Intellivision Amico - Tommy Tallarico introduction + Q&A

2 hours ago, LePionnier said:

I liked it when you talked about his wife, and yes our family are often the harshest criticism.

(Besides, if I can allow a question to Tommy, does your wife find it difficult to see you working so often (Meeting, Interview, Atariage, recording sound, reading comic books ... lol etc)

Not really.  We have a weekly calendar that rotates so each day of the week we put time aside (no phones, etc.) to spend with each other.  Every day is a new activity which then rotates from week to week.  For example, new recipe night, new game night, new movie night, teach dogs new trick, outdoor activity, new drive or hike, etc., etc.

The secret is to put as much caring and passion in the time spent with her... as I do with any of my other projects.  As she has told me in the past... she would rather have an hour of my divided attention then an entire day with my mind in other places.

2 hours ago, LePionnier said:

Thank you very much for this interview.

P.s. What time is it live today with ReviewtechUSA ?

 

Rich didn't have a chance to promote it the way he wanted so we're going to move it to either Thursday or Friday of this week.  I'll keep everyone here posted.

1 hour ago, speedy-a said:

Its not only Intellision gets hate from some so called Hardcore Gamer YouTubers  ... Also Nintendo is often a company thats not liked by some and also some Reporters: Vara Dark on the topic with Nintendo: https://youtu.be/DYnoj-21tjo

 

Is BBG-Entertainment also developing for the Amico? When I look at the games trailer I think they do. Really like their Boulder Dash 30th Anniversary game DynaBlaster Amico Version....

 

Really happy as Pete in his new Video that we get an R-Type Game on Amico sometimes in the Future.

 

 

 

 

Yep!  BBG Entertainment is one of our German developers.  They are working on a few games with us.

I forgot about the plans for the middle east. It came up in the interview with Michael. 

So if the Amico launches in 4 or 5 countries with at least 20,000 POs, it's already over the 100,000 mark.

And correct me if I'm wrong but 20,000 POs is a very small number of units in all reality, but that's actually a pretty big number for the Amico right, at least at first?

And we had people saying 5,000 units max... 😆

2 hours ago, GrudgeQ said:

3 hours ago, LePionnier said:

I think they will be worse than today. They are currently recruiting their soldiers. Unfortunately, they want to start a war.

 

I can tell you they aren't doing very well recruiting because it is basically 6 to 10 people with some shadow accounts and has been for a long time. Meanwhile just on the Reddit Amico forum (Reddit is not really a great match for the Amico's fanbase) we are getting one or two subs *a day*. So in other words we get more people interested in the Amico each week then they have in total.

I should have said "They are currently trying to recruit ..."

Can you believe they are reaching interviewer before they talk to Tommy ! Unbelievable !

3 hours ago, LePionnier said:

They will try to find all the negative exceptions.

A controller that does not work among the 100,000 sold !

They are going to look for a person who has dropped his controller and smashed the television screen like seen with the Wii !

(If they can't find any video, they will buy a controller to do it themselves ! lol) Etc.

 

I think they will be worse than today. They are currently recruiting their soldiers. Unfortunately, they want to start a war.

But I think in about a year, most of the storm will be over.

I think we've already seen them changing their tactics.  I'm sure we can all remember that, when the Amico was first announced, the comparisons to the Coleco Chameleon started almost immediately.  According to these wizards of smart, the Amico was "just another Chameleon" and therefore "had to be a scam," and they worked so hard to squeeze the Amico into that mold that they began to see every positive statement as a "paid endorsement," every enthusiast as a "shill," and communities like ours as "cults of Kool-Aid drinkers."  As the old saying goes, if all you have is a hammer, then everything looks like a nail.  The problem, of course, is that the Chameleon was nothing at all like the Amico; it was never supported by a realistic business case, and it never even existed other than lies and an empty Atari Jaguar shell.

Now that we've seen much more of the Amico, its games, and the people behind it, the Chameleon comparisons increasingly look as ridiculous as they always were.  I think that's why we're now seeing them drag out the poor Ouya so often: they may grudgingly admit that the Amico is real, but they'll insist that it is "doomed to failure" (for reasons they can never seem to convincingly articulate) and is therefore "just another Ouya."  Of course, they're just as wrong about that as they've been about everything else, but they're too busy trolling discussion boards and comment sections to stop and realize how bad their track record has been.  If they did, it might occur to them that maybe they should just sit down and shut up and let the marketplace decide what succeeds or fails, which is how it's supposed to work.

