Intellivision Amico - Tommy Tallarico introduction + Q&A

36 minutes ago, bigdaddygamestudio said:

Funny thing as a progressive rocker and head banger in the 70/80s its funny that 40 years later the best thing coming out of Japan isnt Nintendo, its their girl hard rock bands.  Yep you heard me right.  You want great hard rock these days you go the ladies of Japan

 

 

WOW! Not your typical girl band, they rock.

15 hours ago, 1001lives said:

Not to steer it back to negativity, but... Just wanted to post up some more fun stats...

 

 

These guys are just driving themselves into a pit. Total stagnation. Stuck at 242k subs, with less and less video views every month. 

 

They also lose 1,000 subs and gain 1,000 subs frequently. 

 

Guess when their latest drop in subs occurred?

 

Last week.

 

Just for fun (yeah I have a weird sense of fun) I looked at 10 YouTubers covering the Nintendo & Retro scene. I wanted people in the same genre roughly because different types of channels may have different percentages of watchers to subscribers. I also tried to keep most of the viewer sizes within the same rough range but I threw in Scott the Woz & Retro Gamer Boy to show a big & small channel. Videos have watch rates that are all over the map so I 1) started with the first video that was listed by YouTube as being uploaded 1 week ago (so a frequent uploader wouldn't be penalized because no one has watched their videos yet) and 2) I entered the viewership of the next 10 videos to try to get a decent average. As you can see the average percentage of viewers to subscribers is around 29% BUT Scott the Woz is killing it and Pat isn't doing too well, so if you take out those two highs & lows, you get 23% - which is probably a closer number. That means roughly about 1/4 of retro/Nintendo subscribers watch any given video on average.

As you can see Pat is struggling with viewership compared to subscribers with only John Handcock scoring in the same range. If you don't know John's channel has been involved in a lot of controversy recently and I am sure that is effecting recent viewer numbers. It just goes to show you can have the subs, but it don't mean much if you ain't got the views.

3 hours ago, Saldo said:

Don’t laugh, but I actually have one of those in my basement! I didn’t buy it directly, it was in the current house I’m in when we bought it.  Being the pack rat that I am I couldn’t bring myself to throw it out.  I just thought it was funny that someone actually bought it.  Now I’ve never used it (that would be pretty gross) but my wife keeps threatening to use it on me if I don’t stop complaining about how long my hair is getting!

My brother told me my dad used one. Lol told me he said it worked great.  

12 hours ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

How about others here??  Tell us the significance of your name you use in AA.

Like I mentioned in my first post, I’m not really interested in retro gaming, so I joined AA just to follow this thread about Amico, and since my name is also Tommy, I thought it would be confusing to put that in the account name, so I just put my nationality instead😄

7 hours ago, bigdaddygamestudio said:

 

It doesnt get more 80s then Aldo Nova.  I mean this video might as well be a time capsule.

Ahh, Aldo Nova... the dress is blue and black/dress is white and gold gem of the early 80s.

"I hear 1979's Jefferson Starship's Jane!"

"No I hear 1980's Loverboy's Turn Me Loose!"

Yes, and yes.  But nobody's contending the leopard print jumpsuit.  That's all him.

11 hours ago, OEB_Pete said:

One day when I am all grown up I want to be in the yearly Amico video   One can dream and aspire to Riggs and MJR status, one day little grasshopper one day  

I think we'll need an End of Year video JUST FOR YOU!!!!!!

11 hours ago, CurlyQ said:

 

The 6th pack-in game has finally been revealed! 😁👍

 

 

I seriously need to hire you!!

16 hours ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

How about others here??  Tell us the significance of your name you use in AA.

Mine's a spin on the line from Dug the dog in UP. I usually go by the nickname squirrel. . .but that name is frequently taken. I sometimes use southpaw nothin' (the Apollo Creed reax line from Rocky) as a username here and there. But I was once on a college basketball board that became very contentious during one period, and I was banned as a user. Shortly after that movie came out, I was allowed back, but I couldn't use the original name, so I started using squirrelgotdead. My twitter is squirrelystew, which is based on the Swedish Chef skit from the John Denver episode of The Muppet Show.

9 hours ago, The Atari Creep said:

That shit is going on a t shirt!!! With @Tommy Tallarico blessing of course. If not I can crop it.

I'd be PISSED if you cropped it!!  I want to see the ENTIRE THING!!!

Hahahahha!!  This is gonna be great.

9 hours ago, bigdaddygamestudio said:

 

It doesnt get more 80s then Aldo Nova.  I mean this video might as well be a time capsule.

