Intellivision Amico - Tommy Tallarico introduction + Q&A

On 9/6/2019 at 4:06 PM, Swami said:

There’s the rub. Very few gamers, nes punk show hosts included, except Intellivision fans are going to sit through Intellivision videos or remember everything from them or where they heard an answer to a question. I’m saying a centralized location for this sort of information would be handy. 

 

I see so many small companies trying to do big business and end up with orphaned website syndrome. 

The fact is that we are not ready to discuss physical media with the public.  I've mentioned it in here... but I probably shouldn't have. 

What we are working on is super cool and won't be ready to be presented to the public by next summer.

I'll leave it at that for now. 

On 9/6/2019 at 4:32 PM, Alpha82 said:

If I recall correctly Tommy mentioned a while back that they would be updating the website with more general information that it ended up the way it launched originally just due to time constraints though I am unsure when the website will relaunch in its new capacity 

We are currently spending all of our time and money on finishing the hardware so we can get final dev kits into developers hands by November.  We intend on creating a "real" website by the end of the year.  The current one I did myself in about a day in Wix.  We're not advertising at this point and haven't started marketing to our audience, so it's something that isn't at the top of our list just yet.

On 9/6/2019 at 5:44 PM, bojay1997 said:

It does, but I think it's a mistake to claim that the Amico will definitely have physical media.  I don't think it's physical media as current gamers and collectors would think about it from the few hints he has dropped.  

I'm claiming it.

Not a mistake.

Man, you are on fire tonight!

5 hours ago, Alpha82 said:

I know hardware revisions are a big part of this process and I know you have been focus testing with a lot of people on a lot of different aspects of the machine, games, and operating system. With a launch date of 10/10/2020 and the big marketing push starting up presumedly around E3 in June 2020 do you currently have a projection of when you think hardware revisions will be completed? 

Final Final Final revisions done within a month.

1 hour ago, Lathe26 said:

Tommy, how much of a geek does it make me if I'm counting the number of contact points for the Amico controller's disk?  😜

HAHAHHAHA!!!

Pretty high up there I'd say! 

Answer:  32 contact for 64 points!

But something awesome that we haven't revealed yet!  Oh man... you guys are gonna LOVE it!

1 hour ago, imstarryeyed said:

Tommy I am very glad you are going to stay here, honestly it is your passion and your genuine openness that I and I am sure others found so great about this thread.  

 

I have worked in the games industry people, I used to be a middleware sales engineer for Gamespy / IGN and the amount of transparency Tommy is showing us by far outstrips what even a "partner" would often get from another game company that was integrating the tools we licensed.

 

I have pointed out a few times in this thread but it bears repeating, Tommy being here answering our questions and giving us his personal insight SIMPLY DOES NOT HAPPEN, in the games industry.

 

I and I am sure others have become Amico supporters because of this amazing level of involvement he has.

 

 

Thanks!  I really appreciate you pointing that out. 

It's part of the reason I'm a little dumbfounded that guys like Pat & Ian aren't willing to talk to me.  It just seems strange to me in my world. 

But whatever... totally their choice.

Thanks again for noticing and I really appreciate your support.

 

56 minutes ago, ASalvaro said:

I loved seeing the controller on your video today! Even hearing the click from the disc was awesome I hope the controller doesn't change too much from where it's at now but I do understand it's tough to please everyone when it comes to controllers 

It really is an incredible piece of tech.  I can't wait for people to play it.

Everything you saw in the video (including those boards) were all E3 prototypes.  Our board (and controller disc input) has changed since E3... but for the BETTER.  I'll make a video in about a month or so of the thing in action!  I think that should be the next vid as lots of folks are complaining about something they have no idea about. 

23 minutes ago, ASalvaro said:

Yup I'm trying to think when the most powerful system ended up selling the most 

 

Maybe the Colecovision outselling the 5200? (I liked the 5200 A LOT better btw)

 

But that's about it 

 

Certainly wasn't the 3DO!! 
 

14 minutes ago, Albert said:

Man, you are on fire tonight!

Took a week off from the boards... amid the controversy it seems like we attracted a lot of new folks and questions.

Thanks Pat & Ian!!

