... my absolute dreaded fear with Amico was we would see games like this reimagining of Combat, "Atari Combat: Tank Fury".  I just see so little of what *was* Combat in a game like this.. buy tanks, a matching gem mini-game somehow incorporated, a generic base builder from another game... I loved Combat, sure it was a simple game, but I am not seeing anything of that in this trailer.  I realize I'm looking at tanks, but, that's really stretching the technicalities of how this pedigree ties in.

When people say "Amico's games look like mobile games", THIS is what I picture as a mobile game.  Match 3.  Exploding chains.  Infographic icons and health meters that are always on screen.. little reward credits when you complete an action.  A purchase element and upgradable gear.  A store to cash in coins/rewards.  A button to "Finish" for some coin.  A Loot button.  Collectibles.  Generic PVP combat.  Bland repeated backgrounds.  

This was a depressing watch.  To be fair, it is actually a mobile game.  But it paints this real contrast to what Atari is doing with their property, versus what Intellivision is doing with theirs and licensed properties.  Rather, we see these careful renditions like the remake of Armor Battle (BattleTanks?) in Amico's presentation and reveals.  Gameplay gets upgraded.  You probably don't have a gambling element or a flappy bird mini game.  These games look cared for. They do NOT look like mobile games.. and for those who argue they do - show 'em this vs what Amico is doing and marvel at how identical in premise, gameplay the two look and feel.

Hope Atari makes money with this one and makes a decent Combat successor in the coming years, but I think my playtime is going to BattleTanks/Armor Battle/BlowinStuffUp&AvoidTheHelicopter.

1 hour ago, bigdaddygamestudio said:

The entire Nvidia RTX 3080 sellout last week in record time was all due to bots.  Funny thing is now ebayers are hitting back with buying bots..  what a world.. 

https://gizmodo.com/the-nvidia-rtx-3080-ebay-debacle-exposed-a-scalper-bot-1845133050

Very enlightening. I love to see the tables turned on those who try to gouge or rip off other people off.

6 hours ago, vongruetz said:

The gaming world seems more chaotic to me now, more than ever. Huge companies like Sony and Microsoft can't seem to get pre-orders for game consoles to go smoothly, even with the help of giant retailers like Walmart and Amazon (and sometimes, at the detriment of their help). I will say, I pre-ordered two Amicos with zero problems at all. I could in fact pre-order another one right now without issue... maybe I should... no, two is enough for now. Yes, I'm sure volume is the big differentiator here, but I will say that my experience with Intellivision has been a wonderful experience compared to what some are going through trying to get a new PS5.

 

I'm also a bit surprised that so many people are rushing to order Xbox Series X or PS5 when they still don't know very much about them. Nobody, outside of their respective companies, has seen them. Or played them. Aside from the highly polished videos of their games, what do those games actually look like? What does the UI look like? Contrast that to Amico where Tommy shows off the system, the controller, and the ideas behind the console every chance he gets. We've even had a demo of one of the games that we've been able to play on our phones for months now. I may have not played an Amico yet, but I'm so intimately familiar with so much of the console, that it feels like I have. I feel confident when I put my money down on one to purchase it.

 

But the problem is bigger than that. Maybe I'm just getting old, or maybe @RetroAdvisoryBoard's video had an impact on me, but these gigantic games coming out really do seem like they're bringing the entire industry down. Not just that, but this push to make games as a service with offerings such as Xbox Game Pass or PS Now are not only diminishing the value of games, but changing the fundamental way we view, purchase, and consume these products. Games are no longer the treasured gift they once were, but a disposable commodity that gets but a moment's notice before being discarded. Netflix was once a great value when it was the only streaming service in town, but then came Hulu, Amazon, Disney+, CBS, NBC, HBO... and so on. How long until there are a dozen gaming services all asking for a monthly payment of $9.99 to give you access to 500 games that you will never play??

 

Again, maybe it's my experience talking, but I really like the way Intellivision is going. You buy a game, you own the game. And the game you bought is the full game. No DLC, no extra content to buy, no microtransactions. It's focusing on quality over quantity. Yes, you can have 1000 games in your store, but if 80% of them are crap, what's the point?  I recently had to go through a number of games on my PS4 to delete some, and as I played a bunch I had downloaded but never touched, I was amazed at how much garbage there was out there. Even big AAA games were not worth playing. I really look forward to console that offers focused content that doesn't take me 40 hours of my life to experience, while constantly bombarding with the feeling that I need to download the next offering I got from a subscription. 

