Intellivision Amico - Tommy Tallarico introduction + Q&A

4 hours ago, Saldo said:

I’m a little disappointed about the Golden tickets. I ordered a hoodie back in March, never received the Golden Ticket 🙁. Lost in the Mail? Order missed due to third party handling the merch orders and COVID mayhem?  Don’t know, it would have been fun to participate in whatever they will be used for.

Please contact [email protected]

He will look into it and take care of you!

3 hours ago, MarioMan88 said:

Don’t feel bad, I ordered shirt in Nov of 2019 when shirts and golden tickets were launched and since have misplaced my golden ticket. Kept it in my wallet for months and then took out when it was showing some signs of wear, now can’t remember where I put it 🤣

Don't worry... you will still be entered into the Customer Appreciation drawing because we have your e-mail.  More details coming over the next week or so.

But the RFID cards will be used to trigger an Easter Egg. 

3 hours ago, Juice said:

I agree, but I don't like to compare with other products. Fact is switch has a lot more power. The Amico is supposed to be the value console for casual gamers. 50$ rise in price which is an increase of 25% is quite a bit. If I was buying a car and the price went up by just $50 it wouldn't effect my decision, but if the car went up 25% in price I most likely wouldn't buy it. 

To use the same logic for the same argument and to play devils advocate...

A Switch is $300.  To get the same level of "offer" or "value" an Amico is proposing out of the box (2 full controllers, 6 to 7 co-op family games) you would need an extra Joy-Con controller at $80.  6 or 7 co-op family games will cost at least $150 - $250.  Lets use $200 as an average.

So a person concerned and worried about pricing (understandable!) may take those things into account as well.

That means they would need to spend an additional $300 up front to equal the value you get out of Amico for $249.  Just the additions are more than the entire price of Amico!

That additional $300 is a 100% price hike for the consumer to get the same initial "playing/fun value" out of the box.

Curious to know your thoughts about that.

Thanks.

3 hours ago, IntelliMission said:

Hey @Juice, you created an Atari Age account in January and only have posted in this thread. These are some of your ideas:

 

- It seems a little silly to play for a game that's something like Poker (link)

 

- You didn't think there would be 2600 people waiting to get the Founders Edition (link)

 

- The gameplay trailer has done more harm than good (link)

 

- You asked if the gamepad was just a touch screen and said that Playstation controllers have one and people don't like it (link)

 

- You called everyone in this topic a yes-men and said everyone knows CEOs fail when they get surrounded by them (link)

 

- You said that the day Tommy released several trailers, including the Farkle demo, was not a very good day for the Amico (link)

 

- You called Lukas's initial uniformed and extremely negative video "interesting insights" (link)

 

- You asked everyone here to get real and accept that the hype for the Amico has come down (link)

 

So my question is, what the fork are you looking for here? You seem quite a bit obsessed with something you don't appear to like too much, to say it softly.

 

Oh, I get it... You must be "on the fence".

Well... I guess the good news for Amico is that he's been 100% incorrect on all those comments.

50 minutes ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

 

Don't worry... you will still be entered into the Customer Appreciation drawing because we have your e-mail.  More details coming over the next week or so.

 

But the RFID cards will be used to trigger an Easter Egg. 

 

 

Sweet! Glad you guys have email, makes me feel little better..but now gotta look for the golden ticket harder coz I wanna see that Easter Egg 😆

9 hours ago, martianman2012 said:

New systems look amazing to me (especially Xbox), but I'm gonna wait them out till next year. I'm getting the Amico this year to play games with anyone in the room. Im most excited about Night Stalker, Bump N jump, BurgerTime for nostalgia, cornhole and good old WII type games, and games of that board game genre that involve controller screen secrets. 

 

Just a thought... 

 

 

Plus I think that Tommy guy is playing his cards close to his chest and what he's sharing is really the tip of the iceberg. 😁 We get the vibes this is a passion project more so that just something to produce and sell. 

 

#wtbs?

This was a game I totally forgot about. Thanks!  
 

Agree Amico would be a great platform to resurrect and update (but maybe not too much) this game. 
 

Think it would be a nice plus if you could choose to play either a version with the original artwork, rules and other components  or an IE updated version.  

6 hours ago, Saldo said:

I’m a little disappointed about the Golden tickets. I ordered a hoodie back in March, never received the Golden Ticket 🙁. Lost in the Mail? Order missed due to third party handling the merch orders and COVID mayhem?  Don’t know, it would have been fun to participate in whatever they will be used for.

1 hour ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

 

Please contact Kev[email protected]

He will look into it and take care of you!

