Intellivision Amico - Tommy Tallarico introduction + Q&A

1 hour ago, Michael Garvey said:

 

They say they have a hundred ways to get ANY current or previous game, movie or show for free.

yeah their downloading a game and likely malware as well. Nothing is free. I used to hate being the extended  families fix it guy with regard to pcs. The mess on most peoples pcs is incredible

50 minutes ago, haplo13 said:

Also consider the type of games being made.  A lot of them are play through once and never again experiences.  So why own it?  Consume it and move on to the next.

I've actually heard someone say they were okay with virtual ownership for that reason. Said they've re-watched more movies than replayed games.

44 minutes ago, LordRayken said:

its like you guys are actually ignoring all possible warning signs. nintendo did this its called the wii. when you look back on the wii all you think of is wii sports. as a hardcore gamer you may look back on it as skyward sword and mario. wii sports came with the wii it was just an accessory to get you into the wii and to understanding the motion controls and then you move on. wii sports is one of the best selling games on a console because it came with the wii. no one wants a wii anymore. there are millions for sale in flea markets, second hand markets, ebay. you can barely give them away. people look back on it as something of a gimmick now. some nursing homes got in on the hype and some still use it yes but thats it. i like the idea and the console. but i am not seeing this market you talk about. the reason why they do not make these games their core focus is because it doesnt sell. old people are not looking for a family fun console. 

I own six Wiis

44 minutes ago, LordRayken said:

but also can they there even be the wii sports 2?

You mean Wii Sports Resort?

8 minutes ago, Swami said:

I own six Wiis

You mean Wii Sports Resort?

The people in this thread, myself included, are probably not normal representatives of the casual audience haha. 

I also own four Wiis 😎

1 hour ago, LordRayken said:

its like you guys are actually ignoring all possible warning signs. nintendo did this its called the wii. when you look back on the wii all you think of is wii sports. as a hardcore gamer you may look back on it as skyward sword and mario. wii sports came with the wii it was just an accessory to get you into the wii and to understanding the motion controls and then you move on. wii sports is one of the best selling games on a console because it came with the wii. no one wants a wii anymore. there are millions for sale in flea markets, second hand markets, ebay. you can barely give them away. people look back on it as something of a gimmick now. some nursing homes got in on the hype and some still use it yes but thats it. i like the idea and the console. but i am not seeing this market you talk about. the reason why they do not make these games their core focus is because it doesnt sell. old people are not looking for a family fun console. 

 

tommys 5 pack in games are going to be the amicos wii sports. they are crucial but also can they even be the wii sports 2? and again wii exploded because families were playing wii bowling. no one is playing wii blowing anymore or even looking for another wii bowling. it came and went. i dont know if im going to get thru to anyone on this board. 

 

i mean its obviously not the same. amico has some definitely cooler games. but yeah when these are the type of game that amico devs are making... it isn't tough for someone like nintendo to quickly make short work of neutralizing that competition. because they're literally nintendo. that name recognition and the respect that the switch has earned with big name titles like mario and zelda. they did it with wii sports again. amico wouldnt even be on the table. tommy mentions wii constantly in his marketing and interviews.

im going to lay some truths before i go because no one is actually interested in listening at this point and i cant fault tommy for defending his brand. tommy is a good guy and all he wants is what is best for his system and i will support him but these are the realities and all the talk about this controller.

 

inty/tommy could have launched the software service, making sure all the games will work well with that controller, silently developing and testing them with the controller, and then eventually launch the controller after the service is successful. but without the software, the controller is nothing. the controller isn't going to make an unfun game fun, so the games need to prove themselves first before justifying a physical product launch which is much more expensive, and limits your market way too early on

 

but i get it that it doesn't make sense with the audience they are going for

 

tommy wants this to be something physical that a casual user can pick up at a store and just take home. but i just dont think that can work with anything that isn't cheap like a retro clone console because nintendo already does that shit anyway

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/video-games/older-people-are-embracing-video-games-some-stardom-n1047906

 

they could still do it if they drop the expensive hardware and go with cheap hardware that is easy to pick up on a budget or software that works on a different console, smart TV "channels", Rokus or just ios/android like ive mentioned already. i was 100% on board when the console was around $200 or under $200. i am still on board but i am not lying, $250 is quite the price hike. 

 

which the possibility to launch a controller and console later after they have a following and some really good games under their belt... under their belt... (wtf does that phrase actually imply... food apparently saying for fat people or something.) its a bummer though because the controllers are pretty cool.

