Intellivision Amico - Tommy Tallarico introduction + Q&A

Brett Weiss mentioned over on Facebook that his Amico videos get a lot of views for his subscriber size every time he posts one. I decided to see if other smaller YouTubers are feeling the "Amico Effect" and the answer is yes!

45 minutes ago, BiffMan said:

The next few months would definitely be vastly less interesting without Tommy drip-feeding us the occasional hint, bit of news, or just simply responding at all. Definitely makes the waiting more fun! 

You think this waiting is fun??  I just want to wait faster. I bought a game for my PS4 the other day. The 100gb+ download took over 7 hours and drained 1/4 of my monthly data cap. Then when I start it up, it takes 5 minutes to connect, and I always need to be online despite only playing single player.  This is getting ridiculous.  October can't come soon enough.

6 minutes ago, vongruetz said:

You think this waiting is fun??  I just want to wait faster. I bought a game for my PS4 the other day. The 100gb+ download took over 7 hours and drained 1/4 of my monthly data cap. Then when I start it up, it takes 5 minutes to connect, and I always need to be online despite only playing single player.  This is getting ridiculous.  October can't come soon enough.

geez that's worse than when i used to buy Atari 800 games on cassette..btw i think the Shifty Eyed Dealer in your profile pic should be the Amico mascot! he's way cooler than Mario or Sonic and he's very....shifty 

23 minutes ago, ASalvaro said:

btw i think the Shifty Eyed Dealer in your profile pic should be the Amico mascot! he's way cooler than Mario or Sonic and he's very....shifty 

Yes, but he'd only work as a villain mascot. He stands for everything that Amico is against. He's shifty, swarmy, untruthworthy, and wants to take as much of your money as possible. He was the bane of my early childhood.

I really like the Running Man for now.

I totally agree with other members posts, Tommy has been great on this forum.  Personally I've asked two questions and had two answers within 24 hours or so!  How many CEO's would even bother looking at a forum in the first place?

Already I have made a space on my entertainment cabint for an Amico.  That is partly due to the man in charge being so open about developments

7 hours ago, vongruetz said:

My thoughts exactly.  I can't believe that the CEO for a video game company is up at this hour and answering questions so openly and honestly on a retro-gaming forum.  Not holding anything back, and actually appreciative of the questions.  To me, it's how you build something better than a great gaming machine.  It's how you build a community that feels vested and part of the process.  Maybe that's why so many people in here are so passionate about Amico.

 

For what it's worth, I asked Sony's Shuhei Yoshida a similar question before the PS4 was launched.  His reply was to ban me on Twitter. I really like that Tommy comes in here and lays out all the cards (except for what's being announced at E3). Not all the news is good, but a lot of it is. And when he does podcasts with so many different people on youtube, he always says something he's never said before. It's so refreshing. Amico is knocking down a lot of the walls I see wrong with video games. Graphics over fun. Online stores that aren't currated. And he is also knocking down a lot of this walled-garden secrecy that is so abundant in the industry. Everything is a secret and everything announced is a "spoiler." Tommy came out super early and said, "Here's what the console looks like.  Here are what the games look like.  Here's the controller."  Hell, he even showed off the controller's circuit board. Of course things changed, and when they did, he showed off the new controller or said that the games were actually better now than what he showed. He also announced the launch date super early, and I like that they're making that a top priority. 

 

Tommy, my hat is off to you and the entire team.  Keep doing what you're doing. 

Thanks!  I really appreciate it.

I want everything about Intellivision to be different from the rest.  So tired of the corporate nature the industry has become.  I'm hoping that eventually folks will start to understand that. 

Such a shame that some folks instantly hate the system and what we're about without ever actually looking in to what we're doing and what we're really about.  If they would take the time to see and understand us (and hopefully the effect it will have), they will realize that they should be rooting FOR us as opposed to against us. 

❤️

4 hours ago, 1001lives said:

I completely 100% agree. Tommy's openness and willingness to communicate directly shows that he is not only a passionate creator, he's a passionate gamer. All games. Not just the ones he's making. You don't need to know anything about him to know the kind of person he is just by the way he posts and the way he posts is not like any other game developer. 

