Intellivision Amico - Tommy Tallarico introduction + Q&A

4 hours ago, Atari_Master said:

How about a remake of Gauntlet or Dark Chambers for Amico?

3 hours ago, OEB_Pete said:

This would make me the happiest gamer in the world.  Dark Chamber is an addiction and it could be a great speed run game

As long as Dark Chamber doesn't go on for ever and ever. I liked it but it never ended!

1 hour ago, Swami said:

Since the PS3 and XBox 360 they've basically been low end PCs with their own OS and wacky GUI and they don't do much to hide it, although these new models may make console stacking more of a challenge.

Well they now look like an uninspired PC Tower. I would worry less about stacking and if it will even fit on the entertainment center nicely.

Just noticed that Tommy is at the NYC Toy Fair with the new Intellivision Head of Marketing (no press release yet, so not going to drop any names) however since she spent 4+ years at Mattel heading up the Disney Princess line I bet she knows the fair pretty well.

Here is a list of all of the exhibitors by name - tons of small players but majors too like Pokemon, Hasbro & Mattel:

https://tfny2020.mapyourshow.com/8_0/explore/exhibitor-alphalist.cfm#/alpha/*

By Product Category:

https://tfny2020.mapyourshow.com/8_0/explore/exhibitor-categories.cfm/#/show/all

Any particular IP/game you would like to see Intellivision pick up?

1 hour ago, GrudgeQ said:

Just noticed that Tommy is at the NYC Toy Fair with the new Intellivision Head of Marketing (no press release yet, so not going to drop any names) however since she spent 4+ years at Mattel heading up the Disney Princess line I bet she knows the fair pretty well.

 

Here is a list of all of the exhibitors by name - tons of small players but majors too like Pokemon, Hasbro & Mattel:

https://tfny2020.mapyourshow.com/8_0/explore/exhibitor-alphalist.cfm#/alpha/*

 

By Product Category:

https://tfny2020.mapyourshow.com/8_0/explore/exhibitor-categories.cfm/#/show/all

 

Any particular IP/game you would like to see Intellivision pick up?

I would like to see one of those virtual pinball compilations, but for Atari's old pinball line. If Warner is as friendly with Intellivision as Tommy suggests, perhaps IE could even integrate Superman and the other licensed tables?

Tommy,

Will Kaboom get re-imagined for Amico? 

Motion controls would do well on this game.

Tommy,

Is there a chance that some starpath supercharger games might come to Amico, such as Dragonstomper and Phaser Patrol?

On 2/19/2020 at 9:48 AM, Tommy Tallarico said:

Yeah... I personally hated the controllers for the INTV II.  The buttons were the worst.  Luckily I never had one growing up.  Only the original.

Amico buttons are literally the opposite of the INTV II.  

 

 

The funny thing is I never had an original Intellivision. I didn't discover the system until I found the Intellivision II on clearance in Kay-B Toys. I thought at the time the controller was pretty cool. It took some getting used to, coming from an Atari joystick, but I liked it and thought the overlays were a neat idea.

It wasn't until a few years ago when I put my hands on the Intellivision flashback controllers that I realized how poor those buttons were on the intellivision II, since the flashbacks are apparently quite accurate to the originals (still haven't actually held an original).

If you look for Intellivision II controllers now on Ebay, many of the keypads are all cracked up from being stiff and brittle. Meanwhile, the original controllers still seem to hold up in the images I see on Ebay.

One thing I hate on all the controllers were the stickers on the discs. I always hate stickers, If they're off a tiny bit or have a bubble, it bugs me, and they eventually get worn or peel.

Speaking of Imagic a few pages ago, I know Cosmic ark never came to the Intellivision, but I wonder if that's something that could be done for the Amico since they have the rights to Imagic now? Atlantis would be another one I'd love to see, which was released on multiple systems including Intellivision.

3 minutes ago, fiudr said:

Speaking of Imagic a few pages ago, I know Cosmic ark never came to the Intellivision, but I wonder if that's something that could be done for the Amico since they have the rights to Imagic now? Atlantis would be another one I'd love to see, which was released on multiple systems including Intellivision.

