Intellivision Amico - Tommy Tallarico introduction + Q&A

On 3/10/2020 at 6:32 PM, Michael Garvey said:

I wonder what Tommy's thoughts are on subscription services.  I just cancelled my Xbox Game Pass because I never use it. I have too big a back catalog and I can't find time for the games I actually own. Oh well, more money I can save for Amico. 

I'd prefer NOT to do them for Amico.  But without knowing what the market wants from us yet... I don't want to take the idea completely off the table at this point.

 

 

On 3/10/2020 at 8:27 PM, Michael Garvey said:

I love the Amico, I do indeed

I love the Amico. It's what I need.

I will play it in my house.

I will play it with my spouse. 

I will play it here and there.

I will play it everywhere. 

The Amico, the Amico is all I need.

Yes, I love the Amico. I do indeed.

THAT WAS AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!

I have a VERY special present for you!

...stand by...

 

 

@Michael Garvey!!   This one's for you!



Made this yesterday.

 

Hahhahaa!

 

On 3/10/2020 at 8:28 PM, SEGA128bits said:

Hello everyone, new here and I've been enjoying reading about Amico. I've ordered a founders edition when it went live so I'm excited!  I had a couple of super hero questions for Tommy. 

1. Will the amico have super hero games? Like batman /spiderman ect

 

2.and if yes is it possible to get games like spiderman maximum carnage or any other of the older super hero games that were on genesis/snes/arcade? It would be a dream to play some of those games with coop and a cool comic art style. 

 

3.this one is not a question but I just want to tell tommy, you are awesome! Your doing something I've been asking for years, a console that focuses on multiplayer, great music being a priority and finally someone that wants to make games that are fun and simple like they used to be. Played the adventures of batman and robin on genesis last week with my brother and had a blast with a simple but addictive gameplay that ended in less than 3 hours. Had more fun than playing red dead 2 (got bored riding a horse for 10 minutes) good game but Jesus I just want to play not hold up for 20 minutes till I get to the next objective. Your the man Tommy! I'll be there on day one as a fan and supporter

YO!!

Welcome to the fun!!!

 

1.  YES!  But not on launch.

 

2.  Sure!  Definitely possible.  One of our developers worked on the Genesis Spider-Man game.  And I worked on the original PlayStation one. 

 

3.  Thanks!!  I really appreciate it!  So many like me & you in the world.  I think we're going to have a big hit on our hands!  

 

22 minutes ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

We have a VERY SPECIAL and unique way to "earn" discounts.  More info coming this summer!

AWESOME tease!  You had me at "earn" 😁

On 3/10/2020 at 8:39 PM, MrBeefy said:

If they can get Disney IPs that should cover Marvel stuff. Minus possibly Spiderman depending on how games and stuff would be handled vs the movies.

Although Disney owns Marvel... they don't have any say in any of the Marvel digital stuff.

 

Lucky for me... I know the president of Marvel.  Good friend of mine.  Had a GREAT visit in NYC a few weeks ago. 

 

 

@Tommy Tallarico what city is the main Intellivision HQ at?  Down in SoCal or up in the Bay Area more near SF?

TJ

Edited March 12, 2020 by AtariSociety

22 hours ago, LePionnier said:

Intellivision Entertainment should do something live from their studio on June 9, or from Vancouver with Electric Playground Network with Victor Lucas !?

Everyone will be missing all those live events from E3, so we should have something for everyone looking for something on youtube !?

Have systems on the floor with spectators playing. Invite several youtuber, etc.

 

E3 is cancelled for many reasons. Virus for sure, but also because companies have to prepare well in advance.

It's possible that in May, Covid-19 will be almost done.

So preparing something in about 3 or 4 weeks for IE would be possible, many will already have these same open dates in their calendar.

I am confident in you and your team Tommy. 😀

 

Edit : It is sad what happens, because one of Amico's objectives is to bring people together, and what is happening does not help us to achieve this objective !

        There are rumors that Sony and Microsoft may delay the release of the new consoles.

         I hope that will not be the case for Amico. The curious hard core gamer, tired of waiting could maybe try Amico !? 🤔

Lots of time to figure out something cool for the E3 crowd... and I'll have E3 and the ESA's help.  So we'll be more than fine!  (and save some marketing budget as well). 

 

 

Just now, AtariSociety said:

@Tommy Tallarico what city is the main Intellivision HQ at?  Down in SoCal or up in the Bay Area more neat SF?

