Intellivision Entertainment launching a NEW Intellivision console

[Denicio]

Like the original Intellivision controller, there are buttons on the side (two on each side).

 

And from i read the buttons will be more 'arcade style' in action. I may have projected too much onto it...but i am hoping that means they are more responsive than the originals.

 

I freely admit i am curious and receptive to the reinvented disc that's in the pictures. I grew up on the disc and love it....so if they improve it...EVEN BETTER! (Emphasis on IMPROVE).

[Hwlngmad]

I can second this commentary. While I only have one son, I myself get concerned a little with the current gaming market as there are lots of potential pitfalls out there with any of the major systems. Having a system that is strictly PG and price friendly (for what it seems) looks good to me. Now, obviously a lot can change in 2 years time, but overall I like what IE is selling (at this point) and look forward to seeing how this all is fleshed out. However, I am also interest in Opcode's Project Omni and seeing what other players have up their sleeve.

As a father of 3, i can only express our experience as parents. We struggled to find newish games for our kids in the age window of 7-13 that were PG rated. I didnt have my old Intelly system. We settled on a game cube and played ENDLESS hours of monkey-ball with the kids.

 

I see this new system filling a niche of that age group. It will also have some appeal to old farts like myself who suffer from game nostalgia. I dont see many 17-22 year old boys buying these systems.

 

Think of the racks of your favorite toy store. Each toy had a 3+ years, 11 months - 2 years old, 8 and over label on the packaging.

 

I see this as exactly that. Maybe they are not boldly saying it...but they kinda are...in code, saying it. "Family Friendly" is that.

 

I dont see this as the Xmas MUST HAVE toy of the season in 2020 but there is a demand for it, me thinks. Especially at the price point.

 

They are abundantly clear they are not going after Playstation and the like due to the violent nature of the games, so its implied they are targeting a younger age group and families.

 

Looking back, i played a crap ton of Lock n Chase and MLB with my mom.....and a boat load of Space Battle with my dad in the ages of 9-11..then as i turned into a teen...i wanted Less to do with my parents and more to do with my pals. I think Tommy & Co know and understand this. And THIS is the age group and target audience of this product.

[+intellivotion]

It would be enough to simply call it family friendly, and leave it at that. Shutting down segments of your market or partner network before you've even developed it is a sure-fire recipe for failure.

Ah, I've never realized how many marketing consultants specialised in video games we have in the forum. Just for my curiosity what's the average salary?

[Bill Loguidice]

I'm not sure if there's a family friendly market niche that needs filling. There are plenty of options with the existing consoles, mobile devices, and PC and Web stuff that kids off all ages use all the time already (I can't imagine any of my three daughters ever desiring something like this when there are other games, especially the big Nintendo and Web properties, that already take their attention). In my opinion, this will either appeal to the niche retro gamer crowd and ancillary 2D gaming enthusiasts and succeed in that area alone, or it won't. That to me is their only real market potential. It's an unusual system and concept that I don't see having broad appeal beyond that segment. If they can financially succeed in that area, then I think they have a real shot. Anything else is going to be very, very hard to pull off, especially considering what the entrenched competition already has going on (and we're not even talking the two years+ from now when this will release).

[SegaSnatcher]

 

 

As a father of 3, i can only express our experience as parents. We struggled to find newish games for our kids in the age window of 7-13 that were PG rated. I didnt have my old Intelly system. We settled on a game cube and played ENDLESS hours of monkey-ball with the kids.

 

I see this new system filling a niche of that age group. It will also have some appeal to old farts like myself who suffer from game nostalgia. I dont see many 17-22 year old boys buying these systems.

 

Think of the racks of your favorite toy store. Each toy had a 3+ years, 11 months - 2 years old, 8 and over label on the packaging.

 

I see this as exactly that. Maybe they are not boldly saying it...but they kinda are...in code, saying it. "Family Friendly" is that.

 

I dont see this as the Xmas MUST HAVE toy of the season in 2020 but there is a demand for it, me thinks. Especially at the price point.

 

They are abundantly clear they are not going after Playstation and the like due to the violent nature of the games, so its implied they are targeting a younger age group and families.

 

Looking back, i played a crap ton of Lock n Chase and MLB with my mom.....and a boat load of Space Battle with my dad in the ages of 9-11..then as i turned into a teen...i wanted Less to do with my parents and more to do with my pals. I think Tommy & Co know and understand this. And THIS is the age group and target audience of this product.