 

It must come from his musical background - the musicians in gaming are always super passionate, open and talkative it feels like (especially Grant Kirkhope).

 

That's one of the major reasons I get annoyed when people try to say he's not "professional" by engaging people on the forums. I guess they'd prefer developers that give no communication, banning on twitter, and hush hush "no spoiler" talk. 

Thank-you!

Cool that you know Grant's work... he's a good friend of many years.  Great guy and awesome talent!

2 hours ago, GrudgeQ said:

Brett Weiss mentioned over on Facebook that his Amico videos get a lot of views for his subscriber size every time he posts one. I decided to see if other smaller YouTubers are feeling the "Amico Effect" and the answer is yes!

 

 

 

 

 

Looking forward to seeing 3 more zero's at the end of those views by this time next year!

☺️  

Tommy,

Is there a possibility of including Easter eggs and/or hidden games such as Deadly Dogs in the retro and reimagined varieties?

2 hours ago, vongruetz said:

You think this waiting is fun??  I just want to wait faster. I bought a game for my PS4 the other day. The 100gb+ download took over 7 hours and drained 1/4 of my monthly data cap. Then when I start it up, it takes 5 minutes to connect, and I always need to be online despite only playing single player.  This is getting ridiculous.  October can't come soon enough.

Yeah... it is ridiculous! 

This is why it kinda cracks me up when folks tell me there is no market for Amico and we're screwed because the PS4 will be the same price as us.  They just don't understand that the vast majority of people who play video games every day have ZERO interest in the Playstation, the Switch or the XBOX.... some of which... being the reasons you stated above.

It's not rocket science... it's just that folks can't see outside their own bubbles.  Zero foresight when it comes to anyone but themselves.

Looking forward to help opening a new (yet old) path for gaming in the 21st century. 

32 minutes ago, nysavant said:

I totally agree with other members posts, Tommy has been great on this forum.  Personally I've asked two questions and had two answers within 24 hours or so!  How many CEO's would even bother looking at a forum in the first place?

 

Already I have made a space on my entertainment cabint for an Amico.  That is partly due to the man in charge being so open about developments

Thank-you!

I hope at some point I have the time to meet everyone here in person and play Amico together!

5 minutes ago, Jeffrey Bouchard said:

Tommy,

 

Is there a possibility of including Easter eggs and/or hidden games such as Deadly Dogs in the retro and reimagined varieties?

Yeah!  There will be a LOT.  I swear... almost everything we do has some kind of hidden Easter Egg I think!

3 hours ago, GrudgeQ said:

Brett Weiss mentioned over on Facebook that his Amico videos get a lot of views for his subscriber size every time he posts one. I decided to see if other smaller YouTubers are feeling the "Amico Effect" and the answer is yes!

 

 

 

 

 

Now I am depressed no one likes my Funko Pop Addiction... LOL... Amico, a  strong vision, a gamechanging product and a passionate fanbase will bring in the people.  I am super humbled that people care enough to even give my videos a look, truly humbled.

18 minutes ago, OEB_Pete said:

Now I am depressed no one likes my Funko Pop Addiction... LOL... Amico, a  strong vision, a gamechanging product and a passionate fanbase will bring in the people.  I am super humbled that people care enough to even give my videos a look, truly humbled.

Funko only had been posted 1 hour so that isn't bad for a Sunday. Amico is what brought me to your channel & I am glad the Amico will help grow some smaller YouTube channels along the way (and I am sure the bigger one too - but they don't need as much help). How else would I have found a foul mouth Bostonian (Atari Creep), Santa ("TJ" as the elves call him) and some crazy box opening guy in Canada? 😁

2 hours ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

They just don't understand that the vast majority of people who play video games every day have ZERO interest in the Playstation, the Switch or the XBOX.... some of which... being the reasons you stated above.

It's not rocket science... it's just that folks can't see outside their own bubbles.  Zero foresight when it comes to anyone but themselves.

Looking forward to help opening a new (yet old) path for gaming in the 21st century. 