TJ

That's a secret!

 

 

39 minutes ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Still working this out.

 

 

Understood.

 

 

10 minutes ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

One of our developers worked on the Genesis Spider-Man game.

The EU Mega Drive version showed up in Super Potato in Akiba a few months ago for about $3000. Not exaggerating. It cost more than any of the Neo Geo AES games they had. Pretty sure someone bought it since I don't remember seeing it there a few weeks ago.

 

11 minutes ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

And I worked on the original PlayStation one. 

The only Spider-Man game I have played. I enjoyed it, but I only played it a few times at my friend's house on his PS1 since I skipped 5th gen consoles entirely in favour of Mac, Genesis, and GBC.

3 minutes ago, RxScram said:

That's a secret!

 

 

Isn't that the Call of Duty font?

22 hours ago, jcalder8 said:

I'm curious and optimistic about "Plan B" from Tommy.

Good man!   We got some amazing things on the drawing board right now.

 

But next up... anyone interested in checking out a new 3 minute trailer that includes new footage from 22 games!  9 games no one has ever seen before (or I've talked about) and other things like more Astrosmash levels, 4 new Moon Patrol levels and 7 Skiing levels!

 

COMING ON MONDAY!!!!!!!  Along with a new press release!

 

And then 2 more MEET AMICO videos by the end of the month!

VIP Pre-Orders start March 31st!!

 

...and you guys thought that the E3 news would keep us down?  NOT A CHANCE!!!  Going to double and triple down on EVERYTHING now!!

 

 

21 hours ago, Michael Garvey said:

One thing to remember in these times is

 

Preach on my brother!!!!!!!!!

 

1 minute ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Good man!   We got some amazing things on the drawing board right now.

 

But next up... anyone interested in checking out a new 3 minute trailer that includes new footage from 22 games!  9 games no one has ever seen before (or I've talked about) and other things like more Astrosmash levels, 4 new Moon Patrol levels and 7 Skiing levels!

 

COMING ON MONDAY!!!!!!!  Along with a new press release!

 

And then 2 more MEET AMICO videos by the end of the month!

VIP Pre-Orders start March 31st!!

 

...and you guys thought that the E3 news would keep us down?  NOT A CHANCE!!!  Going to double and triple down on EVERYTHING now!!

 

 

That was so great to read that I was looking if I could press "LIKE" more than one time !  lol  😂🤣🥁🥇

21 hours ago, Tavi said:

It was a dinosaur, but it still had some value I think.

One of the things I enjoyed was watching the streams of those just walking around checking out the various announcements and exhibits. You would often see something interesting outside your usual gaming/console bubble that we all have.

Now, if everyone is doing their own thing this year, the Nintendo guys are only going to watch the Nintendo feeds and so forth. Which I also expect everyone will be releasing on their own schedule now. So there will be no general overviews or accidental exposure because you will have to now seek out the information on whatever platform/developer you have interest in.

I expect no E3 will not be a huge problem to the major players, but for the smaller guys and up and comers like the Amico they are all going to have to work extra-hard now to get themselves noticed.

Also keep in mind... E3 has MILLIONS of people on their social media, mailing list, live streams.....

 

Hmmmmm???

 

 

 

20 hours ago, Guy said:

Just because Sony didn't show up, doesn't mean Tommy would have the main stage at his disposal. Or that the press would give him the same amount of space. It doesn't work like that, it's not a comedy club, the night regulars are away, new guy can grab a mic and shine.

There's a whole machinery of power and money that doesn't get undone so easily just because some of the big boys change their plans. 

It is a blow to people who wanted to try and use the console.

Perhaps if Amico's launch is done online, it will have a greater chance to make an impact. 

If they use Youtube or Twitch they can potentially reach millions of people, although at the same time, it will be obvious if they have a low audience, and they will be exposed to negative comments from the public. 

It doesn't matter, because in the end, it's not the E3 audience that Intellivision is after, but moms and grandparents, so even if Intellivision didn't do anything in June, the chances of making a good launch wouldn't be affected, provided the marketing is still going on.

Actually... we had some mega planned with E3... and it was partly because the likes of Sony & Microsoft weren't on the main floor.

 

No worries though.  Just another small barrier that we'll need to navigate around.  Nothing can stop us!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

16 minutes ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Good man!   We got some amazing things on the drawing board right now.

