Intellivision Amico - Tommy Tallarico introduction + Q&A

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). 🤔

4 minutes ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

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.

 

 

I see no negativity here at all  Doesn't have to be Funko, but its worth a mention that Funko does deviate every now and again with things like shape  and in figs which have no eyes like and as for the pixleation although i don't know if its super necessary with such a fig...Nintendo already figured that out with their 8-bit Mario Amiibo release And of course anything done with the running man in a similar fashion should be noted to be a 16-bit Running Man of course  Plus if you get into the Funko space...people/collectors who didn't know you now know you. We could get things like Classic Running Man, MLB Running Man (with a cap), Cloudy mountain Running Man (with a bow), Running Running Man (grabbing the coin from the gamescom trrailer), and a big 4-pack of the Running Man Family...out of the gate! then more to follow as games feature him  

Wouldn't that POSSIBLY be something...whew avoided the TM.  

34 minutes ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

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.

 

 

Imagine a bill & ted , doctor who or Jurassic park  game with some educational elements for adults   .adventure action  abs learning through history  science  and puzzles problem solving. 

2 hours ago, supahwally said:

I ordered 2 Woodgrains, couldn't help myself.   Glad to hear the presale is going well, considering the financial uncertainty people are facing I have to believe this is a true sign of momentum and interest, the general public is still completely unaware.

 

I noticed my order number is #3343-assuming this is the total number of pre-orders to date, that would mean the average buyer grabbed 3 consoles each.  What does this mean?  Collectors are interested, re-sellers are interested, and the numbers are way too high for it to be a 'this might flop but has name recognition' purchases.  I think people are truly anticipating demand, and the possibility that they may not be able to get one.  I'm also really curious the breakdown of colors ordered, does the extra $20 for the woodgrain hurt sales, or are people totally into it? 

 

Regardless, the underdog is training hard for the big fight this fall. Keep punching, Tommy!

 

 

At this point, the order numbers don't mean too much as we had a lot of affiliate links that were built around certain parameters so we could track which outlets were successful avenues.  For example... E3 had their own, National Video Game Museum had their own, a retro gamer mag, my Video Games Live list, etc.

Yes!  Love the Rocky pic!!   I think about those movies and hum that music in my head at least once or twice a day at this point. 

16 minutes ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

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.

 

 

And I thought I was a straight arrow.  With the exception of my 21st year on this planet, I drink very little (currently less then 2 beers a month), but have never had any interest (or experience) with smoking or drugs. 
 

Unlike you though, I do suffer with an addiction to animal based proteins. 

2 hours ago, Intellivision Master said:

Tommy, my man.  That live stream last night was crazy.  First it got delayed and then it finally started but with no picture just sound.  It would've been neat to see you on video with your reactions to Tony.  Even without the picture, the whole interview was just terrible.  It was the first time I heard you do an interview about Amico where you were not happy and excited like usual. I feel like maybe you shouldn't have done that interview.  It was more like an interrogation.  But you handled it like a pro.  Well done sir.  Keep doing what you're doing.  I want the Amico to succeed and I really hope it does succeed.  Stay positive Tommy and keep fighting the good fight.  To quote a line from the movie Galaxy Quest, "Never give up, never surrender".

I wanted to do it so that no one can ever say that I wasn't asked the toughest questions, etc.

He said he is going to send the link to folks like Pat & Ian who say that all the interviews I do are "softball" questions (which also isn't true).  So now there is at least ONE interview that's been done that all of the questions came across as negative or combatative.  I felt I answered every single one of them and dismissed any kind of "we don't know what we're doing" vibe.

Don't mind matching wits with anyone.  If folks think they have "dirt" on the system... BRING IT!!

Because like the misinformation about one of our driving games (that I easily cleared up)... there is no wrongdoing or scammy crap going on... no matter how hard anyone tries to dig or "expose".    Those folks would be better off looking into some "other" legacy hardware companies trying to make a comeback.  Not us.

1 hour ago, atarifan88 said:

My son is frantically looking to buy a switch, but there are none available for the $300 price tag. I told him to save his money as I would be buying our family an Amico, but he wants something now. October can't get here soon enough!

 

On a separate note, Tommy if I pre-order an Amico will that guarantee I'll get it sooner than if I had gone to buy it at the store on 10/10/20?

Only the Founders Editions get early delivery.... but I would imagine you would get your VIP the same day as the stores would (without the hassle of trying to find them as they will be scarce!).

46 minutes ago, gogamego said:

Brain Age did great on the DS. I don't see why something new in the same genre wouldn't be a hit. Actually, I think something like that could be a huge hit for Amico.

Sent from my PH-1 using Tapatalk
 

We do have a game like that... which will be available on launch!  We haven't shown it yet.  So yeah... I suppose that would be considered an adult edutainment title.  I'm trying to think even deep than that though.  I have some interesting ideas.

14 minutes ago, vongruetz said:

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.

When one of these fanatics approaches me with their message, I have a couple of defensive sentences that totally change the (intellectual) fight to my favor: "Why wasn't God able to have all countries worship the same religion?" and "Who created God?".

15 minutes ago, vongruetz said:

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

This is, sadly, one of the main reasons people shape their ideology nowadays. The media has them believe crime is much more common than it actually is, so they become obsessed with security and totally forget about healthcare and other vital issues. The crisis we are living is partly due to that.

Oh, yeah! Amico topic. Well, I confess I haven't watched a single minute of the last interview yet. And after reading the comments from the people here, I don't think I will.

44 minutes ago, ColdCoffee said:

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?

There are a few different ways to make them a little less aggressive. 

37 minutes ago, Saldo said:

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!)

