Intellivision Amico’s trademark changed to ‘abandoned’

[Flojomojo]

E3 is mostly irrelevant nowadays. They didn't have a show at all this year, not even a virtual one. Big companies don't need E3 because they run their own events, and small companies can get the word out just as effectively using less expensive means.

 

AARP did a huge spread on video games last year, and they host casual games on their website. Their members have no need for anything like Amico, which is about as useful to them as a senior-targeted gift card scam or penis enlargement spam email. 

 

https://games.aarp.org/category/all-games

[roots.genoa]

7 hours ago, MrBeefy said:

He was very successful at building a giant flop.

And don't forget about building a huuuuuge list of skeptics and haters. 😎

 

2 hours ago, SteveTheColecoDude said:

Repeat this once a week or so™️.

FIFY

[+CurlyQ]

3 hours ago, Hwlngmad said:

The 3DO did have its flaws.  But, it is a good console and no one should make fun of you for liking it imo.  It has some really good games on it to be sure.

Back in the day I shelled out over $800 bucks (CDN) just so I could play 3DO Road Rash and I don't regret one second of that purchase. Good Times were had!!! That game was a system seller.

 

Road Rash for the Genesis was also pretty awesome at the time.

 

 

[mr_me]

33 minutes ago, Flojomojo said:

E3 is mostly irrelevant nowadays. They didn't have a show at all this year, not even a virtual one. Big companies don't need E3 because they run their own events, and small companies can get the word out just as effectively using less expensive means.

 

AARP did a huge spread on video games last year, and they host casual games on their website. Their members have no need for anything like Amico, which is about as useful to them as a senior-targeted gift card scam or penis enlargement spam email. 

 

https://games.aarp.org/category/all-games

The conference industry has been trending that way in general over several decades now, but they still seem to keep going.

 

Seniors aren't unlike any other segment of the population.  Some are into console games, PC games, others mobile games, or none of the above.  It would be the same question, whether there's a market for what Amico is trying to do.  The magazine itself is a general magazine that covers a wide range of topics, including video games.  That's why they might be at E3 even though it would only serve a segment of their audience, while other segments of their audience is part of the Amico target audience.

[SegaSnatcher]

Phil Adam has spoken.

"Greetings,

This is Phil Adam, CEO of Intellivision. I had planned to respond sooner with the company status, but the team has been working through some production pipeline bugs that have delayed this update. As I've stated previously, updates from myself will be made when material facts are available and relevant. That being said, here are a few updates.

1. One of the primary goals for the small pilot run was to uncover any issues in the production pipeline before starting a larger production run. Fortunately, we did catch one significant problem. Diagnosing this issue and implementing a solution was a significant effort and caused a delay. The symptoms pointed to a bug in the controller firmware, but that was not the case. The problem was an order-of-operations issue when provisioning the console on the production line with its unique identifiers and security keys. The error manifested on the next reboot in a way that looked like a controller bug. With that resolved, the path is clear to finish the pilot run in the next few weeks.

2. We signed a licensing deal with BBG Entertainment GmbH, the details of which will be announced later. Here is a quote from Stephan Berendsen, Managing Director:

"We are very pleased to have licensed four Amico games and the original game versions from Intellivision. For the past three years we have been working with Intellivision on the development of our games DYNABLASTER and BRAINDUEL for Amico. We are excited about Amico and hope that customers will be as well. We are looking forward to offering the four licensed Amico games and original Intellivision versions on other platforms soon.”

3. We have another partnership deal that will ensure that 2 of our most anticipated IPs will be available across multiple platforms as well as Amico. The details of that relationship will be announced at a later time. The target for these IPs is simultaneously (or later) with the Amico release.

Given that we will have a limited number of Amico units initially, these partnerships will get the games into more hands who have been waiting to play while helping get the word out to a larger audience. As stated above, we are doing everything we can to make sure that we have a stable system before starting production. That is a key milestone in moving forward.