Sadly I have a cheetah jacket just like that somewhere.  Thankfully not the pants... I leave that for cousin Stephen.   

🐈

8 hours ago, bigdaddygamestudio said:

Funny thing as a progressive rocker and head banger in the 70/80s its funny that 40 years later the best thing coming out of Japan isnt Nintendo, its their girl hard rock bands.  Yep you heard me right.  You want great hard rock these days you go the ladies of Japan

 

 

HOLY CRAP!!!

How did I not know this was a thing?!?!?!

9 hours ago, bigdaddygamestudio said:

 

It doesnt get more 80s then Aldo Nova.  I mean this video might as well be a time capsule.

He was awesome! Excellent guitar player... for a Canadian.😈

6 hours ago, GrudgeQ said:

 

Just for fun (yeah I have a weird sense of fun) I looked at 10 YouTubers covering the Nintendo & Retro scene. I wanted people in the same genre roughly because different types of channels may have different percentages of watchers to subscribers. I also tried to keep most of the viewer sizes within the same rough range but I threw in Scott the Woz & Retro Gamer Boy to show a big & small channel. Videos have watch rates that are all over the map so I 1) started with the first video that was listed by YouTube as being uploaded 1 week ago (so a frequent uploader wouldn't be penalized because no one has watched their videos yet) and 2) I entered the viewership of the next 10 videos to try to get a decent average. As you can see the average percentage of viewers to subscribers is around 29% BUT Scott the Woz is killing it and Pat isn't doing too well, so if you take out those two highs & lows, you get 23% - which is probably a closer number. That means roughly about 1/4 of retro/Nintendo subscribers viewers watch any given video on average.

 

As you can see Pat is struggling with viewership compared to subscribers with only John Handcock scoring in the same range. If you don't know John's channel has been involved in a lot of controversy recently and I am sure that is effecting recent viewer numbers. It just goes to show you can have the subs, but it don't mean much if you ain't got the views.

 

 

 

 

::hides his own sprawling spreadsheets collection on gaming YouTubers numbers over the last few years:: 

That's just weird man, just weird.  😐

This isn't a Pat thread, so a fair warning for most who couldn't care, scroll past, I know it's uninteresting to all but a couple! 

..

Re: numbers here, Pat's in particular - his subscriber count is mostly a legacy artifact of an earlier Youtube environment - he plateaued in early 2017.  Four years to get to 10,000 subscribers.  Began collaborating with larger gaming YouTubers of that era, and switched to a mostly podcast format with Ian by late 2013 - the duo were one of the earlier to opine on video game trends with a regular show. And they found some success (~20,000 subscribers in 2012 to 100,000+ subscribers by late 2014, reaching 200,000 in early 2016).  But the coverage was shallow, more timely video game happenings guys started popping up (RGT85), polished content started popping up (the SpawnWaves), more earnest Nintendo fans covering any Nintendo news (BeatemUps) and those with much deeper, thorough coverage (Arlo).  More professional flea market shows (Game Chasers, Pixel Game Squad) while he's mostly abandoned that stream of interested viewers.  If you wanted a take on any trending video game topic, there were three dozen other options consistently delivering.  Pat never adjusted.  Pat's kind of going through the motions.  And over the next 36 months he gained fewer than 30,000 subscribers.  Now he's lucky to get 4,000 new subscribers over the course of a year.  People comment that Pat & Ian screwed up with their tirade against Diablo's fanbase (Nov 2018).. but they were flatlining for years before.  And their average video get only about twice the views as someone like Smash JT - also covering gaming trend topics, but only about 12,000 subscribers.  So while Pat says he's more well-known on YouTube than Tommy, and in general recognition among the average YouTube viewer, I'd agree - Tommy has much more relevent notoriety and prestige and total real-world recognition by a factor of 500 considering hundreds of VGL concerts.. but Pat has more casual people clicking about YouTube who've stumbled across his content and have seen his name.. I'd take the former any day, but, hey, you take the pyrrhic victories I guess.  And that's not to say Pat doesn't still have the odd hit - nobody of larger size pays nearly as much attention to Amico and Atari VCS, so he's occupying that public space.  And he'll talk generally about game collecting, the odd retro news that emerges and pricing variations for collectors who want to have their preconceptions on pricing trends validated.  But there isn't much of an audience seeking his angle and topics out, and I think he projects that stagnation as the entirety of retro gaming stagnating.. yet you see someone like Scott the Woz talking Game Boy Advance or The Gaming Historian covering Tetris or Super Mario Bros 3 or the Aladdin Deck Enhancer and, it clearly isn't stagnant.  People just want better content. 

