Intellivision Amico - Tommy Tallarico introduction + Q&A

5 hours ago, Swami said:

As far as the memory goes, I've seen 8-bit games on the 7800 from bitd that were over 140kB and NES games, which are 8-bit, of several hundred kB. So, the scale of memory is a lot off there. I've seen 2D games where characters can move in all three dimensions and even have movement and perspective. My very basic, but possibly a little off, understanding of the basic definition of 3D games has to do with how the images are generated using 3D polygons or wire-frame models that can be programmed to expand and shrink rather than 2D sprites, mainly as a result of higher power graphics cards/chips. Late 80s and early 90s, 2D graphics could "fake" 3D better than true 3D programming, using the powerful graphics capability and this sometimes is called 2.5D, which is an informal term. 3D graphics eventually beat out 2D graphics for realism because objects could be rendered with millions of polygons with dozens of sides, to make perfect looking spheres and cones and more complex shapes. As far as why polygons became better than sprites, I have no idea. Maybe they use memory better, because everything is still 2D, because it's on a screen, and, theoretically, everything that is done with modern 3D programming could be done with 2D programming but it would practically impossible due to difficulty.

Thanks Swami, my guess is polygons can be processed faster then a mass of individual sprites. Also, memory and word size were my stabs at the mins for the various categories. 

Is Other Oceans working on Bi-Planes? Thats one of the games we've gotten to see but only for a split second. Will there be any story mode in that one?

On 3/23/2020 at 5:57 PM, NTV said:

Yes, I ordered the Intellivison Keyboard Component via mail order directly from Mattel as there were no local stores in Ohio selling them. If I recall right, they were only sold in a few American cities. I also purchased the 40 column printer from them too, which you can see in the photo on the left side in front of the TV.

 

It was a very well built piece of equipment and it had a really nice full stroke keyboard. The cassette was unique as it was able to index specific locations on the cassette tape itself. The only exclusive software I had for it was Basic and I spent hours on it learning basic programming. Never got good at it but it gave me an understanding of how programing logic works.

 

Since Mattel decided to discontinue it, I unfortunately took them up on their buy-back offer. The interesting thing is the 40 column printer was not included in the buy-back so I got the Ohio Attorney General involved and Mattel ultimately refunded my money on that too.

Ironically, if you had both the Keyboard Component and the Printer today, they would be worth in excess of $3500.  However, there was no way to know that back then.

On 3/23/2020 at 10:37 PM, Michael Garvey said:

@GrumpyOl'Guy

 

I really like your post.  It had a nice feel and flow to it and I felt like you spoke from the heart.

 

Most everyone here is nice and welcoming and I for one can't wait to read you next post.

 

🙂

Thank you! I've never been greeted by a self-titled Baron before, so pardon me for any breach in internet protocols!

Yeah, I can say that this forum always seems active, and is quite a fun read. It's quickly become a staple in my after-work reading.

On 3/24/2020 at 1:13 AM, Tommy Tallarico said:

Hi!,

 

Thanks so much for joining the conversation.  Happy 1st post!  Hopefully some more to come.  Welcome to the Q&A thread.

 

I totally feel ya in regards to modern gaming.  Exactly the reason I started this journey in the first place (aside from imagining and pretended I was the president of Intellivision when I was 11 years old). 

 

I haven't really spoken too much about Intellivision Baseball so thanks for asking.  It will be a lot like the original and World Championship Baseball (so more arcade fun than anything) yet will have a LOT of additional animations, teams, colors and added "fun" features (Homerun celebrations, etc.).  We have a big announcement about it coming in a few months that I think will blow a lot of folks away and really drive home how unique our marketing is and how we'll be getting to millions of families across the U.S.  

 

Thanks again for the post and the support!!!

Thank you for the warm welcome! And thank you for the info on Baseball. Been looking forward to having a baseball title you can just play a quick game (or three) in some down-time again. Specifically, on the subject of Homerun celebrations, my mind went to two places: Reggie Jackson Baseball (so many rounds of Homerun Derby on that cart as a kid) and the 4th of July scene from 'The Sandlot'.

17 hours ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Yep!  Lead programmer.  And I did the music! 

 

 

The PS2 Bard's Tale? A favorite of mine & the wife's! It was so cool watching the game's tongue-in-cheek approach just lampoon itself (and pretty much the entire rpg genre, at that time) while still being an immersive play. Reminded me of an old friend's D&D rant that 'heroes' were ten times worse for the stability of their homelands than the 'villains' they were opposing.

