Intellivision Amico - Tommy Tallarico introduction + Q&A

2 hours ago, Alpha82 said:

The difference with Intellivision Amico is every developer is hand picked from ideas pitched and will work alongside Intellivision from start to finish to make the best game possible. And the game will have to pass the quality control group for Intellivision in order to be sold 

Okay. Hoping you have a lot of great stuff to choose from rather than the best of a lot of meh.🙂

4 hours ago, Swami said:

I don't want to beat a dead horse on third-party developers dropping the ball with unique approaches to consoles, but this quote from Wikipedia shows how they failed with the Wii:

 

"The Wii's success caught third-party developers by surprise, leading to apologies for the quality of their early games. In an interview with German news magazine Der Spiegel, Ubisoft's Yves Guillemot and Alain Corre admitted that they made a mistake in rushing out their launch titles, promising to take future projects more seriously.^[177] Take-Two Interactive, which released few games for the Nintendo GameCube, changed its stance towards Nintendo by placing a higher priority on the Wii.^["

 

However, most third-party developers seemed to repeat this lack of seriousness with the Kinect and WiiU.

 

My point is that I think you have to really watch these people and not let them slack on dedicated development, because they may have the desire to waffle on something with an unproven track-record.

3 hours ago, Alpha82 said:

The difference with Intellivision Amico is every developer is hand picked from ideas pitched and will work alongside Intellivision from start to finish to make the best game possible. And the game will have to pass the quality control group for Intellivision in order to be sold 

As always.... you nailed it! 

24 minutes ago, Swami said:

Okay. Hoping you have a lot of great stuff to choose from rather than the best of a lot of meh.🙂

Absolutely!  The machine will live or die deoending on this.  We are very aware which is why I've put together the teams and chosen the developers I have.

On 6/27/2019 at 4:28 PM, Alpha82 said:

Have you and Kevin set up your return interview for Attack Media yet?  I’m super excited to see part 2 of that interview.  One of the many reasons I’m excited for game play trailer next month is new videos on YouTube I’ll be able to see Intellivision Amico news on I’m pretty sure I’ve seen every one out there multiple times so new videos will be nice lol 

Not yet.  Tweet or email him!  Tell him you want me on again. 

Absolutely love what you're doing Tommy! I'm skeptical in in the most positive way (Maybe skeptical isn't the right word. It's like if you're searching for a used vehicle and come across the perfect one on Craigslist at the perfect price. You contact the seller and set up a time to see it and test drive it and you fully intend on purchasing it as long as it's as advertised and the seller didn't lie about or misrepresent it on the Craigslist ad in some way.) Another good comparison is games unveiled at E3 or are announced and then the game gets released and it's absolutely nothing like it was described or what the trailer had initially shown I'm looking at you No Man's Sky (Hopefully you understand what i'm trying to say haha)

If the Amico ends up turning out exactly how you're describing it to be and you end up delivering on how you're promising it's going to be and doesn't turn out to be a huge bait and switch expectation vs reality situation like No Man's Sky was or turns out completely different from how you've been hyping it up to this point (And I have every reason to trust you at this point and very little to no reason to doubt you) then I am sold 100%!

Lmfao... that video was spot on.  Hate to say it, but that really was what it felt like. 

No doubt there is a bit of that feeling for ANY anticipated release that carries a lot of hype, but judging by what's already been said by many who had access at E3 2019, it sounds like this one will definately deliver the goods as expected.

Like you said... unlike No Man's Sky.  Whoa...that was bad...

Tommy, will the Amico consoles be available direct, through distributors or both.? I can't remember if I've already asked you but do you plan on having a UK office or will we come under the German (EU's) purview. I ask as we (the UK) are in the process of leaving the EU and at the moment, no one knows what the consequences will be follow it.. I know some people think we are kinda insignificant in the grand scheme of things but we are the sixth biggest video game market and second only to Germany in Europe. 

