Intellivision Amico - Tommy Tallarico introduction + Q&A

1 hour ago, poconojo said:

Why are these two people above even relevant? They act like Dbags.

Also, that "Atari dude" is kind of a dumbell. He was also saying tommy was wrong that Amico is the first console to come with two controllers since the Switch comes with two joycons, but there is a whole buttload of Switch games where you have to use both controller at the same time. Tommy mentioned one once, I think was Wheel of Fortune, how inane is that that you need both Joycons for Wheel of Fortune?

The guy was making lots of snarky comments and then Tommy called him out and asked him to tell him his concerns and what is his hard-hitting question: What is the price? Major "deer in the headlights" hahaha.

Interesting interview. I missed some of it due to the time difference (it seems was asleep when it started) and haven't watched what I missed yet.

I think I might be interested in interviewing you myself, actually.

2 minutes ago, Swami said:

Also, that "Atari dude" is kind of a dumbell. He was also saying tommy was wrong that Amico is the first console to come with two controllers since the Switch comes with two joycons, but there is a whole buttload of Switch games where you have to use both controller at the same time. Tommy mentioned one once, I think was Wheel of Fortune, how inane is that that you need both Joycons for Wheel of Fortune?

The thing with this is that even if you do count the Switch, a single Joy-con still lacks features that you'd need both of them for since it doesn't have enough buttons to cover everything for some games otherwise. I just checked with my own Joy-cons, and it seems you only have 11 buttons with one Joy-con compared to 18 with both, and both of them lack features that the other one has. Can't get to the home menu with the left Joy-con and you can't take screenshots with the right one. Right one also has the IR sensor or whatever that thing on the bottom is that I have never seen used for anything, but the left one doesn't.

6 minutes ago, Steven Pendleton said:

Interesting interview. I missed some of it due to the time difference (it seems was asleep when it started) and haven't watched what I missed yet.

 

I think I might be interested in interviewing you myself, actually.

 

The thing with this is that even if you do count the Switch, a single Joy-con still lacks features that you'd need both of them for since it doesn't have enough buttons to cover everything for some games otherwise. I just checked with my own Joy-cons, and it seems you only have 11 buttons with one Joy-con compared to 18 with both, and both of them lack features that the other one has. Can't get to the home menu with the left Joy-con and you can't take screenshots with the right one. Right one also has the IR sensor or whatever that thing on the bottom is that I have never seen used for anything, but the left one doesn't.

Yeah, it comes with 1 1/2 controllers, at most. LOL. I would have liked to comment on this stuff live, but was on a phone call with a family member through maybe 2/3 of it.

3 hours ago, Cranker said:

I just saw the latest Q&A you did and love the examples of balanced gameplay (karma engine ?) with Pong and Shark Shark used as examples. Great idea 💡 

 

This changes everything when playing with people of different skill levels. Games are often not fun when one is an expert and another a beginner etc .... etc I believe this is a HUGE game changer. It can make any game fun to play for all people involved. How often do I not bother playing a certain game with someone because our skill levels are vastly different ? 

 

This needs to be communicated very strongly in the marketing and the Example with Pong explains it perfectly 😃

Just hope the karma engine does not influence the randomness of dice rolls.  Setting difficulty of backgammon on mobile does that. Would be great if Amico could be certified to be random, cause there always seems to be doubt with that on mobile. 

5 minutes ago, Swami said:

Yeah, it comes with 1 1/2 controllers, at most. LOL. I would have liked to comment on this stuff live, but was on a phone call with a family member through maybe 2/3 of it.

Yep. It is a bit different if you count mini consoles, of course, but those were specifically not counted in this case. The Famicom Mini comes with 2 controllers because obviously the Famicom has 2 controllers that you can't remove unless you have the AV Famicom, Genesis Mini has 2 controllers, and the Japanese Mega Drive Mini gives you the option of 1 or 2 controllers in the box. Not sure about the SNES/SFC Mini, but I guess the NES Mini only comes with 1.

Anyway, the Switch is a grey zone, but seeing as there are games that can't be played with only 1 Joy-con, I don't think it truly counts.

Hey folks, Tommy swung by my channel for an interview this evening.

Just a heads up, I didn't realize my Sub Notification gif would block Tommy's face during the interview.

My stream setup wasn't 100% prepared, my show is normally a solo show.

The issue was fixed during the live show. Thanks 👍

1 hour ago, poconojo said:

Why are these two people above even relevant? They act like Dbags.

