Intellivision Amico - Tommy Tallarico introduction + Q&A

@Tommy Tallarico

Finally watched the video, as I was at work when it came up.  I should have banged in sick for it!  LOL!

Impressive is the word that immediately comes to my mind, and backing up the hype.  What I liked most about it is that many of the programmers were part of it, and they were giving their opinions and thoughts about the system and programming games for it.  They all seemed very enthusiastic about the whole process and what the console hardware has to offer.  That in itself is a huge positive as you know if they like it, some really good designs and quality games will come from it.

Speaking from experience with not only Intellivision, but MAME and Retropie... this system really brings the boom for modern technology.  It's definitely NOT a RPi4 hidden in a large piece of plastic... so the haters need to stop comparing it to a Retropie system.  From the actual footage shown, it will be a fun, entertaining and visually appealing system with sharp and well designed graphics and killer sound! 

My likes... Battle Tanks, Evel Knievel (grew up wanting to be him!), Corn Hole, Astrosmash and definitely Bomb Squad.  To pinpoint that game for a moment... that's the first time I have ever heard of a system being the actual prop in the game.  What a fantastic concept!!  Can't wait to see that one in play!   The idea of having to work with others, much like you do in an Escape Room is an incredible and well thought game concept.  Kudos!!   Moon Patrol is completely insane!!  It was awesome to hear from the actual designer/producer of the original game and that he was totally on board for the remake.  Great stuff!

Dislikes... well... some of the games look a little too flashy and "cell phone" like.  Missile Command and Spades look like something I'd play on a tablet.  Not really console enough in my eyes, but again, I'm holding off until I play them.. and I will.  If that is the only complaint, then well... it's not really a big one.  I'm sure the vast library and style of games that you can play on it will more than make up for it.  There was no video of MLB Baseball!!

Suggestion:  a more Poker influenced game much like the original LV Blackjack and Poker.  That would be amazing!   Would have been great to see MLB Baseball in action, and from what it looks like Snafoo and Flying Circus (Biplanes?).  Bottom line... more game video.  I thought the whole hour plus video was very good, and a very good sales point (not pitch, we're beyond cheap sales pitches).  It gave a future buyer some real evidence that this is going to be a special console.  I enjoyed listening to the comments and hearing the pride of the developers from all over the world.  That was fun to watch.

Great news... and sad news too.  Sorry about your sister Tommy... My only sister, 2 years older than me shares the same birthday as yours, probably different year... 10-10-67.  But I know what it's like to loose someone so close and dear to you. 

"Push the envelope, watch it bend."   - Lateralus, Tool.

Rgds, James (IMB)

PS... sound and looks like Earthworm Jim will be Intellivision's "Deadpool" ... hahaha... "pull my finger!"  classic!

10 minutes ago, IMBerzerk said:

Flying Circus (Biplanes?)

I'm thinking Flying Circus is this game from the Gamescom 2019 Trailer last year.

Presentation was flawless at my end. I even paused it for a bit due to work stuff and it picked up fine after unpausing, no lag

High points of presentation:

- Intros to a lot of the key players (team/devs).  How everyone seemed to show genuine enthusiasm for the system, the controllers and the Intellivision Amico vision

- Earthworm Jim 4 looked great, simply great. loved the match 3 joke and reaction.  This should bring some serious attention when gameplay videos (ie: with enemies) is shown. Obviously there is no point showing more until say... March, then March you show killer gameplay just before launch. The game doesn't even need to be a launch title, the gameplay demo will carry you to a great launch

- Concrete retail partners.  This adds legitimacy to the console. I don't need it, but some out there obviously do and obviously the console itself needs it to succeed.

- Bomb Squad was probably my biggest surprise.  not only did the game look fun, but the video presentation of it worked.  I'm big on humour and John Callaghn was hilarious.  More of that game and him please 

- Space Strike:  Star Castle?  Did someone say Star Castle?  Holy shit this game looked fantastic. I think this could do for Amico what Geometry Wars did when it rehashed Robotron and found a lot of fans.  Well done, day 1 purchase!

- Break Out: there was a real passion behind a lot of people showing off their games and the relationship with the Amico team but Alex Noisy (sp?) did the best job of them all with his articulated commentary.  The fact Break Out marries gameplay with music isn't a bad thing too, brings something different to the paddle genre

- Moon Patrol: other levels look great too, and really nice to see some level of involvement from Scott Tsumura!

- Being an Amiga fan, the name Bitmap Brothers hit home; so hopefully Liar's Dice will be fun

- I'm a HUGE fan of pinball, so don't think for a second I didn't notice what was on the wall of Barnstorm Games' office!  We want pinball and an Amico Timeshock, arguably the best digital pinball game every released, would be welcomed!  EK will be a fun game too, I realize pinball was not present at the presentation lol

- Rigid Force Redux Enhanced should fill that classic shooter hole we crave!