BTW, I'm not suggesting you think we are insignificant

3 hours ago, Pink said:

Absolutely love what you're doing Tommy! I'm skeptical in in the most positive way (Maybe skeptical isn't the right word. It's like if you're searching for a used vehicle and come across the perfect one on Craigslist at the perfect price. You contact the seller and set up a time to see it and test drive it and you fully intend on purchasing it as long as it's as advertised and the seller didn't lie about or misrepresent it on the Craigslist ad in some way.) Another good comparison is games unveiled at E3 or are announced and then the game gets released and it's absolutely nothing like it was described or what the trailer had initially shown I'm looking at you No Man's Sky (Hopefully you understand what i'm trying to say haha)

 

If the Amico ends up turning out exactly how you're describing it to be and you end up delivering on how you're promising it's going to be and doesn't turn out to be a huge bait and switch expectation vs reality situation like No Man's Sky was or turns out completely different from how you've been hyping it up to this point (And I have every reason to trust you at this point and very little to no reason to doubt you) then I am sold 100%!

 

 

Thanks for rooting for us!  I'm positive we are going to encounter major challenges along the way... but that's why it was so important to build such a great and experienced team alongside me.  The passion that I have is felt and seen everyday by the hundreds of people working on this.  I really mean that.  Thefe is a lot of magic happening behind the scenes all baswd around everyones passion and excitement to make this the best we can be.

Also want to point out that we've only revealed about half if what the console can and will do!  The best is still yet to come.  Really industry changing stuff.  Just look at some of the innovators we have on the team... they are all as passionate as I am.  Its a great feeling right now!  When the time comes... we look forward to sharing more with everyone.

Thanks again for your support at this early stage and keeping an open mind. Until you play it, you have every right to be cautiously skeptical.  I'm confident we're going to win over a lot of folks by this time next summer!

1 hour ago, Bamse said:

Tommy, will the Amico consoles be available direct, through distributors or both.? I can't remember if I've already asked you but do you plan on having a UK office or will we come under the German (EU's) purview. I ask as we (the UK) are in the process of leaving the EU and at the moment, no one knows what the consequences will be follow it.. I know some people think we are kinda insignificant in the grand scheme of things but we are the sixth biggest video game market and second only to Germany in Europe. 

BTW, I'm not suggesting you think we are insignificant

Hi!  The UK is super important to us and was the 2nd biggest market for the original Intellivision.  We are waiting to see what happens politically over there, but more than likely we'll probably have a separate office in the UK... even if its just marketing, PR & sales.

Also like to point out that we have a VERY experienced developer working for us over there!  These folks have been around since the C64 and Amstrad days!  They are one of our superstars for sure and the game they are working on will be turning a lot of heads. 

It would be great to get David Pleasance on board in the UK Tommy: https://www.everythingamiga.com/2018/11/david-john-pleasance-the-commodore-story-the-untold-tale-of-a-computer-giant.html

NMS:  You know, even though they had real missteps along the way, the game is ending up being quite the home run so if that's the eventual fate of the Amico, I'd live with stumbling a bit at the gate (not that I think that's a good thing). For the record, the 2nd planet I landed on was very close to the reveal trailer.  It's the luck of the draw when it comes to procedural generation stuff

Not that I want a NMS on the Amico but I love procedural generation stuff so here's hoping that's used in some way for some of the Amico games; brings some variety at times, even if it's just level layouts on a Dungeon Master Amico type of game (crosses fingers)

looking forward to the gameplay reveal as well, will actually give us something to chew on and can also provide a lot of ideas on gameplay concepts as the project moves forward. Especially the "every game has couch multiplayer"; this is THE feature that could force devs to get out of their comfort zone and take a different path than they are used to because of accepted generic industry standards 

Thinking about games (that are not NMS) . . .

It would be very exciting to see a new family friendly game like Wii Sports that takes off. 

I think what is more realistic is to create an indie style RPG, platformer, or Metroidvania that gets the attention of the gaming press, gets a lot of coverage and sells some consoles.   Think something like Undertale, Shovel Knight, Cuphead, or Axiom Verge.  An exclusive hit like that early would really be impressive.