Pat and Ian used to be cool.

They were at one point affiliated with a company called Retroware, which made a documentary series about video games.

This doc had people like pat and ian, the former head of intellivision kieth robinson , Tommy talarico, roo, pixel dan, the guy from LGR, and several more. It was the definative series on video games. 

 Pat also had a hand in exposing the fraud of the coleco vision chameleon.

Pat got a ton of views from that. That is where pat got "youtube famous" from.

Pat also claims he is the definitive source of nes and snes history. Which he isnt. If anybody could lay claim to the title, that would be John Hancock.

He has every thing and is trying to open a museum of videogames.

Pat i think is trying to recreate the coleco incident so he can more views and be relevent again. I dont think its about money i think its strictly about the adulation and fans he wants.

Right now i think pat is depressed and bitter and lonely.  Ian isnt helping, he is just feeding the negative side of his ego.

Pat is sad.You can see it all over his face. i think pat needs help. Maybe he will get help and be happy again, but right now he is nothing more than toxic shock press.

I really hope he gets help, finds someone who positively affects his life, and maybe sees Ian for what he really is. 

Until then the best thing you can do is ignore them, pretend he doesnt exist, because if no one is stroking his ego he will have to take a long look in the mirror and realize what he has become.

Thank you and be safe.

3 hours ago, Steven Pendleton said:

Not sure about the SNES/SFC Mini

2 controllers (but only one for the NES Mini).

On 3/27/2020 at 11:36 AM, 1001lives said:

They clearly have a lot of things against Tommy personally and are taking out their anger and frustration about him and the way he does things. This goes beyond the Amico now. Something is broken between these two and Tommy Tallarico/Amico. They have personal vendettas at this juncture. The way they are acting and discussing this isn't normal hater stuff at this point.

Agreed.

I just think it's hilarious that they call out Rich and everyone else who does an interview with me as not asking tough questions.... yet they continue to REFUSE to speak with me. 

Cowards.

On 3/27/2020 at 11:40 AM, theswede said:

Hi everyone!

I’m a longtime “lurker” first time poster, mainly for two reasons: I’m not a “retro-enthusiast” or even an intellivision fan (although chances are I will be by 10/10/2020). So I felt a bit like an “intruder” posting in this type of forum, but I ended up here by  accident about a year ago, I was searching the internet for some video games to play with my daughter (7yrs), and happend to get stuck watching OEB Pete’s vídeos on YouTube, and he was talking about this new console that was going to come out, so from there I found an interview with Tommy Tallarico speaking of the Amico and everything he said really resonated with me and what I was looking for, so I kept watching anything related and so I found this forum and really enjoyed the conversation you guys are having in this thread, you have such a great balance between serious discussions and easy jokes. Regarding the Amico, I’m not worried about the controller as some others, in fact, to me it’s probably the main “selling point” as I’m hoping for that unique gameplay/game mecanics it opens up to. The games are also very interesting from what I have seen so far, I love the great variety and the focus on multiplayer - regardless of experience. I know Tommy has been saying there will be a lot of games for smaller kids, but I would like to know/see more about which types of games will be coming in that category. Anyways, nice to say hi to you all, and extra thanks to Pete for the videos!

Hi!

Thanks so much for joining us and congrats on your first post!  Hope you will be sticking around or checking in from time to time.

Thank-you for sharing your story.  This is exactly the kind of story that folks have a hard time grasping sometimes.  So many times people will just say "Amico is only for the handful of retro Intellivision fans"... yet here you are. 

You and your daughter are EXACTLY the type of folks we keep talking about over and over again.  And you have shown and proved that all of the market research and focus testing we've done for years is clearly true!  Some folks will refuse to listen... so I'm glad you are here to share your personal story. 

We have some really great kid friendly games and edutainment coming out.  I can't mention who we've partnered with just yet (saving it for a big summer announcement)... but I'm sure you will be impressed as they are biggest and most beloved childrens edutainment company on the planet. 

Thank you again for stopping by and I hope to see you around more!  You are exactly the type of person who can chime in from time to time about what your personal family structure is like and why you find Amico to be so attractive in your home.

Thanks!

On 3/27/2020 at 11:57 AM, LePionnier said:

What will be the 3 digital soundtrack album ?

Earthworm Jim and 2 of my "Greatest Hits" album.
 

I own those 3 so easy to do.

