Intellivision Amico’s trademark changed to ‘abandoned’

[jerseystyle]

16 minutes ago, Lathe26 said:

 

This thread is now the 4th* longest thread in the Intellivision forum!

1. Intellivision Ebay Roundup (14.8k replies)
2. Song Game (7.1k replies)
3. Intellivision Purchases and Deals (3.8k replies)
4. Intellivision Amico’s trademark changed to ‘abandoned’ (2.7k replies)
5. LTO Flash! - Intellivision Flash Cartridge Information (2.5k replies)

* Same caveat as previous

 

[+CurlyQ]

1 hour ago, Lathe26 said:

 

[+CurlyQ]

1 hour ago, Lathe26 said:

 

This thread is now the 4th* longest thread in the Intellivision forum!

1. Intellivision Ebay Roundup (14.8k replies)
2. Song Game (7.1k replies)
3. Intellivision Purchases and Deals (3.8k replies)
4. Intellivision Amico’s trademark changed to ‘abandoned’ (2.7k replies)
5. LTO Flash! - Intellivision Flash Cartridge Information (2.5k replies)

* Same caveat as previous

 

I would gather @mr_meand @MrBeefy are the majority owners of those 2.7k replies.

[roots.genoa]

8 hours ago, Rowsdower70 said:

The two most obvious candidates that I saw were Cloudy Mountain and Night Stalker, which was quickly abandoned.

The developer confirmed us at least Night Stalker run on a prototype. We haven't seen it for a while because IE stopped paying, from what I've understood.

 

8 hours ago, MrBeefy said:

From what I heard, not every prototype was optimized for every game shown off at those public events. So one might be optimized for one game but not another.

Then they should have released an Amico model for each game! 💡 That way each game has a physical edition! Perfect for collectors! Tommy wins again! 🎊

[Pink]

22 hours ago, mr_me said:

If we're talking retro markets, the Amico was introduced to that market about two years prior to initial target release date.

If you mean retro market as in Atariage and a bunch of Z list Youtubers with <100 subs that average, maybe, a couple hundred views at best, sure it was "introduced" to the retro market 2 years prior.

 

But regardless, as Tommy has said numerous times, that isn't their target market. Sure, it's a market (And going off pre order units, only a couple thousand, if even that) They're going after the 3 billion + casual "gamers" and people that don't play console games nor have any interest in buying a video game console. Ignoring the amount of money or length of time that it would take, how the heck do you effectively market and reach that demographic and successfully convince/persuade them to buy your product when they have no desire to even buy a video game console in the first place? This was one of the massive, glaring red flags with this entire fiasco from the very start of this whole mess and it's laughable that anyone ever thought that it was a good idea.

 

It's like trying to make a guitar for people that don't play guitar nor have any interest in ever picking one up or learning and going around saying "There's over 7 billion on earth don't play guitar and even if we only sell to 1% of that demographic it's still 70 million!!!" How the heck are you going to convince someone with zero interest in guitars through marketing or whatever, to buy your guitar?

Edited August 18, 2022 by Pink

[Jaxivision]

This is the thread that never dies.

[digdugnate]

5 hours ago, jerseystyle said:

Keepin' it real! Keeping the bubbles coming on J-Roc's Greasy Amico Chat Gone Wild!

Edited August 18, 2022 by digdugnate

[SegaMasterSystemPunk]

14 minutes ago, Jaxivision said:

This is the thread that never dies.

This is the thread that doesn't end

yes it goes on and on my friend

some people started writing

not knowing what it was

and they'll keep tying here forever just because 

this is the thread that doesn't end...

[Rowsdower70]

22 minutes ago, Jaxivision said:

This is the thread that never dies.

 

[MrBeefy]

49 minutes ago, Jaxivision said:

This is the thread that never dies.

1 hour ago, Pink said:

If you mean retro market as in Atariage and a bunch of Z list Youtubers with <100 subs that average, maybe, a couple hundred views at best, sure it was "introduced" to the retro market 2 years prior.

 

But regardless, as Tommy has said numerous times, that isn't their target market. Sure, it's a market (And going off pre order units, only a couple thousand, if even that) They're going after the 3 billion + casual "gamers" and people that don't play console games nor have any interest in buying a video game console. Ignoring the amount of money or length of time that it would take, how the heck do you effectively market and reach that demographic and successfully convince/persuade them to buy your product when they have no desire to even buy a video game console in the first place? This was one of the massive, glaring red flags with this entire fiasco from the very start of this whole mess and it's laughable that anyone ever thought that it was a good idea.