People don't understand that the average consumer does not go on the internet and talk about video games. The average consumer probably doesn't know that the Amico exists. They don't know that E3 exists. Maybe they know that the other 9th gen systems are launching this year, but probably not when, and they probably don't know what games are going to be released on what platforms and when.

These are the types of people who go to Walgreens and buy those horrible AtGames Genesis abortions because they look cool. Those things are absolute trash and every one of them should ejected into the sun because they are a disgrace to humanity and my beloved Sega Genesis.

The types of people that go to the internet to discuss video games or read about video game history or know the names of people who work in the video game industry, with maybe the only exception being Kojima since he's the only dude in the entire industry with the sense to put his name on the box art, are the 1%.

Also young children have no loyalty to brands. They see something that looks cool, even if it's trash like AtGames, and they will want it. Doesn't matter if they have PlayStation 17 or Xbox 2.8 or whatever at home already. Show them something cool that appeals to them on Amico and I guarantee they will want it.

5 hours ago, nysavant said:

I totally agree with other members posts, Tommy has been great on this forum.  Personally I've asked two questions and had two answers within 24 hours or so!  How many CEO's would even bother looking at a forum in the first place?

 

Already I have made a space on my entertainment cabint for an Amico.  That is partly due to the man in charge being so open about developments

as i told a friend of mine a couple days ago being able to interact with Tommy about the Amico is like in 1976 you had a chance to interact with Nolan Bushnell of Atari..it's pretty awesome if you think about it...and there's no better feeling then saying you were there from day 1 when this thing becomes a big hit..Tommy makes us feel like we are all part of it  

5 minutes ago, ASalvaro said:

as i told a friend of mine a couple days ago being able to interact with Tommy about the Amico is like in 1976 you had a chance to interact with Nolan Bushnell of Atari..it's pretty awesome if you think about it...and there's no better feeling then saying you were there from day 1 when this thing becomes a big hit..Tommy makes us feel like we are all part of it  

I remember the day it was announced. I think I told one of my friends "lol I found the next Ouya" or something like that because I was ignorant. Still, I was still interested enough to think about it for a while since my mother had an Intellivision and I played Pitfall on it once for maybe 5 minutes before I got bored since I was like 10 and had a Genesis. Eventually I subscribed to the mailing list about a year later (so basically a few months ago) and then I got the email about the Founders Edition. Now that I've come to hate modern games in general with their DLC and pay to play online and incomplete/broken games and all of that trash, the only 9th gen systems that I care about are the Switch (because of Nintendo IPs and Shin Megami Tensei V) and the Amico. Have never cared about Xbox and unless Shin Megami Tensei VI or a new Kojima gets announced for PS5 exclusively, I probably will never buy one of those, either. So yeah, Tommy convinced me.

Frodo: Gandolf, it's a riddle. Speak Friend and Enter. What's the Italian word for friend?
Gandolf: AMICO

4 hours ago, ASalvaro said:

as i told a friend of mine a couple days ago being able to interact with Tommy about the Amico is like in 1976 you had a chance to interact with Nolan Bushnell of Atari..it's pretty awesome if you think about it...and there's no better feeling then saying you were there from day 1 when this thing becomes a big hit..Tommy makes us feel like we are all part of it  

Because you are!  Been some great discussions which have helped me make a few decisions.

So great to have you all be a part of it.
 

7 hours ago, Steven Pendleton said:

I remember the day it was announced. I think I told one of my friends "lol I found the next Ouya" or something like that because I was ignorant. Still, I was still interested enough to think about it for a while since my mother had an Intellivision and I played Pitfall on it once for maybe 5 minutes before I got bored since I was like 10 and had a Genesis. Eventually I subscribed to the mailing list about a year later (so basically a few months ago) and then I got the email about the Founders Edition. Now that I've come to hate modern games in general with their DLC and pay to play online and incomplete/broken games and all of that trash, the only 9th gen systems that I care about are the Switch (because of Nintendo IPs and Shin Megami Tensei V) and the Amico. Have never cared about Xbox and unless Shin Megami Tensei VI or a new Kojima gets announced for PS5 exclusively, I probably will never buy one of those, either. So yeah, Tommy convinced me.