And even if it wasn't completely exclusive to Amico, some unique levels or original content on the Amico version would add a certain retro computing feel that I think would appeal to collectors.

Have any big name 3rd party devs shown any interest in the Amico?

12 hours ago, CMR said:

Have any big name 3rd party devs shown any interest in the Amico?

maybe better not

the big names want to reiterate the ips forever looking at players as money cows. I hope to see new ideas and games to be focused on players not on licenses and hidden tricks to make you pay for play....

I don't want to say that EA and Activision and similar should not land on amico, but if they don't... wheel good for us!

Tommy do you aim to see EA developing for Amico?

On 6/29/2019 at 6:32 PM, Tommy Tallarico said:

 

(...)  We are waiting to see what happens politically over there, but more than likely we'll probably have a separate office in the UK... even if its just marketing, PR & sales.

(...)

 

an Intellivexit! Something I'd never thought of before!

20 hours ago, wongojack said:

Thinking about games (that are not NMS) . . .

 

It would be very exciting to see a new family friendly game like Wii Sports that takes off. 

 

I think what is more realistic is to create an indie style RPG, platformer, or Metroidvania that gets the attention of the gaming press, gets a lot of coverage and sells some consoles.   Think something like Undertale, Shovel Knight, Cuphead, or Axiom Verge.  An exclusive hit like that early would really be impressive.

 

And even if it wasn't completely exclusive to Amico, some unique levels or original content on the Amico version would add a certain retro computing feel that I think would appeal to collectors.

Hi,  Thanks for the comments.

I agree with you 100%!

Yeah... we have an entire line of Wii Sports type of games that people are really going to love (whether you're a gamer or not).  And we're taking Wii Sports to a whole new level!  Not just a bowling and tennis demo.

It's interesting to me that some of the doubters out there are saying that we're going to fail because Nintendo already did Wii Sports and after the initial success... it never caught on because it was just a gimmick and all of the other publishers failed at selling software and then everyone just moved over to mobile instead.  Anyone saying that is signaling their lack of data and knowledge about what families want. 

I always find it most interesting that the armchair quarterbacks who tell us were doomed and we don't know what we're doing never seem to have kids.  Anyone else notice that? 

So if I'm to follow their logic... a gameplay mechanic that came out 13 years that was super popular and catapulted the Wii to 102 million units, sold to people who never bought a game system before and making it the 3rd biggest selling home console of all time... that NO ONE would be interested in that ever again because Nintendo did it 13 years ago (and never to it's full potential)????  These folks are only thinking about their own lives and feelings.  Which is fine... I get it.  Their comments should be something like... "Personally, as a hardcore gamer I'm over it, but maybe others would like to see it return."  But instead... they say... OMG! You don't have a chance and you don't know what you're doing and no one is going to buy this thing because only hardcore Intellivision fans are going to buy this."  How ignorant can they be?  

People forget that the first Guitar Hero came out a full year before the Wii (2005).  I did work on the first 3 Guitar Hero games (I was the one who also secured the Aerosmith license for them)... and people thought we were absolutely CRAZY to think that anyone would buy a plastic guitar and even moreso... that the retailers would carry something that was such a huge box and took up so much space.  Now Activision ended up killing the Guitar Hero market by getting greedy and coming out with thing every year instead of letting the license breath a little.  Instead, they oversaturated the market which eventually saw the once huge numbers go away.  It would be the equivalent of Nintendo coming out with a Wii Bowling game every year for 10 years on the Nintendo Wii... yeah.... eventually people are going to get sick of it.  Activision is known for doing things like that.  I was also on the original Tony Hawk Pro-Skater team.  And once again... saw Activision do the same thing (even before GH) and drive the franchise into the ground and oblivion.  

The fact that there hasn't been a successful Wii Sports type game isn't because people don't want to play it.  It's because no company has ever focused on it the right way for a long time.  Folks may not realize, but 4 of the Top 10 biggest selling games of all time were Wii Sports/motion control type games!  Wii Sports Resort, Wii Fit, etc...  all of which came out more than 10 years ago.  And what about an entire new generation that has never played the Wii?  Kids who are now 6 - 12 years old.  How would they react considering they've NEVER played motion control games?  Do you think they would like to play games with their parents?  Or do you think all they care about is Fortnite and that's it? 