 

It's like trying to make a guitar for people that don't play guitar nor have any interest in ever picking one up or learning and going around saying "There's over 7 billion on earth don't play guitar and even if we only sell to 1% of that demographic it's still 70 million!!!" How the heck are you going to convince someone with zero interest in guitars through marketing or whatever, to buy your guitar?

This really was a huge red flag. I'd argue that the games didn't even suggest they were going for a casual market either. Their launch lineup is poor and is more representative for those who already play games or like retro. It was a talking point and that's all it ever was. Just something to make them sound bigger to someone to buy them or dump more money into them to burn.

 

I will say they were very good at manipulating people into swallowing that tripe. They still regurgitate it despite it being obvious at this point there was no real plan to aim for that market.

 

Showing up as a vendor in a digital exhibit hall is hardly actively going for that market. Once again only doing something like that once is more of a smoke and mirrors approach of, "see see look at us! It's moms!"

Edited August 18, 2022 by MrBeefy

[Cebus Capucinis]

But they'll easily sell millions due to Back Talk Party, which is clearly (A) not an incredibly bland, uninspired game concept and (B) not readily available in the mobile market and other platforms. KILLER APP.

[jerseystyle]

17 minutes ago, Cebus Capucinis said:

But they'll easily sell millions due to Back Talk Party, which is clearly (A) not an incredibly bland, uninspired game concept and (B) not readily available in the mobile market and other platforms. KILLER APP.

Well you obviously don’t understand MARKETING. Farkle and Back Talk Party are total game changers. The IE Board’s jaws dropped when they saw those two games, which is why they personally went down to the bustling IE office space and told TT (which they could do because TT didn’t have ALL the shares in the company and that’s how boards are run now)to push them immediately to the forefront of his innovative “CHUD Focused” outreach campaign.

Edited August 18, 2022 by jerseystyle

[Cebus Capucinis]

1 hour ago, MrBeefy said:

Showing up as a vendor in a digital exhibit hall is hardly actively going for that market.

I don't mean this as shade to IE, but...how does this even work? Is a "digital exhibit hall" just a bunch of Skype rooms and you have the room open from X-Y time, and some employee or something sits in the room waiting for people to click? I can't really imagine that being a successful concept no matter the product, vendor, or case - but then again I'm a Luddite about a lot of things.

 

Also, re: smoke and mirrors, it's almost as if anyone could go to the studio Ellen is filmed at, stand near the door, hold up a phone, and take a picture, and make people believe this means more than just a sumguy loitering around until removed.....

[jerseystyle]

1 hour ago, MrBeefy said:

This really was a huge red flag. I'd argue that the games didn't even suggest they were going for a casual market either. Their launch lineup is poor and is more representative for those who already play games or like retro. It was a talking point and that's all it ever was. Just something to make them sound bigger to someone to buy them or dump more money into them to burn.

 

I wouldn’t even call it a launch lineup. The games had no consistency in terms of visual style, gameplay, or themes. The only piece that looked planned out at first was some of the box artwork. Evil Knieval, Biplanes, and Missile Command had a neat throwback style to the box art. I liked the imagery. Then, of course, they screwed that up too since the other “launch titles” had art that looked like it came from a photoshop package. Idiots.

[Rev]

Just a quick update on FCC. 
 

Still hasnt passed.   
 

Also that address needs updated to the UPS Store, and Barnhouse was fired. 
 

That is all. 

Edited August 18, 2022 by Rev

[jerseystyle]

7 minutes ago, Cebus Capucinis said:

I don't mean this as shade to IE, but...how does this even work? Is a "digital exhibit hall" just a bunch of Skype rooms and you have the room open from X-Y time, and some employee or something sits in the room waiting for people to click? I can't really imagine that being a successful concept no matter the product, vendor, or case - but then again I'm a Luddite about a lot of things.

Haha- yeah I’ve represented companies at events like these and it doesn’t really work very well, in my opinion. Usually each company has a set time to do a presentation in their “room” and the rest of the time they are available to interact with. I spent lots of time in the chat rooms. Not very productive. 

