few more  great vector classics

Lunar Lander

Space War

Zektor

Warrior

Red Baron

Battlezone

Space Dual

59 minutes ago, IMBerzerk said:

As I watched the Break Out video, I was thinking about how tight and defined the lines looked, and that vector games would probably do well on Amico.

 

We shall see.  

 

Aside from Tempet, Tempest Tubes and Asteroids...a few more  great vector classics

 

Lunar Lander

Space War

Zektor

Warrior

Red Baron

Battlezone

Space Dual

 

 

Sega and Cinematronics also had vector games. I remember a really cool one that was a sword fight duel game with pits in the middle of the screen. Also Rip Off & Tail Gunner were good.

Then Atari's Black Widow & Quantum.

I am not sure what kind of things you'd have to do with your body parts to get a license for Bomberman, but *THAT* would be a great game to bring to the Amico.

Iwas able to get my non-gamer-girlfriend at the time to play and play along with several other people on my TurboGrafx. Later 8-player Saturn Bomberman got a workout in my house. And then back to the Dreamcast, 4 players is just a really fun game, pick up and play without BS.

The game is simple to teach others to play because it's like life: your ability to succeed is inversely proportional to your ability to f--k yourself.

Couch co-op at it's finest.

*Actually I would love to see a guru like Óscar do a version of this for the classic Intellivision.

14 minutes ago, Blarneo said:

Cinematronics also had vector games.

Star Castle was my favorite Cinematronics vector game followed by Rip Off and Armor Attack.

19 minutes ago, sramirez2008 said:

Star Castle was my favorite Cinematronics vector game followed by Rip Off and Armor Attack.

Hyperchase on the Vectrex still looks awesome to this day..fix up the controls and that game would be awesome on the Amico 

1 hour ago, First Spear said:

I am not sure what kind of things you'd have to do with your body parts to get a license for Bomberman, but *THAT* would be a great game to bring to the Amico.

 

Iwas able to get my non-gamer-girlfriend at the time to play and play along with several other people on my TurboGrafx. Later 8-player Saturn Bomberman got a workout in my house. And then back to the Dreamcast, 4 players is just a really fun game, pick up and play without BS.

 

The game is simple to teach others to play because it's like life: your ability to succeed is inversely proportional to your ability to f--k yourself.

 

Couch co-op at it's finest.

 

 

 

 

*Actually I would love to see a guru like Óscar do a version of this for the classic Intellivision.

Saturn had 10 players.   Dreamcast was 4 player local but 16 online

I found a video that was posted today on Youtube by Tim's Tiny Arcade where they review 'Intellivision Lives!' with some talk about the Amico and about the re-imagined AstroSmash and Night Stalker games while playing the originals.

No real new information, but it is nice to hear people excited by the Amico console and what we have been shown so far in games.

I am also rather envious of his Pac-man and Atari collection, and his video intro is done by Jon St. John (Duke Nukem) which is pretty awesome in itself!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBh6AOu24xI

7 hours ago, Nolagamer said:

 

Here is a blown up screen cap of that Amico game 'before & after'. Tommy points out the bottom is skiing (going up), 'hard to figure out for people' says Tommy, biplanes, looks like pong and I am stumped from there.

Tommy,

The other day you mentioned you were going to show what the manual looked like for the Amico.  Is there going to be a photo of it soon?  Also will the Amico include an HDMI cable & the AC Adapter/power cord?

20 hours ago, Lathe26 said:

Here you go!

 

Yeah, that'll work.  Thanks!

14 hours ago, NinjaWarrior said:

2 Things for Tommy

 

1. Will Intellivision Games be Available in the store to buy?

 

2. Will you have overlays for Games on the Amico?

I don't think your questions ever got answered. The first one on games Tommy has addressed. Certain games (I am guessing instantly recognizable ones like Moon Patrol, Ecco, Earthworm Jim, etc.) will have physical releases and these will be retailer exclusives:

Quote

All retailers will have their own exclusives.  No 2 retailers will carry the same physical media!!  Really unique approach... but one that the retailers LOVE.

On the overlays my understanding is the Amico controller touch screen will able to effectively be whatever button layout you want. So OG Intellivision games (which had the overlays) will just have the overlays displayed on the touchscreen and so you can access them that way. Tommy has repeatedly hinted that there will be some sort of way to help people locate their fingers on the screen in order to find these virtual buttons easier but that is patent pending & won't be announced until this year's E3.