The great thing about Amico is that we know exactly what genres and games are lacking in the industry... not only simple motion control stuff... but lots of other retro type gameplay as well.  Some for hardcores, some for families, some for casual friends.  No... you won't find Call of Duty or Red Dead 2... but you will find a brand new machine that is doing something that no one has ever done before while bringing back old school sensibilities combined with brand new awesome tech that NONE of the other companies have in any of their systems (stuff we haven't revealed). 

Going to be a very exciting time when people start to see what we're building. 

I can't wait!!

2 hours ago, vprette said:

maybe better not

the big names want to reiterate the ips forever looking at players as money cows. I hope to see new ideas and games to be focused on players not on licenses and hidden tricks to make you pay for play....

I don't want to say that EA and Activision and similar should not land on amico, but if they don't... wheel good for us!

Tommy do you aim to see EA developing for Amico?

Both Activision & EA aren't known to be the kind of folks who jump in first before anyone else.  They freely admit it.  Instead, they watch the trends and then duplicate and start pouring money onto it.  It's always been their way over the past 15 years... and again... they admit it.  They aren't innovators (anymore)... but they watch what others do and then do it better.

I have had very high level meetings with both companies and I've known them for many many years.  As typical with everything they do, they are having a "wait and see" attitude.  They want to see how many units we're going to sell first.  I get it!  Makes sense.  They will come in strong during Round 2 of the software probably.  They will see what is selling the best on the platform so far and then spend twice as much money as anyone else to make the same style of game... but take it to the next level. 

Either way... I'm fine with that.  For the type of console we're doing, we don't either of them to be successful. 

That being said... I'm still on Activision constantly to give us the Pitfall & River Raid licenses.  They get more and more interested each time they see where the console and games are headed.  I'll get them.

 

I wanted to clear up some information about pricing, exclusives/ports and current developers, quality of games and customer vibe so far.  There has been a little confusion in this thread and a LOT in others. 
 

1.  Although our trailer said $2.99 - $7.99, we decided that DIGITAL DOWNLOAD games will launch between $2.99 - $9.99.  Most games will probably be in the $5.99 - $9.99 spectrum.  Does this mean we will never have a game over $9.99?  We're not sure yet.  We are open to the idea, but it would need to be a pretty epic experience and idea to get us off the $9.99 or less digital download price range.  For folks who don't see how a developer would EVER do something like that (especially when it's an exclusive) doesn't understand how game development and budgets work (or the current state of the industry).  If Intellivision spends $200,000 to create a game that sells for $9.99 that means that we only need to sell 20,000 units before a royalty or percentage can start being paid to a developer.  20,000 units is very obtainable.    Also keep in mind that the $9.99 or lower price are ONLY the DIGITAL versions.  That's all I'm going to say about that for now.   

2.  Exclusives/Ports -  I want to clarify this again.  We will NOT be accepting DIRECT ports for our machine.  Everything must be exclusive in some way shape or form.  This was very common practice in the early and mid 90's (and sometimes still today).  If it's going to be a port of something... we need it to have an added mode of play, a different way to control the game, another world/levels, or a unique "family friendly" version of a well known franchise.  This is already happening for us with BIG name developers and publishers.  Mostly, it's adding a co-op or adding screen information to the experience.  Basically... if it's some kind of port... it means the Intellivision version is DEFINITELY the best version and most fun to play (because of the added co-op/versus or screens on every controller).  May not "look" the best... but it will be the most fun to play.   Hope that helps to clear things up.  Again... I can't understand why certain naysayers can't wrap their head around this and they see this as a NEGATIVE and a limiting thing.  I guess it's because they think no one will do it with/for us.  But they are VERY wrong.  Everyone we're working with in this capacity is super excited to be doing exclusive versions of their games with us.