3 hours ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Did you ever go to Old Orchard Beach in Maine?  My family rented a cottage there almost every year when we were growing up.

 

For this first version of Cornhole folks won't be able to design their own boards.  Trying to keep the first versions of everything as simple and non-intimidating as possible.  But something we would look into for Cornhole 2 for sure.

 

Makes sense about the boards-minor stuff.  I was impressed you had already put wind effects in and thought the animations were great also.

Yep, been to Old Orchard Beach-OOB for short!  Mainers didn't really go there as much though, we tended to go places the Quebecois (and their Speedos😲) didn't find as popular.  It's really busy and a lot of fun though.  Did you ever go in June?  You'd remember it, the water is SO COLD. So cold.  Shrinkage to the max, Costanza!

We’ve seen a lot of blogging and videos for both sides, obviously, as some of us think this is gonna be great while some of us think it’s gonna be a big ol’ flop, but it seems like all the love/hate has one thing in common – it seems to come from folks who are somewhat connected to gaming, whether via retro systems, modern systems, or anything that can be called a video game.  More than just the "casual gaming crowd," that is.  Atari Age members, youtube guys with gaming related channels, write ups from tech sites, etc etc.

Have we seen any excitement, love, or hate yet from the casual or non-gaming demo?   That large part of the world who has little to no interest in PS, Xbox, or Nintendo?     Like “A Moms Take,” for example – a blogger who writes about toys, family friendly games and gadgets and more.  Or “Mommy TecH Bytes, Geek Dad, Dada Rocks.”   Although those last 2 did do write up on Animal Crossing, so guess they have some sort Switch interest.

Or Mags like New Parent Magazine, Family Tree Magazine, Good HouseKeeping, Fun For Kids, just to throw a bunch out there.

I’ve noticed a lot of the hate and criticisms are dismissed (rightfully so, I’m sure) as “they’re not our target market,” so just wondering if anything has been coming out yet that is from the target market.  As a huge video game fan going back to gen 1, I know all the reasons I’m personally excited (as well as reasons I’m a bit underwhelmed), but I’d love to hear what the consumer completely removed from the gaming world has to say about this potential new “bringing the family together to play” gadget.

Tommy, a quote from my favorite tv drama of all time: “I’m not in the meth business. I’m in the empire business.” – Walter White+

So Tommy my question is when Amico becomes as succesful as most of us believe it will, any chance you gather up your resources with the intent to purchase and bring Atari into the Amico family? ATARCO anyone?  It could be the system structured to reach those who can't see the value of an Amico.  I suppose I'm tongue in cheek but then again........

Is it just me ...

My son  (8 years old) and her sister (17 years old) are trying to play together Overcooked on the Switch !

But I only hear them screaming "What are you doing", "Why are you doing this" and some insults. And now, as I am writing this, my youngest has just left while crying in his room !!

We really need Amico Right now ! How many units do you have at your disposal ? 🙄 lol

1 hour ago, malrak said:

Have we seen any excitement, love, or hate yet from the casual or non-gaming demo?

I won't speak for Tommy, but my impression is that IE hasn't begun its major marketing push into that demographic yet.  The scheduled release is still six months away, and it wouldn't be wise for them to start a marketing campaign too early; if they did, the interest they generate might dissipate before the product is even available.  It's easy for communities like ours to forget that, as passionate and as connected to the history of Intellivision as many of us are, our numbers are too small to make a venture like the Amico successful all by ourselves.  We can help to promote it, but in the end, we're a vanishingly small sliver of the target audience.  Most of that audience isn't yet aware of the Amico, but I'm sure that will begin to change over the summer.

27 minutes ago, LePionnier said:

Is it just me ...

My son  (8 years old) and her sister (17 years old) are trying to play together Overcooked on the Switch !

But I only hear them screaming "What are you doing", "Why are you doing this" and some insults. And now, as I am writing this, my youngest has just left while crying in his room !!