1 hour ago, Atari_Master said:

Yeah, that'll work.  Thanks!

Digging your new avatar picture! Atari - greatness from the past and Amico looking forward to re-imaging a lot of those classics today.   

About the Maple Town cartoons and strategy games for the Amico:

- It's interesting how sometimes intro and outro music was different in each country in 80s cartoons. In Mapple Town, the Japanese original feels quite dull, the American version is much better, the Dutch version has the Japanese melody but sounds much weirder, the Italian version is kind of sexy (and has a country feel) and the Spanish version is probably the best. If you're really, really bored, check out the Arabic intro of the sequel, New Maple Town Stories: Palm Town Chapter. 🎪

- Take what I say with a grain of salt because I hate strategy games and I don't even plan to have children, but I don't think kids should be exposed to RPG or strategy games. Those games are very demanding when it comes to time invested and too often reward the hours spent instead of the actual ability. RetroAdvisoryBoard's idea for the license is a good one and his gameplay ideas very original, but I would make sure the experience is purely action oriented and satisfactory by itself and doesn't create an addiction and obsession by "leveling up" the shops/farms ad infinitum via time spent. 🧐

- I used to watch Maple Town as a kid and I was shocked when I watched a few minutes a few years ago: apparently, the bad guy is an anthropomorphic wolf that is usually trying to kidnap the anthropomorphic children (little bears, bunnies and such). At one point, he even takes one of the kids to the forest and tie her to a tree. In episode 3, for example, he first sets up a bomb and then threatens to cut some other antrophomorpic animal in "little pieces" (I'm too lazy to search for the kidnapping episode now, but in the very first episode he is already trying to kill the little kids in the forest with his knife [16:15]). Gotta love Japanese animation... 🖖

8 minutes ago, IntelliMission said:

About the Maple Town cartoons and strategy games for the Amico:

 

- It's interesting how sometimes intro and outro music was different in each country in 80s cartoons. In Mapple Town, the Japanese original feels quite dull, the American version is much better, the Dutch version is weird, the Italian version is kind of sexy (and has a country feel) and the Spanish version is probably the best. If you're really, really bored, check out the Arabic intro of the sequel, New Maple Town Stories: Palm Town Chapter. 🎪

 

- Take what I say with a grain of salt because I hate strategy games and I don't even plan to have children, but I don't think kids should be exposed to RPG or strategy games. Those games are very demanding when it comes to time invested and too often reward the hours spent instead of the actual ability. RetroAdvisoryBoard's idea for the license is a good one and his gameplay ideas very original, but I would make sure the experience is purely action oriented and satisfactory by itself and doesn't create an addiction and obsession by "leveling up" the shops/farms ad infinitum via time spent. 🧐

 

- I used to watch Maple Town as a kid and I was shocked when I watched a few minutes a few years ago: apparently, the bad guy is an anthropomorphic wolf that is usually trying to kidnap the anthropomorphic children (little bears, bunnies and such). At one point, he even takes one of the kids to the forest and tie her to a tree. In episode 3, for example, he first sets up a bomb and then threatens to cut some other antrophomorpic animal in "little pieces" (I'm too lazy to search for the kidnapping episode now, but in the very first episode he is already trying to kill the little kids in the forest with his knife [16:15]). Japanese are really peculiar people. 🖖

I dunno friends andi loved strategy and rpg gaming as a kid for games we could play  together. 

Yeah... As someone who spent way too many hours with a soccer management simulation game when I was 16, I just hope the Amico concentrates on shorter and more intense experiences that are more satisfying and less addicting. RPG games where your character leveps up instead of you are "lying" to the player in a way and strategy games are very time demanding, probably too complex for a 2-7 year old and very difficult to turn into multiplayer experiences. 😇

21 hours ago, Emanuele said:

Tommy, question for you: will you update the Amico app with other demos?😉

 

Yes.  For sure.

20 hours ago, Jeffrey Bouchard said:

Tommy,

 

just received an Atari email with an update: still doesn’t sound good.

 

https://atarivcs.us16.list-manage.com/track/click?u=514d5e8e2ca64b78c0c6f5a2e&id=f338f207d8&e=7bcac1c252

Manufacturing is up in the air for everyone... including Sony & Microsoft... and of course... us.