And people are generally more apt to subscribe than unsubscribe.  There's zero penalty for subscribers to stay subscribed if not interested - for one, if any topic really hits big, they see his video in the odd feed, but it's not so often that they see most of the content they aren't interested in.  YouTube mostly buries his videos if they're not watching frequently.  I trialed this with a four YouTubers I don't watch particularly much of but had a mix of bigger hits.  I binged on their videos for a month.  Then went five months without clicking content.  Results:  for the next half year I only saw them if they had a really high performing video (over 100k views in a week).  For all intents and purposes, they were hidden away and not producing content I clicked, so Google adjusted what was presented to me. 

I'd love to have Pat's absolute view numbers, but I think the depressing reality is that 7% Grudge highlights - those people who've found him, subscribed for more of whatever they liked, and how few still watch his content.  That's telling in how many viewers look to the podcast as A) informative, B) entertaining or C) much relevant.  *WE'RE* talking about him because of his particular interest in covering Amico and his irrational take - or his irrational behavior in not wanting to really dive into why that take, how good a case he's built.  But outside of us, it's a pretty small number.  He shows up at retro gaming cons.  He got behind a retro video game store documentary that needed some sort of audience awareness to help fund and produce, and he's put out a couple collaborative review books - pretty nice compendiums, if not terribly deep, good coffee table books.  But he's largely spinning his wheels, and doesn't appear to be trying all that hard.  I see the comments on every other video commenting on topics Pat is heavily covering, and the takes are all the same.. Pat used to be relevant in retro gaming, a leading talking head on YouTube when there were a few dozen.  But the audience tired of the half-efforts and entitlement, and moved on.  

Looking forward to the general Amico marketing to kick in, for the elevation of some of these YouTube personalities covering the Amico to gain a little momentum, for bigger channels to realize "OMG, this thing really is around the corner AND IT HAS NEW GAMES?!?!?!  EXCLUSIVE, kinda cool games?!?"  Amico needs lots of coverage, and every day that I see the search results of "Intellivision Amico" and Pat the NES Punk doesn't have 10 of the top 50 videos, that his content is falling down the search results and better content is rising in the initial results, is a good day. 

8 hours ago, GrudgeQ said:

 

Just for fun (yeah I have a weird sense of fun) I looked at 10 YouTubers covering the Nintendo & Retro scene. I wanted people in the same genre roughly because different types of channels may have different percentages of watchers to subscribers. I also tried to keep most of the viewer sizes within the same rough range but I threw in Scott the Woz & Retro Gamer Boy to show a big & small channel. Videos have watch rates that are all over the map so I 1) started with the first video that was listed by YouTube as being uploaded 1 week ago (so a frequent uploader wouldn't be penalized because no one has watched their videos yet) and 2) I entered the viewership of the next 10 videos to try to get a decent average. As you can see the average percentage of viewers to subscribers is around 29% BUT Scott the Woz is killing it and Pat isn't doing too well, so if you take out those two highs & lows, you get 23% - which is probably a closer number. That means roughly about 1/4 of retro/Nintendo subscribers watch any given video on average.

 

As you can see Pat is struggling with viewership compared to subscribers with only John Handcock scoring in the same range. If you don't know John's channel has been involved in a lot of controversy recently and I am sure that is effecting recent viewer numbers. It just goes to show you can have the subs, but it don't mean much if you ain't got the views.

 

 

 

 

Hmm... his percentages are really abysmal compared to others.  Not even close in fact.  

I thought the low single digit (7%) was weak, but had no comparison as it isn't my world.  I know that a 10% open rate for e-mails is pretty good (12% is the national average), 20% is really good and when you get into the 50% - 60% range (like we do with Intellivision) then the excitement level is off the charts!  Our Founders Edition e-mail had a nearly 70% open rate!  Unheard of!!

Folks have told me that you can "buy" YouTube subscribers as well.  Having such a low watch rate I'm assuming would signify that.  But who knows. 

Either that... or people who once subscribed just don't like their content.

Doesn't surprise me. 

I've watched mostly all of the others you had on that list and with the exception of maybe one or two... they all have way better production, editing, personalities and researched information.  They are all a lot more POSITIVE as well.  Misery attracts misery and the world has a little bit too much misery in it these days.  So while Intellivision (and folks like @OEB_Pete) try to bring something positive into the world.  There will always be certain folks looking to destroy it.  Chose love over hate.  Be FOR something... not AGAINST something.

