Intellivision Amico - Tommy Tallarico introduction + Q&A

On 5/15/2020 at 2:44 PM, CurlyQ said:

 Farrah was a real treat. And one fabulous looking babe! 🤪❤️

 

 

 

 

Phew!   Getting harder and harder for me to keep up to date with this thread.  But just know that I'll always try to do my best.  So many amazing things happening at Intellivision right now that is taking so much of my time.

 

Speaking of Farrah...

 

QUESTION!  How many folks here had THIS poster at one point!

 

 

I also had the Catherine Bach / Daisy Duke and Heather Thomas.

 

 

On 5/15/2020 at 5:54 PM, bigdaddygamestudio said:

 

This is something I would almost expect to see behind Tommy at his house during a live stream just going abouts it day of cleaning,

 

 

 

 

I have a life-sized one!  But not that vacuums!  Time to upgrade!!!!!!!

 

 

On 5/15/2020 at 10:45 PM, imstarryeyed said:

@Tommy

 

Hey Tommy, here is one you may not remember from the arcades that I love and would really like to see on Amico..

 

Two Tigers

It seems not a lot of people have had a chance to play this great co-op game..

 

The game is 2 WWII fighters (players) have unlimited lives and work together (co-op) or dogfight while trying to sink a giant ship on the screen. 

Sinking a ship is done by dropping your bomb (unlimited) or shooting down enemy planes which the wreckage causes the deck of the ship to chip away until there is a hole and a water spout appears.. Damage the ship and create enough water spouts on the ship and it sinks!

 

If you sink the ship it blows up in this great fashion, if not it escapes.. if you fail to sink enough ships its game over, so time is not on your side..

Sink enough ships and you will finish the wave..

 

The arcade used 2 flight controller yokes but only rotated left and right and one fire button for your tiny bomb..

 

The real power comes when you shoot enemy planes and their fiery fuselages damage the ship, so timing is everything.

 

Amico has the discs which would be a perfect way to play this, and this is a game that never is all that fun to play on MAME due to it being analog and most mame cabs have digital joys.

 

In any case looking forward to your next announcement!

 

I am very much looking forward to getting Amico when it is released!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loved this game!  Could definitely see it making a comeback... or... a similar level or gameplay in Bi-Planes?

Wouldn't That Be Something?™

On 5/16/2020 at 3:17 AM, Steven Pendleton said:

Tommy, have you ever played NBA Jam? That's another EA series that I'd like to see come back on any platform. It is decent alone, but add even one more person and it becomes way better. When I was last in the USA 2 years ago, I made sure to bring NBA Jam Extreme on the PS1 back with me for a reason.

 

I know EA is not currently onboard, but I had to mention it because it's so fun.

Yep!  BOOOMSHAKALAKA!!!!!

 

I'm good friends with Tim Kitzrow... the guy who did all the voices for all those games back in the day.

 

Just saw him last year at E3 for the first time in years.  Great guy!

 

 

On 5/16/2020 at 8:08 AM, Loafer said:

https://venturebeat.com/2020/05/14/intellivision-taps-xbox-veteran-j-allard-as-global-managing-director/

 

This may be an excellent article from a reputable site but right in their first paragrah, it’s evident they too don’t quite get it.   Yes, It’s very frustrating to see Amico referenced once more as a “retro console”.  “Retro inspired” would be fair, but it’s not a retro console and the press needs to get this so that you guys can target your audience appropriately.  This shows there is still work for Tommy, J and everyone on Amico team to work towards:  changing the culture tag Amico presently has.

 

I think to fix this, you need to go old school, like they used to do it back in the day:  At the official press unveiling when VG reporters all get to try it out themselves in the (hopefully) near future after the lockdown is over, you gotta go all in Tommy, you gotta go 100% and go the distance, GO FOR THE HOMERUN!  The brass ring is there Tommy, you can grave it so Yes Tommy, it’s time, it’s THAT time Tommy, it’s time for B&B man.  B&B should help fix any pre-conceived notion of what Amico is all about by straightening any remaining preconceived Warped notions of what Amico is all about.

 

B&B?   Yes Tommy, it’s time for Bitches and Blow

 

It’s the only way!

 

 

He knows it's not retro.  I think some folks use the term to describe Intellivision and not Amico.

 

But yes... I would prefer folks not do that as it could cause some initial confusion.  But once it's out and our advertising starts... it won't be an issue so I'm not too worried.

 

 

On 5/16/2020 at 10:28 AM, woobman said:

For you DC fans.. I've been seriously thinking about getting the Retrofighters "StrikeDC".

