Intellivision Amico - Tommy Tallarico introduction + Q&A

7 hours ago, bigdaddygamestudio said:

one question I would like Tommy to answer if he cares to is this ( as what he has said in the past doesnt really add up)

I love the idea of not allowing devs to get their games lost upon release, and Tommy has said that every game will have the spotlight for a week or so. Now perhaps that was just a mispeak or I misheard a couple times since there is only 52 weeks a years and the Amico has to release way more than 52 games per year after its initial release especially considering there are 5 classes of games.  10 games a year per category cant be right.  So perhaps Tommy can clarify what he means by the spotlight. Perhaps each category of game gets a game spotlighted for a week or 2 or until a new one hits in that category?

No... you're math is correct.  We only plan to release around 50 new games per year at first.  But keep in mind that they are all curated and all of a certain standard and quality.

If 2 years down the road we have SO MUCH amazing content being brought to us... then the policy could change to maybe 2 games a week.  It's not off the table... but I don't know.  I NEVER want to substitute quality fun, design and gameplay for quantity!  It's one of the big issues I have with the modern game industry.

7 hours ago, OEB_Pete said:

I know something so cool about the controller and the controls that Tommy swore me to secrecy on penalty of banishment from the AMico community LOL, Tommy when will those nuggets be revealed,?I am stressing   @Tommy Tallarico

Hahahhaa!!  Thank you! 

Yeah... I think I may reveal it on Richs' podcast on Monday... as you know... will totally take that concern off the table forever.

So hang in there a little longer buddy!!  I know you can do it!!

4 hours ago, bigdaddygamestudio said:

so you really think a system is going to sell for $200 or more that only has a couple games coming out a month? really?  I think thats where we disagree. I think the consumer would look at that and say... umm nope, its not supported I will buy x, y, or z,  or even more likely I wont buy anything, the world will likely be in a recession so money will be tight.  

 

If Intellivision isnt going to make money on the hardware, and not on dlc etc, they have to make it on software and offering only a couple of 5 to 10 bucks games a month which may or may not even interest a good portion of your base, i dont see how the economics of that works at all.

So how many GOOD games come out a month on other systems/mobile?  How many of those are fun with a group? What is the ratio of mediocre/bad/good games? How much frustration is there to find good games? Thats the side of the coin i’m betting on. 

7 hours ago, bigdaddygamestudio said:

what i dont get about those clowns is this. If you know anything about this industry and you look at the people surrounding the amico, you know that this isnt a scam, so why are they wasting their time when in fact, you look around this industry I can point you to a few things that dont pass the sniff test, so why arent they targeting them?  are they really that dumb.... yeah yeah, its seems they are. They are posers and dont know a damn thing about this industry.

Yeah... exactly!  I've told a few of those folks the same thing.  There are so many sketchy things going on in the industry from "others" and there is a LOT to undercover and really go to town on.  Yet they decide to try and destroy the underdog trying to bring something positive into the world.  Nice.

7 hours ago, bigdaddygamestudio said:

well when tommy was running on like no sleep in that one video he did show us the in the pants controller function,  thats a sure seller 

I thought I dreamed that.  That really happened? 

Crap.

1 hour ago, Tommy Tallarico 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!

Good.

So be prepared ...

I will ask you if someone is working on Horse Racing ...  🤨

Oops... I should have waited until Monday before revealing my plan ... 😆  lol

3 minutes ago, Starpaddler said:

So how many GOOD games come out a month on other systems/mobile?  How many of those are fun with a group? What is the ratio of mediocre/bad/good games? How much frustration is there to find good games? Thats the side of the coin i’m betting on. 

I dont disagree at all, I guess it all comes down to this. I would rather have 5 at bats a game then 2.  See what just worries me ( and I only worry cause I really want this to succeed) is that if they only release 2 games a month, and maybe have a miscalc about a game or two. They could really have a bad month or more by just missing on two titles.  Making good fun games is hard, really hard.  I just like more at bats for them

Hell it reminds me of a story from college. One of my buddies, a decent looking guy but nothing too special. But every weekend this guy would be bring back a girl to his room. It was ridiculous in as much as we were kinda jealous and curious.  So we decided to have three of us stake him out for an entire saturday night. We found his secret. He hit on about 30 girls a night, he was rejected and slapped etc by 29, but at the end of the night he still got a girl. Its always a numbers game

6 hours ago, Cranker said:

To me it’s unbelievable when people analyze these games frame by frame. Does that have anything  to do with how fun the game will be ? Maybe get a life ? 

