Intellivision Amico | Amico Home on mobile | Meet Mico!

Let's see if it pays off for 'em.

jawa_ wrote:> Sharing too much too soon - Tallarico was too open and honest in chatting with people on media channels. The dreams became unattainable and the funding wasn't there to support them. Engaging with numerous small channels on YouTube resulted in bad publicity.

This is a really common problem with people that at least believe they have vision, it's pretty much the exact same thing as Molyneux. But there is some degree of responsibility to be had - when talking about a product that's out for tender by the purchasing public, or something that is significantly crowdfunded, there's a PR lock on that to only discuss what is feasible. There's honesty and then there's accidentally talking about dreams and on the spot ideas without any kind of investigation into its feasibility.

I do it, and I realise how frustrating it is for a lot of people. I don't usually ask money for my ideas I never execute though!

Green Gecko wrote:...talking about dreams and on the spot ideas without any kind of investigation into its feasibility...

True, Gecko... it's tough as you gotta aim high but strike a balance with being attainable.

There have been a lot of rumours about the financial status of Intellivision in past weeks but we have now had an official update. In an email from CEO Phil Adam to customers who have pre-ordered the console, he says:

We have dramatically reined in operating costs, which unfortunately required a significant reduction in staff. Our resources are focused on engineering and testing to ensure we have a quality system, as we cannot succeed by producing anything less.

Adam goes on to explain the current refund process:

We are slowly processing refund requests. The public’s uncertainty of our status in the last few months have understandably led to an influx of pre-order refund requests. Because of reduced staff and financing requirements for continued operation, our responses to and processing of these requests has been delayed. Rest assured that our intention is to honor all refund requests. We will allocate a portion of all new funding and staff time to winding down the refund queue, while our primary focus is funding and completing a quality product ready for manufacturing

Sources: Nintendo Life and VGC.

Intellivision was already a very small company so I would imagine that the "significant reduction" in staff must be making the production process even tougher. Apparently Intellivision is licensing some of it's gaming IP to other companies, too.

I feel that it is still possible that the console will arrive but, knowing the financial pressures on Intellivision, it's hard to imagine that anyone beyond the most hardcore of Amico supporters would spend out on one.

I feel a little bit sad about how things have panned out. The Amico was never gonna be a competitor for the major consoles but it just would have been cool to see something a bit different available for those folk who were interested. The dream was there but it seems to have been an impossible one.

Even if it does come out, you have to worry about the compromises they would have to make to achieve that. Especially with less staff. I'd be very concerned about support for the system beyond launch.

Hound wrote:Even if it does come out, you have to worry about the compromises they would have to make to achieve that. Especially with less staff. I'd be very concerned about support for the system beyond launch.

Yeah, that's my thinking, too, Hound. I'd like to support the system but it would feel like rather a large gamble.

I feel sorry for any devs who signed up to have their games on the Amico. Presumably they’re tied in to their contracts and can’t even take the work they’ve done elsewhere. (Weren’t all Amico games meant to be exclusive?)

rinks wrote:I feel sorry for any devs who signed up to have their games on the Amico. Presumably they’re tied in to their contracts and can’t even take the work they’ve done elsewhere. (Weren’t all Amico games meant to be exclusive?)

I don't think that any dev has spoken out about the situation, rinks. I believe that Intellivision part-funded all of the games being developed; they (were going to) supposedly take a bigger chunk of game income than other platform holders, but then they were apparently providing more funding and dev support.

I guess we'll find out at some point!

jawa_ wrote:

rinks wrote:I feel sorry for any devs who signed up to have their games on the Amico. Presumably they’re tied in to their contracts and can’t even take the work they’ve done elsewhere. (Weren’t all Amico games meant to be exclusive?)

I don't think that any dev has spoken out about the situation, rinks. I believe that Intellivision part-funded all of the games being developed; they (were going to) supposedly take a bigger chunk of game income than other platform holders, but then they were apparently providing more funding and dev support.

I guess we'll find out at some point!

I'm pretty sure that same article you are quoting from says they are looking into licensing out software to other platforms Jawa. The version I read on Twitter earlier did anyway.

EDIT: I really should read things properly

There isn't a production process man because they lack the capital they need to hire manufacturing capacity nevermind actually produce PCBs.

Green Gecko wrote:There isn't a production process man because they lack the capital they need to hire manufacturing capacity nevermind actually produce PCBs.

Rumour has it that, some time ago, a production process and cost was agreed with a company in China but the company later reneged on that agreement. Who knows, though... there have been so many rumours.

Right now it feels like Intellivision is too small and has too little cash to make and launch a console. I kinda suspect that we may end up seeing some of the games destined for Amico arrive on mobile phones - which wouldn't really please anyone as, updated for touch controls without having the unique Amico controller, they're not gonna stand out in the huge mobile arena.

Those Amico physical games (boxes with a digital download code) that were produced and sold a year or so ago could turn out to be hugely collectible. With very few sold they could be highly sought after; even though the console didn't arrive! I'd guess that this may well be a unique situation.

jawa_ wrote:

Green Gecko wrote:
Those Amico physical games (boxes with a digital download code) that were produced and sold a year or so ago could turn out to be hugely collectible. With very few sold they could be highly sought after; even though the console didn't arrive! I'd guess that this may well be a unique situation.