 

I'm worried about the way video games are headed, and I really hope Amico is everything it says it will be.

I am also a little surprised by the demand on the Series X and PS5 pre-orders, but am a little cautious to say it's unprecedented demand.  We have an idea of many units Sony and Microsoft want to put out over the holiday and first quarter based on statements Sony's made - which are much higher than the production run they had for the PS3 or PS4.  But I can't see them offering more than a single or low double-digit percentage of those for pre-order from retailers.  They still want units to go to stores for the holiday.  Retailers WANT physical units in stores for the holidays - that brings shoppers, shoppers tend to add extra items to their cart that online preorders do not.  So were we looking at a sell-out of 500,000 units, or 2 million?  I don't know.  Sony and Microsoft have no desire to say how many preorders they made available, and it's only good buzz for them to say the preorders sold out in record time.  It'd look really bad if they made several million available and.. well, there are plenty still in stock from all preorder sites.

So yeah, this week was a preorder debacle, but it was ultimately good news for both Sony and Microsoft, showcasing how absolutely in demand their consoles are.  Or maybe, just a little bit fabricated to look that way.  

Sorry to get you down with my doom & gloom video!  I hope more smaller games break out to encourage publishers to diversify their offerings, rather than the all eggs in a blockbuster or two basket approach, we need a broad diversity of games and a deep bench.  Just don't see either software as a service model really delivering on that front anytime soon.. I don't think Microsoft or Sony pad their offerings with too many unknown variables/games, that renewable income is just too core to their business model.      

10 hours ago, vongruetz said:

Again, maybe it's my experience talking, but I really like the way Intellivision is going. You buy a game, you own the game. And the game you bought is the full game. No DLC, no extra content to buy, no microtransactions. It's focusing on quality over quantity. Yes, you can have 1000 games in your store, but if 80% of them are crap, what's the point?  I recently had to go through a number of games on my PS4 to delete some, and as I played a bunch I had downloaded but never touched, I was amazed at how much garbage there was out there. Even big AAA games were not worth playing. I really look forward to console that offers focused content that doesn't take me 40 hours of my life to experience, while constantly bombarding with the feeling that I need to download the next offering I got from a subscription. 

 

I'm worried about the way video games are headed, and I really hope Amico is everything it says it will be.

Bear in mind that this might be a dumb question, but are expansion packs allowed? The old Age of Empires comes to mind, seeing as the Rise of Rome expansion greatly improved many things, but other than that I'm not too sure how common this is in the gaming world because I don't own a large collection as well as how I don't own an eighth generation console.

Here's a link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expansion_pack#Console_game_expansion_packs

8 hours ago, RetroAdvisoryBoard said:

Sorry to get you down with my doom & gloom video!  I hope more smaller games break out to encourage publishers to diversify their offerings, rather than the all eggs in a blockbuster or two basket approach, we need a broad diversity of games and a deep bench.  Just don't see either software as a service model really delivering on that front anytime soon.. I don't think Microsoft or Sony pad their offerings with too many unknown variables/games, that renewable income is just too core to their business model.      

https://www.gameinformer.com/opinion/2020/09/22/the-horrors-and-highlights-of-gamings-own-nothing-future

To be fair, it wasn't just your video, but also this article at GameInformer. Your video was like a wake up call to the industry while this article is throwing up the flag for where our experiences are heading. In short, he fears that gaming companies are going to use the same AI and algorithms that Google/Amazon/YouTube/Twitter use to try and keep you constantly engaged all the time. Tailor games to you. It all sounds great, but then it also sounded great when online news sources promised to only give you the news you're interested in. Or that open forums like Twitter would make sharing thoughts and ideas turn the world into a more wonderful place. People can't drive two miles without constantly looking at their phones. Is this where Sony/Microsoft want to take gaming?

We've already hit the point where many games can't be played anymore because they "can't connect to the server." How long until they're all like that?

Interesting aside from that article is that it's now different than when it originally published. Yesterday it mentioned an essay by former staffer Matt Helguson on why he left games media. He said he just didn't understand games anymore and the direction this was all heading. That line has now been removed. 

