Intellivision Amico - Tommy Tallarico introduction + Q&A

1 minute ago, Steven Pendleton said:

Yeah, I've played the PC Engine Mini already at Tokyo Game Show, and mine will be here on launch day on the 19th. I really hope I am not at work when it arrives and I have to wait to get it later...

 

It's okay. It's got some input lag, but seems usable and better than my Mega Drive Mini, although it's nowhere near as visually appealing as a full recreation of the MDCD32X tower scaled down to fit in your hand. I wrote my thoughts on it over in the PC Engine/TG-16 Mini thread here:

 

 

Good to know.  I will have to read your thoughts on it.  What I think is nice is that Konami has some Japanese games on the US version of the mini console.  Usually you have to buy the JP version if you want to play those games.  Some games on the TurboGrafx-16 are repeated.  Like there's a US version of one game and the JP version of it as well.  Not sure why they did it that way.  Better to have all different games then repeats.  But it's only like 5 of them.  If only Snatcher had an English translation for this mini console.  

Question for Tommy:

Will the Original games be released as is or will your folks be touching up any known bugs/glitches or punching up the system's AI?

2 hours ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Currently not at this time.  But that could change in the future.

 

Yes, hopefully.  That would be so awesome.

Just now, Atari_Master said:

Good to know.  I will have to read your thoughts on it.  What I think is nice is that Konami has some Japanese games on the US version of the mini console.  Usually you have to buy the JP version if you want to play those games.  Some games on the TurboGrafx-16 are repeated.  Like there's a US version of one game and the JP version of it as well.  Not sure why they did it that way.  Better to have all different games then repeats.  But it's only like 5 of them.  If only Snatcher had an English translation for this mini console.  

Yeah, having Japanese and US versions of some of the same games is super baffling. I mean, why? I actually chose the PC Engine Mini over the others because the TG-16 Mini and CGX Mini do not have Tokimeki Memorial. Yes, they have Salamander instead and PC Engine Salamander is amazing, but I can play the arcade version on the Switch, so...

The PC Engine is amazing and I love it and so should everyone else. It makes me very sad that it was never given the chance it deserved globally, and even though I've only had my PC Engine for maybe 5~6 months I'll always tell everyone that the PC Engine and its games are great and that they should buy one without hesitation. But we are getting a bit off topic, so I'll leave the PC Engine discussion for the PC Engine section.

Of course, I can make this on-topic since I noticed Tommy mentioned earlier he knows a few people that were working on PC Engine stuff back then! Any chance of some PC Engine games on Amico? That would be really awesome, but no ports and I know you're trying to get away from the retro console image.

10 minutes ago, YerOut said:

Question for Tommy:

Will the Original games be released as is or will your folks be touching up any known bugs/glitches or punching up the system's AI?

 

What bugs and AI are you thinking of?  Other than editing out the Mattel Electronics presents in the titlescreen I'd be surprised if any modifications are done but it's not a bad idea.

2 hours ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Similar to you probably.

My real name is Thomas Andrew Tallarico.  Everyone called me Tommy growing up and I never let it go.  When my parents would get made they would typically yell TOM!!!!  That's when I knew I was in trouble.  But at school (all Catholic school from K to 12) the nuns would call me Thomas.  And I was typically always in trouble.  

 

FUN FACT:  The very first game I ever did the music for was the original Prince of Persia.  It came out in 1991 (I was a game tester before that).  In the opening credits I was listed as Tom Tallarico (Music by...) no idea why they put me in as Tom... but I was so new and it was my first music credit that I didn't want to complain or seem ungrateful.  The first and only time I was credited as Tom.

 

 

 

We moved from Rhode Island to NorCal when I was 7 so here I just had to do Catholic School to 8th grade... 

I for sure was NOT Alter Boy material.  haha

Yeh my mom would yell my full name... Thomas John Ferreira... get your ass in here!

Ah those were the days.  

Now my wife just yells at me instead.  Go figure!

TJ

8 minutes ago, Steven Pendleton said:

Yeah, having Japanese and US versions of some of the same games is super baffling. I mean, why? I actually chose the PC Engine Mini over the others because the TG-16 Mini and CGX Mini do not have Tokimeki Memorial. Yes, they have Salamander instead and PC Engine Salamander is amazing, but I can play the arcade version on the Switch, so...

 

The PC Engine is amazing and I love it and so should everyone else. It makes me very sad that it was never given the chance it deserved globally, and even though I've only had my PC Engine for maybe 5~6 months I'll always tell everyone that the PC Engine and its games are great and that they should buy one without hesitation. But we are getting a bit off topic, so I'll leave the PC Engine discussion for the PC Engine section.

 

Of course, I can make this on-topic since I noticed Tommy mentioned earlier he knows a few people that were working on PC Engine stuff back then! Any chance of some PC Engine games on Amico? That would be really awesome, but no ports and I know you're trying to get away from the retro console image.