 

no, man. It's a way to be different from the competitors and to make the parents want to buy a safe video game system for their children and have fun playing WITH them. A great plan, in my opinion

You guys realize Nintendo is already taking care of that age demographic right? Their consoles are totally child friendly.

Edited October 23, 2018 by SegaSnatcher

[Hwlngmad]

True, the big N (mainly) and others are doing their best to fill this segment. However, I believe that IE has a good chance to work the family friendly angle, but (as Bill stated) really needs to appeal to the niche retro gamer crowd and ancillary 2D gaming enthusiasts. Those two working together will help sell the console. If they can't get both really on board (probably moreso the later than the former), then it will fail. However, right now we have a lot of waiting ahead of us, which offers a lot time for others to come out with their own products. Still, my interest is piqued and I will be actively following the development of this console and others (like Opcode's Project Omni).

[JBerel]

Ah, I've never realized how many marketing consultants specialised in video games we have in the forum. Just for my curiosity what's the average salary?

 

Spidey sense detects sarcasm, but I do actually have a background in broadcast marketing and advertising. I can't speak for average salary, but 80K including commissions is fairly typical in many regions, but that depends greatly on your broadcast market. It's all about market research and positioning, not hopeful wishes that if you make it they will come.

[rayik]

I wish them luck and success. However I have no interest in this. I just have no interest in these emulator systems being marketed as remakes of classic systems. Remakes of classic carts or new games in the style of original games are not for me. If I want simple moderns games I can use my phone or tablet. But I do hope they are successful.

 

For this interested, would you still be if "Intellivision" was removed from it?

[+the1hatman]

For the interested, would you still be if "Intellivision" was removed from it?

 

Without the Intellivision aspect of it? I admit I would be slightly less interested but I believe that is natural for any Intellivision fan. However, I would still be very likely to buy it as this is not an emulator or flashback kind of limited "game box". Should they pull it off, this will be a real working gaming console with new content coming out for it that is different than the current scene offered by the big 3. If it was another "classic" mini-system or plug n play box, I'd have no interest as I didn't even buy the Intellivision Flashback or Nintendo offerings either.

 

I have all the actual classic consoles I want so I can play them as I like. The Amico is different. That it is based in Intellivision is simply a bonus albeit a very big one for me personally.

[MantaNZ]

It would be enough to simply call it family friendly, and leave it at that. Shutting down segments of your market or partner network before you've even developed it is a sure-fire recipe for failure.

I was thinking about this. I think they have a plan that involves a lot of in house game development. I mean devs aren't going to rush to develop for a small user base, only make $2-8 per game and not be able to release on other consoles. You'd be lucky to make $10000. But if Intellivision is making money off the hardware and is focussing on remaking games that just involves the updated assets it could work.

[+intvsteve]

I wish them luck and success. However I have no interest in this. I just have no interest in these emulator systems being marketed as remakes of classic systems. Remakes of classic carts or new games in the style of original games are not for me. If I want simple moderns games I can use my phone or tablet. But I do hope they are successful.

 

For this interested, would you still be if "Intellivision" was removed from it?

 

I think you've overlooked the larger purpose of what the Amico is trying to do. The system is not an "emulator system" marketed as a remake of a classic one. It's an entirely new system, with new games - some of which are reimagined versions derived from old games. It intends to embrace the spirit of what the original Intellivision brought to gaming. You see quite a few franchises spanning generations of gaming that will have new games exclusive to the platform in that trailer.

 

It turns out that the Amico also happens to also support emulation of the original games from Intellivision. Didn't Nintendo offer the Virtual Console, for example? Why would supporting the old titles be bad? Why make those who care for those games wait a year or two to get the "Intellivision Virtual Console"? That's a nice hook to the niche vintage gaming market -- and perhaps a little bit of bait to draw skeptical parents to give a new console another chance. I also happen to be one of those parents who's had a complex relationship with newer consoles - love / trepidation / intimidation - and had a stronger leaning toward Nintendo's stuff because of it's "safer" reputation. <cough>Resident Evil</cough> Perhaps the some of the most notorious 'M' franchises aren't on N's consoles, but I don't have to try hard to find games I'd much rather not have my 9-year-old playing.