 

https://retrofighters.com/our-collection/strikerdc-dreamcast-controller/

 

They also make an N64 controller.  I got used to the weirdness of the N64 controller. Still fun to use. Just odd.

 

Some of the other posts mention controllers that you purchase separately, but little remember the Nuon pack in controller.. Look at it in all it's glory!

 Nope that is not streteched out or photoshopped in any way. Yes, it's as uncomfortable as it looks. I still play(ed) Tempest 3000 on it for HOURS. A fun game can overcome a bad controller. I had a logitech controller for the Nuon, but it died a horrible death. That was better. But still clunky compared to others out there. Even the N64 looking controller for the Nuon was a bit odd. Never got one.

 

 

 

Reminds me of the Apple Bandai Pippen controller a little bit!  Anyone remember that one?

I never knew about it until I started collecting consoles.  I typically don't collect that timeframe... but it was so strange I had to get one.

 

 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Bandai_Pippin

On 5/16/2020 at 10:51 AM, Intellivision Master said:

 

 

Loved this!

Such a legend!

On 5/17/2020 at 10:06 AM, Cranker said:

I was asking for it for Christmas and remember finding it in my parents closet when I was 12 !!! I then had to wait weeks to finally open it on Christmas Day !!! That’s what you get for snooping ! I loved it ! Pinball and breakout were so fun !

 

On 5/17/2020 at 2:19 PM, Zeptari1 said:

This is weird , I'm quoting myself. But I had to.

Things changed BIG time over this past week. 

They both understand and get what your trying to do Tommy!

They watched the venturebeat interview with you.

Check out this small portion of the text thread.

Sorry about the swear words. I thought he was messing with me! LOL

Oh and here's the Xbox game he's talking about:

 

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/race-the-sun/bs32dzlxbq02?activetab=pivot:overviewtab

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hahaha!  Love it!

 

And wait til our real advertising starts!  

 

 

On 5/19/2020 at 2:12 AM, Barley Farquahr said:

Hey Tommy,

 

I was listening to the show that You and Pete did last night, Thanks to both of Y'All for Your time and effort, it was awesome!

 

At one point You were going through and giving out as much information as possible for all of the launch date game names as You could, and THANKS for that Sir! That was TOO COOL to hear all of those titles! I had not heard that much detail previously!

 

Makes me want my Amico RIGHT NOW that much more, if that's even possible!

 

With all of those names it did make me think of something else, one title I haven't seen mentioned previously is Pinball, and I think, the original Intellivision version of Pinball was not half bad, I can remember playing it for many hours when no one else was around, and I wanted / needed a decent time killer!

 

But now we have all of these wonderful pinball "emulation" type games, available on any of the consoles, where you buy a particular front end, and then can download the tables that You want to play from out in the "real" world.

 

LOVES ME SOME Pinbot! 🙂

 

Have Y'All talked about a pinball game yet? And if so, have You talked about which direction You're going to go in? More of the classic non-branded type, or with the branded style, which would be difficult to do if Y'All don't want to do DLC for the different table packs.

Just curious Sir.

 

Thanks for All that You and Your Team are doing, and BTW, belated Congratulations on Your new hire, it looks like he fits right in with the rest of everyone, and can hit the ground running for You!

 

 

B

 

We've spoken to a big pinball developer about it.  I think it will happen eventually.  Nothing in the works right now.

 

Couch co-op or VERSUS Pinball!  That would be exciting!

 

On 5/19/2020 at 4:40 AM, LePionnier said:

So if Snafoo is not there, could it be the 7th or 8th game as a pack in !! ?? 🤔  😆

 

Wouldn't That Be Something™?

 

 

 

22 hours ago, squirrelgotdead said:

Hopefully the added time allows for a very impressive and comprehensive launch library. I also thought Burgertime was targeted for launch, but that may have changed and I missed it.

 

I must have accidentally skipped that one.  It's on there!

 

 

22 hours ago, OEB_Pete said:

Final part is up....thank you to @Tommy Tallarico for being so gracious with his time and answering so many questions, until next time Tommy.  I want to give a special Thank you from the bottom to my heart to all the community that showed up and made this Stream amazing, we hit almost 150 concurrent viewers at one point, wow.  Thanks 

 

 

That was a fun one!!  Lots of new info!  We'll need to do one of these a month if possible!

 

 

 

 

21 hours ago, squirrelgotdead said:

An edutainment question Tommy: Has this piece of development and the current situation changed the conversation, as home learning has taken on a newfound importance?

It hasn't changed for us really.... it was always something super important from the start, so I would say that it's only strengthened our goals.