Tommy 🧐... "During my time in congress I took the initiative in creating the Internet." -Al Gore

"He said he invented the internet" -Bush campaign staffer.

creating & inventing are not synonyms.🤣

It was bad phrasing on his part and opened him up for ridicule to be sure, but he was historically correct. Before the information highway democratization legislation, the network was called the Arpanet. 

12 minutes ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Certainly wasn't the 3DO!! 
 

And the 32X was more powerful than the 3DO. It did even worse.

2 hours ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

LOVE your work and I'm a big supporter!

Look what's sitting on my home desk right now!

 

Thank you! Ditto! Can't wait for the Amico and to see another Video Games Live performance!

I may be mistaken, but I thought the executives were embezzling the Ouya bank accounts and that's why Ouya went belly up. Not true?😕

Enjoyed the video...hope things get resolved. Thoroughly enjoyed watching the LED show on the AMICO!

Thoroughly enjoyed the LED light show from the AMICO in the video!

7 hours ago, Swami said:

I think it's great that you've been here as the face of the company, speaking directly to people and answering their questions. It shows a lot of confidence and integrity on your part versus sending some poor PR guy to the forum to take all the heat. I know I've asked a number of tough questions about the Amico in a respectful manner and had respectful answers to them. It is a little frustrating to sometimes get the answer that we have to trust you and you have the research to back it while we remain in the dark, but, as I've said, every game company has to do that. It's unfortunate that that often results in folks assuming it is just going to be something like the old Intellivision or something trying to compete with the big three. I'm glad you stated that so much of what will be great about the Amico has to be kept under wraps because, even though you've stated it repeatedly, I think it gets lost in the volume of posts. Also, what you've said about being able to speak to people about things but not being able to put those things down in a centralized location is new to me and probably a lot of other people, so I think it great that you made that known as well.

 

I hope that you'll realize that your communication has been a positive force for the Amico and is appreciated by the forum.

Such a great statement. On one side people need to respect that launching a new console is hard, extremely hard. This OuyaTwoYa crap is just that - mindless blather by people who could never pull off a launch of a console themselves.  However that doesn’t mean that consumers should buy into any pitch by a company launching a new product.

My appreciation of the Amico concept is equal parts believe in the concept of family friendly coop & solo gaming but also the willingness of Tommy to address issues. This is really all you can expect of a new product launch before physical items are available. Of course you must expect that not all questions can be answered and even those that can will have a positive spin. If you can’t understand that then you are ill prepared to operate in a commercial society. We all need to be adults here and put on our big boy/girl pants.

Intellivision Entertainment could screw up the Amico in a thousand different ways but I am impressed that Tommy and team have seemed at least to think about the possible failure points presented in questions so far. That does NOT mean they are going to succeed but the risk if they don’t is primarily on Tommy and his investors. They have put tens of millions of dollars into Amico (by my estimation, maybe less, maybe just millions but still WAY more than a single $179 console) while as of yet consumers have been asked to shoulder zero of that amount. Once pre orders open then the situation changes but as always pre orders should be a way of supporting ideas and companies where you know you are risking 100% of what you put in - it isn’t for everyone or even most people.

Question away - as long as those questions are actual questions and not thinly veiled attempts at trolling or proving that “this sucks”. Nobody knows how great or terrible Amico will be but it certainly has proven through physical results and proactive communication that it deserves a chance to be considered.

Hey Tommy, I have a couple of quick and (hopefully) interesting questions about the Amico:

1) It looks like all of the games will have offline multiplayer modes... is that true? Will there be any game for only 1 player? If all the games have offline multiplayer, this could be a first in the industry... that would be awesome!

2) I see that most of the ideas for the creation and design of the Amico come from you... what percentage of involvement would you say you have in this regard? Did you come up with all the important ideas or is there any of the main features that came from somebody else?

28 minutes ago, IntelliMission said:

Hey Tommy, I have a couple of quick and (hopefully) interesting questions about the Amico:

 

1) It looks like all of the games will have offline multiplayer modes... is that true? Will there be any game for only 1 player? If all the games have offline multiplayer, this could be a first in the industry... that would be awesome!

 

2) I see that most of the ideas for the creation and design of the Amico come from you... what percentage of involvement would you say you have in this regard? Did you come up with all the important ideas or is there any of the main features that came from somebody else?