Lower points of presentation:

- Confirmation launch date will not match up with my retirement date and let me be clear @Tommy Tallarico, I am NOT delaying my retirement just for you!

- I love what they are doing with Amico's menu but it did very much feel "early" (which Tommy stated in the video).  There is def some work needed here

- Staff training is not up to snuff, I caught a few people saying "The Amico" instead of Amico.  Crack the whip Tommy!

- I knew it wasn't going to make it in but I was so wishing to see gameplay of baseball (or hockey)

- Personally this close to the old launch date, I would have loved to see some press guys also booting up and playing some of the Amico games.  Until yesterday, this originally was supposed to be the full reveal and I expected more Joe Schmoe's having their hands on it right in the stream.  Not a complaint, but an honest observation.  it's moot though because I'm not saying this from a position of doubt and I think a delayed launch is for the better.

- You need to find a way to get a Horizon Chase style arcade racing game on the system, pronto.

Conclusion:

First more of a conclusion on some of the reaction here:  I don't get how some people can use the word "mistake" to describe the delay.  For a various reasons (mostly COVID19), they are simply not ready.  If everything has been delayed including testing, certification, etc, then it's not a mistake but a DISASTER of epic proportions to go ahead with the launch. We've seen big market items get delayed (including high profile games) just weeks before launch. That stings a heck of a lot more.  Here we have plenty of heads up and frankly, it is what it is and it allows me to get my after-retirement video blog ongoing prior to launch! LOL

Conclusion on event:

It succeeded on what it set out to do, show more games and especially introduce the world to Amico devs.  As disappointed as I am on the delay, due to covid19 and maybe other stuff for sure it's not ready and rushing to try and make it ready within these uncertain times is asking for a disaster.  Now let's look at the positives of the delay.

- obviously, more games can be polished and finished

- the console's development can proceed through some polish (boot up front end) and certification can take the time it needs

- I know that there was a hint that an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres show was going to play a role. Man, it is not time for that right now but in 5 months from now? That could work great, time heals all wounds.

- having more time to launch allows you to line up more devs, more retail partners, etc.

That's about it.  I want more but I'll take what was shown today and I hope you guys really use this monthly youtube series to mentioned to really open things up a bit

8 hours ago, Intellivision Master said:

It would of been nice to see J. Allard in the Amico event.

Sounds like you blinked and missed it.

Finally watched the event.  The delay is understandable.  Ignore the haters, there's a pandemic out there that is delaying everything.  It does give you guys more time to polish the system and the game.  The games are looking really nice.  I do like the Earthworm Jim match game joke.  I do like the graphics in this game.  This is a system I can confidently can play I with other people who don't play games.  Both of my Joycons are messed up, I believe the Amico controller will hold up much much better than the Joycons that experience annoying drifts.  Hopefully you remembered to find that spring after taping the skiing segment. 

Just watched it again. I must have been barely conscious watching it streaming this morning

I liked everything about the event except for the following details:

- The delay (but it's not really their fault and it's probably a good decision)

- The high-profile Distribution Department guy and his daughter looked too serious (not trying to be nitpicking)

- The fox game (there's gotta be something for everyone, but this game screams solitary experience for me)

It was great to confirm that the console is a reality and many of the people working with Tommy are plain geniuses (the EWJ guys, the Bomb Squad guy, the guys who make Breakout...).

All caught up!
 

Finish: Matte woodgrain! Matte finish all day, every day.

Delays: Delay was handled perfectly, consumers were kept in the loop for months on the possibility and the reasons are understandable.

Teams: The people involved in this journey project a passion for the mission, and I think that is something special. It was cool to hear from some faces behind the journey.

Games: Keep the sneak peeks and hands-on demonstrations coming! Not every game is going to be for every consumer...AND THATS OK! I didn’t have any surprise changes to my “top 5” after this, but it was cool to see new games.

Im still excited for my VIP pre-order and look forward to watching the product’s journey to market unfold. 

@Tommy Tallarico - thanks for including us along the way.

7 hours ago, Loafer said:

 

Conclusion:

First more of a conclusion on some of the reaction here:  I don't get how some people can use the word "mistake" to describe the delay.  For a various reasons (mostly COVID19), they are simply not ready.  If everything has been delayed including testing, certification, etc, then it's not a mistake but a DISASTER of epic proportions to go ahead with the launch.

Agreed.  I take back my use of the word "mistake".  If it is not ready, it is not ready.

5 hours ago, Kiwi said:

Finally watched the event.  The delay is understandable.  Ignore the haters, there's a pandemic out there that is delaying everything.  It does give you guys more time to polish the system and the game.  The games are looking really nice.  I do like the Earthworm Jim match game joke.  I do like the graphics in this game.  This is a system I can confidently can play I with other people who don't play games.  Both of my Joycons are messed up, I believe the Amico controller will hold up much much better than the Joycons that experience annoying drifts.  Hopefully you remembered to find that spring after taping the skiing segment. 