I read your thoughts about the mini console.  That's good you got to try it out ahead of time.  Also, I wish the mini had an even 60 games instead of 57/58.  But oh well.  It would be great if Tommy was able to get some PC Engine games on Amico.

3 hours ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Thinking about doing another round of pre-orders.  So many people have been disappointed they weren't able to get in on the Founders Edition.  Maybe do another pre-order that isn't as good as the Founder Editions.  More like a "VIP" edition.  Not signed, no pin or patch.  Maybe the poster, the Vintage Woodgrain and the gift card.  $279.   Thoughts??

Personally I have mixed opinions.
It will depend when and how many units!

Let's say you are selling 2000 VIP editions, but it's taking a week to sold all units. This could darken the previous message of the founders edition sale.

So it could be a good idea to talk about it while at E3 !

"We have 5000 VIP Editions for you going on sale on June 12, so be ready, it will sell fast !

Buy them for you, your parents or for a friend and be ready to play together once again on October 10th guaranteed !

Reserve yours now, and there will be no shortage for you ! "

And Boum ! In a couple of hours, 5000 VIP Editions are sold out ! 😃  lol

So that was my opinion ! 😉

2 minutes ago, LePionnier said:

So it could be a good idea to talk about it while at E3 !

"We have 5000 VIP Editions for you going on sale on June 12th, so be ready, it will sell fast !

Buy them for you, your parents or for a friend and be ready to play together once again on October 10th guaranteed !

Reserve yours now, and there will be no shortage for you ! "

And Boum ! In a couple of hours, 5000 VIP Editions are sold out ! 😃  lol

This. 

18 minutes ago, LePionnier said:

 

Personally I have mixed opinions.
It will depend when and how many units!

Let's say you are selling 2000 VIP editions, but it's taking a week to sold all units. This could darken the previous message of the founders edition sale.

So it could be a good idea to talk about it while at E3 !

"We have 5000 VIP Editions for you going on sale on June 12th, so be ready, it will sell fast !

Buy them for you, your parents or for a friend and be ready to play together once again on October 10th guaranteed !

Reserve yours now, and there will be no shortage for you ! "

And Boum ! In a couple of hours, 5000 VIP Editions are sold out ! 😃  lol

 

So that was my opinion ! 😉

 

Agreed. It will depend heavily on timing. I think if Tommy were to announce a second run of 5,000 VIP units, he would need to do it at the right moment. This second run needs something to set it apart as VIP edition and not just be a repeat of the same marketing style for the Founder's. It also definitely needs that week build up again with video reveals, etc. Maybe more Earthworm Jim animations.

13 minutes ago, 1001lives said:

I think if Tommy were to announce a second run of 5,000 VIP units, he would need to do it at the right moment.

I think you mean 5200 units

1 minute ago, GrudgeQ said:

I think you mean 5200 units

So then there will be 7800 woodgrains available in stores? The thing was always supposed to be a limited edition, so why not at that point?

4 hours ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Thinking about doing another round of pre-orders.  So many people have been disappointed they weren't able to get in on the Founders Edition.  Maybe do another pre-order that isn't as good as the Founder Editions.  More like a "VIP" edition.  Not signed, no pin or patch.  Maybe the poster, the Vintage Woodgrain and the gift card.  $279.   Thoughts??

I think it is a really good idea (also saw a lot of comments from people who either missed it or didn't realize it was happening at the time) but I also like the above comments that maybe you should pre-announce the start date & time so people can prepare. You can still say the link will arrive in the official email so that people need to sign up, but a firm date & time would let social media folks get the word out with something definitive to say.

2 minutes ago, GrudgeQ said:

I think it is a really good idea (also saw a lot of comments from people who either missed it or didn't realize it was happening at the time) but I also like the above comments that maybe you should pre-announce the start date & time so people can prepare. You can still say the link will arrive in the official email so that people need to sign up, but a firm date & time would let social media folks get the word out with something definitive to say.

Agreed. It should be posted to social media outlets this time from the get go since it's a VIP and not Founder's. 

4 hours ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

 

 

Thinking about doing another round of pre-orders.  So many people have been disappointed they weren't able to get in on the Founders Edition.  Maybe do another pre-order that isn't as good as the Founder Editions.  More like a "VIP" edition.  Not signed, no pin or patch.  Maybe the poster, the Vintage Woodgrain and the gift card.  $279.   Thoughts??

 

 

I would love to see another round of pre-orders, make it around E3 perhaps so it could have a 4 week lead in campaign to build awareness of the console but the event itself.  I for one need one for my mother in law and my sister in law.  

4 hours ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Thinking about doing another round of pre-orders.  So many people have been disappointed they weren't able to get in on the Founders Edition.  Maybe do another pre-order that isn't as good as the Founder Editions.  More like a "VIP" edition.  Not signed, no pin or patch.  Maybe the poster, the Vintage Woodgrain and the gift card.  $279.   Thoughts??