The good news is...  I'm not lazy like those two and will never give up.  So in this case.  Light will prevail over darkness.  Love over hate.

🌞🥰

24 minutes ago, squirrelgotdead said:

Mine's a spin on the line from Dug the dog in UP. I usually go by the nickname squirrel. . .but that name is frequently taken. I sometimes use southpaw nothin' (the Apollo Creed reax line from Rocky) as a username here and there. But I was once on a college basketball board that became very contentious during one period, and I was banned as a user. Shortly after that movie came out, I was allowed back, but I couldn't use the original name, so I started using squirrelgotdead. My twitter is squirrelystew, which is based on the Swedish Chef skit from the John Denver episode of The Muppet Show.

Wow!  That was pretty amazing.  The most interesting one so far I think!

And bonus points for mentioning Apollo Creed & Rocky!!

24 minutes ago, RetroAdvisoryBoard said:

So while Pat says he's more well-known on YouTube than Tommy, and in general recognition among the average YouTube viewer, I'd agree - Tommy has much more relevent notoriety and prestige and total real-world recognition by a factor of 500 considering hundreds of VGL concerts..

Amazing round up and take on data diving!  Really paints the overall picture.

In regards to the comment above....  I'm not sure I would correlate "subscribers" to recognition and "fame" (as he put it).  There are literally hundreds of thousands of videos of me on YouTube.  I'm just not the one who puts them out because I'm not in the business of making money on YouTube.  One of my marketing agencies calculated it once and they said I have over 1 billion views.  Whether it's performing Video Games Live, my 12 years on 2 weekly TV shows, the massive amounts of interviews (big and small), my music (the last song I did that was put on YouTube had more views in one day than they have had in 2 years), the "Oof" controversy, etc.... well... you get the point.

Sylvester Stallone (first celebrity that popped in my head) doesn't have a YouTube channel with subscribers... would Pat declare that he is "more famous" on YouTube than Sylvester Stallone?  By his calculations (and ego) he is.

Anyway... the more I talk about this particular subject... the more of a total DICK I look like so I'm gonna STOP.  Hahhaa!

But did want to bring up the point.

22 minutes ago, RetroAdvisoryBoard said:

::hides his own sprawling spreadsheets collection on gaming YouTubers numbers over the last few years:: 

That's just weird man, just weird.  😐

 

This isn't a Pat thread, so a fair warning for most who couldn't care, scroll past, I know it's uninteresting to all but a couple! 

 

Re: numbers here, Pat's in particular - his subscriber count is mostly a legacy artifact of an earlier Youtube environment - he plateaued in early 2017.  Four years to get to 10,000 subscribers.  Began collaborating with larger gaming YouTubers of that era, and switched to a mostly podcast format with Ian by late 2013 - the duo were one of the earlier to opine on video game trends with a regular show. And they found some success (~20,000 subscribers in 2012 to 100,000+ subscribers by late 2014, reaching 200,000 in early 2016).  But the coverage was shallow, more timely video game happenings guys started popping up (RGT85), polished content started popping up (the SpawnWaves), more earnest Nintendo fans covering any Nintendo news (BeatemUps) and those with much deeper, thorough coverage (Arlo).  More professional flea market shows (Game Chasers, Pixel Game Squad) while he's mostly abandoned that stream of interested viewers.  If you wanted a take on any trending video game topic, there were three dozen other options consistently delivering.  Pat never adjusted.  Pat's kind of going through the motions.  And over the next 36 months he gained fewer than 30,000 subscribers.  Now he's lucky to get 4,000 new subscribers over the course of a year.  People comment that Pat & Ian screwed up with their tirade against Diablo's fanbase (Nov 2018).. but they were flatlining for years before.  And their average video get only about twice the views as someone like Smash JT - also covering gaming trend topics, but only about 12,000 subscribers.  So while Pat says he's more well-known on YouTube than Tommy, and in general recognition among the average YouTube viewer, I'd agree - Tommy has much more relevent notoriety and prestige and total real-world recognition by a factor of 500 considering hundreds of VGL concerts.. but Pat has more casual people clicking about YouTube who've stumbled across his content and have seen his name.. I'd take the former any day, but, hey, you take the pyrrhic victories I guess.  And that's not to say Pat doesn't still have the odd hit - nobody of larger size pays nearly as much attention to Amico and Atari VCS, so he's occupying that public space.  And he'll talk generally about game collecting, the odd retro news that emerges and pricing variations for collectors who want to have their preconceptions on pricing trends validated.  But there isn't much of an audience seeking his angle and topics out, and I think he projects that stagnation as the entirety of retro gaming stagnating.. yet you see someone like Scott the Woz talking Game Boy Advance or The Gaming Historian covering Tetris or Super Mario Bros 3 or the Aladdin Deck Enhancer and, it clearly isn't stagnant.  People just want better content. 