15 hours ago, AtariSociety said:

OEB Pete... my favorite Canadian...

😋

TJ

 

Possibly my son's, too! No matter where he is in the house, when I check out the Amico videos, I'll hear a cheery 'Open Every Box, Pete!' exclaimed, then footsteps as he races to get more video game news.

15 hours ago, RxScram said:

Maybe he got his lordship through here... https://establishedtitles.com/products/lordship-title-pack

 

https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwj74cqyxbPoAhWGt-wKHWHLD44YABABGgJwag&ohost=www.google.com&cid=CAESQOD26ovAEqbLUY9xhE5kl8YqYKIreCKeRhygJQRnQ6GT-fl1SIdcibUY3WTjpWE5r5383uYnRoPj2YQvCXw3orA&sig=AOD64_0EIOstm95QIrBhdKpXY_mBtYdDxA&q=&ved=2ahUKEwiR3sKyxbPoAhWJtZ4KHRgKANAQ0Qx6BAg2EAE&adurl=https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwj74cqyxbPoAhWGt-wKHWHLD44YABABGgJwag&ohost=www.google.com&cid=CAESQOD26ovAEqbLUY9xhE5kl8YqYKIreCKeRhygJQRnQ6GT-fl1SIdcibUY3WTjpWE5r5383uYnRoPj2YQvCXw3orA&sig=AOD64_0EIOstm95QIrBhdKpXY_mBtYdDxA&q=&ved=2ahUKEwiR3sKyxbPoAhWJtZ4KHRgKANAQ0Qx6BAg2EAE&adurl=

Perhaps the most 'extra' Mothers'/Fathers' Day gift possible. Thank you for pointing out this is a thing!

If I recall correctly, the potential for RISK on the system was brought up a while back, and it sounded like it was perhaps a title that might be something down the road, once the system is established. Would that allow the potential for a similar-styled strategy game to come out? My first thought on this was 'Shingen the Ruler', which played similar to RISK, and was set in Feudal Japan. We had it for the NES.

I just keep thinking how naturally a unit deployment game would work with the controller. Also imagining the pieces as the little Army guys from 'Toy Story'... might be time I switch to decaf...

11 hours ago, Starpaddler said:

...

 

2.5D (16 bit thru modern computing) - isometric view (i.e., 2D representation of 3D space) or simulated movement toward vantage point

     - Top down - new Night Stalker

     - First or third person perspective - take your pick of any early 3rd person auto racing game

...

2.5D really doesn't have a strict meaning.  It varies from situation to situation.  The only consistent meaning you can take from the term is "more than 2D but less than full 3D".

Just for comparison, the original PC game "Doom" is sometimes referred to as 2.5D (though controversial).  Now you might look at Doom and say "no way that's true; it looks full 3D"... and you'd be mostly right.  It does look 3D.  However, PCs at the time could not perform the full 3D calculations with that level of graphical detail so the programmers took some shortcuts to simplify the calculations.  So while the perspective looks 3D, if you viewed the map from above, it would look like a 2D game because no part of the map goes under another part of the map.  There are no bridges or tunnels where you can both go over AND under.  Later versions of Doom were full 3D. 

On 3/21/2020 at 11:44 AM, Tommy Tallarico said:

No split screen.   Remember Gauntlet.  Like that... except the camera can pull out a bit if someone lags or goes in the opposite direction.

Just getting back to it now, but this post had me geeking out for at least 10 min the first time I read it.

Gauntlet 2 on the NES was epic. My dad pick up the NES Four Score multitap, and it was so fun playing all together or inviting a friend or two over to play. In fact, when the D-pad on one of our older controllers started getting finicky, the 4th player usually brought over their own controller... anyone else have the wierdest feeling of deja vu?

Really can't wait for this one!

1 hour ago, Lathe26 said:

Later versions of Doom were full 3D.

But in the end, the picture is rendered as a bitmap on a flat 2D display.

Hey Tommy. No questions today, but I found something really cool a few hours ago.

CIB Japanese Intellivision!

But holy crap look at the price.

Maybe now I know why nobody here knows about this thing. Do you have any Japanese Intellivisions/Japanese Intellivision games in your collection? I know you have a huge amount of Intellivision stuff!

4 hours ago, Starpaddler said:

Thanks Swami, my guess is polygons can be processed faster then a mass of individual sprites. Also, memory and word size were my stabs at the mins for the various categories. 