I would like to thank you again for your support, and thank you to our internal team and external developers that work tirelessly to create a family gaming experience on Amico that brings people of different ages and skills together in group play.

Phil Adam, CEO"

The main positive from this is they will be releasing some of the exclusive games on other platforms.  

Edited August 30, 2022 by SegaSnatcher

[SteveTheColecoDude]

DJC was going on about how the update is going to be great news, people will be very pleasantly surprised and they have some very good things happening. Now the update is that they still haven't entered production (wow what a surprise!) with some excuse for not doing so, and the games are going to be put elsewhere despite Tommy and the fans claiming over and over how they can't be done anywhere else.

 

Wow, what "great news"...

Edited August 30, 2022 by SteveTheColecoDude

[SegaSnatcher]

7 minutes ago, SteveTheColecoDude said:

DJC was going on about how the update is going to be great news, people will be very pleasantly surprised and they have some very good things happening. Now the update is that they still haven't entered production (wow what a surprise!) with some excuse for not doing so, and the games are going to be put elsewhere despite Tommy and the fans claiming over and over how they can't be done anywhere else.

 

Wow, what "great news"...

It begs the question, now that exclusive Amico games are releasing on other platforms people actually own, why in the hell would anyone bother to buy an Amico now?  It seems absolutely redundant now. 

[SteveTheColecoDude]

4 minutes ago, SegaSnatcher said:

It begs the question, now that exclusive Amico games are releasing on other platforms people actually own, why in the hell would anyone bother to buy an Amico now?  It seems absolutely redundant now. 

 

It would make a good dare in a game of truth or dare.

 

"I dare you to buy an Intellivision Amico"

"Noooooo!!!"

 

But yeah, I can't see how there would be any reason to do so.

[MrBeefy]

Hey @Rev you might be able to get your Night Stalker afterall!

 

7 minutes ago, SteveTheColecoDude said:

DJC was going on about how the update is going to be great news, people will be very pleasantly surprised and they have some very good things happening. Now the update is that they still haven't entered production (wow what a surprise!) with some excuse for not doing so, and the games are going to be put elsewhere despite Tommy and the fans claiming over and over how they can't be done anywhere else.

 

Wow, what "great news"...

I mean are you surprised? DJC and them are just pushing to get their promised units.

 

It is better news than their typical stuff, but this should have still been done years ago.

5 minutes ago, SegaSnatcher said:

It begs the question, now that exclusive Amico games are releasing on other platforms people actually own, why in the hell would anyone bother to buy an Amico now?  It seems absolutely redundant now. 

It means it is a less versatile, less powerful VCS, which has a smaller library of game at a premium price.

 

There is no point to buy one unless you collect things with the name Intellivision.

 

The lie of the games being exclusive was changed years ago, so it shouldn't come as a surprise. Enjoy your exclusive content of using the screen to pick your color.

 

I do hope the devs get a chance to sell their games and make money.

 

[MarioMan88]

Still no update on the refund que….pathetic. 

[rayik]

Ha!  Ha!  Since we have been repeatedly told that the Amico’s controller is required to fully experience their exclusive games, that means they are porting sub-optimal versions to other systems.   
 

(Actually IE Is not porting anything. Licensees are doing the actual work)
 

Also great excuse for not producing consoles. A 2nd boot bug. Surely at some point they must have rebooted their test consoles. Or maybe the never had functioning units at their public demonstrations?  IE still treating the few people following this as suckers who will believe anything they are told. 

Edited August 30, 2022 by rayik

[mr_me]

29 minutes ago, SegaSnatcher said:

It begs the question, now that exclusive Amico games are releasing on other platforms people actually own, why in the hell would anyone bother to buy an Amico now?  It seems absolutely redundant now. 

Back Talk Party is supposed to be a game that's tough to do on other platforms.  It will be games like this that distinguish Amico most.

