Intellivision Amico - Tommy Tallarico introduction + Q&A

32 minutes ago, bigdaddygamestudio said:

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. 

Fair enough.  You make good points 

11 hours ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Please contact [email protected]

He will look into it and take care of you!

Thanks Tommy, I will do that.  Kevin assisted me with my order and was extremely helpful.

9 hours ago, Starpaddler said:

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

5 hours ago, Swami said:

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

Starpaddler & Swami thanks for your input as well.

Behold, the ELUSIVE Pink Amico! Difficult to find, catch, or achieve. She's a wild one. 😉👍

On 6/19/2020 at 12:24 PM, Intellivision Master said:

This question is for all. What other game demos would you want to have on the Amico Club app?  

Astrosmash. Bump n Jump. Baseball. Cloudy Mountain. 

8 minutes ago, SuperJeremyWorld said:

Astrosmash. Bump n Jump. Baseball. Cloudy Mountain. 

Astrosmash would be easier than most for a phone app I would think

1 minute ago, Cranker said:

Astrosmash would be easier than most for a phone app I would think

 

Yes! There was an app sponsored by VH1 a few years ago that had Astrosmash and a few others on it. I really enjoyed being able to play it on the go! Bump N Jump is probably the next easiest unless they just did a version of Baseball where you just got to go to bat or something like that. It was always defense that was more tricky control-wise. 

59 minutes ago, CurlyQ said:

 

Behold, the ELUSIVE Pink Amico! Difficult to find, catch, or achieve. She's a wild one. 😉👍

 

 

I like it!  Great job.

Pretty awesome looking!!

3 hours 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 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.

But what kid would ask for a Switch but no games? I think a typical kid is going to ask for a Switch and at least a couple of games, otherwise what is he going to do with it. Cost quickly jumps to $400.

Deleted, sorry

I seriously want a pink one, just bubble gum pink not that purplish pink.. haha

Princess Peach Pink FTW!

10 hours ago, wolfy62 said:

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.👍

 

Yeah the splitting the controller was in the same vein as the mini game gear... Why of why haha. Also all kids are sassy at some age. I say the more variety of game types the better. I have been playing the Last of Us 2 on PS4, command and conquer remake for PC online, and am looking forward to Amico. All different experiences.

6 hours 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 

Lol yep. This just goes to show that Nintendo was being cheap and trying to make it look like there were 2 'controllers' in the box to help justify the 'price point'. The only other reason for mini controllers is for motion games, but they pretty much shelved that for the system. I actually miss the WII for that. Punchout was fun, but I didnt really care for Arms. The switch is tight - dont get me wrong - I just wished they had done some things differently.

3 hours ago, NTV said:

But what kid would ask for a Switch but no games? I think a typical kid is going to ask for a Switch and at least a couple of games, otherwise what is he going to do with it. Cost quickly jumps to $400.

Yeah I get studying the psychology of how shoppers decide or rule out options, but how is the shopper now-a-days NOT going to assume they have to confirm all they need to make it work before they leave the store? The first place I remember seeing a solo system was for Genesis 2 model that was labelled 'Core'. You also usually see what you get on the front of the box and if a game isn't shown you would assume there is no game so you have to grab one - which kills the $199 price. I started using a credit card when purchasing new systems as to make it easier to get everything you need day one if one swoop and not to have to come back for the essentials (similar to the many purchases made when travelling on vacation).

This is actually a very good thing for Amico as long as the contents are listed and shown on the front of the box (which Im thinking they would as its good to brag when others nickle and dime the upsales). 

@Tommy Tallarico Will there be the physical games/collectibles and Amico accessories available on launch?

Also any possibility of a line of collectables similar to Amibo and Kotaku? A robot for Night Stalker, the pickle dude from Burger Time, or a Shark! Shark! Shark? Love this stuff probably more than I should! 😅😎🤘

4 hours ago, martianman2012 said:

@Tommy Tallarico Will there be the physical games/collectibles and Amico accessories available on launch?

 

Also any possibility of a line of collectables similar to Amibo and Kotaku? A robot for Night Stalker, the pickle dude from Burger Time, or a Shark! Shark! Shark? Love this stuff probably more than I should! 😅😎🤘

Yes!

Tommy,

Is there an update on when the new merchandise will be in the IE shop?

Tommy, how many pre-orders are you up to?

Tommy,

Are the exclusive games for Amico going to be locked to certain regions?  Such as, an exclusive that only releases in Europe or Japan?  Is the Amico region locked by the way?  

The comments on the console priceS are interesting.  Let’s remember that the wii, the PS2, all systems that eventually sold at huge rates (ie: over 50m) all had initial starting prices that were way higher than what the Amico is starting at.  So although it’s fair to wonder if the cost is too high, the price point is def in the range of “mass market”.  None of these consoles sold 50m on day one and sales were locked in once overall support was confirmed (ie: lot’s of games/development) and the price eventually went down further so that those who felt the initial price was too high could then buy one.

So for the early buyer, the $250 price point is def not a problem.  All that matters to the buyer will be “is there value here?” and “is what this system offering appealing to me?”.  Amico has two controllers and 6+ games included, so as long as the games are fun, there is clearly value here and that first question is already answered.  Add to that historical limitations on available stock (this isn’t the first time we see limited stock on a console launch lol) and the price point is not a problem. So really the big question mark is “does the system and games appeal to me? “ .  The IE market research tells them it’s a “yes”, that’s something we will see for ourselves soon enough.