On 3/27/2020 at 12:14 PM, OEB_Pete said:

Tommy, can we order all three at one time? Or Seperate transactions? Asking for a friend, errrr....  I am making my own news again!

Yes.  You can order all at once.  We greatly improved the system this time around and everything will get a confirmation immediately (as opposed to PayPal a day later).

Looks more professional and there is a checkout cart, etc.  It's through the same system that our current store is running on.

On 3/27/2020 at 12:28 PM, AtariSociety said:

Or under one of the trees at the end of the skiing... finish line area?  

@Tommy Tallarico mentioned something about a waving Yeti.

I played it several times and can only sense one at the end... maybe.. but my eyes are bad so.

TJ

It's hidden in the game somewhere... but not in the video.

On 3/27/2020 at 2:12 PM, GrudgeQ said:

Wow that squid ink spoiler attack is going to be rough. If you have every played Shark! Shark! it keeps you on your toes trying to grab fish & avoid the shark - that black out is going to be terrifying. Great game play add.

Thanks!  We actually have one distinct and unique thing in each level.  People have seen the Octopus, the StingRay and of course... the star of the show so far... Puffy! 

Wait til you see the moray eel and a huge pelican head slamming in from above!! 

On 3/27/2020 at 2:28 PM, 1001lives said:

Who?

 

but yeah, the more I watched of that the more I was convinced something is seriously wrong with Ian. I can't imagine being that hateful and cynical about Tommy talking about a damn touch screen on a controller. He went on and on, both of them did, for like 10 minutes about using a touch screen. We get it. Who the hell gets that FURIOUS over a touch screen? Something isn't right with them.

 

Oh - let's not forget, the SINGLE game they conceded would be great - Utopia, with the touch screen. But then they went "B-but the Touch Screen is too small!" 

 

All I can say is Ian needs to redact some of his statements, but especially the statements about Review Tech USA. 

 

You can call me a shill or someone who is too positive, or whatever, I don't care. The way Ian was acting was nuts and anyone should be able to see how far off the deep end he went.

Yeah... at this point they are just digging themselves deeper and deeper.  Imagine when it comes out and is a huge success.  They will just continue to crap on it forever to try and save face.

On 3/27/2020 at 2:47 PM, Starpaddler said:

Thanks Tommy!  Great game play trailers.

 

BTW, got the VIP pre order buy-in from the HFO (Home Finance Officer).  Now just got to get the merch PO approved 😋

Hahahha!  HFO!  Merch PO.  Hilarious!

On 3/27/2020 at 2:47 PM, 1001lives said:

Ahhh, thank you. 

 

Yeah I had a feeling. It's war now for them. 

 

I know a lot of people on AA don't really like the Amico or Tommy's way of promoting but PLEASE no one get upset to the point you're screaming and cussing over it. 

Not really a lot.  Just a handful.  Most of which have been banned from this thread because they couldn't follow simple forum rules and had to be warned over and over and over again... until finally the mods gave them the boot.  So now they go on YouTube and complain on Amico videos that I have the mods in my back pocket.  No ding dongs... you just couldn't follow the rules that were put in front of you and you were warned about over and over again.  Now they just have their tacos to munch on here.

On 3/27/2020 at 2:57 PM, Cranker said:

I see and can understand the anger issues better now . I just want to have fun and I like the Amico and will buy it ! Buy whatever you like and have fun whatever console it is. I like them

all 😄

 

on a related topic, I have no time to spend hating and prefer to spend my time talking  about my passions and hobbies As opposed to spending time on sites and newsgroups that I am not interested in. I don’t get why people do that. 

It's cause they are immature narcissists who couldn't handle anyone correcting them for their blatent laziness and mistakes.  Now they have a holy war against me in hopes that they can get their falling numbers back up.

They are lying frauds.

On 3/27/2020 at 3:26 PM, The Wren said:

I'm guessing #5 is going to be that BackTalk one...then we have a well rounded set of styles and controller functions

That would make sense.

On 3/27/2020 at 4:07 PM, ONLYUSEmeFEET said:

The Amico is shaping up to look pretty interesting, but I'm still wondering how accessible it will be to play for people with disabilities. I've personally never gotten an original Intellivision because of its controller being rather difficult to control with my feet. I reached out to the Amico team as soon as their website went live about accessibility and making the system more accessible, but never heard back. Legally, all game consoles have to adhere to a variety of accessibility standards for operation, in addition to apps having to meet a minimum accessibility requirement. I've helped Xbox over the years with making their system more accessible, even testing their Xbox Adaptive Controller since its inception. I have also done tons of app development and QA directly related to accessibility, and of course have plenty of experience playing/making games as well. This isn't me begging for a paid gig, either, as making money is actually detrimental to my way of life (thanks US disability services!)