12 hours ago, jaybird3rd said:

Yes.  I still remember when Atari "died" as an independent company, when the "reverse merger" with JTS happened in the summer of 1996.  It's been a long and sad decline ever since, with Atari's ashes being passed around from owner to owner, each one more desperate to squeeze some residual value out of them than the last.  (The only bright spot along the way, in my opinion, was the Hasbro Interactive era.  They had their hits and misses with their Atari-branded retro remakes, but the best of them were really good games that I still enjoy playing today.  They actually managed to add something positive to the Atari legacy, which is certainly more than I can say for the current owners.)  I think the "Atari spirit" is to be found today in communities like AtariAge, particularly among the hardware engineers and homebrew programmers, who still practice that special mix of creativity and technical prowess that Atari—and Mattel Electronics!—had in their prime.

 

I wasn't one who grew up with the Intellivision, but I quickly fell in love with it after seeing the first version of "Intellivision Lives!" on CD-ROM, probably in 1998/1999.  What struck me immediately was that, unlike Atari, the Intellivision had never really gone away and had always remained close to the people who originally made it great, and I was very impressed by that.  Keith Robinson was truly a visionary, and he was looking beyond hardcore gamers at least as far back as the Intellivision Productions 10-in-1 and 25-in-1 handheld TV games in the mid-2000s.  They sold millions of those handhelds, and won awards and endorsements along the way from the likes of Parents Magazine and Grandparents Magazine ... the very same market that the Amico is pursuing now.

They will slap the atari name on anything these days:

 

21 hours ago, Jake67 said:

I’ve been all-in with the Amico since I first heard about and there’s no way I’m cancelling my pre-orders. I do have a couple of concerns still. Nothing major in any way, but being that there’s a worldwide pandemic going on and I’ve got a bit of spare time on my hands...

 

Thank-you for listing out your concerns in a cool and respectful way.  Contrary to popular hater belief.  I can totally understand that folks have concerns.  This is why I try to do as many interviews as I can.  The folks who say I can't take criticism... are ALWAYS the folks who actually can't take criticism.  Ironic.  

 

 

 

21 hours ago, Jake67 said:

 

1. Lack of game demos

First off, Pete’s interview last night was great... lots of Q&A quick-hits. I’m still not clear on why demos won’t be a part of games. That’s not a deal killer for me because I’m sure YouTubers here and elsewhere will review them quickly, and we’ll probably get official videos with each release.

 

But this idea that we can try games that our friends bring over seems to side-step the reason for demos. Especially starting out, the Amico won’t be in huge supply from what I’m gathering. It’s a nice thought that I’ll have friends upon Amico’s release who will be happy to be the gaming guinea pig and bring over games for me to try, but I don’t think it’s likely, especially in the early days. 

 

I must have missed it, but is there a specific reason that demos aren’t going to be made? If it’s resources (the time it takes to add demo code to a game) I certainly get that. I just don’t feel “have a friend bring it over to play on your system” is a suitable replacement for a demo I can try out whenever I want, and having to hope I have a nearby friend who bought the game already. 

 

Listen, the games are inexpensive, so this is not a huge deal at all. But I cringe a bit when I hear Tommy say that my “demo” experience can be a friend who will supposedly buy the game before I do so I can try it out. That’s certainly an option, but not as easy as being able to play a demo whenever I want without calling on a friend to rush over with his controller.

 

Our games are inexpensive and easy to play and understand.  We also have something really cool about the menu & shop that we haven't revealed yet.

And remember... my most important things are Value & Trust with our consumers.  And we will always keep our quality high.  So folks will always know that for very little money they will get a great product.

 

Demos are for systems that have a bunch of crap on them... so you're not sure if the game you're thinking about buying is crap or not.  We won't have that issue with Amico as everything is curated and high quality.

 

Of course there may be some games that people won't like, but more than likely... folks aren't going to purchase game genres they aren't interested in unless they've already had a chance to play the game at a store or a friends house.

p.s.  Demos are one of the reasons why Ouya failed (among others).  I want people to quickly find out that they can TRUST us.  Going to be a new way of thinking.  

 

 

 

21 hours ago, Jake67 said:

 

2. Release schedule

I think the release of new games has been stated as every 10-14 days. I do think it’s great that one game gets released at a time and gets the full attention of every gamer. But I would prefer to see a weekly release for two reasons. First, habits are important. If I know a new game is released every Friday before the weekend, I will quickly have that burned into my skull. That’s just me, though.