We really need Amico Right now ! How many units do you have at your disposal ? 🙄 lol

Overcooked is way too strict with the time limit. Also chaotic the way that the level changes. I also got frustrated with that game.  Couldn't get enough stars to advance to the next level. 

1 hour ago, malrak said:

Have we seen any excitement, love, or hate yet from the casual or non-gaming demo?   That large part of the world who has little to no interest in PS, Xbox, or Nintendo?     Like “A Moms Take,” for example – a blogger who writes about toys, family friendly games and gadgets and more.  Or “Mommy TecH Bytes, Geek Dad, Dada Rocks.”   Although those last 2 did do write up on Animal Crossing, so guess they have some sort Switch interest.

Or Mags like New Parent Magazine, Family Tree Magazine, Good HouseKeeping, Fun For Kids, just to throw a bunch out there.

 

I’ve noticed a lot of the hate and criticisms are dismissed (rightfully so, I’m sure) as “they’re not our target market,” so just wondering if anything has been coming out yet that is from the target market.  As a huge video game fan going back to gen 1, I know all the reasons I’m personally excited (as well as reasons I’m a bit underwhelmed), but I’d love to hear what the consumer completely removed from the gaming world has to say about this potential new “bringing the family together to play” gadget.

 

This is a fantastic point and the answer to the question is YES! And it is overwhelmingly positive.  Zero negativity from non-gaming or casual mom's in the media.  Aside from our extensive focus group testing... lets only discuss what casual or non-gamers think... or even more specific... the audience we're going for.  Every article I'm about to reference is written by a "mom" in our target audience.

https://mom2.com/official-sponsor-intellivision-entertainment/

"Intellivision Amico is a home video game console designed to bring social fun back to the living room.  We are so excited for this new system."

https://gritdaily.com/intellivision-four-decades-later/

Over the years different genres of gaming evolved along with technology, gaming became more isolating, but exactly why?

Was it because games became more complicated and competitive, requiring players to concentrate more?  Or was it because as they became more complicated, parents gave up trying to stay involved?

Intellivision Amico is exciting because it is focused on bringing family, friends and generations back together in a room.

https://www.crresearch.com/youthbeat/blog/technology-for-kids-consumer-electronics-show-2020-recap

The Cool New Toys

Amico, the new gaming “console” from Intellivision (launching October 2020), is affordable at $200 and family-friendly in several ways. It comes with two controllers, though up to an additional six virtual ones can be added by downloading an app to smart devices. It’s portable—Sally can take it over to a friend’s house and access all of her games. It doesn’t tempt kids with in-app purchases.  And, a quarter of its library is “retro reimagined” games that parents will recall fondly, like Frogger, modernized for all-family enjoyment. Nintendo Switch had best be looking over its shoulder.

Although written by a dad, here's a website for parents.  You'll notice all of the positive overtones.  We don't know these folks and have never met them.  You won't see snarky opinions or wrongly formatted paragraphs and misspellings.

https://kidscreen.com/2020/03/25/intellivision-goes-retro-to-get-kids-back-in-the-game/

The messaging, simplicity and S.A.F.E. are HUGE reasons these folks love it. 

The bottom line... all of these arguments that hardcore elitists make don't really exist in the real world.  I don't need to make counterpoints to those arguments to those folks... because they already know it to be true.  All we need to do is show them the solution.  And when they hear about everything we've done... they are 100% on board from the get go.

On 4/18/2020 at 11:26 AM, Tommy Tallarico said:

 

And I always LOVED the Carvel guys voice at the end of those commercials!  I'm assuming he was the owner.

 

For those of you who didn't grow up in the northeast part of the U.S. in the 70's & 80's... here's a little "taste" (pun intended!)

 

 

Carvel!!!! That sends back memories. There was one not even a 1/4 mile away from me when I lived in Ct! I tried a Carvel cake that they sometimes have at the local walmart.. Not the same. My local Carvel turned into either a dumpling house or a "Puff City" smoke shop. These are sad times. But I think I can get through them. sniff sniff.