A lot of these questions are fair but I think For most of the questions, the answers are more obvious and less unknown if people consider the history of the market.  It’s not a slam dunk, there are real question marks that could limit the success to single digit millions (Which I think as their first tipping of the toe for the “Amico project”, they wouldn’t consider that a failure). One of the things I spoke of is that after the initial wave of consoles are bought by the die hard fans, there are a lot of people who wait to see how it turns out. Personally I think there is a well planned out strategy here by IE, but there are question marks that can work against them. For example, the dev costs assures that the cost per game is manageable and therefore their target price point on games (about $10) is very attractive.  Add to that the quality control means a game released should be fun to play (no duds!).  But that also limits the amount of games, if this is seen as a negative one or two years down the road, no one knows for sure, only time will tell. I think it’s a real question that merits asking because even though it trumps quality, the fact is there are a lot of people that see value in choices and the PS1 showed this in sales compared to N64 (obviously other factors affected this too, such as game development costs and lower licensing fees) but it will be interesting to see if IE at some point opens up the market a bit more as far as 3rd party etc. I could see them revisit this as long as there is a way for the “seal of approval” to still be a factor.

Right now, considering the research and the target audience (the mom’s), I think they’ve got chance at a big win here but it’s still uncharted territory so it’s very fair to wonder AND for someone to ask themselves these questions.  But some of the questions, the answers are clear already.

10 hours ago, NTV said:

But what kid would ask for a Switch but no games? I think a typical kid is going to ask for a Switch and at least a couple of games, otherwise what is he going to do with it. Cost quickly jumps to $400

and they will cost the kid another "present".  we know how this plays both as kid and parents. Mom/Dad get you the system, grandparents get you a game or two. Parents again will make the call hearing the price of the system. Plus pretty sure if a kid ask for the mobile switch system, they wont be happy getting a amico. Once kids are old enough to ask for things, parents lose the ability to make a swap I mean you could, but you'll end up spending money only to make one unhappy and miserable child.  

One of the things I am really impressed with Tommy and his team is how he has been able to set up the distributors Aka all the major retailers. Its a very hard thing to do especially as a new company with a new product. Im guessing two factors allowed for this. Some people on his team most have good prior relationships with the buyers and the amico must have a good margin. 

1 hour ago, Loafer said:

Let’s remember that the wii, the PS2, all systems that eventually sold at huge rates (ie: over 50m) all had initial starting prices that were way higher than what the Amico is starting at

Wii and PS2 were seen as cutting edge tech, they also had the brand power of nintendo and sony behind them. Amico has the intellivision branding and that will get them the nostalgia crowd, ie guys like us, but as you said the BIG question is whether they can penetrate, create and grab another demo market. No one will really know til late 2021. Again the lower the price the better the chance they have to be able to penetrate.  

For those that still think pricing isnt a CRITICAL factor, just look to whats going on with Sony and Micro right now, they each are showcasing their new gen console, thy'll tell you everything except......price.  Why is that... cause price is critical, getting it wrong can cost you critical market share

8 minutes ago, bigdaddygamestudio said:

and they will cost the kid another "present".  we know how this plays both as kid and parents. Mom/Dad get you the system, grandparents get you a game or two. Parents again will make the call hearing the price of the system. Plus pretty sure if a kid ask for the mobile switch system, they wont be happy getting a amico. Once kids are old enough to ask for things, parents lose the ability to make a swap I mean you could, but you'll end up spending money only to make one unhappy and miserable child.  

 

One of the things I am really impressed with Tommy and his team is how he has been able to set up the distributors Aka all the major retailers. Its a very hard thing to do especially as a new company with a new product. Im guessing two factors allowed for this. Some people on his team most have good prior relationships with the buyers and the amico must have a good margin. 

Not necessarily.  I know plenty of people that haven't purchase a switch or any other console due to the cost. Hell I have a good friend in California with 2 kids, boys in their late teens the are still playing on a ps3. Gaming is a very expensive hobby.  And for several of my friends when I've told them about the Amico.  The price was more acceptable to them. Especially when they dont have to worry about $60 games because all the games are $10 or less. So if the marketing is done right I can still this being picked up over a Nintendo.  Because there is alot of people that dont and wont buy a Nintendo switch due to cost and added cost especially when you have a household with multiple children.  

Again several friends I know dont like buying consoles that require more cost to allow other kids in the house to play together.  Many people today are really strapped for money and dont even own current consoles 

6 minutes ago, Relicgamer said:

Again several friends I know dont like buying consoles that require more cost to allow other kids in the house to play together.  Many people today are really strapped for money and dont even own current consoles 

you keep making my point that price point matter.  The switch is too high for them to get their kids so they dont, they dont then go out and buy some different cheaper substitute, they stand pat and buy nothing.  If you cant afford a switch, the amico is not a substitute, they are very different products.

The amico is looking at creating its own new space in console gaming, that brings with it all sorts of opportunities but also challenges. Usually the opportunity far out way the hurdles, but this freakin covid is really screwing up everyone and everything.  Timing like price is critical. I hope they can navigate this whole pandemic and the economic calamity that is surely to follow. Just sucks that great strategy and hard work can be screwed up by something beyond your control.  

New video! For Father's Day I share some of my earliest memories of playing video games with my dad—who, it turns out, is the inspiration for this channel. ‬

Posting here because most of the memories were about Intellivision.

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Happy Father's Day to all! ‬