5 hours ago, SpectreFighter said:

Bear in mind that this might be a dumb question, but are expansion packs allowed? The old Age of Empires comes to mind, seeing as the Rise of Rome expansion greatly improved many things, but other than that I'm not too sure how common this is in the gaming world because I don't own a large collection as well as how I don't own an eighth generation console.

Here's a link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expansion_pack#Console_game_expansion_packs

I believe Tommy said they wait until they had enough for a full sequel rather than adding smaller expansion packs. 

On 9/21/2020 at 9:36 AM, LinemanDoc said:

San Diego Zoo.  We spent the weekend at Legoland Hotel.  It was a needed break after working three 24 hour shifts in a row on Labor Day during the heat storm.  I'm a power lineman in Anaheim and the heat caused a lot of outages.  Most people don't realize we exist as a career and also the amount of human lives lost on a regular basis to keep our power on.  It really makes you think about what and who's important in life each day.

 

So what are the chances of Intellivision making the first ever video game about a lineman?  Nintendo did one about a plumber..... just sayin'

Ah!  Cool!  We're right down the street from each other.  I'm in Orange County as well.

Yeah, that one stretch of heat wave was insane. 

Thanks for all your hard work!  I know that industry has a lot of challenges recently... especially in California with the rolling black-outs, etc.!

Have there been any in Orange County?  I haven't experienced one yet... then again... I'm 100% solar so I suppose I wouldn't. 

On 9/21/2020 at 9:40 AM, IMBerzerk said:

oooooooo... Barracuda!!

 

 

Just wanted to point out that I got the Heart reference.

On 9/21/2020 at 11:03 AM, Intellivision Master said:

Tommy,

 

Do you remember a movie series called "Critters"?  It started in the 80's.  I don't think there's ever been a video game made for it.  It would be cool to have a Critters game exclusively on Amico.  If you can't get Zombies ate my Neighbors, what about Critters ate my Neighbors?  Lol.  You play as a bounty hunter from the movie and go around blasting the killer fur balls.  Of course the game needs to be non violent.  Perhaps put a cartoon spin on it or something. 

Never saw that one.

On 9/21/2020 at 11:17 AM, Battlefish said:

They've got some funny ones this year! Especially Total Disposal and Duck N'  Roll

 

That Mattel Dream Machine, though...Dang!!!

Yep!  Definitely putting the Duck N' Roll in there!!

On 9/21/2020 at 11:32 AM, RxScram said:

Here are a few from my trip to South Africa a few years ago...

 

My wife with a curious giraffe

 

A nice silhouette shot of a mother and her calf...

 

 

A rather opportunistic shot of a giraffe framed by trees.

 

Amazing!  

Authenticity!  YOU WIN!

On 9/21/2020 at 6:08 PM, bigdaddygamestudio said:

Growing up me and my younger brother had a favorite car its was the Hairy Hustler.

 

 

 

Funny story, a couple years back my brother a very successful bio medical engineer retired at 50, he had had it with the corp world and made a bunch of money so he left, now he has his own car business where he makes custom resto mods.  For his retirement party it was one of those deals, what do I get a guy who has everything he wants, well I thought back to this car and our childhood, so I found one on ebay, bought it for him since it was one of the things that likely led him to his lifetime love of cars and gave it to him at the party. He loved the gift. The car now sits proudly front and center in his office. 

Awesome story!  Thanks for sharing!

And awesome car!

16 hours ago, GrudgeQ said:

Tommy's 09/21/2020 interview on Wave Radio, Boston MA - Interview start 1:13:00

 

https://www.hulkshare.com/appetitefordiscussion/bottoms-up-afd-09-21-2020-1

They were super cool and really did a lot of homework before the interview.  Very cool.

15 hours ago, vongruetz said:

The gaming world seems more chaotic to me now, more than ever. Huge companies like Sony and Microsoft can't seem to get pre-orders for game consoles to go smoothly, even with the help of giant retailers like Walmart and Amazon (and sometimes, at the detriment of their help). I will say, I pre-ordered two Amicos with zero problems at all. I could in fact pre-order another one right now without issue... maybe I should... no, two is enough for now. Yes, I'm sure volume is the big differentiator here, but I will say that my experience with Intellivision has been a wonderful experience compared to what some are going through trying to get a new PS5.