 

Something explicitly called out in the presentation at PRGE was that it's been recognized that the Wii essentially tapped into a potentially gigantic market of non-gamers by accident. The easy way to describe it was that a lot of people basically paid $250 for Wii Sports and never got another game for the system. With the Amico, Intellivision Entertainment is specifically meaning to reach out to that market of "non-gamer gamers" on purpose. Fun games you play with your friends and family and don't need to pour in the hours demanded by so many of the biggest franchises out there now. "Hard core" gamers may not care about such a system -- but if "hard-core" gamers are not the intended market, does that really matter? (Side / sarcastic question: Wouldn't a "hard core" gamer want all kinds of games, not just the ones you have to play 40+hours a week? )

 

Being the complete Intellivision nerd I am, of course I've got all kinds of biases and want this to succeed. But being at the keynote and having the hugely fortunate opportunity to chat with a number of the principals involved, it's clear that this is much more than a passion project. An impressive array of highly qualified people are working on this and "keeping things honest" (I hope!).

 

It takes a lot of guts to come out and challenge this industry with a new idea - to reach out to an audience of potential players and invite them back to gaming regularly on something other than a phone - which is too solitary and often frustrating. Microsoft was laughed at when they announced they were entering the market. People scoffed at the Wii with its goofy controller and underpowered graphics. Hell, wasn't the NES greeted with a lot of skepticism coming on the heels of the big crash? I really want the Amico to be a "market disruptor" and find it's hoped-for audience. Yes, I'm biased, because I love my simple old games and I want my kids to feel as excited as I did. The Xbox One we absolutely had to get has more millimeters of dust on it than hours played, I think. I want my Amico to be scruffed up, have some stains and nicks in it and have the kids ask to take it on vacation. (UPDATE: And tell them no, we're not taking it on vacation, because that's not why we're going on vacation. So there. )

[Bill Loguidice]

It takes a lot of guts to come out and challenge this industry with a new idea - to reach out to an audience of potential players and invite them back to gaming regularly on something other than a phone - which is too solitary and often frustrating. Microsoft was laughed at when they announced they were entering the market. People scoffed at the Wii with its goofy controller and underpowered graphics. Hell, wasn't the NES greeted with a lot of skepticism coming on the heels of the big crash? I really want the Amico to be a "market disruptor" and find it's hoped-for audience. Yes, I'm biased, because I love my simple old games and I want my kids to feel as excited as I did. The Xbox One we absolutely had to get has more millimeters of dust on it than hours played, I think. I want my Amico to be scruffed up, have some stains and nicks in it have the kids ask to take it on vacation.

Serious question... If an Xbox One, with tons of games in every genre and type (including kids and 2D) and tons of the latest releases can't satisfy you and your kids, what makes you think a system that is limited to just 2D-style indie games will hit the mark? I can see it satisfying your own itch, but it's a stretch to think that kids would prefer it (at least based on my experience).

[Bill Loguidice]

For this interested, would you still be if "Intellivision" was removed from it?

 

It does give them a headstart in both financing and gravitas versus not having the name. So to me, leveraging the name, goodwill, history, etc., is definitely smart. And I definitely think for some people, just like with the Atari name on the Atari VCS (nee, Ataribox), the Intellivision association with this system will be more than enough to have them stick with it through thick and thin, and maintain a passion that just wouldn't be there for an unknown, generic system starting from absolute scratch (with all other things being equal, of course). How far that gets any of these systems in terms of the mainstream is anyone's guess, but probably not far. It's a good headstart and nothing more beyond that in my opinion. Getting beyond that will require solid execution, planning, lots of luck, etc., with little additional benefit from the old names or associations.

[+intvsteve]

Serious question... If an Xbox One, with tons of games in every genre and type (including kids and 2D) and tons of the latest releases can't satisfy you and your kids, what makes you think a system that is limited to just 2D-style indie games will hit the mark? I can see it satisfying your own itch, but it's a stretch to think that kids would prefer it (at least based on my experience).

 

To be honest - cost and glut. The top-tier games cost as much as taking the family out to dinner and sadly sometimes don't even provide as much entertainment. For the smaller games, it's a time suck to just find them and we're lazy. There can be too much of a good thing. It could also be the case that this console won't be as engaging as I hope, and that the kids' excitement is because of dad and simply the fact that it's new. So in the worst case (aside from not getting one at all) at least my wallet's still not quite as thin after getting it. We still play the Wii more than the Xbox.

