Intellivision Amico - Tommy Tallarico introduction + Q&A

The discussion about Amico having personality made me think... Since every Amico has two controllers, what if each screen displayed an eye?

Here's one that slipped by from a few days ago.

Always interesting to see folks react to the trailer and listen to the comments about "family".  These are hardcore gamers and they get it immediately.

Funny how folks love saying "Who is this for??  No one is going to be interested in this?"  Hmm... looks like these guys are!  They even say they are looking more forward to Amico than the PS5 & XBOX.


Notice the over excitement for Evel Knievel too! 

Tommy, as a former hardcore gamer, I am finally excited about gaming again. I got my Intellivison in 1981, the Keyboard Component in 1982, Colecovison in 1982, Atari 400 in 1983, Atari 800 in 1984, and Commodore Amiga in 1985. Then in the early 90’s, I went to PC’s. That being said, I have only purchased one game in the last 20 years.

I currently play Project Cars 2 which I love, but it is so in depth it seems like I have to re-learn the game every time I am away from it for a few months. Love the racing, but I don’t want to become a race engineer. And that’s why I lost interest in gaming, I don’t want to dedicate my life to a learning games.

The other thing missing is playing with your family and friends. We had a blast at parties playing Intellivison Bowling, Skiing and Boxing. We also played a lot of Football, Baseball and Basketball.  I even got my mom to play some video games. I will never forget her reactions while playing Pac-Man. The key to playing with your family and friends is that the games were very easy to learn and simple to play.

I think you are definitely on the right track and can’t wait to get my FE Intellivison Amico.

Two questions Tommy. What is the estimated price of additional controllers and how soon before the 10-10-2020 date can we expect our FE Amico’s?

2 minutes ago, NTV said:

Tommy, as a former hardcore gamer, I am finally excited about gaming again. I got my Intellivison in 1981, the Keyboard Component in 1982, Colecovison in 1982, Atari 400 in 1983, Atari 800 in 1984, and Commodore Amiga in 1985. Then in the early 90’s, I went to PC’s. That being said, I have only purchased one game in the last 20 years.

 I currently play Project Cars 2 which I love, but it is so in depth it seems like I have to re-learn the game every time I am away from it for a few months. Love the racing, but I don’t want to become a race engineer. And that’s why I lost interest in gaming, I don’t want to dedicate my life to a learning games.

 

The other thing missing is playing with your family and friends. We had a blast at parties playing Intellivison Bowling, Skiing and Boxing. We also played a lot of Football, Baseball and Basketball.  I even got my mom to play some video games. I will never forget her reactions while playing Pac-Man. The key to playing with your family and friends is that the games were very easy to learn and simple to play.

I think you are definitely on the right track and can’t wait to get my FE Intellivison Amico.

 

Two questions Tommy. What is the estimated price of additional controllers and how soon before the 10-10-2020 date can we expect our FE Amico’s?

 

 

Hi!  Welcome to AA and the Amico Q&A thread!  Congrats on your first post.  Hope it's the first of many.

Thanks for sharing the GREAT PICS!!!

WOW!!!  You had an Intellivision Keyboard Component!   Nice!!

You still have it?  Those things are worth a LOT of money these days!

We still don't know the extra controller costs yet... coronavirus has backed up everything and components are scarce right now so we still need to wait and see.  The amount of controllers we manufacture is also a factor... but luckily we will already be doing those to go along with the hardware... so the single ones can be made at the same time.  The 2-pack as well... although we are adding a charging base for those... so extra manufacturing.

We will try to get the FE versions out a week before the normal versions.  Wouldn't be earlier than that as everything is already backed up and we'll need every bit of time to ensure the online store and everything else is working properly for launch. 

Thanks for the questions and thanks for the epic pics!! 

Tommy that hockey you mentioned...this something that would be for launch...🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞

And are you thinking something by NHL or something more arcade style like blades of steel?