 

But the second reason is related to how often we’ll see a new game in a given genre. Let’s say I’m a parent with young kids and those educational games really appeal to me. How often will I see a game like that... every 5th release? In other words, is there a plan for rotating through the genres? I would think production schedules will be a huge factor... can’t release a game in a certain genre if none are currently ready. And obviously people will have all the launch titles to keep them busy, no matter what type of game they like. 

 

This comes back, though, to a more frequent release schedule where, in theory, a game in a genre I like will come quicker on a weekly schedule than a 10-day or bi-weekly schedule.

 

 

 

Having a brand new particular genre of game you like coming out every month or two is pretty darn good.  Compare it to any modern console.  What if you like 2D shooters and you have a PS5?  How long will you need to wait to get a PS5 2D shooter game?  Maybe 2 or 3 a year (if you're lucky).

The other thing to remember is that the 10-14 days could easily change if more great games are starting to get backlogged.  Having 50 - 60 new and quality games a year is a LOT more than every other console out there.

 

We will always go for QUALITY over quantity.

 

 

21 hours ago, Jake67 said:

 

I also wonder what sort of backlog will be created when you have even more developers making games for the Amico. Is is possible that a finished game doesn’t get released for a year or longer because the pipeline is already filled with completed games? Or is that more managed because Amico is investing in each game and helping in its creation?

 

Correct!  You nailed it.  We are funding almost everything.. which means we pre-plan when everything comes out.  But it's only a basic "plan".  We're certain that when Amico becomes popular that we're going to get a LOT of great surprises from developers all over the world (we're already starting to see it happen!).  And games will always shift as well.  In the end, it will be a good problem to have. 

 

 

21 hours ago, Jake67 said:

 

I don’t bring either of these up thinking I have the insight and info the Amico team has. Decisions are made for various reasons and these two points won’t kill my enjoyment of the Amico. But I figured I’d bring them up for possible discussion... or have it pointed out that I should pick up another hobby while we wait for the planet to reboot.

 

Final thing which isn’t a concern, but more a curiosity... how do older games get promoted? It occurred to me this morning that, as a developer, I’d be a bit torn on being an “early release” title vs. a title that gets released after the first year. I can see the pros and cons either way. If you’re an early release when there’s not many games available (relatively speaking), you have a great shot at a sale. But the installed base of Amicos a year or two after launch will be much higher. If I’m an “early” game, then a year from launch I’m not getting as many eyeballs on my game because it’s not getting promotion on the home screen. 

 

We will go back and "feature" games later down the road.  ESPECIALLY our launch games as they would have never gotten the same kind of highlighting that newer ones do.  Everyone will be treated fairly though.  We will ensure that.

 

 

 

21 hours ago, Jake67 said:

 

One of the joys of getting an Amico on day one is more easily keeping up with each new release and few games, if any, slipping through the cracks. But later buyers won’t have that advantage. 

 

I guess this points to how good the store will need to be to discover the older titles. This is such a crap experience on some platforms. I hope the Amico team can really nail this one.

Oh.. trust me.  We have this NAILED!!!

 

It's easily the BEST shop experience that I've ever seen... but yeah... I may be just a little biased.  

 

 

 

 

 

21 hours ago, Jake67 said:

 

Again, I want to be very clear... these aren’t complaints, and I’m still 100% excited for the Amico... just thoughts that popped into my head as I’m waiting for our governor to say it’s safe to get a haircut from a professional without condemning the state’s population to certain death from infected combs.

 

Totally okay!  Everything you said was completely understandable and presented in a super respectful way.  I really appreciate it!

 

Thanks!

 

 

21 hours ago, RxScram said:

As always with my answers (unless I say otherwise), these aren't canon Intellivision policy answers, but things I've heard around the watercooler, in team meetings, and in various other discussions. (Plus wild assed guesses on my part, since I'm not involved in the game team meetings.) Possibly hypothetical, but nothing confidential to my knowledge. @Tommy Tallarico can squash me and tell me to shut up if necessary, but I am trying to be careful.

 

Disclaimer over.

 

1. Lack of game demos. I think this is for a couple of reasons. The first of which is that these games are by their nature, short and have limited development resources put into them. Second, is the way that we're going to be showing off and promoting the games in the Amico store. There are some really cool things that haven't been shown there, and I know I can't talk about, but that will alleviate a lot of concern I think.

 

Third (and this is just a conjecture on my part... I'm not a console gamer (PC hardcore gamer to the extreme though)... what console or PC games have demos? None that I can recall on the PC, and my steam library has 150+ (301 actually!) games on it, not counting the free to play games.)