 

I'm also a bit surprised that so many people are rushing to order Xbox Series X or PS5 when they still don't know very much about them. Nobody, outside of their respective companies, has seen them. Or played them. Aside from the highly polished videos of their games, what do those games actually look like? What does the UI look like? Contrast that to Amico where Tommy shows off the system, the controller, and the ideas behind the console every chance he gets. We've even had a demo of one of the games that we've been able to play on our phones for months now. I may have not played an Amico yet, but I'm so intimately familiar with so much of the console, that it feels like I have. I feel confident when I put my money down on one to purchase it.

 

But the problem is bigger than that. Maybe I'm just getting old, or maybe @RetroAdvisoryBoard's video had an impact on me, but these gigantic games coming out really do seem like they're bringing the entire industry down. Not just that, but this push to make games as a service with offerings such as Xbox Game Pass or PS Now are not only diminishing the value of games, but changing the fundamental way we view, purchase, and consume these products. Games are no longer the treasured gift they once were, but a disposable commodity that gets but a moment's notice before being discarded. Netflix was once a great value when it was the only streaming service in town, but then came Hulu, Amazon, Disney+, CBS, NBC, HBO... and so on. How long until there are a dozen gaming services all asking for a monthly payment of $9.99 to give you access to 500 games that you will never play??

 

Again, maybe it's my experience talking, but I really like the way Intellivision is going. You buy a game, you own the game. And the game you bought is the full game. No DLC, no extra content to buy, no microtransactions. It's focusing on quality over quantity. Yes, you can have 1000 games in your store, but if 80% of them are crap, what's the point?  I recently had to go through a number of games on my PS4 to delete some, and as I played a bunch I had downloaded but never touched, I was amazed at how much garbage there was out there. Even big AAA games were not worth playing. I really look forward to console that offers focused content that doesn't take me 40 hours of my life to experience, while constantly bombarding with the feeling that I need to download the next offering I got from a subscription. 

 

I'm worried about the way video games are headed, and I really hope Amico is everything it says it will be.

Fantastic post and thank you for sharing your thoughts.

Sony & Microsoft (as well as Nintendo) have tens of millions of dedicated hardcore fans... as they should... the 3 of them have ruled console gaming for 25 - 35 years and deservedly so.  They will have no problem selling tens of millions of whatever machine they put out and getting millions upon millions of pre-orders without ever seeing or playing it.  Even something like the Wii U (considered a "failure" by everyone) sold over 13.5 million units!  I'll take Nintendo's "failure" numbers any day of the week!  

I agree that the industry is definitely pushing into a brand new realm and future... we've seen it happening with mobile for over 5 years.  Games now being designed to purposely suck more money out of you, or... as you mentioned... lots of mediocre to low level quality being offered (among some great stuff) for a monthly subscription.  Seems to be the "future" of gaming for the big 3.  We want to do something totally different.  We want to bring it back to the way it used to be.  Before the microtransactions, loot boxes, online toxic behaviors, complicated and complex control schemes, gameplay and menus.

Many focus tests and independent research studies show that you/I are not the only people who feel this way.  In fact, the overwhelming majority does.  And as gaming continues to get MORE complex, MORE expensive and MORE towards the user not really owning anything... I think our idea of doing something totally different will resonate with a lot of folks.

That's the dream anyway.

14 hours ago, bigdaddygamestudio said:

I dont think its actual people anymore, I think its reseller bots.  Sort of like what ticket agencies and scalpers have done for decades, they get up front in line and buy up all the tickets, now they are doing it with electronics. They then try to flip them during the holiday season on places like ebay.  

I think you're on to something there.  On Ebay there are literally hundreds of listings and they are all around $1,000.  Twice the amount.

Not sure why anyone would pay twice the price for something that will readily be available again at Christmas or shortly there after.  Is that extra 1 or 2 months really worth twice the price? 

I guess the answer is YES if people are willing to pay it!

11 hours ago, Saldo said:

I don’t know, but I’m thinking I’m in the minority here when it comes to graphics.  I’ve stated before I’m a PC gamer.  I went from my original 2600 heavy sixer to a PC and never looked back to consoles.  I do own a PS3 mainly because I wanted a Blu-Ray player for the bedroom and the fact that I could play games on it was a plus (and I got it with American Express points!).  I only bought PS originals for it, if it was available on PC I would by it for the PC.  To me graphics AND game play make for a great game.  
 

