Intellivision Amico - Tommy Tallarico introduction + Q&A

15 hours ago, Guy said:

Don't worry, you won't pay much for shipping, I'm sure people in Germany will have their own assembly plant, at least in the EU. 
I am also happy because this manufacturing approach makes Amico less dependent on China, less to worry about the coronavirus outbreak. 

 

 

The issue isn't the assembly... it's the manufacturing.  Most all electronics and components and screens MUST be made in China... because nowhere else in the world has the capability to make them (at a reasonable price).

Definitely a huge problem in modern times and I hope that this whole Coronavirus thing helps to reset the world in regards to manufacturing.  Would love to see more manufacturing of electronics around the world.  Vietnam & India are starting to get in the mix.  But would really love to see it come home to the U.S. and all across Europe.  Pricing, labor and infrastructure is always the issue though.

17 hours ago, MinerWilly said:

Hey Tommy,

I asked you in january about the power plugs coming with Founders Edition (to Europe). Did you asked your tech guys? Thanks.

Yes.  Power unit is compatible in Europe.

18 hours ago, LePionnier said:

Tommy, are the hardware Specifications finalize and ordered ?
Thank you. 😊


 

 

No.  About 98%.  Certain minor things may need to slightly change because of the outbreak/virus and scarcity issues brought on because of it.

We also still have extensive testing to do. 

24 minutes ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Yep!  On most games this is the case.  We LOVE local high scores too!  Brings the family together more... trying to beat high scores within the household.  So cool!  And something that has been lost in time!  Don't worry... we're bringing it back!

 

 

 

This is awesome news !! And yes this has been lost in time and for me much more important than worldwide leaderboards since competing with family and friends with local leaderboards can keep me up all night ! lol  My pet peeve is when there is no room to enter your name or initials , or when the scores reset each time the game is turned off. This type of leaderboard is completely useless . Anyway thank you for the response and this is great news that you will be implementing local high scores the proper way being an old school gamer yourself !!!

17 hours ago, poconojo said:

I am really looking forward to getting the Amico FE. I will probably order the VIP edition as well. Will it be another 100 dollar deposit for this next edition, if you decide to do another pre-order? 

Probably.  We can't just have people saying they want one without some kind of serious commitment.  Other companies can get away with doing that kind of stuff because they have BILLIONS in the bank on reserve.  We don't.

A company of our size will need to rely on serious purchase orders to ensure that the machines getting made will sell immediately.  By having someone put down a serious deposit... this pretty much ensures that they are serious about completing the order in the fall.  Retail is different... direct orders are different as well.  Out of 2600 Founders Edition about 10 folks have asked for their refund.  So it's a system that is working for us as the drop-off rate is very very minimal.  We can't overshoot projections... especially with the Coronavirus happening.  Things will be scarce and getting a really good idea of how many we MUST make will help us to better understand the amount we will need on launch.  I don't want to guess.

23 minutes ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Yep!  On most games this is the case.  We LOVE local high scores too!  Brings the family together more... trying to beat high scores within the household.  So cool!  And something that has been lost in time!  Don't worry... we're bringing it back!

 

 

 

This actually makes me very happy. Most (all?) of my games that have high scores just delete your initials after you turn the game off. What the hell is the point in entering my initials if it's just going to vanish when I shut it off the moment I finish entering them? My favourite shooter ever, Gleylancer, and I think my second favourite shooter, After Burner Complete, both do this. I think I might have a few games that don't, but I think the vast majority of them do. I do know the reason, though... someone didn't want to pay for SRAM 30 years ago!

17 hours ago, Crusader71 said:

Hi guys, I've been following this thread for some time now, and I've been passionate about discussions.  First of all, sorry but I don't speak English very well and I use Google translates, I'm Italian and a proud member of the founders.  I read about the VIP presale and I wouldn't feel belittled by this.  But I thought maybe Tommy could include them in the founders' edition a certificate of originality, a paper bearing the console number complete with Intellivision signature and stamp.  It would be fantastic and I believe that no founder would have to object to any VIP pre-order that you will do in the future.  Will a last order to Tommy, the founders' edition, be sent to Italy directly from America, or will it be sent to the European headquarters and subsequently sorted in Europe?  Thanks to all of you for this thread and thanks to Tommy and the guys from Intellivision for this beautiful vision.  Hello friends.