 

According to Wikipedia for Intellivision Amico, there's a game list and Cosmic Ark is one of the games that's been announced.

On 2/23/2020 at 11:19 AM, Tommy Tallarico said:

Also... not sure if you were all aware of this... but there is an Intellivision history book that is coming out that is going to BLOW EVERYONE away.  The 2 guys working on it have been doing it for years and they have gone back and uncovered every story and interviewed hundreds of people about the original console.  They spent a day at my house and they have the most stories, research and documents I've even seen done on the original Intellivision.  It's actually pretty mind-boggling!  They are trying to get the book finished by 10.10 and I'll be promoting the heck out of it.  They are doing it more like a text book... but I've been talking to a number of different folks to make other Intellivision related books as well (like the Tim Lapetino Atari books... so amazing!).  Actually spoke to Tim about 6 months ago also (but he's too busy with other projects).

 

Anyway... just wanted to share that the definitive Intellivision history text book is being made and it's going to be awesome.

 

 

I have the art of Atari book and it's amazing. I'd love to see a book like that for Intellivision.

2 minutes ago, Atari_Master said:

According to Wikipedia for Intellivision Amico, there's a game list and Cosmic Ark is one of the games that's been announced.

Wow, that's amazing news for me! I always loved that one for the Atari 2600. I just showed my girlfriend that game on the retron77 a few weeks back, and she thought it was quite unique with it's two different play modes (asteroids/pick up aliens).

I thought the Intellivision version of Demon Attack was cool for the same reason, with the two different modes, since the 2600 didn't have the mothership part. But to be honest, I think overall I liked the 2600 Demon Attack better in terms of sound effects and ship design. I loved them both though.

On 2/23/2020 at 2:50 PM, Blarneo said:

I'm sorry. I know that 7800 picking are pretty slim, but Scrapyard Dog sucked. C'mon! 

 

Do we HAVE to constantly suggest pre-1984 games, no matter what? I'm just sayin'! I mean Vanguard? Really? It's a boring dry run for much more enjoyable Gradius. What's next... Phoenix or Terra Cresta instead of Gaplus (or Galaga 3)or Galaga 88?

Phoenix on the 2600 was pretty amazing.

7 hours ago, bigdaddygamestudio said:

its as if no one at microsoft watched Silicion Valley ( Loved that show) .  Well at least they havent scheduled a (Gavin Belson) signature series yet.  

 

I mean look at this thing, its a black rectangle, you could design it during a commercial break.

 

Agreed. It's an ugly system imo. I'm sure it will be able to do amazing things, but wow it's not very pretty. The Amico is very pretty. I'd show that off. I'd hide the new Xbox behind other stuff.

7 hours ago, bigdaddygamestudio said:

its as if no one at microsoft watched Silicion Valley ( Loved that show) .  Well at least they havent scheduled a (Gavin Belson) signature series yet.  

 

I mean look at this thing, its a black rectangle, you could design it during a commercial break.

 

I'm still not sure if it's supposed to be a humidifier or a yakiniku grill. Probably both.

8 hours ago, bigdaddygamestudio said:

its as if no one at microsoft watched Silicion Valley ( Loved that show) .  Well at least they havent scheduled a (Gavin Belson) signature series yet.  

 

I mean look at this thing, its a black rectangle, you could design it during a commercial break.

 

One thing I've always liked about Nintendo is they've always had a bit of creativity in their consoles. Not as much as the Heavy Sixer or Telstar Arcade, but more than their post-Sega contemporaries. Sega Dreamcast's controller had flair - kind of a spaceship stingray vibe, as did some of the Intellivision models - the unrealized Tutorvision had a kind of space-age look to it.

18 minutes ago, Swami said:

Dreamcast

The Dreamcast is probably the last "modern feeling" system mainly because of its futuristic look and very small size (comparatively). It reminds me, pleasantly, of the PC Engine, which is also super tiny and beautiful. Everything after the Dreamcast is just a big white/black box that looks kind of like a VCR. The obvious 2 exceptions are the GameCube, which is a cube instead of a VCR, and the Amico. Maybe also the PS2 slim and some of the PS3 revisions as well.