The latest PC I built a year and half ago I’ve never spent as much on a graphics card as I did on this build.  I was actually shocked at the price of the RTX cards (I’m a NVIDIA guy).  I usually go with middle of the road cards because the difference in price for the higher end card just to get a few more FPS doesn’t make that much sense to me.  Even at the mid-level a RTX 2070 was still $600.  Anyway, to me that was worth it to be able to play games in high graphics fidelity.  I won’t be upgrading for at least five years.  I want total immersion when I play games and the better the graphics, the better the game to me.  Simulators, flight sims in particular are some of my favorite to play,  in that category of games the higher fidelity of the graphics the better the immersion.  The newest MS Flight Simulator is just mind blowing.  I’m waiting to make the jump into VR for the ultimate in immersion.  Once 4K and wireless headsets come down in price some I will more than likely make that jump.
 

Now that all being said I have two VIP Amicos on order.  We have a Wii which we would have fun playing together as a family which I’m hoping the Amico will bring that back.  Playing bowling with my wife (who would kick everyone’s ass!), playing Guitar Hero with the kids each playing an instrument and jamming to songs I grew up with, or watching the kids play Just Dance with their friends during sleep overs was a magical time.  The kids are now in their mid twenties (three girls, one still heavy into gaming on the Switch, one casual Switch player, and one pretty much mobile games on her phone) but I’m hoping when they come over they will join in when they see me (and hopefully my wife) playing some games on the Amico.  

I love that you stated how much into graphics you are... but still have 2 VIP Amico's on order. 

The naysayers will tell anyone who will listen (which isn't much) that the two can't exist.  They honestly believe that someone who likes high end graphics will never purchase an Amico.  Everything is "binary" to them as they try to convince others that they need to believe and feel the same way that they do. 

There are currently over 3 billion people who enjoy playing video games in some type of form.  What we are offering is completely different to EVERYTHING currently out there... and that has EVER been out there.  I'm pretty confident that we can get a certain percentage of those folks to find us interesting and fun enough to check out what we're doing and become a customer.  If we get one fourth of one percent (.25%) of mobile players... that's 7.5 million consoles.

10 hours ago, Loafer said:

I watched the entire video, it was great and really touches on what makes a game “fun” and why Amico is looking at this in the right direction.  Let’s be clear, the avg Joe Schmo would not accept graphics like Atari Football anymore; only someone with our love for retro games will REALLY appreciate what we see in this video.  But as I re-discovered when I played Pitfall on the Colecovision last year, if you can allow yourself to let the devs take you away and experience the intent they were going for, there is still a LOT of fun to be found in these low bits games, even with the “poor to mediocre” graphics.  It’s a little harder to do that with single player games, but last year when I was playing Pitfall in a high score competition (right here on AtariAge), I was motivated to continue and continue I did. I must have put in 6 hours at least just replaying it, trying to get 100K or finishing the game.  So the competitive aspect of the high score comp CARRIED me through the initial “meh” and right into the old “one more try” which many of these classics had, and still do if you let them.

 

Nowadays, like back in the day (and seen in this video), the secret Sauce is the alternate to the competitiveness of the single player high score chaser and that lies in the multiplayer mode.  Once you start playing, if the gameplay is fun, whatever graphics you are looking at ends up melting away, leaving just the core design of the game exposed ... and if done well, the players are having a ball.  The core design doesn’t have to be complex, you can’t get more basic than tennis and that is still a killer multiplayer game when done right.  It’s not only the competitive nature, it’s not just about beating the other guy, it’s the social aspect of gaming elevated to what it really means to spend time with someone, to laugh together, the ribbing of each other, etc.  You can’t tell me anyone looking at that video that they wouldn’t have liked to spend an evening with a friend long past or current, just playing that little football game for an hour or so and moving onto something else and continuing to play together.

