Intellivision Amico - Tommy Tallarico introduction + Q&A

7 hours ago, Swami said:

[email protected] full three hour with chat

 

 

I wonder why this guy was too embarrassed to show his face on a live internet chat?  Probably does not want to lose his job or something over his pathetic and immature behavior. 

I thought it was kind of a lose-lose situation, going into the snake pit and wrestling your way out.  I have to give Tommy a lot of credit for that.

Anyhow I am a supporter of this project and Tommy and of the intended mission objectives.  Who would not want to have their favorite games retro re-imagined? Along with a whole slew of improvements to the system and games, many of which we are not even privy to at this point.  The ability to sit down, quickly learn how to play any of the games available, play with your entire family or friends, should appeal to all.  Looking forward to the Amico!

8 hours ago, Starpaddler said:

I commend you yet again Tommy.  It has to be so frustrating to try and hold logical dialog with someone with such bias and lack of reasoning (kinda like playing with a yo-yo without the string); especially with regards to something you are so passionate about, have put so much time and effort into and when you truly know that you have a great product, team and plan.  I’m glad that you continue to focus on the positive folks and maintain such great energy, and refuse to let folks like this pull you down. 

Thank-you.  Your comment and support really means a lot to me.

 

8 hours ago, cmart604 said:

Lol! I like to think of it as supporting your venture. Anything beyond that is a bonus. 😊

You are an Intellivision legend!  Just the fact that folks like you & @Lathe26 are so supportive and excited by all of this really warms my heart.  It really does.  You guys are awesome.  Thank-you!!

17 minutes ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Yep.  We experimented with the version like you said.  TOTALLY UGLY!  Really bad.  I think someone even did a mock up in here once so people could see (I refuse to release the renders we have as someone will post them and people will think it's real).

Yes... we did a lot of testing about the color and grain of the wood... really happy with where we settled.

 

 

I figured as much. Not releasing the render is probably a good idea in that case! Nothing like a super ugly console for people to make fun of. Just like the XGrill Series X! I personally don't think the XGrill is really that bad, but other people seem to think it's super ugly.

8 hours ago, Nolagamer said:

I think I'll be buying mostly everything  with exception to edutainment title that's geared towards small kids

 

 

Hey tommy will is adults get some edutainment games???  I'm not anti edutainment  games,  but I have no kids and  neither do my closest friends but can totally get down with fun educational games. 

I've been thinking about that a lot lately.  Edutainment for adults!  I'm sure most of us all love watching things like the Discovery or History channel.  Would there be a really fun and interactive way for adults to learn while having fun as well.  There are some interesting things and idea I've been playing over the past few weeks that have merit.

Anyway... to answer your question more direct.  Nothing in the pipeline now... but the seed has been planted.

I went ahead and ordered a VIP edition after ordering the Founder's Edition. Hopefully, both will come in on time or at least before Thanksgiving. I want an Amico and four controllers to have ready for the family that day.

Sent from my PH-1 using Tapatalk

5 hours ago, RREDDWARFF said:

Agreed. Also, why would someone want to pay $200 for a console that's on its way out.

Collectors 😂

8 hours ago, Swami said:

Okay. Thanks. The guy doing the article said: "Tallarico, the creator of Video Games Live, announced in 2018 that he had acquired the rights to the console and its original games, and he planned to relaunch Intellivision as a retro brand." I parsed out the words in the sentence so the parts germain to my question are in bold. Do you have any comment on what is meant by "retro brand" and if that's what you said? I just have no idea what that means and would like to know what that means to you. Honestly, sounds like a misunderstanding on his/her part.

I think it was just worded a little strange there.  He may have meant to say the retro brand Intellivision is being relaunched.  Or... he may be referring to our old school "retro" mentalities and bringing that back to the 21st century.

I've been thinking about that a lot lately.  Edutainment for adults!  I'm sure most of us all love watching things like the Discovery or History channel.  Would there be a really fun and interactive way for adults to learn while having fun as well.  There are some interesting things and idea I've been playing over the past few weeks that have merit.
 
Anyway... to answer your question more direct.  Nothing in the pipeline now... but the seed has been planted.
 
