Intellivision Amico - Tommy Tallarico introduction + Q&A

2 hours ago, Starpaddler said:

Tommy for President™ - WOULDN'T THAT BE SOMETHING™

Will need to make billions from Intellivision first so I can finance my own campaign and not have to take "corporate" money.

And who knows... I might even have more personality than Bloomberg!

😂

2 hours ago, 1980gamer said:

The last HoJo's I was aware of was College SQ in Worcester, that closed in the 90's  I haven't seen the ice cream for 30 years I think HoJo's may have even been selling Hersey Ice Cream at the end. 

 

I know you are a car guy...  But if I say Riverside... What do you think?     I still call Six Flags, Riverside...  Oh,  they had a track back in the day!  So, I can say, I have been to Riverside Speedway!  LOL

 

I work in IT and everyone is younger than me...  Non of them ever heard of riverside park. So sad... 

I think they had the first loop coaster?   I did not fact check that....

 

 

DUDE!!!!!!!!!!   Riverside Park!  Are you kidding me!!  I was in Springfield so Agawam, MA was right next door.  We would go there at least 10 times a year just for the park.  Then they had the concerts and of course (as you mentioned) the races!  Demo Derby's were always my favorites!

Remember when they first installed "The Loop" which was eventually named the Black Widow.  It was the first loop rollercoaster in the area!  Thunderbolt was the name of the old wooden rollercoaster I believe.

I wonder if that place is at all recognizable from the 80's. I'm assuming it's not.    Have you been over the past 20 years? 

We played a LOT of arcade games & Ski Ball in that place!

2 hours ago, IntelliMission said:

 

I'd include this in a mini-games title called "Amico Pub Games", (maximum font size for dramatic purposes) along with air hockey, foosball, darts an a few others.

Wouldn't That Be Something™?

2 hours ago, RetroAdvisoryBoard said:

There is a final HoJo’s on the New York Northway (I-87 between Albany and Plattsburgh/Montreal) just outside of Lake George.

 

Food and service are hit and miss, but an ind. operated last stand for the roadside family restaurant.  

Glad to see nothing has changed then in 40 years!

2 hours ago, Nolagamer said:

Dont worry I been getting realky.bires and seeing pets up for foster... I'm seriously considering fostering 2 until.i go back to work.  I.live right by a dog park. 

Fostering.  That's funny.  

Stop kidding yourself!  Take the RED PILL!!

You're only fooling yourself if you think you will foster and not wind up owning them.  Hahahha! 

The term my wife uses is "Foster Fails".  We have one of those!   Yeah...yeah... we're only gonna watch this cute little confused scared puppy for a few weeks til we find a good home for her.

Good luck with that! 

🥰🐶😍

1 hour ago, Starpaddler said:

Hi,Tommy (to get back to our regularly scheduled programming), from your latest IE video, it could be taken that the design may now be 100% complete. Is that something you can confirm?  Thats a big milestone and should be screamed from roof tops (or at least be posted herein).  
 

Also, did you ever get the chance to reach out to Big Head Games on Retro Cave Flier and if so, anything fertile come out of it? 

The hardware itself is pretty much complete and we've already started the "tooling" process.  But in the testing phase we could make little adjustments and re-tool some small things here and there.  We also have the firmware part of it still in progress.  We don't need this complete until we start manufacturing.  So still a potential two months to go for that.

Yes... me & Hans have been going back and forth with them over e-mail and are arranging a meeting over Skype.

1 hour ago, 1980gamer said:

Tommy, do you have any Hasbro licenses?

I think a game like CLUE would be a perfect game for the controllers capabilities.

Plus, they have several versions of this game and you could do a few of those.. Plus you have some Disney connection, I think they did Haunted Mansion and Tower Of Terror editions.

 

I really cannot wait for 10/10/2020.....

 

My daughter (10 years old) has gotten into the "whodunnit" genre lately, so we've been looking for books, movies, games, etc.   So we watched movie Clue, and play a few rounds of the board game.  A few days ago, she saw "Clue" on the Switch EShop and her first question was "will this be on the new one you're getting with the screens on the controllers?"  😁    She and I agree that Clue would be a perfect fit.

1 hour ago, 1980gamer said:

Tommy, do you have any Hasbro licenses?

I think a game like CLUE would be a perfect game for the controllers capabilities.

Plus, they have several versions of this game and you could do a few of those.. Plus you have some Disney connection, I think they did Haunted Mansion and Tower Of Terror editions.