3.  Developers - Lots of folks are interested to know who our developers are.  We have very specific plans to reveal and we're thinking about showing a partial list in our next trailer.  It cracks me up when people are saying that we aren't going to attract any good developers.  People completely misjudge the fact that I've been in the industry for 30 years and have made a lot of talented friends who also believe in what we're doing.  And that's just me.  How about all of the other 570 years of experience on our main executive & creative team?  Do you think maybe they've met some folks and friends along the way that they trust and know the type of quality they create?  People are very much underestimating the ability of the company to bring in and recognize great talent.  People like to try and classify us with things like Ouya or the Chameleon.  Really?  Did those companies have the level of experience that our folks do?  The answer is a resounding NO. 

4.  The vibe so far. 
It's funny... there are always going to be certain folks who always want to find the negative in things.  I get it.  Some people feel good and find joy when they can rip others down or they just want to feel like they are the smartest person in the room because they called a failure before anyone else.  Again... I get it.  But what I also find interesting is that those people (who can only see inside their own bubbles) just flat out refuse to acknowledge data that doesn't represent their own thoughts.  They are trapped in that world of "whatever I think MUST be right... because that is how I feel and everyone else must feel the same."  We see this happen each and every day in politics don't we!! 

If anyone is interested in seeing a little unbiased slice of what's to come and how people outside this forum "really" feel so far.  Just have a look and read all of the comments on our initial Reveal Trailer from last year. 
 

Make sure to read the comments on the YouTube version (not the Facebook one as those folks are probably biased).  Hundreds of thousands of views on a YouTube video we did NOT in any way shape or form advertise and try to boost.  Because we wanted the data to be pure.  Look at the LIKE and DISLIKE ratio on the video.  Read the thousand + comments.  SURE you can find super negative stuff in places like Resetera.  Because that is what those places breed... negativity.  The comments on a Kotaku article are going to be different than GameDaily.biz, etc.  So just look at pure data from folks who heard about us one way or another... went to YouTube to see the video and either clicked LIKE or left a comment.  Now compare that to Atari, Ouya and Google Stadia.   And this demographic slice ARE gamers... not even our core audience (we haven't even started any kind of marketing yet).  There are thousands of positive comments from gamers about the system already... and they don't even know HALF of the information or have seen ANY of the games.  So before anyone writes us off as "we don't know who are market is, no one is gonna buy this thing", etc.  Why not take a look at what people are already saying?    Also...   in regards to Facebook... the numbers are even bigger.  Over 650,000 views over there... and again... not even targeting or spending money to get to the folks we're going to be focused on.  Facebook folks are going to be our real crowd and focus (older people, parents with young kids, etc.).  Wait til people who don't follow the game industry start finding out about it!  And how do we know?  Because of massive market research and focus testing.  Does anyone think that Venture Capital firms are going to just give tens of millions of dollars on a hunch?  Sadly mistaken and grossly underestimating us.    You'll find some YouTube & Facebook quotes below.

5.  Quality of games.  Again I will invoke the 600 years of experience on our core executive & creative team.  Our team has been involved in the greatest game franchises and products of all time.  And not just design, but production, graphics, marketing, business, audio, etc.  Literally every aspect of game making.  In one of our initial investor documents we showed a slide of all the video game products our team has worked on.  I'd like to share this slide.  If you think that the people who made those products don't recognize what makes a good game... well... I guess I have nothing else to say.    And again... if you don't think we have money to create good games... you are sadly mistaken.  I'm not stupid.  Almost 30% of our entire launch budget is for game development. 

And finally... I'd like for everyone here to look at this list of the most played video games in the world (by player count) and tell me HONESTLY how many of the Top 10 you have personally played (not watched someone play... but personally played).  Here is the list:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most-played_video_games_by_player_count

I'm guessing there aren't many.  You'll see games like Solitaire in there with 400 million users and Crossfire with over 600 million!  Folks can "Zelda and Halo" me all they want, but you won't even find those games on the list.  Bottom line... don't underestimate something you don't understand.  Country music & NASCAR are the biggest forms of music & sport in the U.S. but if you don't listen and watch... then you probably think they are dumb and can't understand why anyone else would like it.