On 4/19/2020 at 1:48 PM, ASalvaro said:

i love ALL 80s pop music lol...i remember those posters from Spencers..i had the Heather Thomas one 

Had that one.. But this was my favorite:

Cleaning search history..... NOW.....

2 hours ago, Blarneo said:

It is the oldest Six Flags park in the chain.

 

They own 16 parks (and right now, none of them are open or making a dime). SF filed for bankruptcy in 2010 after the big recession. I don't see how they can avoid another one after this. They're not diversified or full of money like Disney or Universal. There's was a report that even Disney is hemorhaging money daily and has cancelled the building of some new attractions set to open in 2022 & beyond.

 

I hope we don't lose our theme parks.

I did not know it was the oldest Six Flags...  And I still call it Riverside.  OLD People.. Ya know what I mean.  LOL

Yes, Disney just stopped paying people making 100K...  Haven't checked the stock price, but they were down graded twice in the past couple days.

Man,  I am hoping TRON opens on time!  I am a WDW fan.  Happiest place on Earth!  ( not so much for the workers :(  )

At least Disney is making money from Streaming services and people like me that still want the Discs.  Again, OLD People!

Of course TV revenue and gaming helps.  And once the Amico sells 10 Million copies of Tron ?X?, they will be okay.

Just need to hold on until 10/10/2020l

56 minutes ago, LePionnier said:

Is it just me ...

My son  (8 years old) and her sister (17 years old) are trying to play together Overcooked on the Switch !

But I only hear them screaming "What are you doing", "Why are you doing this" and some insults. And now, as I am writing this, my youngest has just left while crying in his room !!

We really need Amico Right now ! How many units do you have at your disposal ? 🙄 lol

My wife absolutely HATES Overcooked.  And if she doesn't like it... then I'm pretty much not going to play it either as the best part is the couch co-op.

The reason she hates it is because she doesn't find the analog stick to be a great input device for this type of game.  Always struggling with it to put the plates and items in the exact spot.  She hates the limited time constraints and how it is always in a state of panic as opposed to just enjoying something.  And finally... she felt the difficult level ramped up WAY too quickly.  By Level 3 it had become FRUSTRATING as opposed to challenging.

I actually agree with her as well... but can see the merits as to why others would enjoy it and why it's become popular.  I can definitely appreciate it and love that it exists.  But the thing I find interesting is that games like this and say Castle Crashers are always thrown in my face to somehow PROVE that Nintendo and the other consoles are ALREADY DOING what we are (so we should just give up and stop trying).  But I would NOT classify Castle Crashers and Overcooked as games that non-gamers or hyper-casuals will enjoy.  Would my mom ever play Castle Crashers or Overcooked??  Hell no.  Never.   But she did buy a Wii so she could bowl.  It's like on that PU Podcast video I watched yesterday when Ian declared how casual and accessible Animal Crossing is.. therefore Nintendo already has the "casual" and family market covered and there is ZERO reason for another family machine to exist.  In his mind... he actually thinks that folks like my mom and non-gamers would enjoy Animal Crossing.  Talk about a guy within his own bubble and having zero clue about the rest of the world.  I also find it interesting that he starts to physically twitch as his eyes get wider and start to dart back and forth and he starts making even more awkward hand and finger gestures whenever the thought of Amico enters his mind.  And although he would never admit it, I'm assuming that deep down he's just scared that Intellivision might be on to something and he doesn't want anything to take away from his precious deity that he has worshiped at the alter for his entire life.

Just an opinion and hunch. 

1 hour ago, YerOut said:

Tommy, a quote from my favorite tv drama of all time: “I’m not in the meth business. I’m in the empire business.” – Walter White+

So Tommy my question is when Amico becomes as succesful as most of us believe it will, any chance you gather up your resources with the intent to purchase and bring Atari into the Amico family? ATARCO anyone?  It could be the system structured to reach those who can't see the value of an Amico.  I suppose I'm tongue in cheek but then again........

 

 

I'd buy Vectrex first and revive that. 

7 minutes ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

I'd buy Vectrex first and revive that. 

 

 

Good. Then you won't have to bomb 2 of your rivals by making a deal to plant one in one's wheelchair.

Editing: I never saw one in the wild, but I'd be very interested in you reviving it, as long as IE makes new games for it & uses a controller that is close to the old one.