 

 

Kevin assisted me with status on a shipment and was extremely helpful.  Nice precursor on what I believe we will be able to come be expect with IE Customer Service going forward (I mean beyond what IE’s CEO addresses personally) 😁
 

@Saldo - FYI - My ticket was also a little slow to arrive, but it did come. 
 

Good luck to you (and all) on the drawing.  

9 hours ago, Battlefish said:

I can't help but think about this when I hear that rumor about "physical" Amico games. (Namely, the one about RFID figures that simply a game download from online)

 

The rumor reminds me of retail PC games, where like you said, the game disc installs to your hard drive...or nowadays, it typically doesn't even hold any data!

That is a good point. So maybe we're looking at a hybrid situation here. Since the media for these Amico games will be around 500MB to 1Gb could easily be stored on the Amico internal storage and not have to leverage the 'cart'. Using RFID technology this limits the 'cart' to more of a quick check and not allow data transfer. This means that the system couldn't steam the game content from the 'cart' and the game content world have to be existing on system storage. The current disc consoles actually did the same thing because if you notice a ps4 game installs initially for a while and then requires the disc in to play yet you don't hear it grinding while playing like a ps2 game. With this technology there are 2 options for the Amico 'cart' - would it be required to sit on the NFC pad the whole time to play or just to acknowledge ownership and initiate the download. It sounds like the latter and this will be similar to Nintendo Amibos. I am cool with this as it satisfies both markets (pc and console). The only thing here is that we wont have the 'cart' loading feel. Nintendo switch is the only system doing this, but it does fail to easily let you bring your game saves with you (cloud saves not guaranteed), and it does keep their prices higher. I plan on buying every game 'cart' to join my Amibos and Totakus.

5 hours ago, IntelliMission said:

Hey @Juice, you created an Atari Age account in January and only have posted in this thread. These are some of your ideas:

 

- It seems a little silly to play for a game that's something like Poker (link)

 

- You didn't think there would be 2600 people waiting to get the Founders Edition (link)

 

- The gameplay trailer has done more harm than good (link)

 

- You asked if the gamepad was just a touch screen and said that Playstation controllers have one and people don't like it (link)

 

- You called everyone in this topic a yes-men and said everyone knows CEOs fail when they get surrounded by them (link)

 

- You said that the day Tommy released several trailers, including the Farkle demo, was not a very good day for the Amico (link)

 

- You called Lukas's initial uniformed and extremely negative video "interesting insights" (link)

 

- You asked everyone here to get real and accept that the hype for the Amico has come down (link)

 

So my question is, what the fork are you looking for here? You seem quite a bit obsessed with something you don't appear to like too much, to say it softly.

 

Oh, I get it... You must be "on the fence".

Yeah I'm pretty consistent I'm not here to cause trouble but also not here to kiss ass. You didn't mention my posts where I admitted when I was wrong. You didn't show where I said I didn't like all the drama. I haven't cancelled my pre order and probably won't. This still looks like something I will be able to play with my wife, we play a lot of scrabble and things like that. Do I think the amico will be a big success? I haven't seen enough yet, and was more excited a few months ago than I am now.

3 hours ago, Relicgamer said:

Actually it is. When you and others jump on here you miss the mark. You never add games or cost of controllers.  You just add the initial cost of the console.  

Many parents like things simple.

Simple comparison.

My switch with 2 games and 1 added controller came to over $500. So this discussion of $50 is hilarious.  Because you and I know you cant just buy a switch for $50 more and start playing.  The consumer will compare those added costs before asking the clerk to pull it off the shelf. 

In the past I bought all of my consoles at fred Myers because they would have deals like buy a console and get 1 game free. Or a free added controller.  And that was why I never bought  anywhere else.  So why do you ise the $50 as a point but always leave out those other things that typically adds another $200? 

I spent around $550 day one for Switch, second controller, zelda, 1-2 switch, and I can't remember what else. No pack in games and no second controller included. Amico's price point makes sense to me. The draw to the joy cons was to share a little controller like a kit-kit, but who wants to share a kit Kat? 😆

39 minutes ago, Juice said:

I haven't cancelled my pre order and probably won't. This still looks like something I will be able to play with my wife, we play a lot of scrabble and things like that. Do I think the amico will be a big success? I haven't seen enough yet, and was more excited a few months ago than I am now.

For me it has been the opposite way, I’m more exited now than a few months ago due to the info and details revealed, more pack in games than initially announced, the use of mobile phones to enhance controller features even further, using the controller as a “mouse pad”, retail partner announcement, and so many new games and game ideas confirmed/revealed etc. what news got you less exited?

