Intellivision Amico’s trademark changed to ‘abandoned’

[Cebus Capucinis]

My favorite part:

 

"He envisions it as a tourist destination akin to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y."

 

Wow! He's so lucky then because now he has both a video game legend AND a Yankees Hall of Famer in one!

[MrBeefy]

12 hours ago, Flojomojo said:

Sneak peek: Pat Contri put the "Amico Apology" into his roundup of CU Podcast's Greatest Hits, which is available to Patreons now and will be public for all soon. 

 

If anything, Pat was too kind to @Tommy Tallarico in that video. I can't think of any substantial way where Pat/Ian were wrong and Tommy was right, and history proved it. 

 

This is from September 2019, when Amico was supposedly (just) a year from launch and everyone was giving Intellivision the benefit of the doubt, which they never earned nor deserved. 

 

They weren't wrong. They corrected the information and Tommy went ballistic. 

 

Pat was correct in that their information delivery from IE was shit. For years information was missing or incorrect from their web page. Even right now they have this listed which is incorrect.

I watched a lot of Tommy videos and his answers would change frequently. An example is how the amount and type of pack in games changed quite a bit. He went from all OG games included, to 7 games, 5 games, 6 games, to we could put 8 on there Wouldn't That Be Something.

 

It is really bad for a company to expect a consumer to go to some easily manipulated YTer to search for company relevant information.

 

He lied constantly and the information changed more frequently than the weather. He had to get a cult around him to help attack people like CUPodcast who didn't just swallow the tripe. Why? Because there was no solid plan.

 

The BOM should have been done in 2019 if the hardware was done. They would have known the cost of console and they should have ordered parts then. They didn't know either. Covid didn't make it jump from $150 to $250. That was their lack of EFFORT in making it happen.

 

They over engineered a cheap android board that China craps out daily, and probably wasted a ton of money on a controller that never seemed to ever work. It always had at least one of the following: lag, lost connection, glitches presses, or bad gyro requiring the Tommy shuffle to correct it.

 

After the first delay what should they have done? Make a plan on how to get the thing in people's hands. Instead they continued to drag their feet and opened many pointless expensive offices.

 

They actively chose to blow people's money on unnecessary things, than come up with a plan to deliver the console they promised. They had hoped that someone would buy out their crappy idea ran poorly and screw everyone else.

 

If they really put effort they would have frozen their salaries and not made loans to themselves which literally killed any possibility of them having a shot.

 

They spun a yarn, took money, spent money, and still haven't delivered anything. They don't even care to make the consoles for those who paid. The current CEO said he wouldn't.

 

Two years after initial launch they still don't want to make the consoles. At this point the only way any of their decisions make sense is if they planned on not delivering the console themselves.

 

[SteveTheColecoDude]

Well, it seems that Tommy owes an equipment finance company over $110,000 and now they want it back...

 

 

[+Biff Burgertime]

[Matt_B]

2 hours ago, SteveTheColecoDude said:

Well, it seems that Tommy owes an equipment finance company over $110,000 and now they want it back...

I'm wondering if that was the first of the loans mentioned in the SEC declaration that are starting to become due. There'll be a few more to follow shortly.

 

Quite possibly they're already insolvent and this will result in their bankruptcy.

[MattPilz]

Here's the complete lawsuit and signed contract between Tommy and Amur. I remember this leasing agreement being noted in some past forms as well. Their now closed office was leasing everything down to surge protectors, at a rate of $3,015.83 a month for five years.

 

The most damaging part for Tommy as an individual is that he signed as personal guarantee:

 

Quote

A personal guarantee is a provision a lender puts in a business loan agreement that requires owners to be personally responsible for their company’s debt in case of default. Lenders often ask for personal guarantees because they have concerns over the credit history,  age or financial stability of your business. Each of these situations presents a certain level of risk for the lender. A personal guarantee lessens that risk.

 

This means that even closing down Intellivision's LLC will still offer Amur a chance to recover their debts owed through Tommy directly, including the $110,252.60 money due plus attorney fees. "No part of said sum has been paid, although demand therefor has been made, and there is now due, owing and unpaid from Defendants, and each of them, to Plaintiff, said amount together with interest thereon at the rate of ten percent (10%) per annum from date of default."

 

Lawsuit: https://imgur.com/a/2haO1i9

[Rev]

This was floating around before as well.  Is this the same one as above?

[roots.genoa]

34 minutes ago, MattPilz said:

This means that even closing down Intellivision's LLC will still offer Amur a chance to recover their debts owed through Tommy directly, including the $110,252.60 money due plus attorney fees.

He'd better start winning a few Backgammon tournaments, then! 😅

[Rev]

Seen this one somewhere before too.  Is this the same as others?