Pat: But Ian! We already have the Switch! 

Ian: That %&^%$^!%(&%($($*^@#&%!&^($&A%^%#E$#$^@$*$(   &*(%$&*!$^(@%$(*@#^#@!!!!!!! Good job Buddy!

5 minutes ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

I'd buy Vectrex first and revive that. 

 

 

Lol love your response 

10 minutes ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

I also find it interesting that he starts to physically twitch as his eyes get wider and start to dart back and forth and he starts making even more awkward hand and finger gestures whenever the thought of Amico enters his mind.  

 

Maybe he has tourettes.  🤣

I was diagnosed with a wee bit of tourettes myself.  When agitated for any reason, I have to focus really hard to fight off the twitch.  Maybe that's his deal, too.

Standing in a 10 items or less lane, stuck behind someone who has 3 times that many items is hell for people like me. 

13 minutes ago, 1980gamer said:

Man,  I am hoping TRON opens on time!  I am a WDW fan. 

That one is still being built, as is the new Guardians coaster at EPCOT.

But that replacement to Rock N Rollercoaster may be put on hold even after the license with Aerosmith ends.

Maybe they'll get INXS and keep it open.

21 hours ago, Intellivision Master said:

 

Good video. I see one of them chimed in as if his ears were itching. "You talking about me Dude?"🤣

Ian has health issues and needs tranquilizer pills, so yeah, we should probably stop making comments about the way he moves. 🖖 I only watched like a couple of their podcasts, but somehow managed to find about this.

34 minutes ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

My wife absolutely HATES Overcooked.  And if she doesn't like it... then I'm pretty much not going to play it either as the best part is the couch co-op.

The reason she hates it is because she doesn't find the analog stick to be a great input device for this type of game.  Always struggling with it to put the plates and items in the exact spot.  She hates the limited time constraints and how it is always in a state of panic as opposed to just enjoying something.  And finally... she felt the difficult level ramped up WAY too quickly.  By Level 3 it had become FRUSTRATING as opposed to challenging.

 

I actually agree with her as well... but can see the merits as to why others would enjoy it and why it's become popular.  I can definitely appreciate it and love that it exists.  But the thing I find interesting is that games like this and say Castle Crashers are always thrown in my face to somehow PROVE that Nintendo and the other consoles are ALREADY DOING what we are (so we should just give up and stop trying).  But I would NOT classify Castle Crashers and Overcooked as games that non-gamers or hyper-casuals will enjoy.  Would my mom ever play Castle Crashers or Overcooked??  Hell no.  Never.   But she did buy a Wii so she could bowl.  It's like on that PU Podcast video I watched yesterday when Ian declared how casual and accessible Animal Crossing is.. therefore Nintendo already has the "casual" and family market covered and there is ZERO reason for another family machine to exist.  In his mind... he actually thinks that folks like my mom and non-gamers would enjoy Animal Crossing.  Talk about a guy within his own bubble and having zero clue about the rest of the world.  I also find it interesting that he starts to physically twitch as his eyes get wider and start to dart back and forth and he starts making even more awkward hand and finger gestures whenever the thought of Amico enters his mind.  And although he would never admit it, I'm assuming that deep down he's just scared that Intellivision might be on to something and he doesn't want anything to take away from his precious deity that he has worshiped at the alter for his entire life.

Just an opinion and hunch. 

 

 

Actually a “concern” I wanted to address but you’re on it.  How do you tell games that have more casual appeal, were the controls simplified, maybe the earlier levels or settings allowing for a less high pressure environment.

When you mentioned that the Karma Engine wouldn’t apply as single player, I was wondering if such allowances for more forgiving play could be adjusted.  The grandparents whose Amico was an primary device for grandkids’ visits, but may also get a good deal of solo play.  Was hoping to hear it is keeping the less savvy in mind along with all the high scores by space and time.

23 hours ago, IntelliMission said:

 

It's the sound of 10 users completely destroying your arguments.

...Any many more users that see the wall of text for what it is and couldn't be bothered to refute it...since there are 560+ pages already answering everything, multiple times over, including if and why a small detail changed for whatever reason... FFS