[Cebus Capucinis]

25 minutes ago, jerseystyle said:

Haha- yeah I’ve represented companies at events like these and it doesn’t really work very well, in my opinion. Usually each company has a set time to do a presentation in their “room” and the rest of the time they are available to interact with. I spent lots of time in the chat rooms. Not very productive. 

Hmm, okay. That makes sense as to how it works. Yeah, I just couldn't see myself, as a consumer, taking the time to pop in and go through all the Skype stuff just to look at something. But I may not be a target for such things (again, not insulting IE, just saying generally), because I don't like conventions, trade shows, etc.

 

I think it could be useful in a specific industry trade show, or specialized shows where retailers and others show up to ask questions, but for "Joe Schmoe" or "Jane Doe" I can't see it drawing a lot of interest for anything, really.

 

Especially something titled "Mom 2.0," which already doesn't give an observer any information as to what it's actually about. I don't think it would be a surprise if ANY of the Mom2.0 stuff, IE included, was a flop.

 

EDIT: just for kicks I went and looked up the Mom2.0 stuff. Wow. Looks like it's.....highly politicized, is the best way to put it, at least from what their social media is pushing. A lot of topics I think are inappropriate for such a venue (not making a political statement one way or the other, just that I think trying to cram social issues into something that seems family-oriented is a terrible idea). Definitely not what I expected, and frankly not a smart venue for IE.

[Rev]

Why does Intellivision Entertainment have the Trademark/Copyright for Jungle Hunt, but not Night Stalker, Shark Shark, or Cloudy Mountain and the rest of the titles?   Am I not seeing something?

[Flojomojo]

15 hours ago, jerseystyle said:

I’m offended that you branched out beyond Trailer Park Boys. However, awesome GIF.

There’s money in the banana stand. 
 

13 hours ago, CurlyQ said:

 

DJC had a special guest recently.....

 

Oh wow, it’s the Dalai Lama!
 

1 hour ago, Rev said:

Why does Intellivision Entertainment have the Trademark/Copyright for Jungle Hunt, but not Night Stalker, Shark Shark, or Cloudy Mountain and the rest of the titles?   Am I not seeing something?

Jungle Hunt was a Taito arcade game but it seems to have slipped through the trademark cracks — AtGames put it on all their systems a few years ago. I wonder if someone snagged it when it failed to be renewed? Or maybe Taito doesn’t care to get into another lawsuit since the Jungle King original was sued by the Tarzan estate? 
 

Looking for business sense in this trash pile seems like a thankless task. 

[mr_me]

5 hours ago, Pink said:

If you mean retro market as in Atariage and a bunch of Z list Youtubers with <100 subs that average, maybe, a couple hundred views at best, sure it was "introduced" to the retro market 2 years prior.

 

But regardless, as Tommy has said numerous times, that isn't their target market. Sure, it's a market (And going off pre order units, only a couple thousand, if even that) They're going after the 3 billion + casual "gamers" and people that don't play console games nor have any interest in buying a video game console. Ignoring the amount of money or length of time that it would take, how the heck do you effectively market and reach that demographic and successfully convince/persuade them to buy your product when they have no desire to even buy a video game console in the first place? This was one of the massive, glaring red flags with this entire fiasco from the very start of this whole mess and it's laughable that anyone ever thought that it was a good idea.

 

It's like trying to make a guitar for people that don't play guitar nor have any interest in ever picking one up or learning and going around saying "There's over 7 billion on earth don't play guitar and even if we only sell to 1% of that demographic it's still 70 million!!!" How the heck are you going to convince someone with zero interest in guitars through marketing or whatever, to buy your guitar?

It's not that retro gamers are not a target market, they are.  But they are secondary to their primary target audience of young families and casuals.  Retro gamers typically like playing the old classics.  Amico games, even though they have retro titles are mostly designed for the primary audience.  There is a subset of retro gamers that are interested in modern remakes of the classics, and they have families and non-gamer friends like anyone else.

 

Everyone plays games, and they are trying to make a social game system that doesn't look like other video game systems.  I'd say it's a question mark more than a red flag.  We don't know what they know.  I was looking forward to see if and how it works out.  Unfortunately, we might never know.