 

Ciao amico!

E benvenuti alla discussione!

Scommetto che il mio italiano è molto peggio del tuo inglese! Conosco soprattutto tutte le parolacce!

Yes... it will be sent to Italy from America because I need to sign them all and we need to add the "extras".  Although... ya never know!  I might just hand deliver the ones to Italy!!  Any excuse to go there!!  Hahha!

I hope you stay safe during this crisis in the homeland. 

p.s. Forza Ferrari!!

17 hours ago, BiffMan said:

It's been said before, but bears a repeat:

 

Tommy, THANK YOU for continuing to hang out here and chat even with folks baiting you or openly misrepresenting your words and actions. 

 

The waiting till 10/10/2020 is excruciating, but it is sooooooo much better with you than without you. 

Thanks BiffMan!

I really appreciate that!!  I really do!

It's been difficult sometimes to keep doing this.  But folks like you and the others make it worth it.

16 hours ago, The Atari Creep said:

I'm going to quote this too. Like him or hate him, how many times have you seen leadership form a company spend this much time addressing their customer base like this. I respect that a great deal.

Thank-you!!!!!!!

16 hours ago, woobman said:

Looking forward to more videos!!! Any and all new info would be great!

 

I like the idea of the VIP edition. Please put me on the please do list.  

 

Any chance of Venture coming to the Amico? 

Not on the "to do" list just yet... but I'm sure it eventually will be!

16 hours ago, IntelliMission said:

May I recommend a couple of songs for my waiting fellows? Okay, I will only recommend one. I was going to say "Waiting in the Shadows" by Rasumus, but that one sucks, so listen to this one instead.

This one is better!

I'm so gonna redo this at some point!  Maybe get Steven Tyler to sing it.

19 hours ago, AtariSociety said:

Just a note as I am a Director of Customer Service for a company.. been in the Customer Service biz since 1980s... and in this day and age with Social Media being an outlet for customers posting issues they have with such and such devices... myself and my partner in crime for our company's customer service peruse the internet all day long, mostly Social Media sites, to find posts that may be regarding our product.  If we do, before the customer even reaches out to us for support, let them know how to reach us so we can get them back to 100%. 

 

This blows their and many folks minds... that we reached out to them before they even did to us.  Shows we care.  Shows we are one step beyond what many offer in customer service.  

 

It is as close as one can get to being a psychic in customer service field and works well for us.  One reason why our company gets so many kudos for our customer service.

 

TJ

I think you need to come and work for Intellivision!  You can be the head of our Customer Service!

DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!

19 hours ago, Atari_Master said:

Tommy,

 

I know this probably won't happen.  But after the Amico has been out for a while and been successful.  Will we see an Amico handheld for those that like to play games on the go?

It's just something to ponder.  I know Amico is about family and being together.  I'm all for that.  Just wanted to know if a handheld version would come out at some point.

If not that's fine.  I completely understand.

No.  Not in the cards as of now. 

6 minutes ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

No.  Not in the cards as of now. 

 

 

That's okay. No worries. 😊

12 hours ago, Cranker said:

I am eagerly waiting this console. Much of my childhood was spent in arcades with space invaders , asteroids etc . I have been waiting for a console with classic , simple to play but hard to master score based games with LOCAL high scores that save permanently with initials and Tommy has confirmed that the Amico will support this feature. For me it increases the playability of games based on high scores 100 percent. Without high scores , I have no reason to keep coming back. This was what it was all about in the 80’s at arcades !! Anyone feel this way ?

I sure do!!!

12 hours ago, The Wren said:

Actually just to weigh in on this here...I had asked question...just a question about an order that i had made on the Amico website for a mug and shirt I had ordered. I filled out the contact form and I had a response in my inbox in less than 2 hours from a very polite guy named Nick. To be fair my question didn't involve a refund on and item that is wait listed but I found it to be one of the best online experiences in the past few years.  