If you don't have 3d graphic acceleration hardware, 3d polygons is definitely slower.  Even with the hardware it might still be slower.

3 hours ago, Lathe26 said:

 

2.5D really doesn't have a strict meaning.  It varies from situation to situation.  The only consistent meaning you can take from the term is "more than 2D but less than full 3D".

 

Just for comparison, the original PC game "Doom" is sometimes referred to as 2.5D (though controversial).  Now you might look at Doom and say "no way that's true; it looks full 3D"... and you'd be mostly right.  It does look 3D.  However, PCs at the time could not perform the full 3D calculations with that level of graphical detail so the programmers took some shortcuts to simplify the calculations.  So while the perspective looks 3D, if you viewed the map from above, it would look like a 2D game because no part of the map goes under another part of the map.  There are no bridges or tunnels where you can both go over AND under.  Later versions of Doom were full 3D. 

It's been a long time since I played original Doom but I recall the background being full 3D, with texture mapping, but the objects, e.g. enemies, being flat scalable sprites.

There were lots of games on PC, before Doom, that were full 3D, eg. Stellar 7, Stunts, 4D Boxing.  PCs didn't have 3D hardware at the time, all the 3D had to be done in software but that doesn't mean it's not 3D.

For me, 2.5D means fake 3D like Zaxxon.  Doom definitely has a full 3D world (even if the walls are a simple z projection) but other components are not 3D.  I'd call Amico Night Stalker 2.5D because the 3d look is all 2d tricks.  Others use the term 2.5D to mean partial 3D or limited 3D but that doesn't explain how much or little 3D there is.  For Amico they're saying 2.5D, in some cases, even if everything in the game is 3D.

42 minutes ago, mr_me said:

For me, 2.5D means fake 3D like Zaxxon.

I've always seen 2,5D used for games with 2D gameplay but 3D graphics, real time (Pandemonium, Klonoa, Strider 2, etc.) or prerendered (Donkey Kong Country, Blazing Star, etc.). I'm not sure I've ever seen it used for games like Zaxxon and Head Over Heels; journalists used "isometric 3D" I think.

Some Spanish/English journalists even called isometric games where objects or characters could move up and down "3D" (Head over Heels, Fairlight...). Good times. Now all this imagination has been replaced with "it has aged terribly" and "it doesn't even do 4K".

46 minutes ago, roots.genoa said:

I've always seen 2,5D used for games with 2D gameplay but 3D graphics, real time (Pandemonium, Klonoa, Strider 2, etc.) or prerendered (Donkey Kong Country, Blazing Star, etc.). I'm not sure I've ever seen it used for games like Zaxxon and Head Over Heels; journalists used "isometric 3D" I think.

Yeah the 3D graphics but limited 3D gameplay is an alternate definition that doesn't really mean anything without explanation.  Pandemonium is 3D, Donkey Kong Country is not, yet they are both 2.5D.  Zaxxon graphics is a pseudo 3D isometric projection. There's nothing 3d in the graphics but fakes 3d gameplay. It's the original definition of 2.5D but now 2.5D can mean anything you want it to mean.

19 hours ago, AtariSociety said:

Another fun game that I played as a kid... well I played it because my nextdoor neighbor was a cutie pie... was Which Witch.

 

Like Mousetrap you have dice to roll and marbles, well in this case a steel ball you drop down the chimney and if that ball takes the route to the room you are in, boom! in gets you.

 

So many fun ways board games can be used with an Amico controller to roll dice... drop balls down chimney, etc...

 

TJ

 

When I was young, my out of state uncle was a salesman for Milton Bradley.  When they would periodically visit, he would give us some of his game samples...I distinctly remember him giving us Which Witch? one year, then Simon one year, when it first came out.  We were always a game family.  My mother, who is 91 now, tells us how her family always played parcheesi after dinner.  They used to use a cheesecloth tablecloth and my grandfather would draw a parcheesi board on one side of it.  After cleaning up dinner, my granfather woud turn the tablecloth over and they would play parcheesi...

I don't think I've seen any mention of Root Beer Tapper in this thread.  I always loved this game and it seems like a good candidate for the Intellivision Amico.  I remember the arcade game when it came out in then early 80's, it was just Tapper with Budweiser as a sponsor.  The arcade game had an actual beer tap instead of a button to pour the beers.  Then they later changed it to Root Beer Tapper to be more kid friendly.  It came out on consoles later on and I actually had a copy on the original XBox, from their store, I think.  Fun, addictive game...

these are some of the things i am looking at. i will let you all be the judge.