1 hour ago, martianman2012 said:

I spent around $550 day one for Switch, second controller, zelda, 1-2 switch, and I can't remember what else. No pack in games and no second controller included. Amico's price point makes sense to me. The draw to the joy cons was to share a little controller like a kit-kit, but who wants to share a kit Kat? 😆

I had to buy a second controller for my son's switch for $60. because when you split their one controller into two,it was simply way too small for me to use that way.

He is a PS4 and soon to be PS5 kid too and looking into the Xbox one now,and of course he mocks me and my adamant backing of the Amico.

It just shows there are different views on video gaming and there is nothing wrong with that!

Plenty of room for all of us.👍

10 hours ago, Saldo said:

I’m a little disappointed about the Golden tickets. I ordered a hoodie back in March, never received the Golden Ticket 🙁. Lost in the Mail? Order missed due to third party handling the merch orders and COVID mayhem?  Don’t know, it would have been fun to participate in whatever they will be used for.

I e-mailed IE for one I didn't get and they mailed me one free.

3 hours ago, Juice said:

Yeah I'm pretty consistent I'm not here to cause trouble but also not here to kiss ass. You didn't mention my posts where I admitted when I was wrong. You didn't show where I said I didn't like all the drama. I haven't cancelled my pre order and probably won't. This still looks like something I will be able to play with my wife, we play a lot of scrabble and things like that. Do I think the amico will be a big success? I haven't seen enough yet, and was more excited a few months ago than I am now.

Yeah, I think Juice is more just saturnine, rather than a troll. I think it's good to have a counter-point. However, I REALLY dislike trolls and am trying to stop feeding them. 

10 hours ago, Relicgamer said:

Actually it is. When you and others jump on here you miss the mark. You never add games or cost of controllers.  You just add the initial cost of the console.  

Many parents like things simple.

Simple comparison.

My switch with 2 games and 1 added controller came to over $500. So this discussion of $50 is hilarious.  Because you and I know you cant just buy a switch for $50 more and start playing.  The consumer will compare those added costs before asking the clerk to pull it off the shelf. 

In the past I bought all of my consoles at fred Myers because they would have deals like buy a console and get 1 game free. Or a free added controller.  And that was why I never bought  anywhere else.  So why do you ise the $50 as a point but always leave out those other things that typically adds another $200? 

sorry , thats not how it works. I do know the retail side of gaming quite well. When people ask the price of a product they dont think apples to apples. its unit to unit. so they will compare unit 249 versus 299 thats it. They wont go and start thinking about add ins all that much.  When a kid ask for a christmas or birthday present the parent just wants to know cost of the unit.  Thats it.  Once a product has been out for a few years then you can start doing bundles and they help move units, but thats always down the road.  

Many good products fail because they miss their price point, thats just common Business 101 fact. You get one bite at the apple as they say.  For the Amico even Tommy admits 199 is the best price point, 249 may have to be in play at first due to covid and material cost and that will hurt Amico but it may be overcome IMHO, 299 could be very harmful so lets hope that never comes about.

So once again, price points are real, price points arent about true apples to apples but rather perceived unit to unit comparison.  There is a reason all these systems over the years stopped shipping a second controller and a packed in game, its because they found out they could and they wouldnt be penalized for it in the consumers eyes. Consumers dont break out a spreadsheet to compare systems , they just dont. The price is the unit price.  Most of the time your not comparing anything, you just want to know the price of the unit and it is what it is.  No one is going to compare the PS5 with the Amico, they are ENTIRELY two different gaming machines.

6 hours ago, martianman2012 said:

I spent around $550 day one for Switch, second controller, zelda, 1-2 switch, and I can't remember what else. No pack in games and no second controller included. Amico's price point makes sense to me. The draw to the joy cons was to share a little controller like a kit-kit, but who wants to share a kit Kat? 😆

I laughed when you mentioned the kit kat. The jaters always claim the joycons are 2 controllers.  Lol ha ha ueah no one likes them and several ges I've ayed still requires both as 1 controller.  No you definitely need a complete controller to enjoy the switch 

6 hours ago, martianman2012 said:

That is a good point. So maybe we're looking at a hybrid situation here. Since the media for these Amico games will be around 500MB to 1Gb could easily be stored on the Amico internal storage and not have to leverage the 'cart'. Using RFID technology this limits the 'cart' to more of a quick check and not allow data transfer. This means that the system couldn't steam the game content from the 'cart' and the game content world have to be existing on system storage. The current disc consoles actually did the same thing because if you notice a ps4 game installs initially for a while and then requires the disc in to play yet you don't hear it grinding while playing like a ps2 game. With this technology there are 2 options for the Amico 'cart' - would it be required to sit on the NFC pad the whole time to play or just to acknowledge ownership and initiate the download. It sounds like the latter and this will be similar to Nintendo Amibos. I am cool with this as it satisfies both markets (pc and console). The only thing here is that we wont have the 'cart' loading feel. Nintendo switch is the only system doing this, but it does fail to easily let you bring your game saves with you (cloud saves not guaranteed), and it does keep their prices higher. I plan on buying every game 'cart' to join my Amibos and Totakus.