 

Does it hurt to have excellent graphics?  Of course not, Virtual Tennis on the dreamcast looks splendid to this day and that’s definitely a game that can be done on Amico hardware (it’s certainly one game that would be perfect for Sega to bring over hint hint Tommy! ). It’s also a game that proves you don’t need PS5/XBSX level graphics to make a game appeal to the masses, it’s all in the art style (something I think the small vids seen of Night Stalker and Cloudy Mountain already prove that in the right hands, we have nothing to worry about)

 

This is what Amico gets right.  With the right game idea, and of course the right talent behind that idea, couch coop/vs is a great unique focus to have on ALL your games. You can definitely experience some of this fun playing online, but its just more likely to happen sitting on the same couch.  You can give a guy a verbal shot online but it won’t have same effect if when doing so, you also have your hand on his shoulder pushing him away at the same time. Every game, EVERY GAME will support this focus.  This is Intellivision Entertainment’s lane and there is no one else in it that can say that about every one of their titles.

 

I used to manage a hockey league on the old operationsports.com website and we had a ball playing online hockey on the xbox 360 (may have been EA’s NHL 12, can’t remember but been a while!), some classic overtime Playoff games in that league.  But there’s nothing like couch coop/vs for that integral Interaction that isn’t possible online. Although the online experience is fun, there is a missing socializing experience that just isn’t there like there is with couch coop.  

 

As an experiment, I invite you guys to look at that video one more time, but now, put those two in separate rooms with a headset and think about them playing the same game.  It would not have been the same experience, there’s a physicality from their interaction that wouldn’t be there online.  It’s the same thing with playing board games or any game standing beside someone else, there’s a... scale to the experience that is very unique to live gaming *

 

* side note: I find VR can trespass here but that’s the subject for another day ) 

 

Sadly when I get Amico, with most of my friends living far away, that’s likely not something I will be able to experience enough (and one reason why I do hope we eventually get an online mode, online better than nothing  ), so for me the draw is still the retro-inspired games as I gather is what most here on AA find attractive about the system.  As a target audience, Tommy and his team have rightly targeted couch coop/vs as the focal point of their mission statement and to me, this has the potential to result in one heck of a touchdown, dance not included.

Loved your take on that video and your thoughts.  Thanks for sharing.  Really great stuff... and of course... I agree 100%.

39 minutes ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Never saw that one.

You should check it out.  Especially the original movie.  You may like it.

10 hours ago, RetroAdvisoryBoard said:

... my absolute dreaded fear with Amico was we would see games like this reimagining of Combat, "Atari Combat: Tank Fury".  I just see so little of what *was* Combat in a game like this.. buy tanks, a matching gem mini-game somehow incorporated, a generic base builder from another game... I loved Combat, sure it was a simple game, but I am not seeing anything of that in this trailer.  I realize I'm looking at tanks, but, that's really stretching the technicalities of how this pedigree ties in.

 

When people say "Amico's games look like mobile games", THIS is what I picture as a mobile game.  Match 3.  Exploding chains.  Infographic icons and health meters that are always on screen.. little reward credits when you complete an action.  A purchase element and upgradable gear.  A store to cash in coins/rewards.  A button to "Finish" for some coin.  A Loot button.  Collectibles.  Generic PVP combat.  Bland repeated backgrounds.  

 

This was a depressing watch.  To be fair, it is actually a mobile game.  But it paints this real contrast to what Atari is doing with their property, versus what Intellivision is doing with theirs and licensed properties.  Rather, we see these careful renditions like the remake of Armor Battle (BattleTanks?) in Amico's presentation and reveals.  Gameplay gets upgraded.  You probably don't have a gambling element or a flappy bird mini game.  These games look cared for. They do NOT look like mobile games.. and for those who argue they do - show 'em this vs what Amico is doing and marvel at how identical in premise, gameplay the two look and feel.

 

Hope Atari makes money with this one and makes a decent Combat successor in the coming years, but I think my playtime is going to BattleTanks/Armor Battle/BlowinStuffUp&AvoidTheHelicopter.

I'm with ya for sure.

You can see the vast difference in our Missile Command vs. the "mobile" version.  Nowhere near the same realm and (once again for the millionth time) our Missile Command is exclusive and can NOT be played on any other platform because of the way we've designed it using our unique controllers.  We played the "almost" final final final version of Missile Command yesterday and what was supposed to be 4 of us running through the tutorial really quick... turned into a 2 hour session playing the different modes.  We typically start with Co-Op and then once we get to the Versus mode... it really takes it to a different level.  It's like playing an entire new game because of the strategy differences and the way you play.

