Intellivision Amico - Tommy Tallarico introduction + Q&A

18 minutes ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Yikes!  I feel like I've just been put in a time machine and gone back 2 years!  

 

 

Except this time I'm going to completely crowdfund it, make sure it's NOT for families (wait til you see how cool all the blood and gore look on in vector style graphics!), will take pre-orders and NOT refund or return money and will definitely not sell any merchandise for fans and especially not outreach to people to talk about it.

 

Phew!  I just saved myself a BUNCH of time.

 

 

 

 

 

All joking aside,

I wonder if it doesn't make sense to reach out to the Vectrex community?  Sure, it's tiny, but they've kinda got a champion in the wings they may not be aware of.  With his hands busy with the Amico ("Jeff, stand down that order to get on investigating lasers projecting vector graphics on a screen!  Stay the course!"     

Even if a tiny community of a couple thousand enthusiasts.. they might find it interesting to learn that the CEO heading Intellivision's resurgence, if he were to pick a next project near and dear on a personal level, would go Vectrex.  May find some crossover support.. if Intellivision struggles, Intellivision is going to have its hands full adjusting the business plan, looking for new funding, course correcting.  If it's a success, they just execute the same plan and ramp everything up to 10.  Sorry, Nigel says 11. 

Freeing some people up to take the Nextrex a little closer to reality.  And add some support from the retro community that didn't think they had a dog in the fight. 

22 minutes ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

STEAM and multiple controllers

I can't get stupid Steam to even map buttons for half of the controllers that I want to play Sonic Mania with. Good thing the Mega Drive Mini controller works with Steam since my wireless Genesis and Saturn controllers do not. Man I hate Steam so much. I always hated it, though, and I'd rather go back to the days of CD keys (and games on real discs). I avoided it as long as possible, but I finally made a Steam account on February 11, 2011, apparently. I picked an interesting day for that, it seems, because a certain favourite band of mine's birthday happens to be February 11, as well. 1996, in that case, but still.

6 minutes ago, RetroAdvisoryBoard said:

I wonder if it doesn't make sense to reach out to the Vectrex community?

Yes, I think this might be a good idea. I imagine a lot of them are probably getting tired of/worried about their aging hardware, at the least, and would be interested in at least knowing that someone cares enough to consider not only bringing it back, but doing it properly.

This post was just brought to my attention and I hate bringing up these guys but this is so bad and moronic that people need to see and understand the mentality, intelligence level, laziness and complete lack of research and knowledge that these 2 peddle.

I guess I was wrong about him.  He literally IS this dumb and uniformed.

Makes sense why he's so afraid to talk to me.  I'll obliterate his logic within minutes and deep down he knows it.

What a fraud.

For those of you interested in some "real" figures (and growth rates)...

1 hour ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

@RxScram!!!   Get on this!!!

 

 

Hi @Tommy Tallarico,

Okay! I'll have to stop work on the Amico cartridge adapter though. Sorry everybody who wanted a cart adapter! My boss has spoken!

Just now, RxScram said:

Hi @Tommy Tallarico,

 

Okay! I'll have to stop work on the Amico cartridge adapter though. Sorry everybody who wanted a cart adapter! My boss has spoken!

 

 

Do what you gotta do.

As long as it doesn't throw a wrench into the plans for the Intellistellar outer solar system probe and rover project, Astrosplash (heading for Titan's seas) and Amiconaut I (roving about Io around 2027)... provided there's no delays getting that Space Spartan V rocket ready?  Tommy said you guys were on the launchpad.  Tommy said.

1 hour ago, Blarneo said:

How is Pete getting his haircuts? 

I'm starting to look like one of those balding, long haired folk singers guesting on a 70s variety show.

1 hour ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

GOD!!  This guy is such a SHILL!!

Oh wait... I've never sent him any merchandise.  Damn.... I'll need to FIX THAT!!

 

 

Looks like you already did - there's an Amico on the shelf right behind him. 😄

P.S. Where's mine?

45 minutes ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

For those of you interested in some "real" figures (and growth rates)...

 

 

I'll just leave this here, since it might be somewhat related. Please disregard the clickbait title and read it anyway since it's relevant. Also check the date on this article: April 2010.

https://www.ign.com/articles/2010/04/07/hideo-kojima-predicts-console-less-gaming-future

Kojima has incredible foresight. Pretty much everything that he predicted in Metal Gear Solid 2 has happened, and he also predicted the rise of mobile gaming when it was still in its infancy. Now people are saying he predicted the coronavirus in Death Stranding. His office is about a 20 minute walk down the street from my house, but sadly I doubt they'd let me in to discuss the industry with him.

Kojima has some trauma since he was a child, his parents left him alone in the house many hours a day and he ended up watching dozens of movies. One of the movies was Escape from New York and I have a hunch it influenced some of his games.