 

but yeah im going to clock out. you guys are hardcore fans and will remain hardcore until it launches and i applaud that. when the amico launches i am still buying a console to support tommy because hes an industry vet who deserves support (been to several video games lives) but i am also not going to beat around the bush anymore.

 

youll still see me trolling haters on youtube comments and attacking people who talk shit just to wish failure on things. 

I wont troll you, but respectfully (as you have remained respectful yourself) disagree.  Yes, Nintendo may jump on the bandwagon and that could be bad for IE (but would still ultimately be good for consumers), but my money is still on IE due to the base DNA of the system and their mission. Sure, IE stand to make a good profit (I think it will far exceed any numbers i’ve seen thrown around) but they are more about the mission, something that differentiates them from EVERY other provider in the industry. I’m baffled why some hard core gamers are so against IE and this system when all they are trying to do is correct so many things for the betterment of the consumer (and developers). In a perfect world, IE does exceptionally well and it drives competition which drives the other providers to better some of their non-consumer friendly practices. In what world is there something wrong with that?  I’ll tell you, the one run by the current big 3. 

Also, the wii didn't follow up themselves with many fully family titles, instead choosing to focus on their past successfully IP’s (which to their credit made them a lot of money, but it was at the expense of ignoring a large portion of the wii consumers).
 

Something else to take under consideration; what was the casual gaming population 14 years ago, before the wii released?  Don't know the numbers myself, but dollars to doughnuts, it was orders of magnitude lower then today.

@LordRayken

Hi.  I like you.  And you certainly outrank me a lowly Baron.

But I have to ask...why do you argue in absolutes?

"its like you guys are actually ignoring all possible warning signs.....

im going to lay some truths before i go because no one is actually interested in listening at this point"

Let's forget the Amico and everything else in this world and just for a brief moment focus on the use of "all" and "no one".

To be fair to me and everyone can I ask do you know that people in this forum have ignored ALL the possible warning signs?

We miss them ALL?

This comes across as calling us stupid.  You didnt say we are stupid and you probably didn't mean we are stupid.  But what the average person heard when someone says they've ignored ALL the warning signs is that they are too incompetent to even pick up on one warning sign.

Now let's review the "no one" arguement.  You are stating that NO ONE, not a single one, of us is listllening to you at this point.

When you state that it is stating that you have control if our actions. You are stating that YOU decide what and how we think and there is no point going on because YOU have declared are actions for us.

Conversation is like a turn based battle system.  People need to let others take their turn and let individuals declare their own feelings.

Declaring someone else's feelings is tantamount to dehumanizing them. Invalidating their right to have feelings. 

I for one want to hear you out but I find it hard to read your message when its has non-starters like the two I mention above.

Please stay in this forum and voice your opinions.  But don't be surprised if people act negatively or not at all if you use absolutes or declare how they feel.

15 minutes ago, 1001lives said:

The people in this thread, myself included, are probably not normal representatives of the casual audience haha. 

 

I also own four Wiis 😎

I got one, haven't played it in years.  Got a xbox one, haven't played it in months.  Got 2 PS3’s, haven't played games on either in years (movies yes, games no), got a dreamcast, hasn't been hooked up in a decade.  I’d say that makes me a non - “not normal representative of the casual audience” here. 😁. My Amico will have a rosier future. 

12 minutes ago, Michael Garvey said:

@LordRayken

 

Hi.  I like you.  And you certainly outrank me a lowly Baron.

 

But I have to ask...why do you argue in absolutes?

 

"its like you guys are actually ignoring all possible warning signs.....

im going to lay some truths before i go because no one is actually interested in listening at this point"

 

Let's forget the Amico and everything else in this world and just for a brief moment focus on the use of "all" and "no one".

 

To be fair to me and everyone can I ask do you know that people in this forum have ignored ALL the possible warning signs?

 

We miss them ALL?

 

 

This comes across as calling us stupid.  You didnt say we are stupid and you probably didn't mean we are stupid.  But what the average person heard when someone says they've ignored ALL the warning signs is that they are too incompetent to even pick up on one warning sign.

 

Now let's review the "no one" arguement.  You are stating that NO ONE, not a single one, of us is listllening to you at this point.

 

When you state that it is stating that you have control if our actions. You are stating that YOU decide what and how we think and there is no point going on because YOU have declared are actions for us.

 

Conversation is like a turn based battle system.  People need to let others take their turn and let individuals declare their own feelings.

 

Declaring someone else's feelings is tantamount to dehumanizing them. Invalidating their right to have feelings. 

 

I for one want to hear you out but I find it hard to read your message when its has non-starters like the two I mention above.