I'd also like to add that you can't show the fun factor from a couch co-op standpoint with game footage.  The biggest example being SideSwipers.  Showing as a small clip means nothing.  Then when you see it in context... and what we're doing with the controller... it's an entirely different vibe.  And btw... there are a TON of things in that game we haven't even shown or spoken about yet!  Wait til you find out the rest! 

And pretty much almost ALL the games on Amico are like that.  I've seen some folks crap on Safe Cracker because of the clip we showed.  Really?  You can no idea how we are utilizing every bit of the unique controller to unlock different safes.  Spinning disc, light patterns, speaker/microphone, motion controls, force feedback.  How you can you relay ANY of the fun factor in a clip and then decide that the game is total crap and look like clip art.

But the sad part will be that when the games do come out and all the coolness is revealed... they'll be too egotistical to admit they were wrong.  They just stick by their guns and/or find something else to complain about. 

6 hours ago, The Wren said:

Hey Tommy,

 

So I know the Amico says no DLC...which i love. But what about a game cross promoting another game. What if you had a game like Snafoo and then you had Tron deadly discs coming out. Would it be an up-sale to offer a Tron like light cycle playable within the game Snafoo if the console owned both games? Would something like this make for a good incentive or would it prohibit a Tron light cycles game from every being released?!? Is this too close to DLC in spirit?

 

Just a thought                                                  

 

Cheers all  

If that happened... I'd just do a completely new SNAFOO VS. TRON game.

6 hours ago, bigdaddygamestudio said:

umm, yeah, i dont think that number would fly for a system you want it to be semi main stream. After the initial launch games wear thin, ( which would be pretty quick, a few months) people begin to look for the new thing, and if you have 5 cats and it may be a month or two between even one game you even remotely interested in, thats real trouble. The last thing you want is people to stop turning on their Amico on a consistent basis.  They stop turning it on, it quickly becomes a dust magnet and is forgotten. You need consistent new content to get people to turn the system at least weekly to check out whats new and to start playing.  Turning the system on is often the hardest part, as there are so many other distractions and entertainment options. 

 

Jaguar was a great system, Had some great games, but not enough of them. It died due to lack of software. I sold that system. I knew it inside out, the hardware was a gen above anything else at that time. Software is key. Amico wont be in a vacuum its very much is competing against every other form of entertainment in our lives.

The one thing to remember about that though is that not everyone will be buying the system on day one... or year one... or even year two!  Year three and four and five are the big years where you see the numbers start to really rise and the majority of folks jump in.  That's why it cracks me up when people say we're gonna fail at $249... as if the machine will be $249 in 2 or 3 years from now.

So for those majority folks who are coming in by year 3... there may be 100 - 150 quality games on the system for them to explore.  That will take a long time... especially with new ones coming every week or so.

The folks who buy in early (year 1 & 2) will probably be more hardcores anyway and although they may put the machine down for a few months... when they come back... they'll have a bunch of new stuff to go through.

1 minute ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

So for those majority folks who are coming in by year 3... there may be 100 - 150 quality games on the system for them to explore.  That will take a long time... especially with new ones coming every week or so.

Totally agree, totally understand.  Again I only worry cause I care, I just worry that there is gonna be a few months earlier on that may be white knucklers.  You get to year 3 with sales trending in the right direction your golden.  

5 hours ago, bigdaddygamestudio said:

so you really think a system is going to sell for $200 or more that only has a couple games coming out a month? really?  I think thats where we disagree. I think the consumer would look at that and say... umm nope, its not supported I will buy x, y, or z,  or even more likely I wont buy anything, the world will likely be in a recession so money will be tight.  

 

If Intellivision isnt going to make money on the hardware, and not on dlc etc, they have to make it on software and offering only a couple of 5 to 10 bucks games a month which may or may not even interest a good portion of your base, i dont see how the economics of that works at all.

We do make money on the hardware (small... but it is a profit).  And for the folks we're selling to (i.e. casuals, families, etc.) they are not about quantity at all.  Perfect example is the Wii.  Almost 30% of all people who purchased a Wii NEVER bought a game for it.  They were happy with Wii Sports and a bunch of folks still play it to this day.  

So while I completely agree with you in regards to hardcore gamers wanting that... it isn't the same with what we're doing and the prices that we're selling for.

4 hours ago, bigdaddygamestudio said:

a 200 system that only has a couple games coming out a month is and looks like an unsupported piece of hardware. It just does since it will be compared to every other system out there.

