Intellivision Amico - Tommy Tallarico introduction + Q&A

1 hour ago, IntelliMission said:

I'm Troy McClure and you may remember me from the time when I found the song "Amico Delay" in Youtube, a song that has nothing to do with video games.

 

I'm here today to present you a Swedish electronic band called Intellivision, formed by 2 guys that go by the artistic names Ivan Intelli and Vince Vision. They released 2 albums, one in 2005 and another one in 2019.

 

Here are two examples of what they do: the song Moscow Moscow, from their first album, and the song Voices in the Dark, from their second album.

 

And now, let's sit and relax while the judges and lawyers do their job.

Wow. I think I still prefer TJ Ferreira's interpretation of the Intellivision classics.

To be honest and while they're not my style, both bands do a pretty good job considering they're totally unknown.

But while the word "Amico" is universal and free for everyone to use, I have the feeling the word "Intellivision" is not something you can just attach to a product like that.

Let's see what @Tommy Tallarico has to say.

Ask Tommy Question:

Will you have a "try before you buy" for games above $2 or $3 dollars?

Recorded version:

4 hours ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Interesting article about the $299 cost of the Xbox Series S.

 

https://www.engadget.com/consider-storage-before-buying-xbox-series-s-or-ps5-133049783.html

To me, what this article really says is that there are still so many questions about the PS5/XBSX/S that have yet to be answered. We can guess what the game sizes will be, but we really don't know. The author is basing assumptions off current games and then admits that games on an SSD could be much smaller. He's also cherry-picking certain games which are huge even compared to other AAA games. But he doesn't know. Nobody knows yet because neither company has revealed any of those details.

Compare that with Intellivision, where Tommy has repeatedly told us practically everything you need to know about the console. We've seen games on it. We've seen the controller in action. He's mentioned how the RFID in controllers will work on other consoles and how you'll then have access to all your games on those consoles. It was just recently revealed that new games for PS5 will be up to $70. We've known Amico games won't be any higher than $10 for almost two years now. I feel confident putting money down for an Amico because I feel like I know what I'm getting. As for a PS5, there are still so many questions left unanswered.

1 hour ago, IntelliMission said:

To be honest and while they're not my style, both bands do a pretty good job considering they're totally unknown.

 

But while the word "Amico" is universal and free for everyone to use, I have the feeling the word "Intellivision" is not something you can just attach to a product like that.

 

Let's see what @Tommy Tallarico has to say.

http://www.intelli-vision.com

It's okay as long as one business doesn't affect the business of the other.

45 minutes ago, mr_me said:

http://www.intelli-vision.com

 

It's okay as long as one business doesn't affect the business of the other.

I believe this is correct.

There was a court case here a few years ago where Hanes (the underwear people) decided to take a company called Hanes Hummus (unshockingly, they make hummus) to court claiming that the name would be confusing to consumers.

However, as Hanes (the underwear people) was unable to present anyone who could claim 'I bought this jar of Hanes Hummus, smeared it all over myself and only then realized it was not actually underwear at all!' they lost the case.

So it seems similar/identical names is allowed, as long as the products of each are unlikely to be confused with each other.

This is cool. Can you match all of the songs and sound effects to their respective games? Kudos if you know them all.

Anyone else seeing a variable number of flying saucers in the Moon Patrol Demo?  For instance, when I get the yellow buggy powerup, I get from from 0-6 during the duration of the power up. Wondering if there is some planned variability of when they appear, but would hope the same number of ships are available for points at each run. 

This is way out of topic but since Tommy has discussed maybe tackling the Vectrex next it has renewed my interest in old vector machines. Here are some resources to check out if you are also interested:

Arcade Jason - bit collector of arcade machines but with a special love for vector. Lots of cab rebuilds & he also has done board mods to bring color to asteroids and such:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCODLTJtRV-jYvmTx9YScCVQ

Vector Forum for all things vector/Vectrex:

https://vectorgaming.proboards.com/

VectorBolt Magazine (yes a indie paper *gasp* magazine all about vector based arcade machines):

http://geovector.tripod.com/_sgg/m3_1.htm

And of course AtariAge Vectrex forum:

https://atariage.com/forums/forum/182-vectrex/

On 9/16/2020 at 11:27 AM, woobman said:

Nobody fraks with Angry Eybrow Pete!