1. i am not a hater. i dont think anyone has turned on me. i dont give a shit about what anyone on st. patty's and ians youtube says. intellimission i know it looks like that. thats just how i evaluate things i like. i am blunt. i love switch too and could talk badly about it if i wanted but i truly want tommy to improve if he can if its an option. when everyone seems to loves everything improvement isnt always possible. not knocking anyone here again. also dont care if you hate me for saying that i still like everyone here

2. i want to say up front i am aware the image i m about to post is slightly unfair. one game is a over shoulder (1001lives was correct i should have used better terms for a wii sports like game) and one is a 3rd person camera vs top down. but i want to say that games like pool and tennis and football, and especially, cornhole and really all sports games need an amico avatar or charater doing the action, throwing the bean bag and such that you can position and adjust and change like wii sports had. 

but when i see these comparisons this is why i am honestly disappointed in the amico.

the top left is from a wii hardware in 2006, and gamecube hardware was in the wii, which as we know is from 2001. take that as you will. 

the bottom left is on a tv from 2016. take that as you will.  its not just about graphics as we can tell from St. Patty and Ians video they had a hard time insulting cornhole altho they loved talking about it a lot. that is because cornhole is getting close to what you would expect to see from a wii level sports game which, by th way, people are still playing : link here https://gonintendo.com/stories/334339-wii-sports-bowling-tradition-continues-on-at-waterford-senior-liv

so what i am saying if am saying anything at all is cornhole is close to what the sports games need to reflect on amico, and horizon chase is close to the style and level of detail and animation that amico racing games and other arcade style games have to have. again this is my opinion you will have to take it or leave it, trust me or not. but i know too much about this stuff i could literally write you a 20 page essay if i had time and just dont especially with the virus.

also finally

exclusive to this thread

no one else has ever been told this

my name is from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0152946/

one of the worst movies ever but it stuck with me as a kid

good luck again and keep kicking ass. again i am still buying the amico and i dont want to sound like a graphics whore. its hard to explain but all i will say is cornhole is getting close to surpassing the wii on a presentation level. a presentation level is what i would say someone looks at the game and says "that is a 2020 arcade sports game." 

also why do i want amico? i am a hardcore gamer but also a very casual gamer and most nights i need some games i can pick up and play for 5-10 minutes without worrying about saving and open world shit and getting thru tons of quests and whatnot.

Tommy - just saw this

https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/hypercharge-unboxed-switch/

Although I doubt it's the kind of game that could be for the Amico audience, what a cool concept. Maybe a spin on this idea for an FPS? We talked about how Splatoon turned the FPS genre into a more kid friendly type of game. I never considered toy soldiers. 

One thing no one has mentioned is that the Amico CAN support 3D at 8K!!!!

That's Digital Direct-Coop in a Domicile (3D) with upto 8 Kids (8K) playing at the same time.  Not all games support this feature mind you (some only support 4K) but still it will be the first system out on the market to support 3D AND 8K.

🤣

Take that Microsoft and Sony!!!!!

😂😅

10 minutes ago, 1001lives said:

Tommy - just saw this

 

https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/hypercharge-unboxed-switch/

 

Although I doubt it's the kind of game that could be for the Amico audience, what a cool concept. Maybe a spin on this idea for an FPS? We talked about how Splatoon turned the FPS genre into a more kid friendly type of game. I never considered toy soldiers. 

Remember Power Stone and other one screen match ups?  What if we merged the two (Toy Solders and a one screen view)?  Then the "guns" could be those cork pop guns and the toys would just fall apart and then reassemble so you could keep the E for Everyone rating. 

I just suggest the view change so that it still has everyone one the same screen and isn't split screen.  I don't think Tommy likes split screen for the Amico (maybe once the console is a huge hit he will change that thought but I'm not sure)

26 minutes ago, LordRayken said:

these are some of the things i am looking at. i will let you all be the judge.