 

I really cannot wait for 10/10/2020.....

 

Been speaking with them for over a year.  Nothing to talk about publicly at this point. 

2 minutes ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

DUDE!!!!!!!!!!   Riverside Park!  Are you kidding me!!  I was in Springfield so Agawam, MA was right next door.  We would go there at least 10 times a year just for the park.  Then they had the concerts and of course (as you mentioned) the races!  Demo Derby's were always my favorites!

 

Remember when they first installed "The Loop" which was eventually named the Black Widow.  It was the first loop rollercoaster in the area!  Thunderbolt was the name of the old wooden rollercoaster I believe.

 

I wonder if that place is at all recognizable from the 80's. I'm assuming it's not.    Have you been over the past 20 years? 

 

We played a LOT of arcade games & Ski Ball in that place!

 

It has changed a lot!  However the Thunderbolt  ( my first coaster ride ) still stands!

Yes, The loop was Red, White and Blue  USA themed way back... Then the Black Widow.

How about the Rotor....  Centrifugal Force in action! 

It is now a Six Flags.  Yes, played lots of arcade games at Riverside.  First place a played a few games... Star Trek and Donkey Kong 3 etc.

We had many arcades in Worcester, but a few games never made it to the area.

Man I am feeling old!  I bet you remember the "Wild Cat" steel coaster with 4 person cars!

Sorry for being OFF TOPIC.  But all of the negative stuff was bumming me out!

33 minutes ago, wolfy62 said:

What is all of this stuff that I want?!?!!

26 minutes ago, wolfy62 said:

I posted this here because I found all these great metal signs while working through my video game corner.

They were made for me by Brian,AKA Crazy Climber who bounced in and out of the intellivision world between 2014-2016.

He did great work and made these super intellivision signs,coaster sets etc. on his CNC metal cutting machine. 

I love this stuff and a couple of them hang on my game room walls.

I took them down to share these pictures.

I figured this is at least as valuable to share here as the usual focus on what negative people say about the Amico.

Remain positive everyone and share fun stuff!😊👍

Ah ha!   Now I know!

:)

I don't mind talking about the negative stuff from time to time.  Good for us all to vent once in awhile. 

30 minutes ago, ASalvaro said:

lol yup! Samantha Fox grainy nudes were big back then and also those strip poker games 

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!    

I also had the Samantha Fox poster from Spencer Gifts as well (along with Catherine Bach in the Daisy Dukes and of COURSE Farrah Fawcett in the red one piece.)

C'mon fellas... you know you loved this as a teenage boy!

Some of you will probably HATE me for this... but she actually performed the song last year!

11 minutes ago, malrak said:

My daughter (10 years old) has gotten into the "whodunnit" genre lately, so we've been looking for books, movies, games, etc.   So we watched movie Clue, and play a few rounds of the board game.  A few days ago, she saw "Clue" on the Switch EShop and her first question was "will this be on the new one you're getting with the screens on the controllers?"  😁    She and I agree that Clue would be a perfect fit.

 

Yes!  Clue would be the PERFECT game!  And imagine Battleship as well. 

Shouldn't be touching anyone during the social distancing!

11 minutes ago, 1980gamer said:

It has changed a lot!  However the Thunderbolt  ( my first coaster ride ) still stands!

Yes, The loop was Red, White and Blue  USA themed way back... Then the Black Widow.

How about the Rotor....  Centrifugal Force in action! 

 

It is now a Six Flags.  Yes, played lots of arcade games at Riverside.  First place a played a few games... Star Trek and Donkey Kong 3 etc.

We had many arcades in Worcester, but a few games never made it to the area.

 

Man I am feeling old!  I bet you remember the "Wild Cat" steel coaster with 4 person cars!

 

Sorry for being OFF TOPIC.  But all of the negative stuff was bumming me out!

 

You kidding me!  This isn't off topic at all... this is childhood gold. 

Yeah!  They added the Wild Cat back in the corner.  I remember when that first went in! 

I found this:

Crazy thought...   But with the controllers capabilities,  I wonder if Don't Break the Ice would be doable?

My nieces love this game, but setting it back up between games.........

The force feedback etc.    How about those POP-O-MATIC games with the Disc?   Little ones would like that.

Heck, I am going further,  Rockem Sockem Robots! 

Hi there. I made this account because I'd like to try and address Tommy directly about a few things with the Amico/Intellivision in general, and I noticed he's been posting here a lot, so I figured this would be my best place to do so.