Cheers  

7 minutes ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Hi!  Welcome to AA and the Amico Q&A thread!  Congrats on your first post.  Hope it's the first of many.

Thanks for sharing the GREAT PICS!!!

WOW!!!  You had an Intellivision Keyboard Component!   Nice!!

You still have it?  Those things are worth a LOT of money these days!

 

We still don't know the extra controller costs yet... coronavirus has backed up everything and components are scarce right now so we still need to wait and see.  The amount of controllers we manufacture is also a factor... but luckily we will already be doing those to go along with the hardware... so the single ones can be made at the same time.  The 2-pack as well... although we are adding a charging base for those... so extra manufacturing.

We will try to get the FE versions out a week before the normal versions.  Wouldn't be earlier than that as everything is already backed up and we'll need every bit of time to ensure the online store and everything else is working properly for launch. 

 

Thanks for the questions and thanks for the epic pics!! 

 

 

So Tommy, in all honesty do you still feel confident that the 10-10-2020 is still plausible with the current situation?  I am dying to get my hands on one as quickly as possible, but I know this situation is going to significantly impact all manufacturing.

9 minutes ago, The Wren said:

Tommy that hockey you mentioned...this something that would be for launch...🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞

 

And are you thinking something by NHL or something more arcade style like blades of steel?

 

Cheers  

Trying our hardest to get it out for launch... but only if it's ready.  Will be almost exactly like the original (with upgraded graphics) and started discussions with the NHL to get "teams".

1 minute ago, ArcadeJunkie said:

So Tommy, in all honesty do you still feel confident that the 10-10-2020 is still plausible with the current situation?  I am dying to get my hands on one as quickly as possible, but I know this situation is going to significantly impact all manufacturing.

The 100% honest answer is that I have no idea.  No one does.  As of today... yes... we are on track.  But as our teams here and in China tell us... it could change tomorrow.  As everyone knows... this thing is still going on around the world... most say we haven't even seen the worst of it yet (as the numbers around the world keep rising) and although China factories have started getting back to work... there are so many other elements besides just making the machine that come in to play (scarcity & pricing of components because of the shortages being the most critical).

I'll always be as open and up front with everyone and if we are forced to push the launch because of things out of our control... I'll let everyone know the second it happens.  But as of right now...  we are still on track for 10.10.2020.

Thanks!

6 minutes ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

The 100% honest answer is that I have no idea.  No one does.  As of today... yes... we are on track.  But as our teams here and in China tell us... it could change tomorrow.  As everyone knows... this thing is still going on around the world... most say we haven't even seen the worst of it yet (as the numbers around the world keep rising) and although China factories have started getting back to work... there are so many other elements besides just making the machine that come in to play (scarcity & pricing of components because of the shortages being the most critical).

 

I'll always be as open and up front with everyone and if we are forced to push the launch because of things out of our control... I'll let everyone know the second it happens.  But as of right now...  we are still on track for 10.10.2020.

 

Thanks!

 

 

The transparency is much appreciated.  I hope that all this craziness is behind us sooner than later and that everyone and their loved ones come out of it safely!

17 minutes ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

The 100% honest answer is that I have no idea.  No one does.  As of today... yes... we are on track.  But as our teams here and in China tell us... it could change tomorrow.  As everyone knows... this thing is still going on around the world... most say we haven't even seen the worst of it yet (as the numbers around the world keep rising) and although China factories have started getting back to work... there are so many other elements besides just making the machine that come in to play (scarcity & pricing of components because of the shortages being the most critical).

 

I'll always be as open and up front with everyone and if we are forced to push the launch because of things out of our control... I'll let everyone know the second it happens.  But as of right now...  we are still on track for 10.10.2020.

 

Thanks!

 

 

Makes all us FE folks look smarter than we are 😂 Who could have foreseen the current world events? Nobody! I hope Intellivision doesn’t have to delay the launch but would completely understand. Thanks Tommy for taking the time to answer all our questions and being open about it.
 

