Intellivision Amico - Tommy Tallarico introduction + Q&A

On 4/14/2020 at 1:46 PM, woobman said:

That begs a question: Any chance of Specialized controllers for the Amico Tommy? Like a Spinner? Trackball? Light gun? Steering wheel? Steel Battalion controller? OK that last one may put the game slightly over the $10.00 mark.

Yeah... we have certain cool things "on the drawing board"... but nothing solid at this point.  Lots of cool (and unique) ideas.

46, nope you werent really there. you were just getting out of high school at the time it came out. I was in the freakin industry and had a relationship with Atari as one of its premier retailers in 1993 for its xmas release....so try again

22 hours ago, CurlyQ said:

 

That was pretty epic!

And we're going to do a LIVE STREAM together on Monday so he (and his audience) can ask me all the toughest questions they'd like! 

And CHECK THIS OUT!!

I'm gonna give a special ReviewTechUSA merch code for 20% off to all his listeners so THEY can become SHILLS too!  And I'm gonna donate profits to a gaming charity or something. 

I'm thinking the discount code should be:   PUPodcast

1 minute ago, bigdaddygamestudio said:

so try again

 

So basically you worked at RadioShack lol hold the press he worked at a PREMIER RETAILER BWAH HA HA HA.  If you said your were the head if marketing at Atari then I would say ok. But working at a place you wont even say where is hilarious 

22 hours ago, Cranker said:

It is true that most people will look at the base price for the Amico and may disregard the fact that it comes with 2 controllers and 6 games. This will have to be communicated to the consumer properly. For example , people look at the PS4 and say it’s 399 and don’t think about it The fact that They will most likely buy an extra controller and a few games as well. Its the 399 that sticks in their head. We know the value of the Amico but I hope the average consumer can be made aware and can appreciate the value proposition of the Amico With their marketing plan . It won’t be easy but I trust IE has the marketing plan down !!! I think it’s an amazing value and love that we get everything we need out of the box......but most people do tend to look at the bottom line price and disregard the high cost of the extras they are buying that add to base price which can be 100-200 at a minimum. 

Agreed!!  And we have a few different ideas and approaches on how we're going to tackle it... and rest assured each one WILL be very heavily focus group tested so we're not taking any chances.

21 hours ago, Starpaddler said:

Tommy, is Sea Battle on the short list?

 

Also, just want to confirm you got Craps added to the list as well; that's a sure buy for myself.  

Sea Battle is on our 2021 list.  Craps as well.

4 minutes ago, Relicgamer said:

. But working at a place you wont even say where is hilarious 

did you ask?  it was a east coast retailer Electronic Dungeons and I was the main buyer for the chain. We werent big but we were cutting edge as one of the first in the east coast to offer japenese games etc.  Any more questions poser?

Its also one of the reasons I love the team Tommy has put together. During the late 80s through mid 90s these guys at Virgin/Shiny were the BEST in the world.  

2 minutes ago, bigdaddygamestudio said:

did you ask?  it was a east coast retailer Electronic Dungeons and I was the main buyer for the chain. We werent big but we were cutting edge as one of the first in the east coast to offer japenese games etc.  Any more questions poser?

Sooooooo what that doesn't mean anything. Lol and as you claim I would have been in high school lol yeah I graduated the year it came out. Had a job and played video games which makes me in it. Because I WAS THE TARGET ATARI WAS AIMING FOR SMH WOW. And again its nit about how many titles its about good titles.  OR DO YOU THINK FAMILIES BUY 5 GAMES A MONTH?  Come on you should know you worked AT A PREMIER RETAILER LOL . 

I play every night  have 3 xbox's 2 ps4s a switch and I still dont buy more than 1 title a month GET A CLUE 

p

2 minutes ago, Relicgamer said:

Sooooooo

Out of respect to this forum and tommy, you are just not worth it.  have a nice night

1 minute ago, bigdaddygamestudio said:

p

Out of respect to this forum and tommy, you are just not worth it.  have a nice night

Well out of respect Ill trust Tommy and his crew thats actually been in the business not the once was video game salesman.  

5 minutes ago, bigdaddygamestudio said:

Out of respect to this forum and tommy, you are just not worth it.  have a nice night

3 minutes ago, Relicgamer said:

Well out of respect Ill trust Tommy and his crew thats actually been in the business not the once was video game salesman.  