[MattPilz]

21 minutes ago, Rev said:

This was floating around before as well.  Is this the same one as above?

 

 

The description of leased property seems to match, so I believe so.

[MarioMan88]

Well appears INTV is on the furniture launchpad, so to speak….just need some fuel 😉

[Rev]

1 hour ago, MattPilz said:

The description of leased property seems to match, so I believe so.

Check the descriptions of the leased items. 
 

6ft power cords.   Why dont just run over to walmart and buy them for 20 bucks?  I guess its easy when its someone else's money you have no intention of paying back. 

[Rev]

Dont forget when someone sued Interplay!  
 

Take that Phil Adams…..

 

https://www.plainsite.org/dockets/2uerez73c/superior-court-of-california-county-of-los-angeles/tommy-tallarico-studios-inc-v-interplay-entertainment-corp/

[Cebus Capucinis]

1 hour ago, Rev said:

Check the descriptions of the leased items. 
 

6ft power cords.   Why dont just run over to walmart and buy them for 20 bucks?  I guess its easy when its someone else's money you have no intention of paying back. 

Not defending stupidity, but this is actually pretty common with equipment leases. What they'll do is go "one stop shop, you will get everything" and then they build the "convenience" into the prices for the leased equipment. It's a lot like Aaron's and other furniture rental places - you end up paying like a 1000% markup for the "convenience" of not paying all at once. Those agreements are also generally impossible to get out of, so what's going to happen here is if it doesn't get paid, they'll get a judgement for the amount and then they can exercise remedies against IE or Tommy as guarantor. (depending upon the language of the guaranty. If it's equipment it's probably an unlimited guaranty without any exhaustion requirements against IE before seeking against Ol' Tom). If they go against Tommy, they'll probably attempt to execute on personal property, then real property, then garnishment - those are the general order of "easiest to hardest to execute on."

[MrBeefy]

1 hour ago, MattPilz said:

Here's the complete lawsuit and signed contract between Tommy and Amur. I remember this leasing agreement being noted in some past forms as well. Their now closed office was leasing everything down to surge protectors, at a rate of $3,015.83 a month for five years.

 

The most damaging part for Tommy as an individual is that he signed as personal guarantee:

 

This means that even closing down Intellivision's LLC will still offer Amur a chance to recover their debts owed through Tommy directly, including the $110,252.60 money due plus attorney fees. "No part of said sum has been paid, although demand therefor has been made, and there is now due, owing and unpaid from Defendants, and each of them, to Plaintiff, said amount together with interest thereon at the rate of ten percent (10%) per annum from date of default."

 

Lawsuit: https://imgur.com/a/2haO1i9

This is probably why the rumor (started by the shills who talk to him) was going around that he was going to lose his house possibly. He probably spun a sob story to them for owing money for a $3000 surge protector that they could have bought for $10. 🙄

 

Does it have a date when that contract started? I'd love to know if it was before or after the first delay.

2 hours ago, Matt_B said:

I'm wondering if that was the first of the loans mentioned in the SEC declaration that are starting to become due. There'll be a few more to follow shortly.

 

Quite possibly they're already insolvent and this will result in their bankruptcy.

It will only end up in bankruptcy if Sudesh doesn't mind not being paid back for the $600,000 they owe. The one where ever console sold got him $100 until the loan was paid off.

 

[MarioMan88]

10 minutes ago, MrBeefy said:

This is probably why the rumor (started by the shills who talk to him) was going around that he was going to lose his house possibly. He probably spun a sob story to them for owing money for a $3000 surge protector that they could have bought for $10. 🙄

 

Does it have a date when that contract started? I'd love to know if it was before or after the first delay.

It will only end up in bankruptcy if Sudesh doesn't mind not being paid back for the $600,000 they owe. The one where ever console sold got him $100 until the loan was paid off.

 

Such large amounts of money for sheer incompetency. Boggles my mind really.

 

Even the new Atari wasn’t this bad…

[Matt_B]

55 minutes ago, MrBeefy said:

It will only end up in bankruptcy if Sudesh doesn't mind not being paid back for the $600,000 they owe. The one where ever console sold got him $100 until the loan was paid off.

Sudesh could have called in his loan in January 2022 but chose not to, presumably because he knew they were on the brink of collapse and that he'd likely get nothing. I'm guessing that he didn't get any personal guarantees on it though.

 

I've a feeling that the Amur are going the distance on this, particularly if they can keep Tommy's name on the suit and potentially add other directors at the company.