I think a VIP pre-order would be good to do in conjunction with E3 (or some other big announcement).  I think the more people you can get anticipating the release the better.  I know some folks passed on the Founders Edition due to preferring the other colors.  Have you considered making the VIP package have, say, the GTO Red?  You'll likely get some repeat buyers that way as well.

Speaking of pre-orders, will you have pre-orders for the standard edition closer to launch or are you really hoping to drive traffic to the retailers?  Will you have pre-orders of just the additional controller bundles?

2 hours ago, 1001lives said:

I believe Tommy has said they will bill you when the product is about to ship. 

Thanks I hadn't seen it.

Tommy, firstly I wanted to thank you for the idea of the new VIP Edition. I will probably preorder one of those.

I have a more serious question today. You recently said you're using the same Chinese factories as Sony. What do you think about this?

Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft Implicated in Chinese Forced Labor Camps Report

6 minutes ago, IntelliMission said:

Tommy, firstly I wanted to thank you for the idea of the new VIP Edition. I will probably preorder one of those.

 

I have a more serious question today. You recently said you're using the same Chinese factories as Sony. What do you think about this?

 

Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft Implicated in Chinese Forced Labor Camps Report

Considering Chinese factories pay their employees pennies or dollars a day in some cases (and much longer than 8 hour shifts) and many more provide dorms for the employees to live so they never leave, I would say the vast majority of companies using chinese labor are supporting forced labor for nearly slave wages. I believe the average can be $200 a month... Which means the low end is FAR lower.

That's the world we live in, and why a lot of manufacturing needs to leave China. It will be more expensive, but if that's the price we pay for non-slave wages, so be it.

I am worried about the void that may leave for people in China who desperately need any work they can get, though.

3 hours ago, mr_me said:

What bugs and AI are you thinking of?  Other than editing out the Mattel Electronics presents in the titlescreen I'd be surprised if any modifications are done but it's not a bad idea.

I was thinking Tron Deadly Discs where standing partially in a doorway gives the player a pseudo invincibility or the 1 or 2 player sports games become to easy once the AI patterns are figured out.  I understand 2 Humans on sports games are the best but I don't always have a 2nd around to play.  I also believe there are occasions where an NBA player may magically ascend to the heavens.  Swords and Serpents feels a little unfinished.  All minor but I was more curious if the Originals would be revisited by Tommy's crew.

4 hours ago, Atari_Master said:

There's a PC Engine mini & PC Engine CoreGrafx mini too.  The mini consoles are plug and play.  They have about 60 games built-in.  I pre-ordered the TurboGrafx-16 mini.  I never had this console growing up and it will be cool to have something different besides Nintendo & Sega.

I have and modded the PS Classic, SNES Classic, Genesis mini and Atari FB X.  They look mini but great and let me put away my original consoles.   Hoping to mod the TG mini so I can put my TG16 with CD attachment away.  My CRT died so if I have to use a flatscreen then might as well embrace the HDMI versions of these consoles.  And the controllers are great on these things.  I’m pretty happy.  
 

Just noticed I’m responding to a linked topic and not the topic at hand.  Oopsie!   
 

Feel free to ignore me.  

7 hours ago, mr_me said:

China is doing an amazing job containing the virus.

well you always take anything China say with a huge grain of salt..  Not to beat a dead horse but there is NO WAY to contain this other than keeping people away from one another... this means the only way this thing is truly contained and things get back to normal is when a safe vaccine is out and available and free to hundreds of millions if not a billion or more people.  I still dont think many people are aware of what is about to happen to economies.

Here is what "The Atari Creep" is thinking about a VIP Edition.

8 hours ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

It's a company that is just as big and well known.  We spoke to Foxconn earlier last year and they were on the list of possibilities.  The company we have manufactures for Sony (PS3, 4 & 5) as well as the Nintendo Wii! 

Coronavirus will definitely be affecting us and everyone else doing electronics this year.  Machines will be scare on all fronts.  Founder Edition folks are looking like the smartest people in the world right now.  They'll be getting their machines before any retailer! 

 

Thinking about doing another round of pre-orders.  So many people have been disappointed they weren't able to get in on the Founders Edition.  Maybe do another pre-order that isn't as good as the Founder Editions.  More like a "VIP" edition.  Not signed, no pin or patch.  Maybe the poster, the Vintage Woodgrain and the gift card.  $279.   Thoughts??

 

 

I think that would be a great Idea. As an aside, why not make the woodgrain version a permanent color choice?  

The Atari Creep seems to be desperately trying to be on the fence about the Amico to generate a debate and get more views. He clearly likes the machine, he even says he will buy it, but he keeps encouraging everyone to love AND also to hate the console. This is his second attempt: his last video was titled "The Amico and the VCS... both suck?", but then he didn't give any reasons for the Amico to suck, he said he just wanted people who think it sucked to comment on the video. 😌