 

The main reason I am so vested is that I see tons of potential for the Amico in terms of accessibility. I can totally see the Amico being used in therapy, rehab, nursing homes, and so much more. Nothing ever replaced the Wii in nursing homes for example, where I can totally see the Amico being that replacement. There's plenty of awards given out every year for accessible toys and tech that I think the Amico has a good shot at winning. But, the accessibility of the software and hardware have to match and exceed the Amico's potential. I would love to talk to Tommy more about Amico accessibility and eventually, see Intellivision itself speak on the topic. I'm excited for the Amico if I can play it, but would be much more interested if I knew of its accessibility and knew my feet could kick ass with its controllers.  

Hi!

Thank-you so much for joining the conversation and giving your thoughts!

I am very conscious of the things you spoke about and they are important to me.  I had a handicapped sister named Karen who unfortunately passed away about 15 years ago.  She was born on 10/10. 

Yet another secret... just revealed.

We don't have the kind of money for research and development that a company like Microsoft has and we have our hands full with everything we have going on to get Amico and all the games out.  But trust me when I say that when we have the time, budget and resources to do this... we will!  It's very important to me... and especially on a personal level.

When the time comes for us to start developing something like this I would LOVE to get your input and feedback as to what is important to you!  The great thing about most Amico games is they only have 1 or 2 buttons.. unlike most of the stuff on the PS or Xbox. 

Thank-you for sharing your story and concern.  Please keep checking in with me and stay in touch so when the time is right we can do some work together.  Would be great to hire someone like yourself to help us build something amazing.

Thanks!

On 3/27/2020 at 4:52 PM, BiffMan said:

I get that, and they're going to both be excellent, but those specific teasers are not the way to generate interest. 

It was either that or nothing. 

By next month we could have shown a lot more... but I didn't want to just announce 2 more games.  I really wanted to do 5.

The cool thing about Farkle demo is that is shows a controller being able to roll the dice onto the screen.  That is super cool to most folks and shows yet one other unique feature of our controllers.  That's why it was important to me to show that.

On 3/27/2020 at 4:54 PM, Starpaddler said:

Farkle looked to me to be a replay of the tech demo.  Also, last I was aware, Farkle was played with 6 dice.  I have no doubts that the games will be adequately polished prior to release. 

Yeah... Farkle is the least completed one.  Only about 25% at this point.  Still about 2 months to go on that one.

On 3/27/2020 at 5:00 PM, AtariSociety said:

You all think our Amicos will have Easter Eggs to be found? Like if you hold all 4 controller buttons down a special something something will happen?

 

What something something you all hope to see?

 

TJ

Oh hell yeah.

You guys have no idea what's coming!!

People are gonna love it!

Breaking ALL the rules!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On 3/27/2020 at 5:30 PM, NTV said:

 

Just found my receipt from 2007 for my Nintendo Wii. The cost of the Wii and one extra controller (it only came with 1) was $300. 

Adjusted for inflation, $300.00 in 2007 is equal to $382.02 in 2020. And look what Tiger Woods Golf cost!!!

Hard to believe people are complaining about the cost of an Amico.

Thank you for posting.  I make this argument all the time.

The haters will say (without ever having played the machine)... "HOW DARE THEY try to charge people over $200.  HOW DARE THEY!!!  That price is only reserved for the big 3."

Price is definitely important... but again... do people think we don't do market research, focus testing and speak to the biggest retailers in the world on what their customers are willing to pay?

 

On 3/27/2020 at 6:37 PM, mr_me said:

They've been working on Biplanes a long time.  Maybe they're having trouble with the flight physics.  It's important they get that right.  It would be a great multiplayer game and would have made a nice pack-in.

 

With Intellivision Biplanes the lower wing is obscured by the fuselage.  The controls are also upsidedown.  I hope they correct it with the Amico version.

 

 

We've actually sent them the code from the original to base it on!  I LOVE it.  One of the favorites me & my brother would play.

They are working on something really big for us right now that is more important than Bi-Planes.  As soon as the big game is done... they start going full time on to Bi-Planes!  It's going to be amazing!!!!!!!