Intellivision Amico!

[Sabertooth]

All of these are things that could have and should have been clarified in the video.  At this point it's a handbuilt demo unit in a mock-up box - likely a test print for review and approval. If they were ever going to make their Q1 ship date, these would have been finalized months ago. There is a lot more information in those comments than anything revealed in the video.

Edited March 23, 2022 by Sabertooth

[Justin]

On 3/8/2022 at 11:39 AM, Justin said:

They should've kept everything under wraps until it was ready to go. They made the Amico public WAYYY too early and invited the public in to watch over every move and offer commentary on every decision Intellivision made.

 

On 3/8/2022 at 11:39 AM, Justin said:

Nothing ever goes according to plan when you're trying to launch a startup or a new project. As I've said before, if AtGames or Evercade or Nintendo or Tesla had asked regular working people to cough up small "investments" and effectively invited the public to view their projects development process - those would all be called "scams" too.

 

On 3/22/2022 at 6:12 PM, MaximumRD said:

All things considered was kind of surprised to see this? Well hope everyone gets what they pre-ordered at the very least. IF this video can be believed though it really does not excuse the horrible non communication with fans and supporters. We will see. 🤷‍♂️ 

 

 

8 hours ago, Sabertooth said:

All of these are things that could have and should have been clarified in the video.  At this point it's a handbuilt demo unit in a mock-up box - likely a test print for review and approval. If they were ever going to make their Q1 ship date, these would have been finalized months ago. There is a lot more information in those comments than anything revealed in the video.

 

This entire "unboxing" event is one more "Amico moment" that proves my point: None of this should be fed to the public right now for everybody to discuss and create reaction videos about. That unboxing video is a defensive move. It's been made public in an attempt to placate angry investors / customers and to demonstrate to the world that they got something done this week. "Look what we did today". It's like a little kid who got in trouble, who is now waiting for his dad to get home so the kid can say "Look dad! Did you see I mowed the lawn, cleaned my room and took out the trash?" It's pointing out a small accomplishment to try to smooth things over.

It's defensive, and more than anything, it's once again inviting the world to look over Intellivision's shoulder and see another relatively minor decision being made (this time about European packaging.) You don't see AtGames, Evercade or Nintendo putting out videos to the public saying "Here's a look at our prototype box". 

"But Justin, that video was meant for their European parters." Great, yes, and it should've remained internal and not uploaded to YouTube.

When there's a warehouse full of these boxes, bundled and ready to ship out on a truck, we can talk about them. Where's the beef?? Let's see something substantive. The box design, while fun to talk about, would be a minor part of that conversation. Right now it's like looking at an Atari 2700 RC VCS box or an Atari Cosmos box. Let's get them shipped out and then we can have time to talk about the box.

Also, if we're going to be invited to judge this box - honestly I don't think it's that eye catching. It's kind of "meh". It's not something that would stand out on a shelf to me. And that "Amico" logo is outright gaudy, it's silly and doesn't look like it was created by anybody with a design background, or something a real company would use. It looks like Tommy sketched it out on a notepad because it rhymed with his last name and kind of looks like a heart and a smile. It's really on the nose. I don't see that logo winning any design awards, nor being created by someone with any design sensibilities.

Let's end this on a positive note: John Alvarado comes across as a very nice man who sincerely cares about the project. It was a wise move to have him as the lead in this video as he set a tone that is positive, inviting and warm.

[btbfilms76]

Let’s pack the controllers on top… with no bubble wrap… let’s pack them loose on the console… that should be perfect for the FedEx to destroy them on the first package throw. 
 

 

[TrekMD]

8 hours ago, btbfilms76 said:

Let’s pack the controllers on top… with no bubble wrap… let’s pack them loose on the console… that should be perfect for the FedEx to destroy them on the first package throw.

Bubble wrap?  That makes way too much sense.  Why would they do it? 😁

[nosweargamer]

Revised video on Patents

 

Edited March 26, 2022 by nosweargamer

[nosweargamer]

Researching the history of release dates/ship dates seems to expose some potential deceit on Intellivision's part.