 

Please stay in this forum and voice your opinions.  But don't be surprised if people act negatively or not at all if you use absolutes or declare how they feel.

For the record, and don't want to speak for Lord Rayken, but i didn't i interpret his post as calling us stupid; drinking the kool-aid yes, but not stupid.   

Can we also clear the air about the Amico and failure.

Worse case scenario is those that put the $100.00 down never get it back.

I understand Tommy stated he wouldn't do that but just join me in this thought experiment for a moment.

$100.00.....that's what my son spends on call of duty with the season pass ever year.  Its 2 cartons of cigarettes (I don't smoke so don't ask how I know).  Its the digital all inclusive copy of Persona 5 Royal. 

To some it's a lot of money and that's money they'd be out of if no refund came their way.

Is it the end of the world?  No.

Did someone die because of it? No.

So live a little and stop worrying. (Funny how some say they worry for you..."I'm really concerned for you because this sounds like a bad investment...I very supportive of Tommy and I did buy one but I am truly concerned that you might get let down...")

Best case scenario we get in on the ground floor of a revolutionary product.

And what if the scenario falls somewhere in between?  Then the Amico comes out but fails and we all have a neat little device that 99% of the world doesn't even know exists. We can joke to friends that we bought a $270 foot message that doesn't even work.

That's my thought experiment. 

End of line

10 minutes ago, Starpaddler said:

For the record, and don't want to speak for Lord Rayken, but i didn't i interpret his post as calling us stupid; drinking the kool-aid yes, but not stupid.   

But I dont like kool-aid.

Lol

😆

Just now, Michael Garvey said:

But I dont like kool-aid.

 

Lol

 

😆

Is it because the Kool Aid Man is like a giant head?

Just now, MrBeefy said:

Is it because the Kool Aid Man is like a giant head?

No more giant heads. I have to go to bed soon and will have nightmares

🤣😂

Just now, Michael Garvey said:

No more giant heads. I have to go to bed soon and will have nightmares

 

🤣😂

Oops sorry 😉

36 minutes ago, Starpaddler said:

I got one, haven't played it in years.  Got a xbox one, haven't played it in months.  Got 2 PS3’s, haven't played games on either in years (movies yes, games no), got a dreamcast, hasn't been hooked up in a decade.  I’d say that makes me a non - “not normal representative of the casual audience” here. 😁. My Amico will have a rosier future. 

...unless you become addicted to ... binge TV ... that's the big social isolation thing now, right?

1 hour ago, Starpaddler said:

Something else to take under consideration; what was the casual gaming population 14 years ago, before the wii released?  Don't know the numbers myself, but dollars to doughnuts, it was orders of magnitude lower then today.

I imagine it was basically just people who played Space Cadet pinball on their work computer when they were bored and their boss wasn't around to yell at them for doing so.

1 hour ago, Swami said:

...unless you become addicted to ... binge TV ... that's the big social isolation thing now, right?

1 hour ago, Swami said:

...unless you become addicted to ... binge TV ... that's the big social isolation thing now, right?

Only thing i’m binging right now is atariage 😂

2 hours ago, Michael Garvey said:

@LordRayken

 

Hi.  I like you.  And you certainly outrank me a lowly Baron.

 

 

For the record, a "Lord" is any member of the peerage... including Barons. Also, depending on the usage, Lord could also be a courtesy title for the younger children of senior members of the peerage (2nd/3rd sons of dukes, etc.) So... in no way does he automatically outrank you. 🙂

Plus, any fan of John Alvarado automatically gets 2 promotions above their actual title. (Not an official rule, but it should be.)

14 hours ago, vongruetz said:

There was something in the interview that raised a question I had been wanting to ask Tommy for some time, but keep forgetting to.

 

If the controller is married to the base console, and you need the controller that came with the console to play the games, what happens if one or both devices break and have to be replaced?  If my controller breaks and I have to get a new one, do I lose the games that were on it? Or if the console gets replaced, can you transfer the game keys to the new one?

If you check out game licenses to a controller, they could add a feature in the console to cancel the checked out license making it immediately available.  It would require internet access to the server.

11 hours ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Hi!  Stopping by really quick.  Just wanted to post this here.

Spoke to him earlier this morning. 

Great guy.  Very much on board with everything we're doing.

 

 

It's a shame this interview was lost because the discussion on educational games could have been interesting.  He mentions the original intellivision was positioned as more than a games machine having educational software.  The reality was that the keyboard component and software was delayed and then discontinued, the two 1980 childrens learning cartridges didn't sell well.  They didn't try it again until 1983 when they got the Mattel educational product department involved.  At that time there were other factors working against it.  And it doesn't sound like much has changed since.