 

 

[Tommy2D]

1 hour ago, Cebus Capucinis said:

Not defending stupidity, but this is actually pretty common with equipment leases. What they'll do is go "one stop shop, you will get everything" and then they build the "convenience" into the prices for the leased equipment. It's a lot like Aaron's and other furniture rental places - you end up paying like a 1000% markup for the "convenience" of not paying all at once. Those agreements are also generally impossible to get out of, so what's going to happen here is if it doesn't get paid, they'll get a judgement for the amount and then they can exercise remedies against IE or Tommy as guarantor. (depending upon the language of the guaranty. If it's equipment it's probably an unlimited guaranty without any exhaustion requirements against IE before seeking against Ol' Tom). If they go against Tommy, they'll probably attempt to execute on personal property, then real property, then garnishment - those are the general order of "easiest to hardest to execute on."

"Surge protectors as a service 😁".  I get it though, if you're a successful business, you probably want to focus on your core activity and not running to Big Box stores to buy miscellaneous office equipment.    

 

What doesn't make sense is why you would sign, what sounds like, a non-severable five year lease?  Were they saving that much, as opposed to signing a one year agreement or a contract with renewable options?  Maybe it all seemed like small potatoes when they were banking on selling millions of consoles. 

 

It just seems particularly short sighted when IE often referred to themselves as a start-up.  What percentage of start-ups stay in business for five years? 

 

This also could be something that you might plausibly blame on a low-level purchasing/operations staffer...except Mr. Tallarico provided his personal guarantee.  This really could be a useful cautionary tale for a business school textbook. 

 

 

[Rev]

2 hours ago, Tommy2D said:

"Surge protectors as a service 😁".  I get it though, if you're a successful business, you probably want to focus on your core activity and not running to Big Box stores to buy miscellaneous office equipment.    

 

What doesn't make sense is why you would sign, what sounds like, a non-severable five year lease?  Were they saving that much, as opposed to signing a one year agreement or a contract with renewable options?  Maybe it all seemed like small potatoes when they were banking on selling millions of consoles. 

 

It just seems particularly short sighted when IE often referred to themselves as a start-up.  What percentage of start-ups stay in business for five years? 

 

This also could be something that you might plausibly blame on a low-level purchasing/operations staffer...except Mr. Tallarico provided his personal guarantee.  This really could be a useful cautionary tale for a business school textbook. 

 

 

They probably could of got just as-good or better quality and priced office stuff at the local thrift stores. 🤓😜

[Tommy2D]

6 minutes ago, Rev said:

They probably could of go as-good or better quality and priced office stuff at the local thrift stores. 🤓😜

They could have struck a deal with Pat Contri.  He could have filmed a few new episodes of "Flea Market Madness" and picked up a few plastic tubs of surge protectors for $1.99 each. 

[jerseystyle]

32 minutes ago, Tommy2D said:

"Surge protectors as a service 😁".  I get it though, if you're a successful business, you probably want to focus on your core activity and not running to Big Box stores to buy miscellaneous office equipment.    

 

What doesn't make sense is why you would sign, what sounds like, a non-severable five year lease?  Were they saving that much, as opposed to signing a one year agreement or a contract with renewable options?  Maybe it all seemed like small potatoes when they were banking on selling millions of consoles. 

 

It just seems particularly short sighted when IE often referred to themselves as a start-up.  What percentage of start-ups stay in business for five years? 

 

This also could be something that you might plausibly blame on a low-level purchasing/operations staffer...except Mr. Tallarico provided his personal guarantee.  This really could be a useful cautionary tale for a business school textbook. 

 

 

Yes I’ve had contracts like that when we are relocating/setting up new office spaces/etc, so I understand it. Paying more up front so that me or my team don’t have to go shopping for power strips is sometimes worth it- in terms of good use of salary vs time spent on stuff. HOWEVER, we’d never sign a 5 year deal on that. That’s insane. Usually it’d be 6-12 months while we sort out best uses of space and resources.  If you’re gonna go that long with rented stuff, just go set up space at WeWork or something.

[Cebus Capucinis]

Oh for sure. The most common term for equipment leases is a 12 month term with an "evergreen" provision, which is an automatic renewal for another one-year term (continuing into perpetuity or, in the case of equipment, until everything is paid off, in which case you have the option to "buy" for $1 - which is arguably a disguised security interest on a loan but that's deep in the weeds UCC legalese) unless either party sends notice of intent for non-renewal within a period before the term expires (usually 90 days). A static 5 year term is very "not market" but if you've whipped yourself into a frenzy thinking you have 3 billion customers, for example, you'll sign it because it's "only upside."

[MrBeefy]

1 hour ago, MarioMan88 said:

Such large amounts of money for sheer incompetency. Boggles my mind really.