  Again, I learned that the hard way with the Jaguar. It had the best game in the world AVP exclusive to its system, a few other top titles Tempest etc,  but then only a few titles a month, and even back in the mid 90s that wasnt enough. Lack of software killed the best hardware in the biz at the time.

 

Again Im hoping Tommy clarifies and says there is months that may see 6 new titles etc..

 

 

We will have stockpiles of games waiting in the wings (that's the intention) so we'll be able to adjust accordingly if needed.

And yes... there may be months where we could have 6 new titles... but I don't see that happening until year 3.

1 minute ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Almost 30% of all people who purchased a Wii NEVER bought a game for it.  They were happy with Wii Sports and a bunch of folks still play it to this day.  

but isnt that the last thing you want? 

3 hours ago, atarifan88 said:

Tommy, when will the next round of VIP consoles go up for presale? Will the black Tron be included? I just got my stimulus check and am ready to jump on the bandwagon!

Announcement coming this Friday.  

3 hours ago, bigdaddygamestudio said:

no its not. That is just but one small demographic they are chasing.  Its for all sorts of demographics and people to play together. If it was just for families and young children there would be no need for retro remakes, and so forth. This has to appeal to A LOT more than just young families with kids.

No.. no.   It IS!  Maybe that is where the confusion lies.  Make no mistake... our target audience is young families with kids.  And yes... some great stuff for the parents and grandparents as well. 

We've only shown the stuff we have because we know it appeals to the only folks who are watching at this point.  That will change when our real marketing kicks in.

That being said... the party games we're doing really are fun for everyone.  Gamer or not.

1 hour ago, bigdaddygamestudio said:

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.  

Am I a total jerk if I agree with this statement?

Lets say top 10 in the world though.  Miyamoto is always the absolute BEST. 

just remember when wii hit, grandparents then werent from a gaming gen, so it was their kids introducing grand parents to gaming.  That is no longer the case.  We are the grandparents now and we are the OG video gamers.  Grand parents arent " grand parents" anymore when it come to gaming.  We are a WIDE open demographic with CASH and we know how to game, we started it.

4 minutes ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Am I a total jerk if I agree with this statement?

sorry, During that run from Spot to Aladdin and EJ 1 and 2. I saw pretty much every game in the world for the most part, you guys were the best. You were in the "zone"

27 minutes ago, bigdaddygamestudio said:

I dont disagree at all, I guess it all comes down to this. I would rather have 5 at bats a game then 2.

Yes... but I'd also rather have 2 homeruns then 4 strikeouts and a walk. 

😉

17 minutes ago, bigdaddygamestudio said:

Totally agree, totally understand.  Again I only worry cause I care, I just worry that there is gonna be a few months earlier on that may be white knucklers.  You get to year 3 with sales trending in the right direction your golden.  

Totally!  Thanks.  Yes... that is the plan.

And if we need to adjust... we can and will.

1 minute ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Yes... but I'd also rather have 2 homeruns then 4 strikeouts and a walk. 

since we are talking Baseball.............................LOL     .. when do we get a peek?

15 minutes ago, bigdaddygamestudio said:

but isnt that the last thing you want? 

Yeah. We don't want that at all. 

The difference being is that Nintendo didn't cater to those folks as much as they could have/should have.  Our focus is 100% on those folks.

5 minutes ago, bigdaddygamestudio said:

just remember when wii hit, grandparents then werent from a gaming gen, so it was their kids introducing grand parents to gaming.  That is no longer the case.  We are the grandparents now and we are the OG video gamers.  Grand parents arent " grand parents" anymore when it come to gaming.  We are a WIDE open demographic with CASH and we know how to game, we started it.

I agree... but the big difference is that our generation LONGS for what Amico is providing.  Simple games that they don't need to sit down for hours to learn.  Every focus test we've ever done the #1 thing they like about the system is the simplicity of the games.  By a HUGE margin!  Price is actually always the lowest on the list.  Safety that they can give this to their kids or grandkids is another huge factor.  No violence, bad language, sexual content, etc. 

We are going to focus on those 2 things BIG TIME in our marketing.

8 minutes ago, bigdaddygamestudio said:

sorry, During that run from Spot to Aladdin and EJ 1 and 2. I saw pretty much every game in the world for the most part, you guys were the best. You were in the "zone"

Ok...Ok... you convinced me.  FINE!  YOU WIN!! 

🥰

p.s. you forgot Global Gladiators... we did that one right before Cool Spot and it was the first one the team worked on together.  It won GAME OF THE YEAR awards, BEST AUDIO awards and BEST ART awards.  Check that one out if you loved the others.