Yep. The Ouya did irreparable damage to anyone in this space. Anyone and everyone trying to launch any hardware at all is dealing with the repercussions that they caused. Even very clear departures like the handheld Evercade has had a lot of "Ouya" comparisons when it's nothing like Ouya in any capacity. It's just "new hardware that isn't one of the Big 3 so it's Ouya"

10 hours ago, Steven Pendleton said:

These are the types of people who go to Walgreens and buy those horrible AtGames Genesis abortions because they look cool. Those things are absolute trash and every one of them should ejected into the sun because they are a disgrace to humanity and my beloved Sega Genesis.

Awwwww....  I bought one of those AtGames Genesis boxes, and I actually kind of like it. It's not as good as my original Genesis (which I still have and always will) but it's a convenient little way to play some of my old games. I guess I just don't have the same high standards as others. I also have the Intellivision FlashBack which isn't very good either. The emulation on games like Snafu is horrible, but it's decent in other ways.

10 hours ago, Steven Pendleton said:

These are the types of people who go to Walgreens and buy those horrible AtGames Genesis abortions because they look cool. Those things are absolute trash and every one of them should ejected into the sun because they are a disgrace to humanity and my beloved Sega Genesis.

I bought the Atari FB 9 Gold because I could load all my ROMs on it and hook it up to a modern TV for casual play.  I love it because it works and makes things so much easier because I don't have to mess with cartridges not working correctly or cleaning contacts to make them work.

26 minutes ago, atarifan88 said:

I bought the Atari FB 9 Gold because I could load all my ROMs on it and hook it up to a modern TV for casual play.  I love it because it works and makes things so much easier because I don't have to mess with cartridges not working correctly or cleaning contacts to make them work.

And that's why I love my FB Atari 9 Gold HD and FB Genesis. They don't have to be perfect, just usable.

EDIT: Don't forget my Playstation Classic either.

The thing with the Genesis Flashback is that the Genesis/MD Mini has so much input lag that I find Sonic 2 to be totally unplayable. I fell off every floating platform in Emerald Hill because of it. Sure, AtGames has unbelievably terrible audio, but it seems to me that at least it doesn't have input lag like the Mini does if you use your original wired controllers. The Mini might sound better (although it still has its own audio problems) and it certainly looks cute next to my real MDCD32X, but it sucks to actually play, so I don't and use the real thing/Mega Sg/MiSTer instead. Maybe the Flashback actually plays better, but I have never used one.

So let's do an experiment.

Everyone here who bought the Flashback, why did you buy it? Probably "because it looked cool/because I had a Genesis or MD in the 90s/because I still have my old Genesis or MD carts/Mega Sg wasn't out yet/I didn't know it is bad/all of the above" if I had to guess, which basically proves the point I made earlier. The average consumer looks at something, says "that's cool" and buys it. Or they see it and don't care, so they don't.

As a business professional, your job is to provide value to your customers and make the average consumer, who does not know that you exist, that your company exists, or the thing that you are selling exists, aware of all of that and convince them they have a need or desire to buy your thing, whatever it is, through some form of advertising, which is quite literally a form of brainwashing: getting people to do what you want them to do, which is to buy your thing. Apple knows this, and it works for them. Why do people buy the same $1000 phone every year? I don't know, since I have a cheap 5000 yen prepaid phone and my average monthly phone bill is 0 yen. Well, actually I do know, because I studied business and I realize that Apple has effective marketing that makes people think they need a new phone every 6 months even though it's identical to the one they already have. Tommy has some of the best marketing people in the entire video game industry. He also has investors and venture capitalists funding the project, and those types do not give out their money unless they see huge profits in the near future. It's going to work.

This is all a bit cynical, but it's true and everyone who has studied business or is successful in business knows it. Now that I've derailed the thread, basically what I am saying is that I have confidence the Amico is going to succeed, and I believe it will.

Tommy,

Will Ladybug be on the Amico?