Looking forward to folks playing that one.  It's a really unique and fun experience... and really comes to life with multiple people.

9 hours ago, RetroAdvisoryBoard said:

 

I am also a little surprised by the demand on the Series X and PS5 pre-orders, but am a little cautious to say it's unprecedented demand.  We have an idea of many units Sony and Microsoft want to put out over the holiday and first quarter based on statements Sony's made - which are much higher than the production run they had for the PS3 or PS4.  But I can't see them offering more than a single or low double-digit percentage of those for pre-order from retailers.  They still want units to go to stores for the holiday.  Retailers WANT physical units in stores for the holidays - that brings shoppers, shoppers tend to add extra items to their cart that online preorders do not.  So were we looking at a sell-out of 500,000 units, or 2 million?  I don't know.  Sony and Microsoft have no desire to say how many preorders they made available, and it's only good buzz for them to say the preorders sold out in record time.  It'd look really bad if they made several million available and.. well, there are plenty still in stock from all preorder sites.

 

So yeah, this week was a preorder debacle, but it was ultimately good news for both Sony and Microsoft, showcasing how absolutely in demand their consoles are.  Or maybe, just a little bit fabricated to look that way.  

 

Sorry to get you down with my doom & gloom video!  I hope more smaller games break out to encourage publishers to diversify their offerings, rather than the all eggs in a blockbuster or two basket approach, we need a broad diversity of games and a deep bench.  Just don't see either software as a service model really delivering on that front anytime soon.. I don't think Microsoft or Sony pad their offerings with too many unknown variables/games, that renewable income is just too core to their business model.      

Yeah... I would imagine all the numbers are relative and I do know for a fact that the big 3 purposely only put a very limited number of "pre-orders" on sale to build hype.  This is exactly what they want to happen.  And it works!!

Although I do think it will be a little different this year because of COVID and the effect of production and available components/factories, etc.  Normally by the time Black Friday to mid December rolls around... the store shelves would once again be packed.  It's a fantastic plan, great strategy... and works EVERY time.  But, as we all know, this year is like no other.  So it will be interesting to see if Sony & Microsoft will be able to keep up with real demand by the end of the year.

Our original "pre-orders" sold out in 5 hours.  Difference is of course... we only made 2600 available (but at least we were 100% transparent with the numbers).  But as mentioned... the numbers are all relative. 

1 hour ago, vongruetz said:

https://www.gameinformer.com/opinion/2020/09/22/the-horrors-and-highlights-of-gamings-own-nothing-future

 

To be fair, it wasn't just your video, but also this article at GameInformer. Your video was like a wake up call to the industry while this article is throwing up the flag for where our experiences are heading. In short, he fears that gaming companies are going to use the same AI and algorithms that Google/Amazon/YouTube/Twitter use to try and keep you constantly engaged all the time. Tailor games to you. It all sounds great, but then it also sounded great when online news sources promised to only give you the news you're interested in. Or that open forums like Twitter would make sharing thoughts and ideas turn the world into a more wonderful place. People can't drive two miles without constantly looking at their phones. Is this where Sony/Microsoft want to take gaming?

 

We've already hit the point where many games can't be played anymore because they "can't connect to the server." How long until they're all like that?

Interesting aside from that article is that it's now different than when it originally published. Yesterday it mentioned an essay by former staffer Matt Helguson on why he left games media. He said he just didn't understand games anymore and the direction this was all heading. That line has now been removed. 

Great article!  Hadn't seen that one.  Thanks for sharing.

The "horror" of using AI and algorithms to get you to keep playing is VERY much already being used with most (if not all) of the biggest mobile games out there.  Only a matter of time before it takes over home console gaming as well.  We've already started to see things like Loot Boxes and subscriptions creep in. 

6 hours ago, SpectreFighter said:

Bear in mind that this might be a dumb question, but are expansion packs allowed? The old Age of Empires comes to mind, seeing as the Rise of Rome expansion greatly improved many things, but other than that I'm not too sure how common this is in the gaming world because I don't own a large collection as well as how I don't own an eighth generation console.