 

But next up... anyone interested in checking out a new 3 minute trailer that includes new footage from 22 games!  9 games no one has ever seen before (or I've talked about) and other things like more Astrosmash levels, 4 new Moon Patrol levels and 7 Skiing levels!

 

COMING ON MONDAY!!!!!!!  Along with a new press release!

 

And then 2 more MEET AMICO videos by the end of the month!

VIP Pre-Orders start March 31st!!

 

...and you guys thought that the E3 news would keep us down?  NOT A CHANCE!!!  Going to double and triple down on EVERYTHING now!!

 

 

That's awesome! You can start unleashing the content now! 

 

E3 isn't a huge setback. That's only one part of hardcore audience you're trying to reach anyway. Keep the momentum going !

37 minutes ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

@Michael Garvey!!   This one's for you!



Made this yesterday.

 

Hahhahaa!

 

Thank you so much. I was so excited I ran upstairs to show my girlfriend. 😃

18 hours ago, Papy said:

The main reason is that your view of the 20% retro games looks like you're OK with compartmentalizing people and making games targeted to specific groups.

 

That is 100% incorrect.

 

18 hours ago, Papy said:

 

Sorry, but I have to give a lot of explanation...

 

When I fist started to play board games with my family, I had only a few Eurogames and they were more or less similar. Everyone loved playing those games, so I bought more games and sought games that were different. I thought more originality would keep the fun.

 

Different games had different results. For example, when we first play Pandemic, it immediately became the favorite game of my sister, but my mother didn't like that game at all.

 

Personally, I use games as a way to socialize, so any game will do. That's why I don't mind playing Monopoly with my niece, even if I find the game really dumb (I'm the kind of guy who played ASL in college).

 

However, I'm an exception. When I added more board games to my collection, everyone wanted to play different games. So no matter what game we ended up playing, there was always someone who was not satisfied, who felt frustrated, who didn't have fun, and this clearly killed the mood.

 

The result is we barely play board games altogether anymore.

 

If with Amico you make games specifically tailored to different audiences, I'm guessing the same thing will happen. People will have their own kind of game they want to play on Amico and they will view other games are inferior. In my mind, if the goal is to unite people, it's not enough to have some games for everyone, it's also important that people do not view the games that are meant for everyone as less fun than other kind of games. Playing those family games should not feel like some kind of chore or an unwanted compromise.

 

Our massive research and focus testing tells us the exact opposite.

 

 

 

18 hours ago, Papy said:

 

-

 

I remember an interview when you said to a woman that she will play Moon Patrol with her mother and they both will have fun together during next Christmas. In my mind, I imagined those remakes would be like the game Overcooked, that is games that are built from the ground up to be multiplayer and with strong interactions between people.

 

The great thing is that we have BOTH in almost ALL our games.  Great single player for some hardcores... but the same game has "other" modes for non-gamers.  Simple concept actually.  You've heard me discuss our Karma Gaming a bunch I'm sure.  So we have that as well. 

 

 

18 hours ago, Papy said:

 

After seeing the demos of Night Stalker and Astrosmash, it seems obvious to me this is not the case. Those remakes look like the originals, only with better graphics and more bells and whistles, and the multiplayer aspect of those games seems tacked on. I'm sure some retro gamers will love those games, but without a solid multiplayer experience, I don't see how a teenager, a soccer mom or an elderly could love playing those games for more than a few times.

With all due respect (and I'm being honest when I say that)... here's where you really went wrong in your thinking.  You have wrongly assumed that just because we showed a few minutes of one level WAY before the release of those games that you think that those are the only things they are doing?  Totally not true.  It's VERY easy to make gamer games like Moon Patrol, Astrosmash & PONG non-gamer friendly.  Don't look at what we showed and think that is the entire game.  I've said over and over that almost ALL of our games will have couch co-op, versus modes, Karma, etc.  You can't take one small sampling (that I purposely made for the retro hardcores) and assume that the entire game is going to be that.  I only showed one mode of each of those games. 

 

 

 

18 hours ago, Papy said:

 

At first, I was saying to myself the lack of a solid multiplayer experience was because those demos were alpha versions, but it looks to me anytime someone raises an objection to retro games, your answer is that it's OK because those remakes will be only 20% of the library.

 

I think you may be misunderstanding what I'm saying.  Yes.  20% of games are Retro Reimagined... and I would say that about 70% of those have modes for non-gamers as well.