Please feel free to share as much of this information as you'd like going forward. 

Thanks!

16 hours ago, CMR said:

Have any big name 3rd party devs shown any interest in the Amico?

Absolutely!!  A huge number.

On 6/29/2019 at 6:28 AM, Loafer said:

Especially the "every game has couch multiplayer"; this is THE feature that could force devs to get out of their comfort zone and take a different path than they are used to because of accepted generic industry standards 

EXACTLY!!!  You 100% nailed it!

Devs are LOVING it and are doing things they have been unable to do on other systems!  They are super excited about the possibilities and have been waiting YEARS for something like Amico to be created and to help see their vision through.  So many devs have told us (we had this awesome co-op idea but we can to shelve it because..."

Lots of really fun, exclusive and interesting things coming our way from devs!

1 hour ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Both Activision & EA aren't known to be the kind of folks who jump in first before anyone else.  They freely admit it.  Instead, they watch the trends and then duplicate and start pouring money onto it.  It's always been their way over the past 15 years... and again... they admit it.  They aren't innovators (anymore)... but they watch what others do and then do it better.

That being said... I'm still on Activision constantly to give us the Pitfall & River Raid licenses.  They get more and more interested each time they see where the console and games are headed.  I'll get them.

 

I gladly remember when Activison was an innovator... good times.... let's try to revive this flavour 🙂

pitfall can be a hit, while I see river raid more difficult to be refreshed in a modern way.. good titles... I'm also a huge fan of h.e.r.o.

2 hours ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

I always find it most interesting that the armchair quarterbacks who tell us were doomed and we don't know what we're doing never seem to have kids.  Anyone else notice that? 

I don't know if I fall into the "DOOMED!1!" category, but I have a kid. She loves playing the LEGO co-op games and making everything explode.

Do you also have a kid? I had the distinct impression you did not.

1 hour ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

And finally... I'd like for everyone here to look at this list of the most played video games in the world (by player count) and tell me HONESTLY how many of the Top 10 you have personally played (not watched someone play... but personally played).  Here is the list:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most-played_video_games_by_player_count

I'm guessing there aren't many.  You'll see games like Solitaire in there with 400 million users and Crossfire with over 600 million!

Thanks for clearing up some of the confusion on the other points - very helpful! It would be nice to have all the latest information consolidated in some place as it's getting difficult to keep track. (You could make a case that this thread is such a place, but it's 34 pages and not easy to read.)

One thing about this list of "most played" games that sticks out at me: they are a mixture of what might be called free-to-play "mobile trash", free-to-play battle royales, free-to-play MMOs, and "everyone has played them" games like Solitaire and Tetris. It feels like a large part of that Top 10 is there because they are free, with a side-dose of "big in China".

I can only claim to have played 6 of the top 10 (Pac-Man Doodle, Candy Crush Saga, Tetris, PUBG, MS Solitaire, Fortnite). Candy Crush Saga is my go-to game on the toilet, airports and other waiting rooms and may (god help me) be the game I've put the most time into over the years, 5 to 15 minutes a pop.

3 hours ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

That being said... I'm still on Activision constantly to give us the Pitfall & River Raid licenses.  They get more and more interested each time they see where the console and games are headed.  I'll get them.

 

Good luck with that.  I don't strictly know what dark magic AtGames had to engage in to get those games but that aside, Activision just doesn't seem motivated to licence, revive, or even re-publish these properties. 

As I wrote some time ago in another thread, for reasons I can't fully disclose, I believe they will never licence for a platform they could see themselves publishing on. I suspect AtGames got through because Activision saw the platform as a consumer toy licence not a software publishing licence. i.e. They wouldn't do a Flashback device themselves, so they would be ok licensing in that context. 

If I'm right, the more you try to persuade them Amico is a viable future platform and not some sort of consumer device that could never be in their wheelhouse, the less likely they'll hand over the licence.