Intellivision Amico - Tommy Tallarico introduction + Q&A

11 hours ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Exactly.  They absolutely are to an extent.  Just a different type.  They just don't see it.

It's like the person who shows up to root against a particular wrestler or team.  They are still a "part" of what is going on.  If they truly didn't like it... they wouldn't take part at all.

Having passionate detractors only means we're on to something big.

 

 

 

Me thinks they doth protest too much. 

🤔

16 hours ago, Steven Pendleton said:

Generally it's up = on in the US. Occasionally I have encountered a few that were backwards, though.

3 ways baby, you can have it both ways,...  just not both the same way at the same time (there’s always a hitch).  

3 hours ago, woobman said:

Ahhh a certain actor got a good role in a DnD Satanic Panic movie - Mazes and Monsters. My mom had me see a Dr. at one point when I played it like 2 times.  If you haven't seen this.. I'm sure it's somewhere on the interwebs.

 

 

 

Tommy you are promoting this stuff!!! Get those demons off me!!! 

 

 

 

 

Demonic video games, I rebuke you!

22 minutes ago, Starpaddler said:

The part that you state that the listener is probably washing dishes while listening, cause that is exactly what I was doing when you said that.  

The simple scientific explanation is that he can see you inside your house.

3 hours ago, woobman said:

Ahhh a certain actor got a good role in a DnD Satanic Panic movie - Mazes and Monsters. My mom had me see a Dr. at one point when I played it like 2 times.  If you haven't seen this.. I'm sure it's somewhere on the interwebs.

 

 

 

Tommy you are promoting this stuff!!! Get those demons off me!!! 

 

 

 

 

I so remember that. One of my favorite TV movies. Wished I could have been there playing.

T-shirt idea "I shilled all day for Tommy and all I got was this lousy t-shirt"

Mug idea "I can't start my day without coffee and my Amico"

T-shirt idea "Amico and Tallarico..the first and last names in video game entertainment"

T-shirt idea "I wouldn't bet against 'em"

T-shirt idea "Amico..casual games ...hardcore fun"

Mug idea "Forget a Cup of Joe...I'd settle for an Autograph of Alvarado"

36 minutes ago, Starpaddler said:

The part that you state that the listener is probably washing dishes while listening, cause that is exactly what I was doing when you said that.  

Aliens Know All !!!

👽

TJ

2 hours ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

NEED YOUR IDEAS FOR T-SHIRTS & MUGS & HATS FOR THE STORE!

 

What images/icons/characters, etc. would you like to see on merchandise in our store?

GO!!!

Puffy for sure!

 

Other classic ideas?

Here are 2 examples...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Front...

I Own Amico

Back...

RUN!

Picture of the running man also.

TJ

2 hours ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

NEED YOUR IDEAS FOR T-SHIRTS & MUGS & HATS FOR THE STORE!

 

What images/icons/characters, etc. would you like to see on merchandise in our store?

GO!!!

Puffy for sure!

 

Other classic ideas?

Here are 2 examples...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Like em both...Night Stalker to me is an instabuy...Shifty is a maybe. Oh and i'd take that "Tommy's Fan" logo on a shirt for shits and giggles!

2 hours ago, CurlyQ said:

I love looking for all the little subtle details.  It's like a Where's Waldo pic. 

2 hours ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

NEED YOUR IDEAS FOR T-SHIRTS & MUGS & HATS FOR THE STORE!

 

What images/icons/characters, etc. would you like to see on merchandise in our store?

GO!!!

Puffy for sure!

 

Other classic ideas?

Here are 2 examples...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How about a hat that says Intellivision Baseball on the front with the running man to one side then on the back of the cap it says Yer Out

How about a Night Stalker Shirt with an evolution of the robots from original to modern game

My lack of sleep is catching up with me lol that’s all I’ve got 

1 minute ago, Alpha82 said:

How about a hat that says Intellivision Baseball on the front with the running man to one side then on the back of the cap it says Yer Out

 

How about a Night Stalker Shirt with an evolution of the robots from original to modern game

 

My lack of sleep is catching up with me lol that’s all I’ve got 

I like the baseball one.  catchy... pun intended. 