First off, lemme just say that while I am going to be tossing some criticism your way, I intend for it to be constructive. This is by no means an attempt to attack Tommy or the company, but rather, I do think there are some issues here that need to be discussed, and they might fall a bit into the "hard question/criticism" territory. I don't mean to disrespect you, but I believe that these are things you need to consider. These questions and criticisms are meant to be advice, and I hope that you respond to them and don't take them as an insult or anything like that.

Let's begin with talking about the Amico itself.

From what I've seen and read, you seem to be aiming the Amico towards the family, and especially the early childhood market, correct? The perfect console that everyone in the house can enjoy, and one that is perfect for children whose parents won't let them play other games because they find them to be too violent/otherwise inappropriate.

But... I don't think this is the correct market that you should be aiming for. I feel like this market isn't actually going to make the Amico successful. What I believe you should be aiming at instead, are the older crowd. The people that are your age - or even older. People that had the original Intellivision, or other similar consoles like the Atari ones, back when they were kids or teens. I feel like hitting that nostalgia factor is really your best bet of making the Amico successful, and while you do have some retro game remakes on the system, I feel like that should have been the core focus of the system to begin with, to appeal to that group of nostalgic older gamers.

To be honest, I don't feel like this system has ANY appeal with the younger demographic at all, nor does it appeal to families as a whole. Allow me to explain...

I don't have any kids myself, but several of my friends do, and I see them all the time. As a gamer myself, their kids will often talk to me about the games that they're enjoying. These kids are between the ages of 6 and 12, and I can tell you with certainty that not a one of them would enjoy the vast majority of games on the Amico. They already know what they like, and what they like are fundamentally different from what the Amico offers. They like games like Fortnite, Minecraft and Super Mario Maker 2. They don't play the kind of simplistic games that are on the Amico - they find them to be boring. Even a lot of the free to play phone games that are popular these days bore them to tears. And yes, while this may only be a small group of people, I think that in general, this is how kids these days feel. They like two kinds of games in general - shooting games, and building games. And if the Amico doesn't have those? They won't be satisfied with it.

Kids don't want to play Pong, or Space Invaders, or Galaga, or anything like that. They just don't care about the games of yesteryear. So I think that if you're expecting parents to buy their kids a walled garden console that only has simplistic, retro-inspired games... all you're gonna get is disappointed kids in the end. And as for the families as a whole... I doubt you have any market there either. Most of the adults that aren't already hardcore gamers are extremely casual gamers who play things like solitaire and golf on their phones. To them, they already have a gaming device - their phones. They don't need another one. Trust me, I've been trying to get my uncle to borrow some of my games during the quarantine because he keeps complaining that he's bored, and he'd much rather play solitaire on his phone than my 3DS and a huge stack of games that I know would appeal to him if he gave them the chance. I think that if any families are gonna be buying the Amico, it will be almost purely for their children, and those children.... will probably be disappointed.

I feel like you have this vision, that the Amico is going to be the next Wii. That it's going to be this massive runaway success that changes the entire industry and brings casual gamers that stopped playing dedicated consoles post-Wii, back to gaming. I... don't think this is going to happen. At all. I think you are overestimating just how much casual gamers care about something like this. Or even more so, how many of them even know that the Amico exists. I mean, I browse gaming forums and various gaming Youtube channels every day, and I very rarely even hear a peep about the Amico. So what makes you think that the average family with non-gaming parents knows what the Amico is? Or that they have any intention of buying it?

I think that you're expecting that kids across the world are going to ask for an Amico for Christmas, and when they open it, they're going to be overjoyed that they got exactly what they wanted from Santa. But I feel that the more likely situation is that they're going to ask Santa for a Nintendo Switch, Playstation 5, or the Xbox Series X, but because it was cheaper and possibly bargain binned and "family friendly", they're going to open up an Amico and they're going to cry because they wanted Fortnite and the Amico doesn't have Fortnite, and grandpa just didn't know that there was a difference.

And I know it sounds like I'm just trashing you, but I'm not trying to be mean, it's because I feel like you've made a lot of bad business decisions with this product. That there most certainly could be a market for the Amico, but it ain't the one you're aiming for. Especially not at the price point you're aiming for either.