[SegaSnatcher]

28 minutes ago, mr_me said:

Back Talk Party is supposed to be a game that's tough to do on other platforms.  It will be games like this that distinguish Amico most.

Respectfully, nobody is going to pay $300 to play Back Talk Party.   

And in case you reply with "But people paid $249.99 to play Wii Sports."  

Yeah, because 1. It was Nintendo, 2. The Wiimote was seen as actually interesting, 3. You couldn't play it anywhere else. 

Back Talk Party would be a possible system seller if that system was under $200 and came with two controllers.  Come on, please just be sincere with the things you say.  Do you honestly believe those games are going to get people to spend $300+ for the Amico?

 

Edited August 30, 2022 by SegaSnatcher

[mr_me]

10 minutes ago, SegaSnatcher said:

Respectfully, nobody is going to pay $300 to play Back Talk Party.   

And in case you reply with "But people paid $249.99 to play Wii Sports."  

Yeah, because 1. It was Nintendo, 2. The Wiimote was seen as actually interesting, 3. You couldn't play it anywhere else. 

I haven't seen the game but I'll take your word for it.  They already said $300 is too high, they'll have to get the price down at some point.  Nearly all Amico games including the retro remakes are designed for their target Audience.  And that goes for the controllers too.

[SegaSnatcher]

Just now, mr_me said:

I haven't seen the game but I'll take your word for it.  They already said $300 is too high, they'll have to get the price down at some point.  Nearly all Amico games including the retro remakes are designed for their target Audience.  And that goes for the controllers too.

I have a correction to make, Back Talk Party is no longer available on phones after Amico partnered with the team, so it will technically still be an exclusive, but we still have that price point issue that at least we both agree with.  

And the speed at which they can reduce that price point is vitally important since they don't have a treasure trove of money to lean on for the next couple of years.  I think the magic number is $179.99 - $199.99 for them to potentially find some success in the market.

[MrBeefy]

55 minutes ago, rayik said:

Ha!  Ha!  Since we have been repeatedly told that the Amico’s controller is required to fully experience their exclusive games, that means they are porting sub-optimal versions to other systems.   
 

(Actually IE Is not porting anything. Licensees are doing the actual work)
 

Also great excuse for not producing consoles. A 2nd boot bug. Surely at some point they must have rebooted their test consoles. Or maybe the never had functioning units at their public demonstrations?  IE still treating the few people following this as suckers who will believe anything they are told. 

Actually they should be going into production. This email is poorly written and has conflicting information.

 

The stated purpose of the pilot run was to catch bugs on the pipeline. They found said bug and squashed it. Yet they are still doing pilot runs.

 

So they should be ready for production now. Now, with that said they also allude to it possibly not being stable. Which means *gasp* it hasn't been ready and still isn't.

 

The "spread the word" type talk comes off as we hope to get some type of positive reviews that suckers in an investor.

 

The can was successfully kicked down road.

[jerseystyle]

12 hours ago, mr_me said:

What does the CEO's interactions here or on youtube have to do with their engineers and developers not having the system ready for manufacturing.  That was just a side show.

If this is a serious question, it shows you know nothing about leadership at this level. Those of us who do tried, many times, to steer Tommy in a better direction but he refused to listen.

[jerseystyle]

1 hour ago, SegaSnatcher said:

I have a correction to make, Back Talk Party is no longer available on phones after Amico partnered with the team, so it will technically still be an exclusive, but we still have that price point issue that at least we both agree with.  

And the speed at which they can reduce that price point is vitally important since they don't have a treasure trove of money to lean on for the next couple of years.  I think the magic number is $179.99 - $199.99 for them to potentially find some success in the market.

With every game they’ve made included, plug and play style, I’d say 150 is fair. Especially now that these “unique” games are coming to other platforms. By the way, what about refunds? They still exploiting mentally challenged YouTubers?