 

19 minutes ago, atarifan88 said:

My son is frantically looking to buy a switch, but there are none available for the $300 price tag.

My daughter picked one up last week at Best Buy, got the last one they had.  She checked everywhere and finally found a store that had one an hour away.  She and her boyfriend are in a small apartment with one TV and with them being on stagger work schedules right now her boyfriend monopolizes the TV to play his games and she can’t watch shows.  So, she made him drive the hour to pick up the Switch!

A well done Picross game would be great on the Amico as well.

Sent from my PH-1 using Tapatalk

My daughter picked one up last week at Best Buy, got the last one they had.  She checked everywhere and finally found a store that had one an hour away.  She and her boyfriend are in a small apartment with one TV and with them being on stagger work schedules right now her boyfriend monopolizes the TV to play his games and she can’t watch shows.  So, she made him drive the hour to pick up the Switch!

7 hours ago, roots.genoa said:

First, I'd like to apologize in advance because I'm going to be slightly negative.

 

I may lack imagination (which would be a first to be honest), but I have a hard time picturing a Funko Pop running man figure. The running man is basically a very specific pixelart figure seen from the side, and one would probably not identify him if he was shown in front view, not running. Moreover, Funko Pop figures also share a very specific, recognizable shape that make them a little too similar from each other in my opinion. I don't know them very well, but I've always seen them in the same position, standing still. So unless you manage to make it slightly 'pixelated' or blocky, a Funko Pop running man figure may look like a blank Funko Pop figure (as if someone forgot to paint it). 🤔

Yes.  You bring up a valid point.  And if something like that were to happen, it would probably be discussed and on the drawing board to some extent.

I mean... that is... if we were actually talking to them.. which I can neither confirm nor deny at this point.

Interesting fact:  Our Global VP of Marketing (Cara) is great friends with the person in charge of certain very important Funko stuff.  They worked at Mattel together.

Lets just say... nice to have good friends in high places.

Heard that Amico wasn't going to have any 'Beat Em' Ups' on last night interview. Does that rule out Bad Dudes or Ninja type games?

7 hours ago, Swami said:

Not bad, I only counted three defensive hard-core elitist haters doing round-the-block drive-by's like 100 times each. Typical. Everyone else seemed neutral or positive, just like all the videos.

Yeah... same 3 morons who will show up in most Amico videos and say how much they hate it, that I lie about everything, how it's a scam and will never come out, etc., etc...  very low intelligent immature individuals.  

7 hours ago, Swami said:

I saw that Pat question pop up about why would someone buy an Amico when they could buy an XBox One or PS4 for $200. "Major oversight on Tommy's part." To put it simply, the target audience never bought an xbox 360 or PS3 when they were $200, why would they buy an X Box One or PS4 for that price? It's the same argument for why 90% of gamers aren't buying any console from the big three. It might be what Mr. Hard Core Modern Gamer would do, but not most people.

Exactly.  That is just someone trapped in their own little biased fanboy bubble who doesn't have the intelligence or foresight to understand that not everyone in the world likes the exact same things they do.

As I will continue to say... you could give away PS4's, XBOX's & Switches to casual and non-gamers... and they STILL won't play them.  So easy to understand that... if you aren't a biased elitist halfwit.

4 hours ago, Steven Pendleton said:

Tommy, I remembered my question from several hours ago!

 

I was wondering about the announcement about what the golden ticket does/is used for. I thought that announcement was supposed to be in March some time. Am I confused with something else? It wouldn't surprise me if I am confused.

We are still working on this.  We are a few months behind, but corona, the pre-sale and investor stuff has pulled us away from things like that (and the new Moon Patrol demo for the Amico Club).  We will try to get something going this month.  And whenever it comes... we will absolutely be making up for the past few months (i.e. instead of having one big give-a-way a month... we'll make it one big give-a-way a week til we catch up).

Thanks for your patience and understanding.  I apologize for the delay.  The person working on that was pulled off in order to help us with other super important stuff.