TJ

1 minute ago, Alpha82 said:

How about a hat that says Intellivision Baseball on the front with the running man to one side then on the back of the cap it says Yer Out

Yes!  But make the font really really blurry so you can barely read it. 

11 hours ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Beaver Bomber..

That one doesn’t sound very family friendly, lol!  I wouldn’t put that one on a shirt or mug😄.

Back in the late 80’s our local rock radio station used to do a touch football tournament, entry fees went to charity.  A group of my friends had a team called the Muff Divers. They had jerseys made up with the team name on the front and everyone on the team was number 69!
 

1 hour ago, Michael Garvey said:

A simple John Alvarado shirt is all we ask.

 

Is that so much to ask for Tommy?

 

Is it???

 

😋😅

Just now, CurlyQ said:

See this Tommy...this is perfection. 

1 minute ago, CurlyQ said:

Thank you so much for this.

Fevered dreams do come true!

9 hours ago, 1001lives said:

Hey Tommy -

 

I kind of created an answer but I'm not entirely sure. I just guessed based on the answers you've given in the past.

 

 

Let me know if I need to correct anything. I'm the first response.

Damn.  It kinda sucks that I spend literally hours and hours answering every possible question and give every answer I can. 

And then if I somehow by mistake miss one... all of the sudden something "starts to become a worry".  I've never ducked or avoided any question.

😔

The answer is SUPER simple (I thought I may have answered this in the past?).

Everyone who owns a machine and purchases additional games will have an account on our servers.

That account can be transferred at any time to any Amico.  Each Amico can only ever have one account though.

You can't have 2 (or more) Amico's with the same account.  (i.e. 2 Amico's in one household).  So in that instance, you would need to bring the controller from one room to the other Amico to get access to the games on the first Amico.  Shouldn't really be an issue.

No idea about what Amico II would do, so can't answer the question of backwards compatibility. 

Some licensed games may expire in the store after a few years if they are not renewed.  So best to be buying as many games as you can... the second they come out!  

Hope that helps.

Thanks!

3 minutes ago, CurlyQ said:

Oh Man... this so much say's

  "Moulin Rouge!"

TJ

8 hours ago, LePionnier said:

Great RetroAdvisoryBoard.

 

If I may add this :

Intellivision Entertainment will probably not need to lower its cost sale too much as long as there is more demand than available consoles even if the costs of the components decrease.

If the machine costs $ 30 less to produce, with sustained demand I would decrease the cost by only $ 15 or nothing at all, and when the inventory starts to increase, make a bigger price drop.

What do you think ?

A lot of component pricing has to do with quantity bought as well!

So if we were buying parts by 2 million at a time.  We'll be paying significantly less than if we only bought 100,000 of them.   So the more popular the machine is the less it will cost us.  So that's kinda cool.

7 hours ago, RetroAdvisoryBoard said:

Oh I know distributors and retailers make no bright profit points on the systems - Tommy's talked up about how retailers do a double-take "wait, we make how much on each sale???" - that's not typical.  But the manufacturers do make more money on units than lose money, and they're factoring the lifetime sales of the console to make those profits.  Not always, and my point was it was a misconception that the standard approach, that 80% of the time it's 'Put Out a Loss-Leader', to take a massive loss on the console, and recoup that loss and great profit through sales.  There's truth to the loss-taking, for some consoles, and some of the time for those consoles.  But it's a fuller story.  Articles linked.

 

There's Nintendo on the Switch: and also this breakdown estimate.  Nintendo has always insisted to its investors in financial documents since the early 90s that it makes a profit on every unit sold.  Sega was much the same, though there are questions about whether they made more profit on each sale of the Saturn and Dreamcast or a slight loss considering the tech cost at the time.  They were desperate to regain a foothold and operating a bit differently.

 

There's Sony on the PS3:  . This still years before ceasing production and costs dropping to further profitability.  Here iSuppli already notes the difference in component costs in 2008, with estimates of getting to break-even or better by 2009 (Year 3).. which evidently took a little longer, according to a report from late 2009, right at the start of the 4th year, they were still taking a loss per console, but pretty close.  

 

Sony corrected that on the PS4, the system cost less than retail.  Did Sony see any of that profit after retail took its pittance?  Very little.  But very little times 20 million of those units at that cost-point is still $20-$80 million.  And they sure made a lot more as the costs came down with further revisions.  