Now my wheels are turning and wondering should I just preorder the Tron Black edition?? Gotta come up with a game plan to convince my wife why I need to order  a 3rd Amico 😭

31 minutes ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

We will try to get the FE versions out a week before the normal versions.  Wouldn't be earlier than that as everything is already backed up and we'll need every bit of time to ensure the online store and everything else is working properly for launch. 

 

Yes, but if we receive it even earlier, all the Founders could warn you if everything is going well or not and help you ! 🙄😆  lol

I am serious, but more seriously, a week before sounds good. We should have it 1 to 5 days before launch, depending of where in America !

In Europe, I am not sure how long it would take ? At least 7 days !?

5 minutes ago, MarioMan88 said:

Makes all us FE folks look smarter than we are 😂 Who could have foreseen the current world events? Nobody! I hope Intellivision doesn’t have to delay the launch but would completely understand. Thanks Tommy for taking the time to answer all our questions and being open about it.
 

Now my wheels are turning and wondering should I just preorder the Tron Black edition?? Gotta come up with a game plan to convince my wife why I need to order  a 3rd Amico 😭

Just tell her its an "investment" for when things bounce back, then just keep it when the time comes.  That's what I said to my fiance and she didn't fall for it at all. 😁

1 minute ago, ArcadeJunkie said:

Just tell her its an "investment" for when things bounce back, then just keep it when the time comes.  That's what I said to my fiance and she didn't fall for it at all. 😁

Good idea!
 

I could use the old tried and true “oh I’m buying the 3rd Amico to eBay it...strictly”  Then when it arrives say it’s gonna be worth a lot more if I hold onto it a few more years 🤣

I've been really getting into the mystery Case files games from big fish games. they did an exclusive game called the melgrave incident for the Wii. We should see if they can do an exclusive for the Amico. Probably not for lunch, but at some point would be awesome. A game where instead of just one detective you are a team of detectives solving co-op puzzles. This would give them a chance to do incredibly difficult puzzles whenever there are multiple players playing.  

1 hour ago, NTV said:

Tommy, as a former hardcore gamer, I am finally excited about gaming again. I got my Intellivison in 1981, the Keyboard Component in 1982, Colecovison in 1982, Atari 400 in 1983, Atari 800 in 1984, and Commodore Amiga in 1985. Then in the early 90’s, I went to PC’s. That being said, I have only purchased one game in the last 20 years.

...

Keyboard Components are rare but so is finding someone today that had one in 1982.  Was it mail ordered from Mattel?  If you got it from a store, which one, in what city?  What did you think of it at the time?

31 minutes ago, LePionnier said:

Yes, but if we receive it even earlier, all the Founders could warn you if everything is going well or not and help you ! 🙄😆  lol

I am serious, but more seriously, a week before sounds good. We should have it 1 to 5 days before launch, depending of where in America !

In Europe, I am not sure how long it would take ? At least 7 days !?

Not sure.  I suppose it would depend on customs.

1 hour ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Hi!  Welcome to AA and the Amico Q&A thread!  Congrats on your first post.  Hope it's the first of many.

Thanks for sharing the GREAT PICS!!!

WOW!!!  You had an Intellivision Keyboard Component!   Nice!!

You still have it?  Those things are worth a LOT of money these days!

 

We still don't know the extra controller costs yet... coronavirus has backed up everything and components are scarce right now so we still need to wait and see.  The amount of controllers we manufacture is also a factor... but luckily we will already be doing those to go along with the hardware... so the single ones can be made at the same time.  The 2-pack as well... although we are adding a charging base for those... so extra manufacturing.

We will try to get the FE versions out a week before the normal versions.  Wouldn't be earlier than that as everything is already backed up and we'll need every bit of time to ensure the online store and everything else is working properly for launch. 

 

Thanks for the questions and thanks for the epic pics!! 