5 minutes ago, gogamego said:

The beauty of the Switch. TV or handheld

Which is exactly why she wanted it.....and Animal Crossing of course! My kids loved that game on their DS and she hadn’t played it in years.  I have three girls (2 are twins...when they start coming out two at a time it is time to stop!)

I ordered the FE in woodgrain and VIP in black. Will the woodgrain be available in stores or just from the site? I am going to purchase one more after the launch. 

1 minute ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

We are still working on this.  We are a few months behind, but corona, the pre-sale and investor stuff has pulled us away from things like that (and the new Moon Patrol demo for the Amico Club).  We will try to get something going this month.  And whenever it comes... we will absolutely be making up for the past few months (i.e. instead of having one big give-a-way a month... we'll make it one big give-a-way a week til we catch up).

 

Thanks for your patience and understanding.  I apologize for the delay.  The person working on that was pulled off in order to help us with other super important stuff.

No problem. I know you guys are experiencing problems with production, and so is everyone else in electronics right now. No rush. I waited for StarCraft Ghost back in the day and am waiting for Star Citizen now, so any waiting is better than those! Except maybe the people who waited for Duke Nukem Forever. They got screwed.

4 hours ago, GrumpyOl'Guy said:

 

Hm...

 

NIGHT STALKER - a dark, bold brew that pulls no punches

BUMP N JUMP - extra hops

SHARK! SHARK! - a complex brew that grows on you in time

VECTRON - an acquired taste, most either loving it or swearing entirely off of it

 

Sold two bottles apiece in the eight bottle 'Couch Co-op' pack!

Bhahahahaha!!!!!

Love this.

Hilarious.

I wish I knew more about beer so I could join in the fun! 

Have never tried any kind of alcohol in my entire life.  I was the responsible kid who had their drivers license before any of my friends.... after that... it just kinda became my thing.  Although seeing cool cousin Steven wacked out on heroine (which scared me) when he would come off stage when I was around 10... may have had an affect as well.  My parents had "the talk" with me about drugs and alcohol at a very young age and I never wanted to disappoint them.  So fortunate to grow up with the family and friends I did.

10 hours ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

What was surprising to me is that he never owned a Switch or a Wii.

 

 

Haha, yes, your reaction to his revelation that he actually don’t have a switch was priceless😂 And after saying he never had the wii either, I started to think his strategy to maintain “unbiased” as video game journalist is to actually not buy any video game consoles😆 

4 hours ago, GrumpyOl'Guy said:

How about an Earthworm Jim Funko Pop?

 

Let's see here.... Shrink the body a little.... bigger head, relatively same shape...

 

um, it kind of looks like Dan Aykroyd in 'Coneheads'. That didn't go well...

Sounds GROOVY to me!  And how about certain other characters from certain other games we're reimagining.

Why stop at just the Running Man?

A few quick thoughts.

About the interview last night. It was painful because it wasn't an interview. It was two sides trying to prove they are right and not willing to cede any ground. Tommy wants to convince everyone why Amico is great, and that's just not going to happen. You can't convince a hard-core PC gamer that console gaming is better.  Actually, this reminded me of a situation I was in with my brother years ago. We were playing board games with a bunch of his friends, who were all deeply committed to their Christian faith, and one of them started talking about how the next time someone from Jehovah's Witnesses came around, he had a stack of stuff to prove the guy was wrong. I couldn't believe it. And everyone started agreeing that this was a good idea. You're not going to convince someone deeply rooted in his religious beliefs that he is wrong, even if you think you have a valid argument. I think in these situations, you can't try to turn the hardest of the hard core, but you can just keep preaching your message to anyone who will listen. There are people out there that are yearning for something like this, but they just don't know it exists yet. Trying to convince someone who spent $1000 on a graphics card for his PC is probably not going to understand the idea of simple, family, fun.

What draws me in with Amico is how personal it is for Tommy.  Yes, he does a lot of focus testing in regards to games, the controller, the direction of the company.  But at its heart, IE is his personal quest to give Tommy something he is personally looking for. He wants to bring that thing that brought him so much joy as a kid. He wants parents and kids and people of all skill levels together playing video games like they used to in the 80's. He wants to be able to play games with his dad again. Maybe he wants to play games with his wife. Maybe one day he'll play with little Tommy Jr. This reminds me of Apple and Steve Jobs. Why did Apple suddenly because a huge player in the music business? Because Jobs loved music. Even the creation of things like the iPhone and iPad are reflections of his own minimalist preferences. These things were personal for him, and as it turned out, a lot of other people also wanted something similar.  If you build something that you would want, then there's a good chance there a lot of people out there who might share in your dream.