I can’t answer your second question though I think it’s a great one as to the first EVERY game on Amico will have single player and a local multiplayer I think he said but I could be mistaken that most games will support up to 4 players and some will support up to 8 players 

After following with great interest a true Intellivision console rising like a Phoenix from the ashes since the first interview with Victor after Tommy was named president of Intellivision Entertainment there are a few things about not only the system but the people involved with the project that I have enjoyed.

My family already owned an Intellivision when I was born it was the system I learned to game on my father and I continued to play on Intellivision up until he passed away a few years ago I have a lot of love for Intellivision thanks to those great memories of playing Intellivision with my dad, my brother, and my step brother however it’s not my love of the past that has me so excited for this system it’s the direction of the system the passion and devotion of the people behind it. It’s the passion for this project that I believe gives this system a chance to help change society and buy extension the world for the better.  Maybe I’m a bit on the crazy side but technology for all its wonder has driven a wedge between people and diminished human to human interaction. I believe this device can begin to help change that or maybe I just hope it can. 

And Tommy he really seems like one of the most approachable people I have ever met without actually meeting him he just seems like the kind of guy you could hang out with and have a ton of fun.  Thanks for bringing back gaming to its roots.  

So so my question for Tommy is this which of the announced retro reimagined titles are you looking forward to playing the most?

People complaining about Amico's controller and hoping to be able to use a "classic" controller probably don't know or remember that many Intellivision games rely on the numeric pad for many operations, from the simplest ones like selecting the number of players or the level of difficulty, to the more specific ones such as entering numbers (for example the money to bet in the game Poker & Blackjack).

Last but not least there are games (the first ones that come to mind are AD&D Cloudy Mountain and Tron deadly discs) that rely heavily on the use of the numeric pad (AD&D to shoot arrows in various directions, TRON in the same way to launch the disc) that with a "classic" pad would be difficult to reproduce via analogue sticks and buttons.

1 hour ago, MonsterSky said:

People complaining about Amico's controller and hoping to be able to use a "classic" controller probably don't know or remember that many Intellivision games rely on the numeric pad for many operations, from the simplest ones like selecting the number of players or the level of difficulty, to the more specific ones such as entering numbers (for example the money to bet in the game Poker & Blackjack).

 

Last but not least there are games (the first ones that come to mind are AD&D Cloudy Mountain and Tron deadly discs) that rely heavily on the use of the numeric pad (AD&D to shoot arrows in various directions, TRON in the same way to launch the disc) that with a "classic" pad would be difficult to reproduce via analogue sticks and buttons.

So right. One reason you don’t see OG Intellivision emulated often is because you have to have the controllers for most games. The new Amico games are probably no different too and this is magnified even more because of new game play options possible with the screen/touchpad and a “kitchen sink” array of lights & sensors in those things. I can’t wait to see what new game mechanics the devs come up with for the console.

10 hours ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

That would be amazing!

 

 

same for me

ps5 + amico looks the right combination.... I'm reading about stadia as well but not attractive because I wonder that they will have the usual violent games... apart windjammer 2... cannot say if stadia will be in the family games ring

3 hours ago, vprette said:

same for me

ps5 + amico looks the right combination.... I'm reading about stadia as well but not attractive because I wonder that they will have the usual violent games... apart windjammer 2... cannot say if stadia will be in the family games ring

I think A big problem Stadia will face that the internet infrastructure just isn’t built to sustain the speeds needed for this kind of gaming in most areas so you are going to end up with a ton of lag and down time. Also the possibility of data cap issues depending on your provider and the fact that you have to pay full price for games with nothing owned and if the service fails when Google shuts down the stadia service all the money you have put into it is gone and there will be no games to play because they have been sent into oblivion 

On 9/6/2019 at 9:28 AM, RetroAdvisoryBoard said:

...  Kiosks in malls, at box retailers, getting Amico kiosks placed at airport gates, at state fairs next fall, and finally producing commercials showing where the Amico has a "Jump in, play with others" vibe...

Those airport gate and state fairs ideas are pretty genius. The challenge will be to get the Amico message out to a broad, relatively non-technical audience which isn't expecting anything like this. Hands on is of course the best otherwise longer forms of the marketing like demos on shows like "The View", feature articles in things like Family Magazine, family/kid oriented expos and even QVC sales spots could do really well for IE because of it's 'anti console, console' features.