Oops, I forgot the Switch! Also forgot XGrill Series X.

4 hours ago, fiudr said:

Speaking of Imagic a few pages ago, I know Cosmic ark never came to the Intellivision, but I wonder if that's something that could be done for the Amico since they have the rights to Imagic now? Atlantis would be another one I'd love to see, which was released on multiple systems including Intellivision.

 

On 12/30/2019 at 3:32 PM, Tommy Tallarico said:

...

Dracula, Dragonfire and Cosmic Ark are all on my short list as well.  Atlantis is too Missile Command like (and not as well known) so that one will take a back seat for awhile.

11 hours ago, Swami said:

Since the PS3 and XBox 360 they've basically been low end PCs with their own OS and wacky GUI and they don't do much to hide it, although these new models may make console stacking more of a challenge.

I wouldn't describe new playstations and xboxes as low end PCs (current models are seven years old).  When new, dollar for dollar you couldn't come close to their power.   When you are selling photorealistic graphics you have no choice but to have all the compute units and raytracing you can afford.  That's the beauty of Amico and going with a different graphic style, they don't have to worry much about upgrading hardware in the future.

Regarding black boxes, there's lots of people that like that for their electronics.  Sony and microsoft do market research too.  It's another example of how different their target customers are.

19 minutes ago, mr_me said:

I wouldn't describe new playstations and xboxes as low end PCs (current models are seven years old).  When new, dollar for dollar you couldn't come close to their power.   When you are selling photorealistic graphics you have no choice but to have all the compute units and raytracing you can afford.  That's the beauty of Amico and going with a different graphic style, they don't have to worry much about upgrading hardware in the future.

 

Regarding black boxes, there's lots of people that like that for their electronics.  Sony and microsoft do market research too.  It's another example of how different their target customers are.

Yes, the PS4 and Xbox One definitely had the best power to cost ratio on the market when they launched. In fact, I was surprised at how cheap they were!

There's nothing wrong with black boxes, though, and my PS4 is red anyway!

3 hours ago, mr_me said:

I wouldn't describe new playstations and xboxes as low end PCs (current models are seven years old).  When new, dollar for dollar you couldn't come close to their power.   When you are selling photorealistic graphics you have no choice but to have all the compute units and raytracing you can afford.  That's the beauty of Amico and going with a different graphic style, they don't have to worry much about upgrading hardware in the future.

 

Regarding black boxes, there's lots of people that like that for their electronics.  Sony and microsoft do market research too.  It's another example of how different their target customers are.

Seeing as high end PC's are $2000, I would assume for $500 they are only low-end, since that's what a low-end PC costs.

13 hours ago, MrBeefy said:

Well they now look like an uninspired PC Tower. I would worry less about stacking and if it will even fit on the entertainment center nicely.

But they didn't mention what was inside.  Open the side panel and it doubles as a bacon cooker!!! 🤤

15 minutes ago, Swami said:

Seeing as high end PC's are $2000, I would assume for $500 they are only low-end, since that's what a low-end PC costs.

They also sell them at a loss. I would be curious as to how much they would be for them to turn a profit on.

5 minutes ago, atarifan88 said:

But they didn't mention what was inside.  Open the side panel and it doubles as a bacon cooker!!! 🤤

Guess if I get a new Xbox I will be playing it in my kitchen. Does the red ring mean the bacon is done?

9 hours ago, fiudr said:

I thought the Intellivision version of Demon Attack was cool for the same reason, with the two different modes, since the 2600 didn't have the mothership part. But to be honest, I think overall I liked the 2600 Demon Attack better in terms of sound effects and ship design. I loved them both though.

Interesting because the Intellivision had a nicely rendered background, where as the Atari one is plain black.  Also, the Intellivision version had a bonus boss stage, where the Atari one just kept recycling it's levels with no end in site!  They both played well, but the graphics and bonus level play gave Intellivision the edge for me.

1 minute ago, MrBeefy said:

They also sell them at a loss. I would be curious as to how much they would be for them to turn a profit on.

Maybe it’s a $200 loss and they’re creeping into mid-range, but hard to imagine it’s much more than that.