 

 

Unfortunately the only thing I have left of my Intellivision Keyboard Component is the picture that I posted. 😞

Thanks for posting and keeping us up to date. It's a fun ride.

1 hour ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Trying our hardest to get it out for launch... but only if it's ready.  Will be almost exactly like the original (with upgraded graphics) and started discussions with the NHL to get "teams".

 

 

Nice!  We are a Hockey family from Socal so looking forward to this game as well. My kid just wrapped his Senior year of Kings High School Hockey, so hoping this can fill a little of the upcoming void (he's been skating since 5, travel Hockey at 7 and high school Varsity since he was a freshmen); so a lot of years spent at the rinks.  At least my schedule opened up so will be more time for Amico!  Hoping there may be a more standard version down the road as well, with icing, off-sides & 5 on 5; but no team management!  I want to play the game, not drive the Zamboni - okay, maybe driving the Zamboni would be kinda cool.🤪

Tommy, I was playing a game with my son on the switch,  each one with a  $%?/&%&  small joy-con !

We were reading a small text, and another small text was waiting for us after a press of a button.

The problem is that me and my son can confirm that we have finished reading the text.

So almost at the same time, we pushed the button ! We never saw what was the second part we had to read !

So I was wondering, with Amico, when we will be 4 or even 8 players, it  will be madness if everyone can control what is happening on the tv screen ! !🧨✨🎨

It would be better if only one controller controlled the text on the screen (Player # 1)! What do you think ?

4 hours ago, roots.genoa said:

The discussion about Amico having personality made me think... Since every Amico has two controllers, what if each screen displayed an eye?

And Skynet is born...

20 hours ago, Ramses said:

 

I agree. The game that inspired Cloudy Mountain, Hunt the Wumpus, had basically no action at all and it was all about finding the Wumpus (through deduction) without dying. I think that anxious survival element should have a little more focus. Trying to figure out where the tough monsters are and avoiding them until you are ready (or perhaps avoiding them entirely) should be a big component of the game. They should be difficult to defeat if you just barge in on them haphazardly and you should be rewarded for planning ahead. Also, I loved those moments where I had to decide if I wanted to risk shooting an arrow blindly into a room where I thought a dragon might reside.

I imagine you could use the speakers on the microphones to play sounds, the rumble to imitate a heavy giant's footsteps, a soft glow from the lighting if you're getting close to something - all letting different players roaming around in the dark cave know with audio and cue feels that they're getting too close to particularly nasty monsters.  Makes me wonder whether a studio would consider an adventure/exploratory game that is for blind players.  Certainly could apply for grant funding.  Imagine that could get some positive press, too.  One's seeing friends and family could see more of what's happening on the screen if you wanted that option.  Maybe the screen is entirely dark, excepting flashes of action or a burst of visual if a player needed it - probably more entertaining for players who could see, but maybe the feeling out your environment through other senses is the game.  

But a game that uses the disc to navigate, maybe the touchscreen, and gives players cues of what they're bumping into via rumble and sound; could be a lot of fun.. maybe three or four players are in a labryinth and can find each other and are building a map as they go on their own discs, and when they meet, they gain each other's maps and they're trying to solve each level, like Gauntlet from 1000' up?  Maybe it isn't a dungeon, maybe it's an old mansion and the power's out? 

Maybe the whole game is "Where the hell are we???", and all the players are scattered about a crowded old winding city like Marrakech or Moscow or Tokyo, you never see your avatars on the screen; just an overhead bird's eye view of this great city brimming with unique features, and you try to find where everybody is in just a short period of time of blindly bumping around, and hearing the sounds from the street as clues coming from each controller.  Sounds like Mom's near a fruit market - looks like there's a few markets on the map, but I think I heard ducks in a park too?  She's probably in that upper right corner.  Dad had a lot of traffic and honking on his controller, and it sounded like an ice cream vendor was hawking his cones - he's probably over by the big plaza.  Maybe you can hold up your controller to take a "picture" and you get a street view of where you are on your touchscreen to help a little.  One picture per round so you have to be choosy about where you are facing when you choose to take a photo.  Could be a really interesting group-solving party game, with hand drawn scenes like we saw in Safecracker, and you can keep adding more and more maps so it doesn't get stale.    