 

 

 

 

18 hours ago, Papy said:

 

That's what depresses me. It's this 20% justification. Instead of saying those games will focus on the multiplayer experience for everyone (instead of trying to be faithful to the original games), you seem to say that it's OK if they are not for everyone because they are only 20% of the library.

I've ever really said anything like that.  I've ALWAYS said that almost ALL games will be for EVERYONE. 

 

 

 

18 hours ago, Papy said:

 

I know I won't play board games on Amico. I already have my own board games. So that's 20% gone.

 

 

You are once again assuming something you don't know anything about yet.  We haven't announced a single board game... and although you might be thinking "Monopoly" & "Scrabble"... we have the most AMAZING and popular board games that play 1000X's better on Amico then in real life.  You're just gonna have to trust me on this one.  Once you hear what we're doing... I guarantee if you like board games... you'll be playing some of them on our system.

 

 

18 hours ago, Papy said:

I know there's very little chance adults will want to play edutainment games. Another 20% gone.

 

Once again... you're incorrect.  You may not play them if you don't have any young kids.  But if you do... then you would!  Targeting parents and kids to play together is something that barely anyone has ever done.  We are.

 

 

18 hours ago, Papy said:

Motion controlled games are great as occasional party games, but apart from exceptions like Beat Saber, they are generally too light to be played regularly.

 

Completely not true.  Wii Sports proved that.  People are STILL playing Wii Sports 14 years later!

 

 

18 hours ago, Papy said:

 

Also, many women tend to not like serious sports games. So do I remove another 10%? Your 20% justification (and the demos of Night Stalker and Astrosmash that I saw) makes me think retro games won't interest many people. So another 20% gone.

 

Wrong again.  Retro games won't interest many people??  Wow.  Seriously?  Games like Burgertime, Centipede & Frogger test OFF THE CHARTS with non-gamers and casuals MORE THAN HARDCORES & RETRO!!
 

 

18 hours ago, Papy said:

 

It looks like the main tool for reuniting the whole family is mainly within the 20% original IP, but original IP doesn't say anything about the gameplay. How many of those original IP will be targeted at kids? How many targeted at elderly people? How many at women? How many at teenagers?

 

Every single one of the Original IPs.  EVERY one!

 

 

18 hours ago, Papy said:

 

I talked about Overcooked. It's far from perfect, but it's still a game that was built from the ground up to be multiplayer. How many games like that will be on Amico? Because if the goal is to unite family and friends, I believe those games should be the majority.

EVERY one of them my friend.  Please check out our 10 Commandments.

 

See... I knew if I dug a little deeper I would find that your reasoning was based on fiction and misunderstanding as opposed to the actual facts. 

You're going to be pleasantly surprised when Amico comes out.  That being said... you're probably gonna hate our next trailer.

18 hours ago, Zeptari1 said:

I've been telling people for years your related to the screaming demon!

It is true, correct?

 

Yep!  That's what our Wiki's say... so it must be true. 

 

Lots of pics here of me & him together:

https://www.tallarico.com/gallery

 

 

17 hours ago, Zeptari1 said:

How about Store 24 on Boston Road? Across the street from a certain school. 😉

O.L.S.H. baby!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

11 hours ago, The Wren said:

Hey Tommy,

 

Without E3 to fly the Intellivision flag high...whats plan B look like? I know PS and Xbox like the idea of doing a pre-filmed show as it help them to "control the message"...is this something you'd consider or is there still a decent way to get it in people's hands?

 

Looking forward to your interview with ReviewTechUSA

 

Cheers!

Working on a lot of different options right now.  Nothing set in stone.

 

 

43 minutes ago, AtariSociety said:

@Tommy Tallarico what city is the main Intellivision HQ at?  Down in SoCal or up in the Bay Area more near SF?

TJ

Irvine, CA.  Southern California.

 

So when are you coming to work for us and head our Customer Service!!!

 

 

34 minutes ago, RxScram said:

That's a secret!

 

 

Hahahhaha!  You just blew your cover! 

 

That is the actual sign on the door.  

 

 

1 hour ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

 

...or maybe just ALL of the Jackbox games... but Family Friendly versions

 

 

 

That would be amazing !! I would rebuy them all ! I was thinking of those games but thought because of the pricing (around 25 unless they are on sale) the jack box games would not fit into the pricing model of the Amico. 

Edited March 12, 2020 by Cranker