 

Speaking of Animal Crossing... was it in here that someone posted the QR code to put the Running Man in Animal Crossing?  I'd love to post that on all our social media.  I think it would be funny.

Maybe someone could make an Amico one as well.  

Can someone repost?  I forget if I saw it here or Twitter or Facebook.

36 minutes ago, poconojo said:

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. 

Vintage Woodgrain only available direct through our website.  

On 3/30/2020 at 2:14 PM, gogamego said:

Not sure if anyone here is a Switch fan, but I will share this here since it is Intellivision related. I made this poster in Animal Crossing and hung it on my wall. You can download it and add it to your house as well.

Sent from my PH-1 using Tapatalk
 

Is this what you mean Tommy?

8 minutes ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

We do have a game like that... which will be available on launch!  We haven't shown it yet.  So yeah... I suppose that would be considered an adult edutainment title.  I'm trying to think even deep than that though.  I have some interesting ideas.

 

 

That would be great if games could be developed that were fun and engaging but also taught aspects on things like electronics, chemistry, physics, astronomy, etc..., at both young and adult levels. 

31 minutes ago, vongruetz said:

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.

Great post.  Yeah... the "built on lies" comments are just immature intellectually challenged folks who get off on trying to tear down a D-list celebrity.   

Even Tony agreed those morons were strange.

I actually wasn't trying to convince him or change his mind... I knew from the outset that it would never happen.  The same thing would happen if I did a Pat & Ian interview.  They aren't going to tell me at the end... "y'know... you made some great points and we've changed our mind".  Yes... most folks who have been negative have had a change of heart for sure.  And that's great.   But never did I think that would be the case with that guy.  My goal was to show that I will answer ANY question that comes my way and that anyone reasonable will understand it.  The idea surrounding his questions was that I shouldn't be confident and that I have no "proof" that anyone will want to buy this.  I feel I proved that to be absolutely incorrect.  But only time will tell if I'm right.  And as I said in the interview... I wouldn't be against me.   

8 minutes ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

There are a few different ways to make them a little less aggressive. 

so would you consider the original revenge of shinobi on sega genesis to have some "aggressive" elements? And if so, what are some of the aggressive aspects of gameplay that you would omit on a game like that, for example?

6 minutes ago, Michael Garvey said:

Is this what you mean Tommy?

Yes!  Thanks!

And if anyone wants to make an Amico one so I can post as well... please send! 

5 minutes ago, Starpaddler said:

That would be great if games could be developed that were fun and engaging but also taught aspects on things like electronics, chemistry, physics, astronomy, etc..., at both young and adult levels. 

Yeah... that's what I was thinking as well.  History would be another cool and interesting subject to capture.

13 minutes ago, IntelliMission said:

 

When one of these fanatics approaches me with their message, I have a couple of defensive sentences that totally change the (intellectual) fight to my favor: "Why wasn't God able to have all countries worship the same religion?" and "Who created God?".

 

I used to do something similar, then I switched and took a less confrontational approach. Now if they knock on my door, I say sure, I'll listen. They usually talk for a couple of minutes, give me a flyer, and thank me for my time. I tell them thank you and wish them luck. I may not agree with what they have to say, but I do respect their commitment to their faith.

I've also noticed that Mormons especially get flustered when I say I'll hear them out.  I think they're so used to having the door slammed in their faces that when someone actually agrees to hear them out, they don't know what to say.

1 minute ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Yeah... that's what I was thinking as well.  History would be another cool and interesting subject to capture.

Yes!!  Something like Where in Time is Carmen SanDiego.  I never realized at the time, but games like that taught me so much about history without me ever realizing it.  Kind of like how Bugs Bunny gave me a deep appreciations for classical music, and I never realized it at the time.

@vongruetz You just reminded me I want to try that game. I used to play "Where in the World?" for MS-DOS when I was 12, but "In Time?" looks equally good and I might even learn something.

1 hour ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

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

Why stop at just the Running Man?

 

 

Awesome,please make it happen.

I would purchase them all!😊

12 hours ago, Utopia said:

Or the actual beer!

If it's called running man beer,that would concern me a little.

https://youtu.be/LVqNCyOLVqNCyOLP0Y

Looks like you got a new fan from that interview Tommy.

43 minutes ago, vongruetz said:

I used to do something similar, then I switched and took a less confrontational approach. Now if they knock on my door, I say sure, I'll listen. They usually talk for a couple of minutes, give me a flyer, and thank me for my time. I tell them thank you and wish them luck. I may not agree with what they have to say, but I do respect their commitment to their faith.

 

I've also noticed that Mormons especially get flustered when I say I'll hear them out.  I think they're so used to having the door slammed in their faces that when someone actually agrees to hear them out, they don't know what to say.

This kind of reminds me of an experience that I have sometimes. There are these annoying dudes in Roppongi and sometimes in Shinjuku who always ask you to go to their club. At first I used to ignore them and they'll follow you for a while, even though it's illegal to solicit like that. Then I started talking to them in German and they usually get extremely confused and leave me alone since nobody speaks German. My German is super rusty and I forgot almost everything that I learned except for a few mostly useless words, so after I first lie and tell them (in German) that I'm German and don't understand English, I then usually proceed to tell them that I have cake in my pocket or that I need a pencil or something like that.

2 hours ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

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!!

There is no one more excited than me !!!!  😊 I’m on here all day ! I’m going to buy everything that comes out. I feel like a kid waiting for Christmas 🎄 and support this project  100 percent and will talk about it with anyone that will listen 👂!!! It’s my saving grace and passion during this difficult time. Thanks again to the entire Intellivision team who are so dedicated to this project and working so hard every day  !