Of course you could do all of that with any ole controller or a phone app, so why bother... 😁

18 hours ago, RxScram said:

There are currently no plans to make online multiplayer part of the Amico experience. For a variety of reasons...

 

1.  It adds tremendous difficulty in the game development. It's "easy" to adjust for local latency from different controllers, but if you're trying to play against another console then the difficulty grows exponentially.

2.  It is impossible to ensure the safety and family friendly nature of the Amico if multiplayer connection to somebody else is allowed. Even if actual communication isn't allowed, something as simple as a username could contain something that wouldn't be family friendly. I'm sure Intellivision would try to screen that out, but why risk it?

3.  It gets away from the mission... bringing people together in their own living room.

So I can't play with my totally real girlfriend who lives in Canada?!?  Pffft, I'm about to throw down some serious hardcore gamer shade in the comments! 

Never thought about point 1.. especially with games where you're cooperatively playing and timing is so important.  But happy this is shelved to focus on no. 3 and not undermine family trust while trying to work out no. 2.  Nintendo has had a time of trying to figure out online play that meets expectations, no need to chase that rabbit if you don't have to.

On 3/21/2020 at 5:08 PM, Michael Garvey said:

I don't have any inside knowledge about these mysterious features we haven't been told about but the new logo and the little kid's voice saying Amico had me thinking.

 

Tommy also said the Amico means friend and he wants the console to have personality. 

 

What if it HAD A personality?

 

What if you turn it on and the controller has two eyes and a mouth and says "hello"

 

What if it asks you if you'd like to play.

 

What if you turn it on a week later and it says it misses you cause you didn't play for a while.

 

It could even recommend turning it off if you are playing too long. "Let's take a break friend.  We can have fun together tomorrow. "

 

It could literally walk you through the menu and how to select games.

 

Maybe you could change the voice to 3 or 4 presets. 

 

Just a thought.

11 hours ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

You're going to remember this post.   

 

 

anyway to shut that off? i don't need some blade runner virtual avatar thing trying to seduce me every time i turn on the machine; nor do i need it to implant suggestions in my mind and tell me how to think.

12 hours ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

 

Another epic post.  I really hope you end up making a YouTube channel someday!  I have a feeling I'd watch every one of your videos over and over and over again!  Your insight and knowledge on these forums are second to none!

 

Yes... I've seen Lord Rayken defend Amico on YouTube videos as well.  And as I mentioned in my response, I have no problem with his question at all and he is always respectful and truly wants Amico to succeed!  

I am very interested in knowing his thoughts after our responses as I feel we brought up some interesting points that I feel really differentiate us from Android and/or Apple TV.

 

Lord Rayken?  What say you?  Have your mind or opinion slightly changed with the answers given?  Or do you still have concerns?  Lets discuss more if interested.

Thanks to both of you for creating a great dialogue.  

 

 

 

 

GrudgeQ suggested I turn a recent post last weekend on why game development needs Amico into a video, so working on that - over halfway there.  Thanks for the encouragement!  Went from 9 mins of straight voiceover to what should be a 28 min vid with waaaaay too many clips/edits and extra points, because I couldn't leave well-enough alone & just do a voice-over to get it out (Sorry Grudge).  But hopefully, all the visuals make it better to market and share.  The reworked script keep it a little more interesting rather than inviting you guys to hear me read a script you already read...  Will wrap up and post before the end of the week.  

15 minutes ago, sanguinesonata said:

nor do i need it to implant suggestions in my mind and tell me how to think.

You're waiting for a train; a train that will take you far away. You know where you hope this train will take you, but you can't be sure. But it doesn't matter - because we'll be together.