 

Even Microsoft was focused on reducing its costs to profitability ASAP with the 360, the premiere version it took a big loss on, but its standard $299 version sold for close to cost at launch.  Microsoft paid a ton for taking back so many defective units over the first few years, which completely ate its hardware gaming division's cashflow, but the units were profitable early in their lifespan if we're not factoring buybacks and repair.  Still, it was focused on getting those prices down and never intended for the console to be a loss-leader.  Its initial Xbox was a bit of an exception, just like Sony's PlayStation and PS2 - they had all the money in the world to throw into making a splash with a premiere gaming platform, a money rush for the market, and did so.  Even then, they were eager to get those costs down within months or a year of launch.  This article from 2002 already notes that a $249 price point on the two-year old PS2 already has a healthy profit margin.  And then they made even further revisions and cuts to get to profitability sky high on the console.  

 

But I think we're looking at exceptions and treating them like the rule.  Some of these companies have been more willing to put out a system at their own expense to reap the rewards in software, in subscription services and install base.  Now Google will put a billion into a platform service it may never reap a quarter of its investment from.  But that's Google.  They could launch $10billion into the sun and shrug.  It's not standard operating procedure.  The standard is to sell as near to cost as possible - you make a little, the distributors and retailers make almost nothing (but they make a ton on the games) - you make a ton on the games, but you don't lose a ton on your system and have to hold your breath that it sells 100 million.  It's always been much like you described.  $10 on your Genesis or SNES sale.  Sega, Nintendo made a small amount similar to that - maybe more, maybe less.  The real money's in the games.  But you don't put out a loss leader if you don't have to.  

 

If I was Sony and launching DVDs as a successor format to VHS and stood to make $500billion from the DVD business, I wouldn't bat an eyelash at selling the PS2 with its DVD player for a nickel.  But my investors might.  And my investors would question why do something so self-harming when people have clearly shown an interest in buying a video game console at a $200 price point for the last twenty years.  And my investors and majority shareholders would be calling for me to step down and install someone not so daft to sell the thing at $299 because it's state-of-the-art and everyone will get one.  And they'd be right.

Some really great articles in here!  Wow!  A bunch I haven't seen before.  Great stuff and very educational for anyone interested.

3 hours ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

NEED YOUR IDEAS FOR T-SHIRTS & MUGS & HATS FOR THE STORE!

 

What images/icons/characters, etc. would you like to see on merchandise in our store?

GO!!!

Puffy for sure!

 

Other classic ideas?

Here are 2 examples...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

this Hat Please! This is my dude in AC, I made the HAT, OG Amico logo!

7 hours ago, RetroAdvisoryBoard said:

There's Nintendo on the Switch: and also this breakdown estimate.  Nintendo has always insisted to its investors in financial documents since the early 90s that it makes a profit on every unit sold.  Sega was much the same, though there are questions about whether they made more profit on each sale of the Saturn and Dreamcast or a slight loss considering the tech cost at the time.  They were desperate to regain a foothold and operating a bit differently.

 

Wanted to call out the author about this line in regards to Switch...

"In the end, each Switch costs about $257 to produce, meaning that Nintendo makes a profit of about $40 off of each console sold."

That is so wrong.  Distributing costs, shipping, warehousing, retailer profit and the biggest one... marketing %!  Each retailer charges a percentage to market in their store fronts, circulars, online, etc.  This is a built in cost... right into the hardware.  It can be negotiated but it's typically in the 4% - 8% range.  If the Switch cost $257 to make (landed)... they are probably barely breaking even or maybe making $5 - $10. 

7 hours ago, Intellivision Master said:

Tommy,

 

That was a good interview you did yesterday with Voice of Geeks Network on YouTube.  I like that you finally turned on the fan.  It's an optical illusion, because it looks like the fan is going to hit the wall behind it with how the wall is shaped.  I know Michael Garvey is very happy now about the fan.  😃

I aim to please!!

6 hours ago, Intellivision Master said:

Tommy,

 

Is it this week that the new merchandise will be in the IE shop?  If so, which day can we expect to see the new stuff?

Hopefully within the next week or so.