The themes explored in the Death Stranding story stem probably from his childhood too, but sadly he "forgot" to add good dialogs or characters that made any sense this time. I haven't played it, but judging by the gameplay I watched I suspect it would have been much better if it worked like a Fumito Ueda game, with barely any dialogs and the players kind of creating their own fantasy world in their heads. 😐🤘

Perhaps he just needs to understand his own limitations as a creator. I still can't believe that MG2 was released in 1990 for the MSX2, it has many of the stuff that made MGS great in 1998.

Okay. Time to come out of the closet. This little punk is drawing me in & I'm too much of an "Old Dude" to change my real name to Blarneo on YouTube. I'm Trace Downing

3 hours ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Totally 100% true!  You absolutely NAILED IT!

I've said this before (and I'll reiterate again)... the #1 thing we find in all of our focus group testing and research data is that people want SIMPLICITY when it comes to gaming.  And NOT just the games themselves!  But the set-up and discovery as well.  It's literally at the top of every list and test we've done.  SAFE content is right behind it... but always #2.  Price is actually way down on the list!

Now ask yourself if setting up STEAM and multiple controllers on a PC and then hooking it to the TV in the living room (for an average mom in middle America) is SIMPLE.  Ask yourself is the Nintendo e-shop is simple (and figuring out which games are couch co-op and how many controllers you'll need to play said games).  Ask yourself what hyper-casual or edutainment games that you can play WITH others exist on the Switch.  These reasons are exactly why mobile DOMINATES.  As much as a pain in the ass it is (i.e. microtransactions, in app purchases, zero curation, no tactile controls, SOLITARY, etc.) it still has simple games and it's simple to use (just download what you want and hit the icon to start!). 

 

Now... imagine a world where all the BAD stuff that people don't like about mobile existed.

 

Enter....  Amico!

 

 

 

 

Imagine that...Pick a game, Play a game

Mind you,

I'm really going to miss wading thru hundreds or thousands of shovelware titles.

Sad that I won't have to wait hours for 10, 20, 30 (or more) gigs of day-one patch downloads.

I'm going to miss the lack of tactile feedback from those virtual touch-screen buttons while my sexy cheeto-dust covered fingers get in the way of the action on the screen.

Oh, and how can I forget, those ads, gem purchases, and exponential time-gates really bring me joy and complete my day. 

Most of all, how will I keep my voice in shape when I don't have to yell at my son on the other floor of the house (where the second xbox is) to stop spawn killing me?

44 minutes ago, RxScram said:

Hi @Tommy Tallarico,

 

Okay! I'll have to stop work on the Amico cartridge adapter though. Sorry everybody who wanted a cart adapter! My boss has spoken!

 

 

No please!!! Dont stop work on a cartridge adapter.  That would be the best thing ever !!!😲

Intellivision games through the Amico on my big screen would be amazing!👍

14 minutes ago, Blarneo said:

Okay. Time to come out of the closet. This little punk is drawing me in & I'm too much of an "Old Dude" to change my real name to Blarneo on YouTube. I'm Trace Downing

 

Hahahha!

I entered into that one as well.

Didn't realize it was you.  Bro!  Brah!  Bruh!!

(see we know all the cool slang now).

17 hours ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

I went to the opening of the Tron ride in Shanghai, China!  I was working on and producing BT's album and tour at the time (Electronic Opus) and he did the music for everything!  AND... we also happened to be in China for that month touring Video Games Live!  We even had special access to the Tron ride and I bought bagfuls of Shanghai Disney Tron merch!!

 

Are we going to get a ride review from you? Can't tell from the face if you did or not. Looking forward to the one they are building in Florida.

My favorite part with F1JV was when, after writing about 10-15 consecutive comments in the same thread, all in the comments section of a video defending a product he doesn't like, he said to Tommy:

"You think I CARE?"

Well, it looks like you DO care a bit, my friend. 😐

2 hours ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Totally 100% true!  You absolutely NAILED IT!

I've said this before (and I'll reiterate again)... the #1 thing we find in all of our focus group testing and research data is that people want SIMPLICITY when it comes to gaming.  And NOT just the games themselves!  But the set-up and discovery as well.  It's literally at the top of every list and test we've done.  SAFE content is right behind it... but always #2.  Price is actually way down on the list!

Now ask yourself if setting up STEAM and multiple controllers on a PC and then hooking it to the TV in the living room (for an average mom in middle America) is SIMPLE.  Ask yourself is the Nintendo e-shop is simple (and figuring out which games are couch co-op and how many controllers you'll need to play said games).  Ask yourself what hyper-casual or edutainment games that you can play WITH others exist on the Switch.  These reasons are exactly why mobile DOMINATES.  As much as a pain in the ass it is (i.e. microtransactions, in app purchases, zero curation, no tactile controls, SOLITARY, etc.) it still has simple games and it's simple to use (just download what you want and hit the icon to start!). 