I wonder if they will. It's not like the games can be played or preserved in any way. They are just cardboard boxes with a coin in right? I guess as a curio...

I thing with that is the console itself and the product doesn't have a reverence in its quality, but an old brand attached to it. Sort of the equivalent of a generic Atari T-shirt design. The NFT aspect if all that goes mainstream is more likely to have value but not much more than any other crypto asset imo.

Not meaning to be pessimistic. There are loads of retro games out there which are absolute pants quality or brand awareness wise that fetch ridiculous money. I think it would take a long time.

Very much not looking good

In the latest sign that the Intellivision Amico is unlikely to ever release, its trademark has now been marked as "abandoned" by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

As reported by VGC, the trademark was originally filed by Intellivision Entertainment on October 19th, 2018 and subsequently accepted on September 24th, 2019. As per trademark guidelines, an application will be marked as abandoned if the applicant has either not filed a 'Statement of Use' or requested an extension on the trademark within six months of the approval.

Intellivision first requested an extension on the trademark on May 11th, 2020. This was then followed by an additional three extension requests, the latest of which was approved on November 18th, 2021. An abandonment notice was then filed on June 21st, 2022 after Intellivision's failure to submit a fifth extension request.

Intellivision now has two months from the date of abandonment to file a 'petition to revive' if it hopes to retain the trademark, though its inability to request any further extensions could perhaps be the clearest sign so far that the troubled console will likely never be released commercially.

Just last month, Intellivision raised a few eyebrows when it confirmed that staff would be significantly cut in order to help the console across the finish line. It also confirmed that such drastic steps has meant that some customers' refund requests would be delayed due to the reduced staff and financing requirements needed to continue operations.

https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2022/ ... -abandoned

Rex Kramer wrote:Very much not looking good...

Yeah, it seems to be looking increasingly unlikely that the Amico is gonna launch. Reduced staffing, production problems, tech that's ageing by the day and little funding left... it's a grim situation.

It's easy to look back and pick out areas that went wrong but I just feel a bit sad about the console not appearing and the negativity that built up around it. For quite some time the scene was fun but things just didn't develop in a good way.

Edit: Those games that were produced (RFID code + trinkets in a box) are starting to appear - and sell - on eBay! Some hardcore game collectors will want them, I suspect.

I wonder how much money Tommy managed to scam out of this whole endeavour. It was doomed from the start and he must have known that.

tbh there are countless examples of venture capital and "business ventures" that completely and demonstrably fail in every way, that are just put down to the inherent risks, nonetheless performed in "good faith" as a "going concern". They're sometimes used as tax write-offs.

It's rare for anyone to personally suffer or be worse off financially, at least not in any meaningful way, for these large scale projects. It's a horrible way to misdirect wealth from centres of wealth concentration though, when it can often be pretty obvious the idea just wasn't that good to begin with. They'll make sure they get paid, and a lot of smaller suppliers and investors don't.

There is a measurable cost to essentially professional bullshitters, which is why I do think there is some degree of social responsibility for such projects and failed/doomed kickstarters in general. I wonder what % of orders have been refunded by now.

Preezy wrote:I wonder how much money Tommy managed to scam out of this whole endeavour. It was doomed from the start and he must have known that.

I doubt that any financial scamming has been going on; all customers who pre-ordered the console have been able to either cancel their order before paying or (in the US) get a refund; pretty much instantly up until recently.

Backers will likely have lost money; a YouTuber called SmashJT put $10k into the project which he probably won't see a return on. This is the nature of any project for investors, though - you may not get back what you put in.

In my opinion, the crucial failures were:

> Being over-ambitious; they should have focused on one console and a handful of games first, rather than multiple variants and a huge range of games.

> COVID impacts; the delay in manufacturing, the rising costs and the inability to pay the fees to move up the queue was a killer for the small company.

> Price point; £249.99 is too much for a relatively unknown system using older tech. A moot point, really, as we'll never know if it would have sold at this point.

> Towards the end, bad financial deals. There are rumours the factory signed up for manufacturing the console backed out and this really hurt the finances of Intellivision. Another rumour is that one backer would only provide cash if he was paid $100 dollars for every Amico sold... it's crazy if Intellivision agreed to this!

Of course, it's easy to find fault when looking in on a project that you weren't close to. Can it really be a bad thing that a small company was looking to launch a family-focussed console with cheap games that didn't have any in-game payment systems?

All I ever saw on this was Tommy Tallarico spitting his dummy out on Twitter when anyone dared suggest that anything the Amico could do a PS4 or XBONE could to too… likely better. Not once did he put his money where his mouth is and actually show what made the system so unique and why it couldn’t be done on other platforms.

When you look at the fact they were considering licensing out software to other platforms that just confirms that other platforms could do what Amico could all along

Tallarico came across like an even less believable Peter Molyneux which is a shame as I used to like him but now I see him as a sort of snake oil salesman.

jawa_ wrote:Another rumour is that one backer would only provide cash if he was paid $100 dollars for every Amico sold... it's crazy if Intellivision agreed to this!

Crazy, unless by that point they knew they were never going to produce the consoles.