 

Hmmmmm Fraks with. Battlestar Galactica. Mattel.. Space Alert. Battlestar Galactica Space Alert by Mattel.  Amico.  Mattel and Amico partnering on games.  I want to start the rumor that Battlestar Galactica will have an exclusive game for the Amico. 

 

@Tommy Tallarico Any truth to the rumors that have been floating around here for one sentence?

Here’s my pick for my hot Wheels Side Swiper car - https://www.amazon.com/Hot-Wheels-Battlestar-Galactica-Anniversary/dp/B00E9EHGW8/ref=pd_bxgy_img_2/141-4636422-1002543?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00E9EHGW8&pd_rd_r=cb4ab75a-783f-4116-81f8-c560c6c431e5&pd_rd_w=hdZLg&pd_rd_wg=M5AwG&pf_rd_p=ce6c479b-ef53-49a6-845b-bbbf35c28dd3&pf_rd_r=BNT9BMBTY1H9CVCKNRKS&psc=1&refRID=BNT9BMBTY1H9CVCKNRKS

On 9/16/2020 at 1:27 PM, woobman said:

Nobody fraks with Angry Eybrow Pete!

 

Hmmmmm Fraks with. Battlestar Galactica. Mattel.. Space Alert. Battlestar Galactica Space Alert by Mattel.  Amico.  Mattel and Amico partnering on games.  I want to start the rumor that Battlestar Galactica will have an exclusive game for the Amico. 

 

@Tommy Tallarico Any truth to the rumors that have been floating around here for one sentence?

Rescue on Frak-talus, BSG editions.

Shillin' on the Dark Side.

13 hours ago, CurlyQ said:

Shillin' on the Dark Side.

 

I need this bad... Evil Pete is modeled after Palpatine... muhahahahahahahaha

Amico love at the zoo today!

Tommy I think paperboy wold be awesome for the Amico. You can use that most on controls to throw the paper 👍

1 hour ago, [email protected] said:

Tommy I think paperboy wold be awesome for the Amico. You can use that most on controls to throw the paper 👍

I would like to see this as well.

Good times, good times.

C64 game that would be cool on Amico. A Pig Quest by Antonio Savona. Could have multiple pigs.

http://www.indieretronews.com/2020/09/a-pig-quest-this-upcoming-c64-game.html

I personally would love to see some kind of first-party RPG from the development studio.

But that's just a suggestion in case the team needs food badly or somethin' because I know you guys have your hands full at the moment.

Just nice to see - Val Vacante was the host for several round tables Tommy has spoken at in different conferences. Plus she is in the local Austin tech scene, founder of Collabsco and works with the SXSW tech/art/music event each year in Austin. 

Here's an interesting article I read over the weekend.

Let me know your thoughts...

https://lifehacker.com/why-its-better-to-wait-for-that-next-gen-console-1845095919

6 minutes ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Here's an interesting article I read over the weekend.

 

Let me know your thoughts...

 

https://lifehacker.com/why-its-better-to-wait-for-that-next-gen-console-1845095919

 

I agree. I'm sitting this one out this turn around. People are getting so caught up in the hype of "which console should I buy?" that they never stop and ask themselves if they should buy one at all.

Other points to be made are that in a few years, when support for PS4/XB1 starts to die off, both Sony and Microsoft will probably be launching their slimmed down versions that are small and more power efficient. By that time, there will be some exclusive games you can only play on the new systems.

There are also technical reasons for holding off. People seem to be falling over themselves right now waiting to put down $500 on a  system that they know little about. Will there be huge issues like the XB360 had? The PS4 launched with a lot of people having video issues with the HDMI ports. Switch had its notorious "drift" issues or controllers not connecting. Why spend all that money just to be a QA tester for these companies? If I knew at launch that PS4 was going to turn into a roaring jet engine every time I wanted to play a visually stunning game, I would have waited. 

Plus these new games aren't really "new" in that they're really more of what we got in the past. Also, they'll be a lot more expensive. The controllers are expensive. The peripherals are expensive. Maybe Xbox will be cheaper since it seems like the old controllers will still work with it, but it's still expensive.

Maybe I'm somewhat of a hypocrite since I am getting two Amicos at launch, but there I'm getting two consoles, four controllers, and the ability to add more controllers with the phones already in my house (plus something like $70 worth of gift cards). Games will be smaller and more affordable. They'll also be unique and experiences I can't get on a PlayStation/Xbox. When you sit and do the math, it seems to me that the best option is to keep with what I have, and add an Amico or two in the future. Then wait and see if either the PS5/XBSX really provide anything worth having.