 

Thanks for the good service

Thank you for sharing!

What's really hilarious about this story is that Nick is our CFO/COO!  Literally the 2nd in command!  We have about 30 people in the home office and everyone helps out with everything they can and the friendships and willingness to help others is incredible.

12 hours ago, Guy said:

 

 

Since we're posting vinyl album covers... 

 

Oh man....

I'm about to EXPLODE!!!!!!

Must.... keep.... mouth.... SHUT!

4 hours ago, Steven Pendleton said:

A few people have mentioned that, depending on some various stuff, doing another VIP console could make it look like Intellivision Entertainment is short on cash and needs money for whatever reason depending on how it's done/timing. I forgot to consider this when I replied to this previously and I agree with it, so basically append this to what I said earlier. I don't personally care either way, but I'd just be careful with brand image and stuff.

 

Haters will interpret it as "lol intellivision got no ca$h need ur moneyz to make thing" or some other grammatically incorrect variation on that no matter what, I think, but people who were not able to get the Founders Edition will probably be very happy and the rest of the world will continue to be ignorant because they do not know the thing exists at all yet.

 

Yeah... the HILARIOUS part about any bozo thinking that is that they think that a few hundred thousand dollars is going to somehow save the company!??!?  Um... that is about a week or so of overhead.

1 hour ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Lets just ignore this kind of drama.

I'm getting a little tired of this kind of stuff and don't have time to constantly dedicate time to proving myself over and over again.  My commitment and history speaks for itself.
 

 

Yeah Tommy, you tell them.  

1 minute ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Yeah... the HILARIOUS part about any bozo thinking that is that they think that a few hundred thousand dollars is going to somehow save the company!??!?  Um... that is about a week or so of overhead.

Yep, and overhead is something you can't get rid of. The most you can do is run your business out of your own house, and that still doesn't even work since you still have to pay for electricity and stuff. Better yet, run it out of someone else's house so they end up paying all of the bills!

34 minutes ago, Steven Pendleton said:

Most (all?) of my games that have high scores just delete your initials after you turn the game off. What the hell is the point in entering my initials if it's just going to vanish when I shut it off the moment I finish entering them?

TOTALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!

I HATE THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Unacceptable in modern times!!

53 minutes ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Yo!,

 

Yes... we will be moving forward with the VIP editions over the next few weeks (big gameplay trailer coming first though!) and they will be less expensive than the FE's and not as much value (or anything the same). 

To be clear, my mind was already pretty much made up in regards to doing another pre-order... just because... like you said... I know what our internal data is in regards to folks wanting us to do something else.  But because I knew that a lot of folks in here had the FE... I wanted to get a sense of how they felt about it so I could see if there was a way to please as many people as possible.  I know it's something an impossible task... but no harm in trying! 

 

Because of the concerns raised, I actually changed the scope slightly because I was able to understand a different point of view.  In fact... because of that... I'm not going to number or limit the pre-orders at all... which in the end... probably becomes better for the company overall. 

And yes... the biggest take away for me... was your last 2 sentences.  As you said... "It's simple!".

Thanks for the feedback and discussion.

 

 

Tommy, I too think it's the best decision to not limit the pre-orders! Couldn't get any better than that! 

3 minutes ago, Steven Pendleton said:

Yep, and overhead is something you can't get rid of. The most you can do is run your business out of your own house, and that still doesn't even work since you still have to pay for electricity and stuff. Better yet, run it out of someone else's house so they end up paying all of the bills!

Maybe I can run it out of AtariVCS offices??! 

Oh wait... they are probably running it out of their own homes at this point.  

2 minutes ago, N0mi said:

Tommy, I too think it's the best decision to not limit the pre-orders! Couldn't get any better than that! 

Thanks!

And I can't wait to show folks this new trailer I'm working on!

5 minutes ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

TOTALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

I HATE THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Unacceptable in modern times!!

 

 

Did you know the console versions of Sonic Mania do not save your score but the PC version does? How strange!