 

2. Release schedule. This has been brought up a couple times, but easy to miss. Just because we are starting out at an every-other week or so release schedule doesn't force us to keep that schedule. As we get a larger install base, and more funding to pay more developers, there's nothing that says we can't move up to weekly releases. Also, the schedule will probably vary depending on the time of year. Start of the school year? Maybe release edutainment games on a slightly faster schedule. Christmas or other major holiday coming up (or maybe in the few weeks following Christmas?)... release games weekly! Slow, boring part of the retail year? Slow down releases to biweekly.

 

In general though, even the super affordable games like Amico is offering cost a fair bit to develop. Let's say it's a hypothetical $75,000 per game that Intellivision has to pay to create a game, and it takes 4 months to develop a game. If we were doing weekly releases from the start, we'd need 4 months (~20 weeks) worth of games that we already paid for in the queue. At $75,000 per pop, that's $3,000,000 before any retail systems had sold. Not to mention having to feed games beyond that initial 4 month window. We're already going to have a pretty huge starting library, and 15-20 additional games in the queue, but at some point we have to try balance how much we've spent on games and actually starting to get some money back from those games.

 

As far as promotion of older games... I don't think there is anything saying Intellivision can't go back and promote "old" games. Maybe in one of the doldrum weeks between biweekly releases there will be a promotion week for an older game. 

 

Damn.  Should have read this first before answering!  Hahahha!

 

Jeff pretty much nailed everything.  The only thing that is a little off is the average cost of our games.  $75K is low.  I believe our current average is around $130K for building something completely from scratch. Typically a 6 - 9 month development cycle.

 

 

19 hours ago, woobman said:

Watched the latest video from OEB. Loads of cool stuff. Lots of purchases I see in the future. Both Digital and Physical.

 

Will we see a mah jongg type game during the launch window?

 

Abso-freakin-lutely!

 

HUGE game among non-gamers/casual gamers!  I have some incredible data on this that is pretty mind-blowing.

 

 

19 hours ago, Michael Garvey said:

I'm needing more people to interview.

 

Anyone in the forum know of anyone?

 

It could be yourselves or some you know or just someone you think would give an interesting take on the Amico (good or bad).

 

I'm trying to keep the doors open for all comers. 

 

I vote for @GrudgeQ!  He's also one of the mods over at the Amico reddit thread.

 

Also... @RetroAdvisoryBoard!! Would love to hear an interview with him!

@Relicgamer would be another great one I'd love to hear.

 

 

17 hours ago, bigdaddygamestudio said:

Well one silver lining if the launch is pushed back to say 02 21 2021  or there abouts, there should be even more launch titles available at that date and/or some games will have a little more time to bake in the oven ( which is usually a good thing).  COVID sucks on so many levels but you gotta find the good in all the bad.

 

Very true point!

 

 

12 hours ago, Intellivision Master said:

Tommy,

 

In the re-imagined Shark! Shark! will there be different types of sharks?  Like a hammerhead or great white? 

 

Yep!

 

1 minute ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

 

Yep!

 

Awesome.  😃

12 hours ago, jaybird3rd said:

I think the "Atari spirit" is to be found today in communities like AtariAge

 

I LOVE this line!!!  So true!

 

 

 

Quote

Keith Robinson was truly a visionary, and he was looking beyond hardcore gamers at least as far back as the Intellivision Productions 10-in-1 and 25-in-1 handheld TV games in the mid-2000s.  They sold millions of those handhelds, and won awards and endorsements along the way from the likes of Parents Magazine and Grandparents Magazine ... the very same market that the Amico is pursuing now.

 

Absolutely!!  Amico wouldn't exist if not for Keith keeping the original brand alive for as long as he did.  To have some of that original DNA still within the company (with folks like Bill Fisher and Steve Roney) is a real honor and treat.

 

Such a privilege to be a part of the legacy.  I take that VERY seriously. 

 

 

4 hours ago, RREDDWARFF said:

I'm not sure if this has been asked, but Tommy,  what's the chance of a trackball coming to the Amico? What a great accessory to have early-on during the systems life. I'd gladly pay good money for one.. 

 

Nothing in the works as of now.  Would probably be something that would happen later in the consoles life-cycle when there was a bunch of games to support it.

 

 

Quick clarification question on the paper golden tickets because I saw some a question on Reddit and FB. I think the paper tickets get sent out with (or after) T-Shirt orders (got several to prove prove that) but are they also being sent out for console pre-orders on GameStop / Fig or in other situations?

 

Tommy, I now that a 10-10-2020 launch date is very, very important to you but if the Amico can not launch as planned, is there any specific future release date for the Amico or will you just release as soon as possible.