 

 

3 hours ago, MrBeefy said:

...

 

Showing up as a vendor in a digital exhibit hall is hardly actively going for that market. Once again only doing something like that once is more of a smoke and mirrors approach of, "see see look at us! It's moms!"

I think these are normally live conferences.  They committed to the sponsorship with their scheduled release that year.  Their marketing plans changed along with the change in release date.

 

3 hours ago, Cebus Capucinis said:

But they'll easily sell millions due to Back Talk Party, which is clearly (A) not an incredibly bland, uninspired game concept and (B) not readily available in the mobile market and other platforms. KILLER APP.

If you are suggesting Amico Back Talk Party is the same game as Back Talk currently available on android, they're not.  Completely different games, completely different developers. 

 

2 hours ago, Rev said:

Why does Intellivision Entertainment have the Trademark/Copyright for Jungle Hunt, but not Night Stalker, Shark Shark, or Cloudy Mountain and the rest of the titles?   Am I not seeing something?

They do have trademarks on Night Stalker and Shark Shark they're just not registered.  Intellivision Productions never registered these trademarks either. 

 

They registered the trademark for the name Jungle Hunt, they don't have copyrights to the game as far as I know.  I don't know why they registered the trademark, no idea if they intend to make a game for it.  If they use music from the original game they have to license it from the rights owner.  They did the same thing with Bumpnjump.

Edited August 18, 2022 by mr_me

[atarifan88]

4 hours ago, Rev said:

Just a quick update on FCC. 
 

Still hasnt passed.   
 

Also that address needs updated to the UPS Store, and Barnhouse was fired. 
 

That is all. 

[rietveld]

14 hours ago, Lathe26 said:

 

This thread is now the 4th* longest thread in the Intellivision forum!

1. Intellivision Ebay Roundup (14.8k replies)
2. Song Game (7.1k replies)
3. Intellivision Purchases and Deals (3.8k replies)
4. Intellivision Amico’s trademark changed to ‘abandoned’ (2.7k replies)
5. LTO Flash! - Intellivision Flash Cartridge Information (2.5k replies)

* Same caveat as previous

 

Its just a reminder of the passion we all share with this great company.  Whether good or bad

[rietveld]

14 hours ago, jerseystyle said:

4the longest but if I am not mistaken at the dates its the fastest to get to this spot in terms of weeks since posting it 

[MrBeefy]

6 hours ago, Cebus Capucinis said:

Hmm, okay. That makes sense as to how it works. Yeah, I just couldn't see myself, as a consumer, taking the time to pop in and go through all the Skype stuff just to look at something. But I may not be a target for such things (again, not insulting IE, just saying generally), because I don't like conventions, trade shows, etc.

Any exhibit hall type stuff I have been a part of are way better in person. In my world it is better used for networking than actually buying into something.

 

At an event like this they would not be selling units. They would more likely be trying to court some blogger influencer to sponsor them. If any of those women were with it as parents they would already have a handle on how to "protect their kids from the evil Yoshi or Kirby". 🤣

 

Amico's SAFE concept is literally only for either the idiots who can't do technology, or who are super strict about content. However, even then some of the Amico games would still be objectionable to that crowd. (Night Stalker - gun promotion, Finnegan - wizardry/witchcraft, Tank Tanks/Missile Comman/Biplanes - war promotion).

 

It was an iffy idea at best that was horribly executed.

[number6]

4 hours ago, mr_me said:

They do have trademarks on Night Stalker and Shark Shark they're just not registered.  Intellivision Productions never registered these trademarks either. 

 

They registered the trademark for the name Jungle Hunt, they don't have copyrights to the game as far as I know.  I don't know why they registered the trademark, no idea if they intend to make a game for it.  If they use music from the original game they have to license it from the rights owner.  They did the same thing with Bumpnjump.

To be clear, the new Intellivision filed for trademark for Jungle Hunt. It is nowhere near being registered. They filed for another extension of 6 months during which time they can show use in commerce through a filed statement of use with uspto.

As far as "intent" to make a game, someone has to, otherwise they won't be able to show "use" as a game title.

To summarize, Intellivision currently has -no- registered trademarks except those they acquired - Intellivision, Running Man, and the combined Intellivision and Running Man.

 

The "green" ones are registered, the rest are not

 

#6