Originally there were four major Amico game categories (educational wasn't one of them).  Now the target is 20% educational; that's a lot.  Will it just be childrens learning or will there be stuff for adults.

3 hours ago, LordRayken said:

its like you guys are actually ignoring all possible warning signs. nintendo did this its called the wii. when you look back on the wii all you think of is wii sports. as a hardcore gamer you may look back on it as skyward sword and mario. wii sports came with the wii it was just an accessory to get you into the wii and to understanding the motion controls and then you move on. wii sports is one of the best selling games on a console because it came with the wii. no one wants a wii anymore. there are millions for sale in flea markets, second hand markets, ebay. you can barely give them away. people look back on it as something of a gimmick now. some nursing homes got in on the hype and some still use it yes but thats it. i like the idea and the console. but i am not seeing this market you talk about. the reason why they do not make these games their core focus is because it doesnt sell. old people are not looking for a family fun console. 

 

tommys 5 pack in games are going to be the amicos wii sports. they are crucial but also can they even be the wii sports 2? and again wii exploded because families were playing wii bowling. no one is playing wii blowing anymore or even looking for another wii bowling. it came and went. i dont know if im going to get thru to anyone on this board. 

 

i mean its obviously not the same. amico has some definitely cooler games. but yeah when these are the type of game that amico devs are making... it isn't tough for someone like nintendo to quickly make short work of neutralizing that competition. because they're literally nintendo. that name recognition and the respect that the switch has earned with big name titles like mario and zelda. they did it with wii sports again. amico wouldnt even be on the table. tommy mentions wii constantly in his marketing and interviews.

im going to lay some truths before i go because no one is actually interested in listening at this point and i cant fault tommy for defending his brand. tommy is a good guy and all he wants is what is best for his system and i will support him but these are the realities and all the talk about this controller.

 

inty/tommy could have launched the software service, making sure all the games will work well with that controller, silently developing and testing them with the controller, and then eventually launch the controller after the service is successful. but without the software, the controller is nothing. the controller isn't going to make an unfun game fun, so the games need to prove themselves first before justifying a physical product launch which is much more expensive, and limits your market way too early on

 

but i get it that it doesn't make sense with the audience they are going for

 

tommy wants this to be something physical that a casual user can pick up at a store and just take home. but i just dont think that can work with anything that isn't cheap like a retro clone console because nintendo already does that shit anyway

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/video-games/older-people-are-embracing-video-games-some-stardom-n1047906

 

they could still do it if they drop the expensive hardware and go with cheap hardware that is easy to pick up on a budget or software that works on a different console, smart TV "channels", Rokus or just ios/android like ive mentioned already. i was 100% on board when the console was around $200 or under $200. i am still on board but i am not lying, $250 is quite the price hike. 

 

which the possibility to launch a controller and console later after they have a following and some really good games under their belt... under their belt... (wtf does that phrase actually imply... food apparently saying for fat people or something.) its a bummer though because the controllers are pretty cool.

 

but yeah im going to clock out. you guys are hardcore fans and will remain hardcore until it launches and i applaud that. when the amico launches i am still buying a console to support tommy because hes an industry vet who deserves support (been to several video games lives) but i am also not going to beat around the bush anymore.

 

youll still see me trolling haters on youtube comments and attacking people who talk shit just to wish failure on things. 

I agree that wii motion control was a bit of a gimmick.  It would be good if the motion control is more realistic on Amico.  Still, according to wikipedia, the top selling video game of all time not bundled with a console is Wii Play.

How can they make games designed to make use of the unique features in the Amico controller work with a common controller.  And if their target market is all the households that don't have a videogame console don't they need to provide that hardware.

Nintendo has a long history and a recognised brand.  Maybe Amico will appeal to those that don't like Nintendo, there's lots of those people.  Shouldn't people have a choice in a free market economy.

I don't think you should buy an Amico to support one individual.  You should buy it because you want to play Amico games.  But if you want to support their cause you can preorder one March 31.

I apologize in advance because I don't want to sound like a hater, but I'm very disappointed with the new video.

Firstly, the person who appears on the video is a Tommy Tallarico, when we've seen other companies use a Shigeru Miyamoto for that. Shigeru Miyamoto created the Zelda and Mario games, by the way. This doesn't look good for Amico.