I hear a lot about how the Amico is too close in price to the Switch and I've been wondering how they made a console with a detachable portable screen that has an introductory price of $300. There is the obvious: less power than PS4 and XBox One. However, I think most of it is cutbacks and low quality control. I only bring this up because dismissive gamers insist on saying the Switch is competing with the Amico.

Gamers are needing to replace or fix their joycon after a few months of use. I don't remember the last controller this was true about. I have 15 year old dual shocks and Wii controllers that work perfectly and 90's gamepads that work perfectly. The early 80s I guess. Next  there are frequent complaints on forums of the screen getting scratched up after only a couple of months. People are told they should have a screen protector because the screen is mid-quality plastic. People often respond that the screen was warped when they got it, so they could not get a screen protector to fit, sometimes when buying two in a row. They are then told they should use a flexible screen protector, but couldn't this have been included at the point of sale because people may not think about it since how many game consoles have you had to buy a screen protector for?

In addition, the little half-controller joycons dismissers insist are individual controllers are the tiniest controller in forever and the worst controller ergonomically in 40 years.

Did Nintendo know the controllers would go bad or the screen would scratch easily or the plastic would warp. They would have if they did good quality control and they could have fixed the issues, but it probably would have raised the price $30. Then there is the frequent hacking of the system's online accounts and games and the poor e-shop quality control. Hacking has led to children being exposed to pornography online in games like Mario Odyssey.  I haven't bought a Switch due to these issues. They could have run a tighter ship so they could have made a quality system to match their AAA games, but it would have probably raised the price to $350 and likely figured it would sell on the strength of game reputation, so, no. I wonder how they can drop the price of the console $100 for the Switch Lite without further compromise, since it will contain the vast majority of the Switch's capabilities. 

I'm just saying that the Amico only competes with the Switch in price because the Switch is a not-so-well made system with not-so-good online management which equals lower price point. In addition, the Amico comes with 6 pack-in games which raises the price about $40-$50. 

One thing I noticed when Tommy turned on the Amico, went to the menu and picked skiiing, they briefly cut away from the screen and showed Tommy holding the controller.  I wonder if that was due to a glitch while loading skiing?  Seems strange that they didn't show whole transition on screen from picking skiing to seeing it load up.

Sure, It is also possible the cut away was intended to not show a lengthy loading sequence because the internet would run away with this with “Amico has LONG LOADING TIMES”. At this moment, the game is likely not optimized so it would be misleading to show the actual loading time.

30 minutes ago, Swami said:

I 

 

I'm just saying that the Amico only competes with the Switch in price because the Switch is a not-so-well made system with not-so-good online management which equals lower price point. In addition, the Amico comes with 6 pack-in games which raises the price about $40-$50. 

Also the games and Im not talking about the shovelware games but the mid to upper quality cost $30 to $60. So that puts your cost higher as well. Add that Nintendo does a horrible job in censoring what comes on their system.  1 ges was released with a rating of E for everyone but had sexual content so they had to remove it and have it changed to M for mature.  And another game had to be removed altogether and have content removed due to the game having scenes with women being raped. The haters really hate when you bring those things up. Especially when they thought Tommy was making it up. I own a switch dont get me wrong I like it. But the estore is a major waste of time and if you have little ones Nintendo has lost their trust in allowing children to play on this system.  The hack you mentioned I never knew about but it definitely shows they are not making safety a priority. 

3 hours ago, IntelliMission said:

I liked everything about the event except for the following details:

 

- The delay (but it's not really their fault and it's probably a good decision)

 

- The high-profile Distribution Department guy and his daughter looked too serious (not trying to be nitpicking)

 

- The fox game (there's gotta be something for everyone, but this game screams solitary experience for me)

 

It was great to confirm that the console is a reality and many of the people working with Tommy are plain geniuses (the EWJ guys, the Bomb Squad guy, the guys who make Breakout...).

I agree about the fox game. It seemed very out of place compared to the feel and look of the other games. But who knows ! 

35 minutes ago, Swami said:

I hear a lot about how the Amico is too close in price to the Switch and I've been wondering how they made a console with a detachable portable screen that has an introductory price of $300. There is the obvious: less power than PS4 and XBox One. However, I think most of it is cutbacks and low quality control. I only bring this up because dismissive gamers insist on saying the Switch is competing with the Amico.