... and with that, I think this bickering between you two has gone on long enough.  Take the rest to PMs, please.

3 hours ago, GrumpyOl'Guy said:

I have nothing to add here. This just needs quoted. Often. By everyone. Forever.

Thank you for this.

4 hours ago, RetroAdvisoryBoard said:

No reason why Sesame Street: Bert Finds a Way to Dispose of Ernie in the Woods doesn’t get a second billing later in the year, or the next year, or four years after release (maybe after statute of limitations has expired).

 

Doing my part, because this is comedy gold, ya'll. 😂

20 hours ago, Relicgamer said:

Heres my experience with Patty and Igor

Yep.  Same old LAME uneducated whiny excuse.  In his eyes, anyone who likes Amico and thinks it's a good idea is just a kiss ass. 

When I posted the GameDaily article a few days ago of course he had to chime in to disparage the journalist (who is VERY well respected and known in the industry for many many years).

Same old tired excuse. 
 

18 hours ago, sanguinesonata said:

 

he's a man playing a role to pay the bills. But play the role long enough... eventually the role consumes the man, and only the role remains.

 

...and his stuffed animals.

Did I come back to bizarro world?

Why is everyone fighting and being defensive?

Why did people leave?

I'm so confused. 

Can't we all get along?

I think I'm missing something or maybe I'm in the wrong forum?

3 minutes ago, Michael Garvey said:

Did I come back to bizarro world?

 

Why is everyone fighting and being defensive?

 

Why did people leave?

 

I'm so confused. 

 

Can't we all get along?

 

I think I'm missing something or maybe I'm in the wrong forum?

Welcome back! I... think we all might've switched to decaf this week.

Just now, GrumpyOl'Guy said:

Welcome back! I... think we all might've switched to decaf this week.

Lol

I think we need more talk of John Alvarado in this forum.

By the way you know it's bad when someone named @GrumpyOl'Guy is calling the rest of you out for being so grumpy. 

"Let's not bicker and argue about who killed who"

Tommy. We need to talk about your naming convention. 

I was very nervous about "cornhole "

But now you talk about "craps"

What's next, the laxative bathroom aim game?

Has the world gone mad????

🤣😅😂

2 minutes ago, Michael Garvey said:

Tommy. We need to talk about your naming convention. 

 

I was very nervous about "cornhole "

 

But now you talk about "craps"

 

What's next, the laxative bathroom aim game?

 

Has the world gone mad????

 

🤣😅😂

Yes. Yes it has...🤪

14 hours ago, roots.genoa said:

But still, it's ironic some of you complain about enemies you helped creating.

I must respectfully disagree with you on this comment.

No one "created" those handful of folks.  Just like I didn't create Pat & Ian's disgust for me and Amico.  As proven many times over... I reached out to them both at the beginning and was VERY respectful.  But they didn't care... that didn't create the enemy they wanted.  So instead... they made one up and whined and lied to their audience that I "attacked" them.  Same with the handful of negative haters who prefer to stew in their cesspools of negativity.  It's just who they are.  They weren't "created"... they just use positivity in here as an excuse to dwell in their underworlds and point the fingers at others.  On one page they'll tell me I'm hiding stuff, and then a page later they tell me I talk too much and am always trying to promote the machine.  In one tweet they give out bad information, but when I correct it in a respectful way... they say I can't take criticism.  They take my words out of context to write negative articles to fit their narratives and then tell me how low class and unprofessional I am as a CEO because I try to correct their bullshit. 

They get their rocks off by shitting on others. 

No.  Those folks aren't created by anyone in this forum.  It's their childhoods and mommy/daddy issues that created that.

8 hours ago, Cranker said:

I always wondered what the “hard questions” were as well ! Makes me laugh 😂 it’s not like it’s hard hitting news and so serious. Some people are acting as if this is a life or death situation where the “hard questions” must be asked. People hiding behind their computers are getting stranger by the day !!

Yeah... I'm still waiting as well.  

The Tony guy thought he had all the toughest questions... and I easily knocked every one of them down.  His "tough" questions revolved around the inability to read a simple article and got the statistics incorrect... or because he got bad information from a "source" or... he flat out refuses to believe that anyone who isn't him would be interested in playing a video game together on a console that isn't a Switch (which he doesn't even own!).  And that's where the un-self-awareness and massive ego and narcissism kicks in.  They literally can't imagine anyone else having a different opinion than they do.