 

[Sabertooth]

Folks are posting cancelation confirmation emails from Game Stop. The console is now listed "Unavailable" on the Game Stop website.  Previously it was "sold out."

 

 

[CrossBow]

52 minutes ago, Sabertooth said:

Folks are posting cancelation confirmation emails from Game Stop. The console is now listed "Unavailable" on the Game Stop website.  Previously it was "sold out."

 

 

The email I saw shared from game stop stated they were cancelling the order due to product cancellation from the vendor though? To me, that pretty much confirms it isn't going to happen at this point.

 

[nosweargamer]

 

[Sabertooth]

They should have made this change on April Fools. 

[E. King]

According to the last Intellivision communication they should be just about ready to send out the demo consoles.

[Sabertooth]

I read this the other day and found it both interesting and unsurprising.

https://www.timeextension.com/news/2023/01/so-whats-happening-with-earthworm-jim-4

 

[TrekMD]

Sad state of affairs.

[RickR]

Another case of preposterous nonsense.  What ever happened to the idea of releasing information ONLY when the contract is signed/sealed/delivered?  Just talking about an Earthworm Jim game isn't going to make it reality.  

 

[Justin]

Wouldn't it be something if Atari swept in and inked a deal to put an Earthworm Jim game on the Atari VCS - and/or just as cool, on a cartridge for the Atari 2600?

[Sabertooth]

Well, we know that Atari bought the "M Network" brand, ROMs, and IP a few weeks ago. Now, less than a day after the "update" from IE where they claimed to be pivoting to mobile and multi-platform publishing, folks are reporting that Shark, Shark and Astrosmash IP and games have been acquired by German developer/publisher BBG. Check out the summary from @nosweargamer

 

[DegasElite]

On 1/19/2023 at 9:26 PM, Justin said:

Wouldn't it be something if Atari swept in and inked a deal to put an Earthworm Jim game on the Atari VCS - and/or just as cool, on a cartridge for the Atari 2600?

I thought I heard that when the Jag was being sold, "Earthworm Jim" would have been a Jag title. Of course, we never saw it on the Jag.

Edited May 24, 2023 by DegasElite

[Sabertooth]

More info on the acquisition of Shark, Shark and Astrosmash by German publisher/developers BBG Entertainment.  

Night Stalker appears to be the last big IP that they have.

https://bbg-entertainment.com/about/

 

[nosweargamer]

Here's my review of Shark! Shark! which was originally going to be on the Amico. It give you a taste of what the system would have offered.

[Justin]

2 hours ago, nosweargamer said:

Here's my review of Shark! Shark! which was originally going to be on the Amico. It give you a taste of what the system would have offered.

@nosweargamer Thank you for sharing some of your coverage of the Amico  In my opinion, you've had the best, most objective coverage of everything that's happened.

[nosweargamer]

Thank you. Despite trying to keep and open and objective mind, I never experienced anything like the reaction I got from covering the system. Before that things were generally civil, with just an oddball here and their. Then Amico opened the floodgates. Everything from praise to vicious name calling and accusations. It even lead me to spending less time online due to all the visceral. It does sadden me that some in the retro community can't have honest discussions and learn how to civilly disagree at time. I usually read all my comments, but sometimes with the Amico stuff, I just post my video and ignore the comments after awhile for my own mental health. So thanks again for the kind words.

[RickR]

I agree completely!  It seems to be the same with the 2600+ for some reason.  I don't get it.  Nerds love to argue, and they get vicious about it for some reason.

 

[TrekMD]

The internet makes it too easy for people to start arguments too.  You are not seeing the person face to face, so there's some anonymity with it.  I still don't understand why people feel they need to bad mouth stuff that they haven't actually seen or used.  If I don't like something that I see online, I simply say nothing.  I've also learned to ignore stupid comments.  Why give those people the attention they seek?  Not worth my time.

[Justin]

5 hours ago, nosweargamer said:

the retro community can't have honest discussions and learn how to civilly disagree at time

I've tried to shape Atari I/O into something different.

[Justin]

5 hours ago, RickR said:

It seems to be the same with the 2600+ for some reason.

What's the viscousness over the 2600+ about?