 

Gamers are needing to replace or fix their joycon after a few months of use. I don't remember the last controller this was true about. I have 15 year old dual shocks and Wii controllers that work perfectly and 90's gamepads that work perfectly. The early 80s I guess. Next  there are frequent complaints on forums of the screen getting scratched up after only a couple of months. People are told they should have a screen protector because the screen is mid-quality plastic. People often respond that the screen was warped when they got it, so they could not get a screen protector to fit, sometimes when buying two in a row. They are then told they should use a flexible screen protector, but couldn't this have been included at the point of sale because people may not think about it since how many game consoles have you had to buy a screen protector for?

 

In addition, the little half-controller joycons dismissers insist are individual controllers are the tiniest controller in forever and the worst controller ergonomically in 40 years.

 

Did Nintendo know the controllers would go bad or the screen would scratch easily or the plastic would warp. They would have if they did good quality control and they could have fixed the issues, but it probably would have raised the price $30. Then there is the frequent hacking of the system's online accounts and games and the poor e-shop quality control. Hacking has led to children being exposed to pornography online in games like Mario Odyssey.  I haven't bought a Switch due to these issues. They could have run a tighter ship so they could have made a quality system to match their AAA games, but it would have probably raised the price to $350 and likely figured it would sell on the strength of game reputation, so, no. I wonder how they can drop the price of the console $100 for the Switch Lite without further compromise, since it will contain the vast majority of the Switch's capabilities. 

 

I'm just saying that the Amico only competes with the Switch in price because the Switch is a not-so-well made system with not-so-good online management which equals lower price point. In addition, the Amico comes with 6 pack-in games which raises the price about $40-$50. 

This is why I'm not so bummed about the delay. In fact, it's actually a relief to know they're going to take the extra time because I was getting worried that the quality control would be rushed to make an October deadline. 

Nintendo's failure in the quality of the joycons is very different than their reputation. From the sheer number of people who complain about "drifting" with their controllers, it seems to be a widespread problem. But they're not the only ones. OUYA had horrible controller issues when it launched. The XBOX360 had... issues. Many, many issues. 

As for classic controllers, they were well built but not meant to last forever. My Genesis controllers eventually all gave out over the years. I've had to change the springs in my original Intellivision controller to keep the disc working. Nothing is going to last forever, not even Amico controllers. Eventually their batteries are going to die. The buttons will lose their bounce. I just hope it doesn't happen for many, many years.

So, I noticed many of the games accommodate more than 2 players (locally) but it just has 2 controllers.  I'm aware cell phones can be used as controllers for people to join in but my question is that if additional controllers are purchased (I'd prefer everyone that plays gets to use the awesome amico controller), will there be some kind of charging dock/station to house additional controllers to keep them charged?

2 minutes ago, mtamborra said:

So, I noticed many of the games accommodate more than 2 players (locally) but it just has 2 controllers.  I'm aware cell phones can be used as controllers for people to join in but my question is that if additional controllers are purchased (I'd prefer everyone that plays gets to use the awesome amico controller), will there be some kind of charging dock/station to house additional controllers to keep them charged?

Yes, there will be a charging station.

2 minutes ago, mtamborra said:

So, I noticed many of the games accommodate more than 2 players (locally) but it just has 2 controllers.  I'm aware cell phones can be used as controllers for people to join in but my question is that if additional controllers are purchased (I'd prefer everyone that plays gets to use the awesome amico controller), will there be some kind of charging dock/station to house additional controllers to keep them charged?

Yes. Like the little units for charging Wii remotes, there will be an amico equivalent. It should be available on launch. Tommy can answer if they will sell two controller with charger bundles. 

Bomb Squad was a very pleasant surprise. It would be hilarious is Bob Newhart was the one trying to talk you through it. . .

"Now this is very important: You must use a number 10a screwdriver. . .You don't have one, huh? Use a coin, Harold."

"OK, now you will see two wires: One is a sort of blueish-grey, and the other a greyish-blue."

Well I still love my Switch! It has a ton of great games and they are always having digital sales. I am a huge RPG fan though so maybe that’s why. That machine is great for RPGs. Also, Nintendo will fix your drifting controllers for free. I sent mine in and it only took about a week and a half to get them back.

The only issue with the controller that im thinking about, is if the paint starts disappearing from use. (The gold sections)

7 hours ago, CurlyQ said:

Sounds like you blinked and missed it.

What I love about these @CurlyQ pictures is the big stuff is always good for a laugh but the little details keep you smiling - genius as usual.

This event was not kid friendly that's all I'm gonna say, it was like a documentary your parents would force you to sit through, I only found one kid reaction and he was not pleased. Will kids be calling their friends saying hey did you see that live Amico event on YouTube? Can we admit this was geared towards an older generation?

Juice: ... yes?

Liar's Dice: Looks like a bluffing game (ala Poker?) but with dice. Reminds me of another game maybe Intellivision could look into - is the very fun, indie game "Dicey Dungeons" which is a quirky dice battling game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2AdLWsRuHg