Hilarious.

5 hours ago, GrumpyOl'Guy said:

To me, this approach seems kind of refreshing. It may not offer the most in the way of overall titles, but those that are released have plenty of exposure. Families (and especially those who hadn't previously ventured into console gaming) would have time to evaluate new games, whether that be looking for/hearing interest when the title appears, or even hearing a day 1-ish review of the game online. Less titles to select from means that going back to pick up a game, even after it's been out a while, you're less likely to be murked down with games upon games to scroll through (I believe Papa Pete, in his Sideswipers reflection video, had postulated such a purchase scenario in regards to that game). Completionists will find this to be potentially the easiest, cheapest console library they've ever invested in, particularly if they go the digital route. Since this will likely end up being a secondary system for most dedicated console gamers, the Amico won't be positioning itself as heavy competition for your gaming dollar there. They'd still save up for the titles you'd want, and pick up the Amico games when they've got spare cash, for example.

 

On a personal note, I know I've seen the variety of games I've bought for systems over time has narrowed considerably. At a younger age, I'd play anything, because I'd have all the energy in the world, and responsibilities (such as they were, at the time) only ate up about 30 hours of a given week, tops. Budget titles from the game store in the mall were amazing, as even titles I didn't like were attainable for the cost of umpiring an extra Little League game. As time has gone on, I've been more or less 'locked' into titles that I'd find entertaining, as I'd rather not waste money on something that I won't enjoy when it could've been saved for a later date (yes, I can be that cheap at times). Knowing that there won't be a ton of games hitting the market, and that the games that do come out have been gone over extensively by the publisher and by the Intellivision team, then I'm far less likely to turn down a game that might not totally be in my wheelhouse. Heck, I'm not the biggest fan of racing games, but I'm intrigued by the one they showed in the teaser.

Agree; sometimes less is more. Just consider the difference between the reaction of an average basket made in the NBA vs. a goal in Hockey.  Having a consistent day of the week for upcoming release (1 release) can build some excitement because it will be relatively rare compared to other platforms. Add to this you are much less likely to miss something coming out that you think you may really enjoy. I’m sure there are a ton of mobile games I would love, but I don't have the time (or patience) to search a huge field full of crap to find them. 

Ok I'm reading the most recent posts and going backwards and there is a back and forth about the Atari Jaguar. 

Now for those of you who know me you may expect that I'll say something totally unrelated and unexpected and a bit goofy. 

Here goes:

"With all this talk of the Jaguar does anyone else just keep thinking of that terrible gaming commercial?  That shrew of a lady saying do the math? I mean that commercial alone would doom anything in my opinion. I seriously had nightmares back then if that lady....still do...sometimes.. 😟 "

I hope I didnt disappoint. 

7 hours ago, bigdaddygamestudio said:

yeah his concerns mentioned about Earthworm Jim are weak. I mean really, he is worried about no tactile buttons when you can plainly see 5 of them on a controller, plus if you are worried about the whip, dont you think perhaps the controller itself can just be used in a whipping motion to whip?  Of all the reasons to be concerned, that one was a really weak reach.

We are doing a live stream on Monday and I'm going to reveal something about the controller and "buttons" that I was going to save for E3... but I think I'll do it on Monday. 

7 hours ago, bigdaddygamestudio said:

Here is the other thing that bothers me about some of these weak concerns.

Lets look at the recent PS4. I love it, Great console, most would agree. How many games do I love on it? How many games a year do I love?  See what i am getting at, so why do we have to love every single Amico game shown.  I love the PS4 Pro and the PSVR  and dont regret buying them AT ALL... yet I really only like perhaps 6 to 8 games a year. They have released over 2500 games on the PS 4, I have loved maybe 25 to 30 over its life.  So basically I have liked/loved 1% of the games they released and yet Im very happy and content with the console.

 

So lets keep it real. If you dont like a few games or even most games on the Amico, thats pretty much the way it goes. Its all good as long as they hit your heart with a good handful a year they are golden, and at under 10 bucks a game, its a lot more likely you will find and try the games you will fall for.

 

so I know people are anxious to over analyze every frame of a video they release, lets keep it in perspective.  I know Im preaching to the choir here, but I just wanted to toss this out

 

Damn!  That was powerful!

Thanks for keeping it in perspective.  Great post.