 

1. i am not a hater. i dont think anyone has turned on me. i dont give a shit about what anyone on st. patty's and ians youtube says. intellimission i know it looks like that. thats just how i evaluate things i like. i am blunt. i love switch too and could talk badly about it if i wanted but i truly want tommy to improve if he can if its an option. when everyone seems to loves everything improvement isnt always possible. not knocking anyone here again. also dont care if you hate me for saying that i still like everyone here

 

2. i want to say up front i am aware the image i m about to post is slightly unfair. one game is a over shoulder (1001lives was correct i should have used better terms for a wii sports like game) and one is a 3rd person camera vs top down. but i want to say that games like pool and tennis and football, and especially, cornhole and really all sports games need an amico avatar or charater doing the action, throwing the bean bag and such that you can position and adjust and change like wii sports had. 

 

but when i see these comparisons this is why i am honestly disappointed in the amico.

 

 

the top left is from a wii hardware in 2006, and gamecube hardware was in the wii, which as we know is from 2001. take that as you will. 

 

the bottom left is on a tv from 2016. take that as you will.  its not just about graphics as we can tell from St. Patty and Ians video they had a hard time insulting cornhole altho they loved talking about it a lot. that is because cornhole is getting close to what you would expect to see from a wii level sports game which, by th way, people are still playing : link here https://gonintendo.com/stories/334339-wii-sports-bowling-tradition-continues-on-at-waterford-senior-liv

 

so what i am saying if am saying anything at all is cornhole is close to what the sports games need to reflect on amico, and horizon chase is close to the style and level of detail and animation that amico racing games and other arcade style games have to have. again this is my opinion you will have to take it or leave it, trust me or not. but i know too much about this stuff i could literally write you a 20 page essay if i had time and just dont especially with the virus.

 

also finally

exclusive to this thread

no one else has ever been told this

my name is from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0152946/

one of the worst movies ever but it stuck with me as a kid

 

good luck again and keep kicking ass. again i am still buying the amico and i dont want to sound like a graphics whore. its hard to explain but all i will say is cornhole is getting close to surpassing the wii on a presentation level. a presentation level is what i would say someone looks at the game and says "that is a 2020 arcade sports game." 

 

also why do i want amico? i am a hardcore gamer but also a very casual gamer and most nights i need some games i can pick up and play for 5-10 minutes without worrying about saving and open world shit and getting thru tons of quests and whatnot.

Thank you for answering my one and only question I had for you (the origin of your title).

I greatly respect you (and not just because you outrank my - I believe a Lord is higher than a Baron).

Keep being you and everyone in here will keep watching and enjoying your content. 

🙂

Wait...Pat is a Saint?????

Is that why his channel is popular?

I never knew you could be a living saint.  I thought you had to be dead.

I better break out the Baltimore Catechism and brush up on this issue.

@LordRayken

There is one more question I have about your video.

I just gotta know...what's in those boxes???

I really need to know.

I must have ADHD because that's all I could think of in your video (Tommy also had a video with something distracting me in the background to so it's not just yours)

It's maddening...what in the boxes??

Is it video equipment, your heraldry,  some pop figures, lost treasure, an Amico or perhaps they are empty.   My mind is racing with the possibilities. 

🤔

21 hours ago, RxScram said:

Maybe he got his lordship through here... https://establishedtitles.com/products/lordship-title-pack

 

https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwj74cqyxbPoAhWGt-wKHWHLD44YABABGgJwag&ohost=www.google.com&cid=CAESQOD26ovAEqbLUY9xhE5kl8YqYKIreCKeRhygJQRnQ6GT-fl1SIdcibUY3WTjpWE5r5383uYnRoPj2YQvCXw3orA&sig=AOD64_0EIOstm95QIrBhdKpXY_mBtYdDxA&q=&ved=2ahUKEwiR3sKyxbPoAhWJtZ4KHRgKANAQ0Qx6BAg2EAE&adurl=https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwj74cqyxbPoAhWGt-wKHWHLD44YABABGgJwag&ohost=www.google.com&cid=CAESQOD26ovAEqbLUY9xhE5kl8YqYKIreCKeRhygJQRnQ6GT-fl1SIdcibUY3WTjpWE5r5383uYnRoPj2YQvCXw3orA&sig=AOD64_0EIOstm95QIrBhdKpXY_mBtYdDxA&q=&ved=2ahUKEwiR3sKyxbPoAhWJtZ4KHRgKANAQ0Qx6BAg2EAE&adurl=

Cool!  Now you know what the office can get me for Christmas this year!

🤴

🥰

21 hours ago, YerOut said:

I thought Tommy mentioned that he wanted to get games like this (Clue, Life etc.al.) on Amico but could very well be mistaken.

 

Yep!  Working on it for 2021.