I'm sorry, but the price you are asking for the Amico is ridiculous. Maybe you have a reason - maybe the tech inside is so amazing an advanced that you NEED to charge that much to make a profit. But in that case, I feel like the entire project should have been downsized. I think that what you should have done is made it an affordable, budget alternative to the big-name consoles, closer to the "classic" or "mini" consoles that came out over the last few years, but packed it entirely with classic, remastered original Intellivision games (and the original versions of those games as well), and sold the whole thing for NO MORE than $100. Forget about all the new games and being able to buy more games for the console, I think you should have made the entire thing a "retro remastered" box at a competitive price, which could have been HUGE for older gamers.

Like, think of this realistically here. Do you REALLY think that your system has more value TO THE CONSUMER than something like the Switch Lite? Why would someone buy the Amico with it's lineup of (IMO) unimpressive games for $250 when they could instead buy a Switch Lite and a game from an established series that they enjoy for about the same price? I mean, I know you're gonna say that they would, because you have to because you're in charge of the company, but please, do stew that around in your brain for a minute. Does the Amico REALLY offer the value that you think it does? I mean, one of the talking points in a recent trailer that you released was that the Amico has a whole bunch of board and card games, but the Switch is getting Clubhouse Games soon, and that has 51 different board and card games in one package. So you could buy a Switch Lite and Clubhouse Games for about the same price as the Amico and get FIFTY ONE different card and board games. Are you prepared to offer more than 50 games in one package on the Amico?

Anyway, let me move onto the next subject. You, Tommy Tallarico. And I know that you're probably gonna take it as an insult, but I want you to understand that I'm trying to offer you constructive criticism, which may be harsh, because I'm trying to give you helpful advice.

You come off as... kind of a jerk, Tommy. You have the attitude of someone like Reggie Fils-Aime, but you're not as subtle as he is. You act like you have this enormous ego, and it makes you seem intimidating and rude. I don't think that's a good look for a corporate CEO, Tommy. When people criticize you, you have a habit of attacking them, being very rude to them even when they weren't rude, deleting their comments, calling them trolls and just generally not taking criticism well. Heck, I have the feeling that you're probably just gonna call me a troll or something for this message, even when I feel that I'm being perfectly reasonable and offering you genuine advice. You really need to stop that kind of behavior, Tommy, because... well... you're not as cool as Reggie is. He can pull off the badass attitude and not seem like a jerk. You can't, so please, stop it.

Oh and one last question that I forgot to ask earlier in the message. You mention during your video that you have a former president of Nintendo, and someone involved with Tetris on your team? Who exactly are they? I can't seem to figure out who you were referring to.

Anyway, yeah. I have the feeling that you're not gonna respond well to this message, but I would appreciate it if you would try and take some of this to heart. As it stands, I don't think that the Amico is going to be successful, but I think you could probably do a few things to make it worthwhile before it releases, and maybe aim it towards a market that is actually going to care about it. Because trust me, no child is going to care about the Amico.

(Edit: Minor formatting fix.)

3 minutes ago, 1980gamer said:

Crazy thought...   But with the controllers capabilities,  I wonder if Don't Break the Ice would be doable?

My nieces love this game, but setting it back up between games.........

 

The force feedback etc.    How about those POP-O-MATIC games with the Disc?   Little ones would like that.

Heck, I am going further,  Rockem Sockem Robots! 

We've already started conversations about Rockem Sockem Robots!  Would be super cool with our controllers!

Found another cool Riverside Park video:

I still really like the old Italo Disco Sound and touch me remembers me of so many great tracks from the 80s. Still have all the CDs.

30 minutes ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

What is all of this stuff that I want?!?!!

 

 

I am pretty sure we could work out some kind of a trade,at least for some of it!😁

19 minutes ago, WhatWasThatSound said:

I don't have any kids myself, but several of my friends do, and I see them all the time. As a gamer myself, their kids will often talk to me about the games that they're enjoying. These kids are between the ages of 6 and 12, and I can tell you with certainty that not a one of them would enjoy the vast majority of games on the Amico. They already know what they like, and what they like are fundamentally different from what the Amico offers. They like games like Fortnite, Minecraft and Super Mario Maker 2. They don't play the kind of simplistic games that are on the Amico - they find them to be boring. Even a lot of the free to play phone games that are popular these days bore them to tears. And yes, while this may only be a small group of people, I think that in general, this is how kids these days feel. They like two kinds of games in general - shooting games, and building games. And if the Amico doesn't have those? They won't be satisfied with it.