And people are generally more apt to subscribe than unsubscribe.  There's zero penalty for subscribers to stay subscribed if not interested - for one, if any topic really hits big, they see his video in the odd feed, but it's not so often that they see most of the content they aren't interested in.  YouTube mostly buries his videos if they're not watching frequently.  I trialed this with a four YouTubers I don't watch particularly much of but had a mix of bigger hits.  I binged on their videos for a month.  Then went five months without clicking content.  Results:  for the next half year I only saw them if they had a really high performing video (over 100k views in a week).  For all intents and purposes, they were hidden away and not producing content I clicked, so Google adjusted what was presented to me. 

 

I'd love to have Pat's absolute view numbers, but I think the depressing reality is that 7% Grudge highlights - those people who've found him, subscribed for more of whatever they liked, and how few still watch his content.  That's telling in how many viewers look to the podcast as A) informative, B) entertaining or C) much relevant.  *WE'RE* talking about him because of his particular interest in covering Amico and his irrational take - or his irrational behavior in not wanting to really dive into why that take, how good a case he's built.  But outside of us, it's a pretty small number.  He shows up at retro gaming cons.  He got behind a retro video game store documentary that needed some sort of audience awareness to help fund and produce, and he's put out a couple collaborative review books - pretty nice compendiums, if not terribly deep, good coffee table books.  But he's largely spinning his wheels, and doesn't appear to be trying all that hard.  I see the comments on every other video commenting on topics Pat is heavily covering, and the takes are all the same.. Pat used to be relevant in retro gaming, a leading talking head on YouTube when there were a few dozen.  But the audience tired of the half-efforts and entitlement, and moved on.  

 

Looking forward to the general Amico marketing to kick in, for the elevation of some of these YouTube personalities covering the Amico to gain a little momentum, for bigger channels to realize "OMG, this thing really is around the corner AND IT HAS NEW GAMES?!?!?!  EXCLUSIVE, kinda cool games?!?"  Amico needs lots of coverage, and every day that I see the search results of "Intellivision Amico" and Pat the NES Punk doesn't have 10 of the top 50 videos, that his content is falling down the search results and better content is rising in the initial results, is a good day. 

Wow that was a freaking amazing analysis - as usual.

Hey @RetroAdvisoryBoard, here's a suggestion that could be fun and interesting, both for you and every fan (and even some detractors!) of your messages: you could add a final line that sums up your whole message. As a translator, I know summarizing texts can sometimes be challenging and fun and, in your case it could be really cool, it could give your messages a final seal of quality.

🤏👌🖖

1 hour ago, Intellivision Master said:

 

I was blown away when he mentioned my name and channel. 

Still a little embarrassed and shocked.

Thanks @OEB_Pete

😊

23 minutes ago, IntelliMission said:

Hey @RetroAdvisoryBoard, here's a suggestion that could be fun and interesting, both for you and every fan (and even some detractors!) of your messages: you could add a final line that sums up your whole message. As a translator, I know summarizing texts can sometimes be challenging and fun and, in your case it could be really cool, it could give your messages a final seal of quality.

 

🤏👌🖖

Or, I could just be concise and state a point in a sentence like a normal person.     Maybe a few don't mind the pulp consumption, but it's sound advice I'll take up.  Thanks!

2 hours ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

 

I seriously need to hire you!!

 

Agreed.

First things first, get that man a Blackjack & Poker shifty dealer shirt.  That reads "Shillin Like a Villian"  🤣

1 hour ago, Intellivision Master said:

 

Flowbee Pete makes some fun videos! Except showing off that haircut, while the rest of us turn into Grizzly Adams.

13 hours ago, GrudgeQ said:

Poor @Blarneo, I just imagine him after years of therapy finally overcoming his crushing childhood disappointment of the Math Fun incident - then he checks Atari Age and is back to square one. 

I think nobody in here is going to invite me to play Amico with them. You all figured out I can shit talk all of you & leave you jaw dropped without a comeback, even when I lose a game (which I won't). I dare all your couches to house my fat ass in 6-8 months!  Better hope I have laryngitis!

13 minutes ago, RetroAdvisoryBoard said:

Agreed.

First things first, get that man a Blackjack & Poker shifty dealer shirt.  That reads "Shillin Like a Villian"  🤣

Oh man thats a good one. All the content creator's need them here on out.