That does sound pretty cool! As long as games can be installed the first time without Internet, I'd be perfectly fine with that.

On 6/5/2020 at 10:20 PM, Tommy Tallarico said:

 

Awesome!  Thanks!  Reaching out.

 

 

Say, did anything ever come out of this?

18 hours ago, martianman2012 said:

This is a fair assessment and awesome chart.

That chart looks to be pretty accurate IMHO as well, and that is why once again, with pricing with the Amico you may not be pricing versus other gaming machines head on, but rather you are competing for disposable income in the entertainment arena overall, and in a world wide depression, the cheaper you are the better your position. IMHO by Xmas the world economic conditions are going to be horrible. 

4 minutes ago, bigdaddygamestudio said:

sorry , thats not how it works. I do know the retail side of gaming quite well. When people ask the price of a product they dont think apples to apples. its unit to unit. so they will compare unit 249 versus 299 thats it. They wont go and start thinking about add in all that much.  When a kid ask for a christmas or birthday present they parent just wants to know cost of the unit.  Thats it.  Once a product has been out for a few years then you can start doing bundles and they help move units, but thats always down the road.  

 

Many good products fail because they miss their price point, thats just common Business 101 fact. You get one bi at the apple as they say.  For the Amico even Tommy admits 199 is the best price point, 249 may have to be in play at first due to covid and material cost and that will hurt Amico but it may be overcome IMHO, 299 could be very harmful so lets hope that never comes about.

 

So once again, price points are real, price points arent about true apples to apples but rather perceived unit to unit comparison.  There is a reason all these systems over the years stopped shipping a second controller and a packed in game, its because they found out they could and they wouldnt be penalized for it in the consumers eyes. Consumers dont break out a spreadsheet to compare systems , they just dont. The price is the unit price.

Sorry but I disagree.  I grew up with very little money and we always count all the costs when buying anything.  Including a game console.  If we had to pay for more things to even use it we compared it to the other options.  Just like today.  I went to a classic game shop was looking at a Atari 7800 in the original box but there wasnt the included game. The cost was on the edge of what I was comfortable paying. Had the original pack in game been in there I would have bought it but because I had to purchase a game to even enjoy it I pasted on it. And I never thought about this till you commented. 

21 minutes ago, Relicgamer said:

I laughed when you mentioned the kit kat. The jaters always claim the joycons are 2 controllers.  Lol ha ha ueah no one likes them and several ges I've ayed still requires both as 1 controller.  No you definitely need a complete controller to enjoy the switch 

I agree. The joycon is like the worst controller in 40 years in size and ergonomically. It doesn’t even have a d-pad, it has four buttons in place of the dpad. Not to mention how cheaply they’re made. 

17 minutes ago, Swami said:

I agree. The joycon is like the worst controller in 40 years in size and ergonomically. It doesn’t even have a d-pad, it has four buttons in place of the dpad. Not to mention how cheaply they’re made. 

No way!  No other controller has that feature built in where it drifts, er... automatically moves to the left for you.   With any other controller, we actually have to use energy to press the left input, like some kind of savage.

26 minutes ago, Relicgamer said:

If we had to pay for more things to even use it we compared it to the other options

what other options?  People arent going to be comparing the Amico to much of anything  apples to apples other than itself as its a niche product.  So again, price point make all the difference, People ask how much it cost... 199 sounds a lot better than 249.  Many people make the decision right there in their mind hearing that first number.  Hearing that TWO may disqualify you in a demo of consumers, while the same consumer hearing the One.... hundred blah blah blah  puts you in play.   

Spent basically the first 10 years of my professional life dealing with this stuff. 

29 minutes ago, Relicgamer said:

The cost was on the edge of what I was comfortable paying.

and thats my exact point, if that 7200 was even a little above your price point to begin with, you wouldnt even had looked to see if a game was included because you would have already written it off as above what your comfortable paying  AKA your price point