My prediction is that there could be massive video game console hardware shortages this coming Christmas. 
 

18 hours ago, vongruetz said:

Tommy,

 

I want to thank you for everything you're doing with Intellivision.  I grew up playing (and loving) my Intellivision (which was an Intellivision II... which you've said some negative things about, but I loved it).  Countless hours were spent with my brother playing BurgerTime, B-17 Bomber, SNAFU, and Baseball.  I learned to play card games with LV Poker and Blackjack.  And yes, for many of those games, the overlays were absolutely critical.  They were simple.  They were fun.  And to this day, BurgerTime is the only video game I've ever been able to play with my dad.  The Intellivision may not have caught the world on fire, but it was tops in my house growing up.

 

Turns out, it was also the video game console of choice in the house of the woman who would eventually become my wife.  Funny enough, this didn't even come up until after we were married, and she would go on about how she and her cousins would play Dungeon & Dragons as a group... screaming at the TV to give directions or provide advice.  She loved it so much that for our "copper" anniversary, I was given a beautiful original Intellivision so that we could play it together as a family.  I've tried to get her to play other games, and even the Wii got her interest for a skinny minute, but alas, for us it's really Intellivision or nothing.  My wife is now as onboard, or even more so, than I am for the Amico.  In fact, she was the one who pre-ordered our Founders Edition and is completely sucked in by your unbelievable enthusiasm every she overhears me playing a podcast with you discussing your plans.

 

I think your idea to go after families and bring back local co-op is a genius move.  I remember thinking a few years ago when the book Console Wars came out, that there really isn't a console anymore that is trying to fight for the kids attention.  Aside from Minecraft, there really hasn't been a game where kids could all hang out together and play together.  My daughter will have friends over and they want to play games together, but the options are limited.  Mario Kart gets a few rounds of play... but then what else is there?  This was demonstrated the other night when we went to a friend's house for game night, and we wanted to play some video games together as a group.  Five of us: two moms, two teenage girls, and myself.  What did we end up playing?  Just Dance on a 13 year old Wii.  I've got to be honest, it wouldn't have been my first choice, but you always say that when you think about your greatest gaming experiences that they're always when you're with your friends playing together.  So I have to say, playing Just Dance with a group of friends with varied levels of skill... was really a lot of fun.  The one thing we kept talking about all night was how perfect it would have been if we had Amico to play.  October can't come fast enough.

 

I'm beyond excited to see brand I loved as a kid come back with such a clear vision, and with someone who is passionate about it.  When I heard of Keith's passing, I was really nervous for the future of Intellivision.  Then when I heard that some guitar player was taking over the company... I was really nervous.  But now, having seen the incredible team you're building and hearing what the vision is for the console, I'm all in.  I can't wait to play Night Stalker in its new re-imagined form.  I can't wait for game night again.  And mostly, I can't wait to finally play a video game with my dad again.

 

I can't believe some people have spent so much energy throwing hate at this console, because for me it's the perfect gaming machine that I've been waiting years to finally play. 

 

(and one last aside, and yes, I know I'm going long for this segment, but someone in my wife's office told everyone that he's getting married this year on 10-10-2020.  My wife got all excited and shouted, "THAT'S INTELLIVISION DAY!!"  Suffice it to say, your infectious passion about the dream of Intellivision is catching on) 

 

(pictured is my father playing BurgerTime in the same room where we used to play it together 30+ years earlier.  I actually snuck in and found him playing it without telling me.  I think he was brushing up on his skills)

WOW!!!!

Thank you so much for sharing your story.  So many amazing things in your post.  Thank-you for writing it.  It really means a lot... and on so many different levels.

That picture of your dad instantly brought tears to my eyes.  I'm hoping to do the same thing with my dad who just turned 79.

Looking forward to seeing pics of you and your entire family playing Amico together.

p.s.  Get your dad a beanbag chair or something!  Hahhaaa!   Although that was the way I think we all played games back in the day!  Right on the floor!

Lots of love to you and your family.

Thank you again for sharing.

29 minutes ago, LePionnier said:

Great your avatar GrudgeQ ! 😀

It's your turn IntelliMission ! 😉

Yes I was shamed into finally changing mine by all of the great avatars lately - thanks