One comment I saw last night in the comments section really made me scratch my head. It was something like, "This is all built on LIES!" I've probably seen this before, but I keep wanting to ask, what are the "lies"?? Tommy has shown off the Amico. He has shown the controller. He has shown the games. He has assembled a team of very skilled and reputable people to bring this to market.  I don't get it.  I haven't seen the PS5 or any of its games, but I don't say it's built on lies. I know it will eventually come out. Same with the new XBX. I've never actually touched one, or seen any of the games, but people are already saying how it will sell well and that it's going to "win." What has IE lied about? 

This comment also reminded me of a speech from Robert Heinlein. In "This I Believe" he makes mention a couple of times about how we focus on the negative. We see the crime headlines, or meet that one jerk in town, and assume that this behavior must be normal. But it isn't normal. For every jerk, there are a 1000 decent and good people out there.

https://www.heinleinsociety.org/rah/thisibelieve.html

Sorry to ramble. Also wanted to say thanks to everyone in this forum who provide a place where we can come an talk about something positive when the rest of the internet is all doom and gloom with the quarantine.  Thank you.

3 hours ago, GrumpyOl'Guy said:

3! I can't believe it hit 3 hours! I tapped out around the hour and a half mark. By then, the questions felt sort of labored. The chat was... internet chat. Can't say that I helped that cause.

 

From what I did see though, I had a few thoughts:

-I don't think anyone went into this thinking we'd see this generation's Buckley/Vidal debate. I'll give credit to Tommy for taking this on, as it certainly wasn't a necessary thing for him to do. By the same token, I'd like to think that the Tony guy was trying his best, and was just legitimately uncomfortable with debating a subject. More research and better articulated points would've been preferred, but (at least, in my opinion and in the sample size I'd heard) it sounded to me like he was more negative about the Amico's ability to stand out as a game console than anything else.

-Why is the first major argument detractors have for this thing 'why would you buy an Amico if (insert console name here) can do a comparable job?' I wonder how strong the push back to the light bulb was, since lanterns and candles had covered the home lighting market for decades before.

-OEB Pete and Dorkalicious just being nice in the chat was so out of place. At times, their comments popped out at me due to the lack of attacks. Also, not being in all caps.

-Atari Creep is awesome. Thought he might have missed the little nudge to change to Intellivision Creep, but in hindsight, was probably more of a friendly 'no-sell'.

-How hard is it to grasp that your marketing isn't reaching out to your target demographics yet... because your marketing hasn't even really started yet?

 

My favorite moments (somehow, there were two):

TOMMY: "...look, don't make a decision until you play it. That's all. Isn't that fair, Tony? Would that be fair?"

TONY: "Um... no."

 

TONY: "...but I'm tlaking about what happens afterward. Every time you have an interview, with maybe one or two exceptions, you have those people that you've been in an interview with show up on every other Youtube video, comment they're right there, promoting the Amico."

TOMMY: "Isn't that great?"

Yeah... those were 2 good ones for sure.  I also thought the response of he could NEVER be friends with anyone he interviewed was interesting.

The 2 interesting things that stood out to me was...

1.  He doesn't own a Switch or Wii yet will push back on how difficult a Switch is for families to use.  If you've never experienced the complexity of a Switch for yourself... why argue that it's so simple and easy for non-gamers and casuals to operate?

2.  When he misread the data about mobile gaming trying to say that only less than 5% of people spend money on mobile games in the U.S.  Completely incorrect, but he stuck by his guns.  I asked him to post the article on in the comment section.  Once he did, it was clear that he had made a mistake and misread what the 5% in the U.S. was.  After I called him out on it I asked if he would admit that he was wrong and he misread the information.  To his credit... he agreed that he had made a mistake.