[Bill Loguidice]

 

To be honest - cost and glut. The top-tier games cost as much as taking the family out to dinner and sadly sometimes don't even provide as much entertainment. For the smaller games, it's a time suck to just find them and we're lazy. There can be too much of a good thing. It could also be the case that this console won't be as engaging as I hope, and that the kids' excitement is because of dad and simply the fact that it's new. So in the worst case (aside from not getting one at all) at least my wallet's still not quite as thin after getting it. We still play the Wii more than the Xbox.

 

Fair enough. You do sound like a unique type of consumer/family in that regard. I don't know how many people still play Wii's, particularly with something newer in the house. I'm just trying to see if I'm missing something in terms of potential market for something like this (as much as I think I might personally enjoy it - although I am a bit perplexed at this early stage how I'll play games with the controller turned to its side and the buttons on the top instead of on the face!).

[mr_me]

Holding the controller sideways, I can see one side button working okay. It's best to hold it vertically and it will work as a two button controller.

 

Edit:

There's one thing Tommy keeps mentioning about the original controller being a problem. It's no big deal but I don't agree. That's the ridge around the disc being sharp and uncomfortable. Mine is well rounded and comfortable. Compare to a flashback controller, that one lacks the rounding. I don't have an Intellivision2 controller, is it sharp or rounded?

Edited October 23, 2018 by mr_me

[Flojomojo]

It's fun to see everyone's wishes being projected onto this thing. I'm content to wait for the full two years to see what comes of this. I'll be one of those 50-year-olds by then.

[Bill Loguidice]

It's fun to see everyone's wishes being projected onto this thing. I'm content to wait for the full two years to see what comes of this. I'll be one of those 50-year-olds by then.

 

Good point! I suspect most of us are 40- to 50-somethings. Definitely not going to get a wider perspective on something like this around here. We're all kind of always tentatively onboard with this kind of stuff.

[+JasonlikesINTV]

As curvy as this thing is, I'm surprised they didn't call it the Amica.

[intvnut]

 

And i hope this is something that can be turned off in settings.

 

I need the games, not the bling....

 

I'm pretty certain Tommy said that it can be disabled. (It was a quick comment during the presentation.) If not, they also have an accessibility issue for people who are sensitive to flashing lights. (Think "epilepsy" and other issues.)

 

 

 

e) how can you not put physical buttons on a controller for 2D games ?!?!!11!

 

Like the original Intellivision controller, there are buttons on the side (two on each side).

 

Also, from what I understand, they will be a bit more ergonomic than the original Intellivision controllers. I'm not sure how much I can say, but I can say I approve of what I heard at PRGE.

[+JasonlikesINTV]

 

Also, from what I understand, they will be a bit more ergonomic than the original Intellivision controllers. I'm not sure how much I can say, but I can say I approve of what I heard at PRGE.

So no hope for Super Pro Carpal Tunnel?

[Jeffrey Bouchard]

Are the original games going to be included for free with the console? I remember hearing yes but there was no mention of them in the keynote or press release. Since there will be newer versions of the classics, not having the originals would seem strange. I am optimistic with this console.

[+JasonlikesINTV]

Are the original games going to be included for free with the console? I remember hearing yes but there was no mention of them in the keynote or press release.

I thought I remembered them at least being available for download, but I can't find anything official now. From the newsletter:

[MrBeefy]

I'm excited for it. Honestly, my family has had more fun with the family friendly games. Now we do play some of the Xbox together, but even the wife and I were talking about how we seem to have more fun on things like the WiiU. I will admit that Nintendo does have a good family vibe. However, they are expensive and not simple. Maybe I am just getting older but I find myself playing more Atari era games than anything else. I'm also a firm believer that the SNES is the best system made ever. Even with that belief, I find myself playing more NES than SNES.

 

If I can get a newer Atari/Intv experience for a decent console price and cheap games. Hell yeah I'm in. In two years I will almost have a two year old. Way young enough to start inundating with simple gaming.

[+intvsteve]

Two different 3-D prints of the controllers did make an appearance. While they were nonfunctional, I can say both were more comfortable than the original controllers. There will be more tweaking done to the shape and buttons assuredly.

 

Also, yes, Tommy or Paul did explicitly say you can turn off the lighting effects -- I thought he said there would be switch to do so, but it could be in the settings somewhere too I suppose.