Here's a link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expansion_pack#Console_game_expansion_packs

We're not into the "expansion pack" thing because the pricing of our games is so affordable to begin with.  Instead of selling someone a $1 or $2 "track" or whatever... I'd rather wait a year and do an entire next version of the same game but with all new tracks (or Ski mountains, or Night Stalker mazes, etc.)

1 hour ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Amazing!  

 

Authenticity!  YOU WIN!

 

Here's my contribution to the giraffe pics, from a trip to South Africa last year.  I'll raise you a few more animal pics...just an amazing trip.

1 hour ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

Fantastic post and thank you for sharing your thoughts.

Sony & Microsoft (as well as Nintendo) have tens of millions of dedicated hardcore fans... as they should... the 3 of them have ruled console gaming for 25 - 35 years and deservedly so.  They will have no problem selling tens of millions of whatever machine they put out and getting millions upon millions of pre-orders without ever seeing or playing it.  Even something like the Wii U (considered a "failure" by everyone) sold over 13.5 million units!  I'll take Nintendo's "failure" numbers any day of the week!  

 

I agree that the industry is definitely pushing into a brand new realm and future... we've seen it happening with mobile for over 5 years.  Games now being designed to purposely suck more money out of you, or... as you mentioned... lots of mediocre to low level quality being offered (among some great stuff) for a monthly subscription.  Seems to be the "future" of gaming for the big 3.  We want to do something totally different.  We want to bring it back to the way it used to be.  Before the microtransactions, loot boxes, online toxic behaviors, complicated and complex control schemes, gameplay and menus.

Many focus tests and independent research studies show that you/I are not the only people who feel this way.  In fact, the overwhelming majority does.  And as gaming continues to get MORE complex, MORE expensive and MORE towards the user not really owning anything... I think our idea of doing something totally different will resonate with a lot of folks.

 

That's the dream anyway.

 

 

I truly despise the whole shift to micro-transactions, and I find it so refreshing that the Amico is going back to the way things used to be.  I do not consider myself a hardcore gamer, but I have an XB1 and a PS4 now, and have had many of the "current" consoles over the years.  I'm in my mid-50's and the Intellivision was my first console, and I've always been partial to sports games.  I am a big sports fan and really don't play myself anymore, so it's great to be able to play virtually.  At my age, I love the old-timers and legends, so I got into the "ultimate team" aspect of the sports games...I find it fun to play with old players and build my team and so on.  But, year after year, the focus of these sports games (especially NBA 2K, in my opinion) is more toward getting you to spend more and more money on micro-transactions, more so than making a good game, and I find that sickening.  I am interested more in the game-play and playing basketball, or football or baseball, and so on...and that isn't the primary aspect of these games anymore, which is unfortunate.  Playing video games has always been a social thing for me, playing with friends, talking some trash...great fun.  So looking forward to the Amico bringing this aspect back to the forefront.  My wife is not a fan of video games at all, but even she got into the Wii, and her parents and my parents and children of all ages.  That is what I look forward to most with the Wii, getting back to the way video games used to be, and maybe my wife will even play...

2 hours ago, vongruetz said:

In short, he fears that gaming companies are going to use the same AI and algorithms that Google/Amazon/YouTube/Twitter use to try and keep you constantly engaged all the time. Tailor games to you. It all sounds great, but then it also sounded great when online news sources promised to only give you the news you're interested in. Or that open forums like Twitter would make sharing thoughts and ideas turn the world into a more wonderful place. People can't drive two miles without constantly looking at their phones. Is this where Sony/Microsoft want to take gaming?

You may like the Google piece I'm working on then - a bit of a theoretical, but in a similar vein.  Script's done but there are a few videos ahead of it 🙂

Honestly I was thinking Amico may have something of an adjacent idea in mind with the controllers so similar in layout to the phone, and an integrated app that doubles as game demo, news source and marketing front.  I was thinking Intellivision may be using phones as mini game experiences when you're not in front of the television, to help build your skills in AD&D, maybe help stack some power-ups for the next round of AstroSmash, maybe design a maniacal bomb scenario in Bomb Squad.  Away from the Amico, that you could then easily integrate via WiFi the next time you went to play Bomb Squad or AD&D or AstroSmash. 

Less all-intrusive, but, still kinda taking the game with you in a sense when you're not in front of the game.  Good that they're just focusing on what matters though - "Is the game fun?"