 

Kids don't want to play Pong, or Space Invaders, or Galaga, or anything like that. They just don't care about the games of yesteryear. So I think that if you're expecting parents to buy their kids a walled garden console that only has simplistic, retro-inspired games... all you're gonna get is disappointed kids in the end. And as for the families as a whole... I doubt you have any market there either. Most of the adults that aren't already hardcore gamers are extremely casual gamers who play things like solitaire and golf on their phones. To them, they already have a gaming device - their phones. They don't need another one. Trust me, I've been trying to get my uncle to borrow some of my games during the quarantine because he keeps complaining that he's bored, and he'd much rather play solitaire on his phone than my 3DS and a huge stack of games that I know would appeal to him if he gave them the chance. I think that if any families are gonna be buying the Amico, it will be almost purely for their children, and those children.... will probably be disappointed.

 

I feel like you have this vision, that the Amico is going to be the next Wii. That it's going to be this massive runaway success that changes the entire industry and brings casual gamers that stopped playing dedicated consoles post-Wii, back to gaming. I... don't think this is going to happen. At all. I think you are overestimating just how much casual gamers care about something like this. Or even more so, how many of them even know that the Amico exists. I mean, I browse gaming forums and various gaming Youtube channels every day, and I very rarely even hear a peep about the Amico. So what makes you think that the average family with non-gaming parents knows what the Amico is? Or that they have any intention of buying it?

 

I think that you're expecting that kids across the world are going to ask for an Amico for Christmas, and when they open it, they're going to be overjoyed that they got exactly what they wanted from Santa. But I feel that the more likely situation is that they're going to ask Santa for a Nintendo Switch, Playstation 5, or the Xbox Series X, but because it was cheaper and possibly bargain binned and "family friendly", they're going to open up an Amico and they're going to cry because they wanted Fortnite and the Amico doesn't have Fortnite, and grandpa just didn't know that there was a difference.

I'm just going to let you know right off the bat Tommy is not targeting kids. He is targeting adults, moms, and families. This is a console for older people to play with their families/kids together. It's something that kids can take a break from Minecraft or Super Mario Maker 2 to sit down and play with 3, 4, or 5 people together on the couch. 

I also know how little kids are (tons of cousins) and they, alone, would look at the Amico and just be like ... "Okay" and go back to Switch or Steam. They also get bored of phone games really quickly.

But it would be a different story if I sat them down with me, their mom, and my brother, and the cousins, with controllers together on TV. They want something with depth when alone, but if it was all of us together playing, they'd enjoy it a lot more. I definitely don't see Amico as being targeted towards kids, especially solo children. 

I wanted to thank you for the well written post with criticism. We don't get a lot of those. And I also wanted to say I think you may have some major misconceptions about marketing the Amico and what Tommy is doing that you seem overly confident in. Hopefully Tommy can answer all your questions. 

31 minutes ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Ah ha!   Now I know!

 

:)

 

I don't mind talking about the negative stuff from time to time.  Good for us all to vent once in awhile. 

 

 

I fully understand the need to vent part,especially in your situation and position.

I imagine that you really hold back a lot because you need to stay focused,nuetral,anti-inflammatory etc.

I know I wish people would back off bashing your great project,which I personally love and endorse 100%.

Let it succeed or fail on it's own merits,and grow and prosper naturally as it is unveiled over the course of time!👍😊

11 minutes ago, WhatWasThatSound said:

 

 

Anyway, yeah. I have the feeling that you're not gonna respond well to this message, but I would appreciate it if you would try and take some of this to heart. As it stands, I don't think that the Amico is going to be successful, but I think you could probably do a few things to make it worthwhile before it releases, and maybe aim it towards a market that is actually going to care about it. Because trust me, no child is going to care about the Amico.

 

(Edit: Minor formatting fix.)

Lol well I want to address just a few point you made. Lets start with you not having kids. I do and hes 21 as of yesterday.  And hes excited for the Amico.  And as for the games for 6 and up playing fortnite.  Many of my friends kids are not allowed because of the shooting other people.  And they also put limits on their kids internet time. So maybe the families your seeing dont do this but then thats a matter of how they are as parents. To me its on the side of bad parenting.  Good parents try to limit violence for as long as they can. As to the comment about Tommy and his demeanor.  You just showed you card too early and exposed yourself.  Likely you sre Tony or one of pattys frinds lol. Because ive been watching this unfold for a very long time now and your comments are way off. But nice try starting off all nice and all but you need to do alot better to fool us.