[jerseystyle]

3 hours ago, CurlyQ said:

Back in the day I shelled out over $800 bucks (CDN) just so I could play 3DO Road Rash and I don't regret one second of that purchase. Good Times were had!!! That game was a system seller.

 

Road Rash for the Genesis was also pretty awesome at the time.

 

 

I was blown away when I saw Road Rash 3do as a kid. It looked awesome and if I had the money I would’ve done the same thing

[MattPilz]

2 hours ago, mr_me said:

Back Talk Party is supposed to be a game that's tough to do on other platforms.  It will be games like this that distinguish Amico most.

Have there been any demonstrations of that game yet? From what I gather it's a similar concept to "Telephone" and/or Charades and seems suitable for mobile gaming where phones also have mics/speakers, or any console that supports voice chat, really. There are some free online versions like GarticPhone.

 

I feel like that concept would do well as a DLC to Jack Box that already has a lot of similar local-centric party games.

 

Edited August 31, 2022 by MattPilz

[Rowsdower70]

So the big news is one of the German companies that developed two unexciting games for Amico have now picked up more Intellivision IPs?  
Not groundbreaking, but I will say if they grabbed up Night Stalker and Cloudy Mountain and drop it on Steam, I may grab em.   Likely its something more like Astrosmash.

[mr_me]

 

1 hour ago, SegaSnatcher said:

I have a correction to make, Back Talk Party is no longer available on phones after Amico partnered with the team, so it will technically still be an exclusive, but we still have that price point issue that at least we both agree with.  

And the speed at which they can reduce that price point is vitally important since they don't have a treasure trove of money to lean on for the next couple of years.  I think the magic number is $179.99 - $199.99 for them to potentially find some success in the market.

Some people mix up Back Talk Party with a game on mobile called Back Talk.  They are different games by different developers.  My understanding is that the Amico game has never been released on any platform.

 

They've really cut down their overhead, and they could probably cut it further if they want to sit on it, if that helps get the price down to $250 for example.

 

1 hour ago, MrBeefy said:

Actually they should be going into production. This email is poorly written and has conflicting information.

 

The stated purpose of the pilot run was to catch bugs on the pipeline. They found said bug and squashed it. Yet they are still doing pilot runs.

 

So they should be ready for production now. Now, with that said they also allude to it possibly not being stable. Which means *gasp* it hasn't been ready and still isn't.

 

The "spread the word" type talk comes off as we hope to get some type of positive reviews that suckers in an investor.

 

The can was successfully kicked down road.

It's an iterative process.  They implemented changes in a line  process, they still have to do the pilot run.  And the test units from the pilot run should still have to go out for field testing, market testing, certifications, etc. before they go to production of consumer units.

 

2 hours ago, rayik said:

...Also great excuse for not producing consoles. A 2nd boot bug. Surely at some point they must have rebooted their test consoles. Or maybe the never had functioning units at their public demonstrations?  IE still treating the few people following this as suckers who will believe anything they are told. 

Edited 2 hours ago by rayik

Testing a prototype is not the same as testing a production unit.  This issue came about in a process specific to production setup, according to the email.

 

 

[Matt_B]

The announcement seems entirely consistent with a company that has run out of money and is desperately trying to sell off its IP and other remaining assets in order to bring in as much cash as possible before they run dry.

I'd think that any machines they're capable of making would be more likely to get sold on eBay one at time, rather than given away for preview, because that would bring in more money.

[Rev]

Still no passed FCC. Just looked.  

The pilot production run may be the 25 prototypes for the “press”? 

 

[Rev]

55 minutes ago, Rowsdower70 said:

So the big news is one of the German companies that developed two unexciting games for Amico have now picked up more Intellivision IPs?  
Not groundbreaking, but I will say if they grabbed up Night Stalker and Cloudy Mountain and drop it on Steam, I may grab em.   Likely its something more like Astrosmash.

Hopefully on the Switch too.
 

The Nintendo Switch is simple affordable family entertainment!