 

Now... imagine a world where all the BAD stuff that people don't like about mobile existed.

 

Enter....  Amico!

 

 

 

 

*Movie trailer guys deep voice*
In a world full of first person shooters, games selling sex and violence, and story arcs with over long cut scenes that lend themselves to solo play.  The people are searching for a new experience with there families and friends. Enter Amico a new group gaming console from Intellivision where up to 8 people can play in a room together with games everyone can understand and enjoy. A change is coming will you join the fun with...

Amico: Together Again  

Two other questions, if you wouldn’t mind, Tommy...

1. Is the card game Fluxx on your radar? It’s by Looney Labs. Playdek makes their app. This is really the only game I play these days because it’s so easy for short bursts of time. (My joy for Xbox and Playstation gaming left me some time back.) With your controller, it would be perfect for everyone to see their own cards while the TV shows the main window of control cards. (I was also going to mention Boss Monster but I’m not sure their artwork is what you’re looking at now as I believe it’s got that retro look. Great game, though.)

2. A question about controller battery management. Let’s say, heaven forbid, I know I’m not going to be playing the Amico for an extended period. Should the controllers be removed from the console? I guess this points to over-charging issues that we’ve seen with other devices, and I don’t know if that comes into play with the Amico controller.

Thank you again.

3 hours ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

 

Ah!  Yeah!  Almost forgot... definitely want some KICK ASS SPEAKERS (and a small sub-woofer!) and yes.. wireless rechargable controllers.

 

 

Welp... there goes my $149 price point!

See how hard this is guys!!!

 

 

Let's see... $149-$200 for the consumer Vectrex model. $2799.95 "Beemtrex game package" option from BMW. BARGAIN!🥳

Okay lets get to the bottom line here Tommy

I want Dracula

I want Beauty and Beast

I want Shark Shark

I want Night Stalker

I want Sanfu

and and and I want Venture

Get me that and I am sold

and whatever else comes to mind

2 hours ago, RxScram said:

Hi @Tommy Tallarico,

 

Okay! I'll have to stop work on the Amico cartridge adapter though. Sorry everybody who wanted a cart adapter! My boss has spoken!

 

 

Wait??? You promised me you'd hook up surveillance video from John Alvarado's house.

Forget this silly Amico stuff.

Let's get back to the important stuff...watching John's every move through the use of high tech Navy grade spy equipment. 

1 hour ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Here's a new quick Amico product overview we recently put together. But you already knew that because you're SUBSCRIBED to our YouTube channel...

 

RIGHT?!?!?

 

Little idea that could be a cute touch.

Tommy's nephew exclaiming "Amico!" is adorable.

However, what if, because a number of these machines are being gifted/bought by grandparents to play with grandchildren (two such machines on order for my parents and in-laws, thanks!).. what if... we could record the kids for a second or a second and a half and it synced that welcome to THAT console.  So whenever the grandparents booted up their Amico, be it to play with their grandkids, be it to play cards or sports or recreational games with friends, or, if Amico makes its way into senior living homes.. how meaningful would it be to hear their own grandchildren or for kids to hear themselves exclaiming "Amico!" or "Let's play" "Love you grandma, kick ass with Borderlands 2!" or some short quip upon start-up?

Maybe it'll be less universal than the PlayStation intro or "Sega!" or the GameCube start-up screen.

But a helluva lot more personal.

(let's not talk about it being the cherry on top helping promote sales to parents looking for the meaningful gift for their own senior-generation parents so the kids can play with grandma and grandpa.  I know this thing has zero appeal to anybody, and wouldn't want to appear to be swindling people by playing to their sentimental sides).

Screw it.  Yes I do.  You should sell it in a box with a giant, sad-eyes puppy blazed across the box, as if to say, "won't you take me home?" 

2 hours ago, IntelliMission said:

Kojima has some trauma since he was a child, his parents left him alone in the house many hours a day and he ended up watching dozens of movies. One of the movies was Escape from New York and I have a hunch it influenced some of his games.

Fun fact - me and my college roommate where brainstorming cool character names like "Snake Plissken" after watching Escape from New York. We came up with Grudge.... Quimby. I always hated the Quimby last name but he loved it so "GrudgeQ" because my handle.

2 hours ago, RxScram said:

Hi @Tommy Tallarico,

 

Okay! I'll have to stop work on the Amico cartridge adapter though. Sorry everybody who wanted a cart adapter! My boss has spoken!

 

 

Is this actually a thing? That would be great!