Then the camera focuses on the couch. Not a very expensive couch, I've seen better. And what do we see? Tommy, as Sade said in a song, I'm "By Your Side", baby, but these are not the most attractive people in the world. Now check out the trailer for Super Nintendo World and compare with the young people there. Where are the handsome 20 year olds who play the Amico? Show us. This doesn't look good.

And then we see the game. A very old game about missiles and war. Now check out the graphics and compare them to the ones in Halo, released in 2001. The Amico can't do explosions like that and can't even 3D. Are you selling the system to uneducated people with a two-dimensional mentality?

Please Don't Get Me Wrong, I will definitely buy the Amico because I like to collects objects I dislike and because this also gives me a free pass to write 40 line posts about how much they miss the mark. I just want the best for you, Tommy. XOXO.

--------

Now seriously, Missile Command looks great, Tommy. Thank you for giving these games a new life, many of us never played them as kids and now with up to 8 players they look really fun. This video really shows that the Amico is real and is coming soon. And, regardless of sales figures, it will be awesome to play.

7 hours ago, Starpaddler said:

Also, the wii didn't follow up themselves with many fully family titles, instead choosing to focus on their past successfully IP’s (which to their credit made them a lot of money, but it was at the expense of ignoring a large portion of the wii consumers).
 

Something else to take under consideration; what was the casual gaming population 14 years ago, before the wii released?  Don't know the numbers myself, but dollars to doughnuts, it was orders of magnitude lower then today.

My sister was playing a lot of one of those Facebook farm building games in 2004-2005, I remember. She got me a farm and wanted me to tend to it so she could take stuff from it.

9 hours ago, LordRayken said:

no one wants a wii anymore. there are millions for sale in flea markets, second hand markets, ebay. you can barely give them away. people look back on it as something of a gimmick now. some nursing homes got in on the hype and some still use it yes but thats it. i like the idea and the console. but i am not seeing this market you talk about. the reason why they do not make these games their core focus is because it doesnt sell. old people are not looking for a family fun console. 

 

no one is playing wii blowing anymore or even looking for another wii bowling. it came and went. i dont know if im going to get thru to anyone on this board. 

 

 

Looks like it took awhile, but I think we finally nailed down the disconnect.  The argument was so heavily focused on graphics and presentation that the core misunderstanding was overlooked.  

Yes, people do still want a Wii. There may be tons in flea markets, but there are also a lot that are still hooked up in homes and get used frequently.  I bought my Wii at launch, and it's still hooked up. In fact, I just had to recently get new controllers for it because the original finally gave out. I also had to move it to my daughter's room so that she and her friends could play Just Dance and Wii Sports together. When the family spent the night at a hotel for a birthday party, guess what else had to come with us? 

When I go to my parents house, or the houses of other friends/family members that you would never call "gamers" I see the Wii still hooked up. They are still playing bowling. Wii Fit is still being used.  Some may think it came and went, but not to those people. Not to my family. For all the people online debating the specs between the new XBOX and PlayStation, there are more who really don't care and just want something that is fun. I think there's a definite separation between what is seen as the hard core gamer and the casual gamer.  The HC gamer has a hard time seeing the other group as actually existing.  But if you look at something like mobile gaming, the iPhone is capable of playing some very impressive, very high quality video games. The newest phones are amazingly powerful.  Yet, I'm willing to bet that games like Candy Crush and Solitaire are played a lot more.  

I get what you're saying, but maybe you don't see the other side here.

16 hours ago, Starpaddler said:

I know this is an opinion of style thing and there is no true ‘right’ perspective, but for myself, some of the games (with the notable exceptions of skiing and auto racing) look to be zoomed in a bit too much for my personal taste.  Maybe those are being pumped up a bit to show the amazing (yes, I think that) detailed graphics, but I would rather have a larger game space by reducing scale.  For the MC and Astrosmash type games, smaller targets also means harder game play, but also more time to hit them as the through-screen travel time would be longer (assuming like ratio-relative speeds). Its a balance effort that I am confident IE will get right; but for myself hoping its smaller artifacts with a bigger canvas. 

I think I know what you mean.  What immediately stood out to me is the size of the ball and paddles in pong being too large.  

27 minutes ago, mr_me said:

I think I know what you mean.  What immediately stood out to me is the size of the ball and paddles in pong being too large.  

I felt the same way about the first Astrosmash video. It seems like the screen was more crowded with larger objects. I’m wondering if some of the third party Indy programmers are used to mobile game creation where object to background size ratio is better when maybe 50% larger than console gaming. 

The Missile Command video that released yesterday, was that sent out via email?  I'm on the mailing list but didn't receive it.  Nothing was in the inbox or junk.  So I guess this video wasn't going to be an email.