 

Even the new Atari wasn’t this bad…

Not when you think about who the CEO was. Really makes a lot of sense.

36 minutes ago, Matt_B said:

Sudesh could have called in his loan in January 2022 but chose not to, presumably because he knew they were on the brink of collapse and that he'd likely get nothing. I'm guessing that he didn't get any personal guarantees on it though.

 

I've a feeling that the Amur are going the distance on this, particularly if they can keep Tommy's name on the suit and potentially add other directors at the company.

Sudesh is also allegedly the one who blocked their attempt to go bankrupt earlier in the year. The company has been effectively dead since end of 2021. Why do you think they are in the quiet period and won't just throw in the towel? They want to continue to give the idea they are moving so not to get more refund requests, and in hopes to get a money injection and pay off loans.

 

Its the only thing that makes sense. They've already admitted to making only 7000 is a bad thing. There are no other POs.  So if you don't have the POs and you refuse to build the amount you were given money for, why keep the charade up?

33 minutes ago, Tommy2D said:

"Surge protectors as a service 😁".  I get it though, if you're a successful business, you probably want to focus on your core activity and not running to Big Box stores to buy miscellaneous office equipment.    

 

What doesn't make sense is why you would sign, what sounds like, a non-severable five year lease?  Were they saving that much, as opposed to signing a one year agreement or a contract with renewable options?  Maybe it all seemed like small potatoes when they were banking on selling millions of consoles. 

 

It just seems particularly short sighted when IE often referred to themselves as a start-up.  What percentage of start-ups stay in business for five years? 

 

This also could be something that you might plausibly blame on a low-level purchasing/operations staffer...except Mr. Tallarico provided his personal guarantee.  This really could be a useful cautionary tale for a business school textbook. 

Also not this was in February of 2021 when they KNEW they were not going to be able to make their second release. They weren't producing anything and therefore weren't going to make the April 2020 date.

 

I wonder if he had to sign it because it wasn't a board approved thing? His brain seems to be on the level of a toddler in a candy shop. Think of how many refunds they could have made?

 

It really comes off as a Producers-like scam. Promise everything, get a bunch of money, and make it flop while paying yourself and running coffers dry.

9 minutes ago, jerseystyle said:

Yes I’ve had contracts like that when we are relocating/setting up new office spaces/etc, so I understand it. Paying more up front so that me or my team don’t have to go shopping for power strips is sometimes worth it- in terms of good use of salary vs time spent on stuff. HOWEVER, we’d never sign a 5 year deal on that. That’s insane. Usually it’d be 6-12 months while we sort out best uses of space and resources.  If you’re gonna go that long with rented stuff, just go set up space at WeWork or something.

Tommy wasted a lot of time here on AA and on YT. He had plenty of time to do some company shopping. That would resemble work and wouldn't give him the attention he needed though.

 

[MrBeefy]

6 minutes ago, Cebus Capucinis said:

Oh for sure. The most common term for equipment leases is a 12 month term with an "evergreen" provision, which is an automatic renewal for another one-year term (continuing into perpetuity or, in the case of equipment, until everything is paid off, in which case you have the option to "buy" for $1 - which is arguably a disguised security interest on a loan but that's deep in the weeds UCC legalese) unless either party sends notice of intent for non-renewal within a period before the term expires (usually 90 days). A static 5 year term is very "not market" but if you've whipped yourself into a frenzy thinking you have 3 billion customers, for example, you'll sign it because it's "only upside."

[Tommy2D]

17 minutes ago, jerseystyle said:

Yes I’ve had contracts like that when we are relocating/setting up new office spaces/etc, so I understand it. Paying more up front so that me or my team don’t have to go shopping for power strips is sometimes worth it- in terms of good use of salary vs time spent on stuff. HOWEVER, we’d never sign a 5 year deal on that. That’s insane. Usually it’d be 6-12 months while we sort out best uses of space and resources.  If you’re gonna go that long with rented stuff, just go set up space at WeWork or something.

 

11 minutes ago, Cebus Capucinis said:

Oh for sure. The most common term for equipment leases is a 12 month term with an "evergreen" provision, which is an automatic renewal for another one-year term unless either party sends notice of intent for non-renewal within a period before the term expires (usually 90 days). A static 5 year term is very "not market" but if you've whipped yourself into a frenzy thinking you have 3 billion customers, for example, you'll sign it because it's "only upside."

These arrangements sound far more reasonable.  

 

Maybe someone at IE just assumed that they got a sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet deal because they locked in the same monthly price, for five years. 

 

They probably outsourced their purchasing department to the good people down at KraMerica Industries. 

 

Edited December 29, 2022 by Tommy2D