18 hours ago, Starpaddler said:

Below is my understanding of video game dimensions (with some further granularity), as well as some of my thoughts on all this. Feel free to argue (or flat out correct me) if anyone feels different on any of the below. I am not in the industry and would not be considered a “gamer” by anyone who is, but would like to try and confirm/understand things from a common frame of reference (pun intended). 

 

Purely 2D (8 bit/4KB) - No 3rd dimension interaction or out of plane cues (i.e., no inclusion of vantage point art style)

     - Top down - original Night Stalker, Pong, Pac-Man

     - Side view/Scroller - original Astrosmash, Pitfall, Burgertime

 

2D (16 bit/4-16KB) - No 3rd dimension interaction but could have some 3D visual queues 

     - Top down - Armor Battle, Auto Racing (i.e., house roofs)

     - Side view/Scroller - Tron Deadly Discs, Space Battle (alien ships appear to advance and retreat but is still purely on a 2D plane as you do not miss a shot based based on their perceived distance)

 

2.25D (16 bit/16KB) - very limited 3rd dimension interaction

     - Top down - Golf (ball gets bigger/brighter to represent height in order to clear trees), Baseball (fielder cannot catch ball when ball is bigger/brighter), Bump and Jump

 

2.5D (16 bit thru modern computing) - isometric view (i.e., 2D representation of 3D space) or simulated movement toward vantage point

     - Top down - new Night Stalker

     - First or third person perspective - take your pick of any early 3rd person auto racing game

 

3D - 3rd person fixed, non-player controlled camera (modern computing) - Avatar can move in all 3 planes but camera cannot be manipulated by user to change vantage angle (but could include multiple views, like behind car, closer behind car, or in car) - I’d like to point out that this is where serious issues start with non-turn-based, single screen local multi player.  This is also the start of where real video/processor computing power starts to be required and associated game development time (and therefore money) starts to go up exponentially

     - Some of the mid-series Tomb Raider and racing games come to mind

 

3D - 1st person, player-controlled camera (modern advanced computing) - 1st person view perspective, with many titles that include 3rd person player controlled camera. This is where computing horsepower really gets crazy and all but kills true single screen, local multi player game play (just due to the perspective alone).  Also requires separate directional input for camera controls and secondary toggle input for 1st person movement in the 3rd dimension (i.e., strafe).

 

 

I may not have things 100% accurate and i’m sure others could have included better examples, but believe I am close to the mark from the 1,000 foot level. 

 

So to bring in some relevancy, given the above and assuming you’re mission was to bring back affordable, single (main) screen local multi-player, what point of the dimensional and hardware spectrum would you focus on?

 

As I said before, gaming became less important to me about the time the original Doom came out. I loved that game, but after a while it became too much solitary time for me, and while the FPS only got better (graphically) they are too singularly focused and too similar in game style to hold my attention (or money).

 

There are some great advantages to going back a bit on the gaming continuum; cost (HW & SW), game mechanic simplicity, multi-player, and my personal belief, a wider range of games that can be made. 

 

IE is more about retro style gaming (2.5D) than being a system that just plays old games, and while I understand Tommy’s reasons and decision to delay the old titles, I feel there is adequate retail space and consumer understanding to include the original games closer to Amico launch. Those titles could be in a different e-store location that could adequately differentiate the “vintage” titles. With the difference in tv screen ratios between then and now, those games could also include a cool side banner to further differentiate them. I would also love to see original old school non-intellivision titles as well, as the current generation may not have other hardware that plays them faithfully.  One last idea is to include the vintage versions with each remake so everyone has access to play the originals from which the new games are being re-made.

I believe the description of 2.5 would be incorrect.  3D objects and worlds are used for 2.5D... but the camera is fixed.

On the list you provided... we are doing everything except the last one (3D 1st person)... or as it's generally referred to... "free roaming".

17 hours ago, Starpaddler said:

Tommy, any assessment if the resolution, touch sensitivity, screen size and computational performance of the controllers will allow for the ability to utilize them for card games that require having more than a dozen or so cards “in your hand”, say like for Gin Rummy?  

It's possible for the screen to "scroll", so instead of trying to fit 12 tiny cards... the better way would be to hold the controller horizontal and then "swipe" to see all the cards.  I'm guessing here... we haven't run into this just yet, but we've spoken about it in the past and that seems like the best way to handle/approach.  Especially for older folks who like to see things bigger... not smaller (I'm one of them).