Intellivision Amico’s trademark changed to ‘abandoned’

[dudeguy]

I havent been able to follow all the drama surrounding the Amico and it sounds like there was definitely some shadiness going on, however Im just happy to see a company besides Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft entering the market with a new console/games, especially if the games are exclusive to said platform. I mean my God, 20 years of the same three major companies duking it out. I dont think a 4th console can truly take away market dominance from any of them but if the systems priced right and the games rate well enough, Id at least check out a demo.

[Razzie.P]

1 minute ago, dudeguy said:

Im just happy to see a company besides Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft entering the market with a new console/games,

What company did you see that happen with?

 

[Rowsdower70]

2 minutes ago, dudeguy said:

I havent been able to follow all the drama surrounding the Amico and it sounds like there was definitely some shadiness going on, however Im just happy to see a company besides Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft entering the market with a new console/games, especially if the games are exclusive to said platform. I mean my God, 20 years of the same three major companies duking it out. I dont think a 4th console can truly take away market dominance from any of them but if the systems priced right and the games rate well enough, Id at least check out a demo.

You probably should get caught up, Amico isn't entering any markets.     
Like you, I'd be glad to see more competition, but its not going to come from Amico. 

[MrBeefy]

I'm not sure why people make a point about seeing something other than the big 3. I like seeing any and all gaming come out but it has nothing to do with the big 3.

 

Do people just hate the big 3? And if so, why? They pretty much cover all genres. They just might not have a game called Night Stalker specifically. I know a bunch of Nintendo hate comes off as being upset because it kicked some older consoles butts. How did the NES sell like hotcakes!? HOW!?!?!?!?

[Rowsdower70]

55 minutes ago, MrBeefy said:

I'm not sure why people make a point about seeing something other than the big 3. I like seeing any and all gaming come out but it has nothing to do with the big 3.

 

Do people just hate the big 3? And if so, why? They pretty much cover all genres. They just might not have a game called Night Stalker specifically. I know a bunch of Nintendo hate comes off as being upset because it kicked some older consoles butts. How did the NES sell like hotcakes!? HOW!?!?!?!?

For me it doesn't have anything to do with the "Big 3", its more like a .. the more the merrier?   I just think competition in general breeds innovation. 

[Pink]

4 hours ago, roots.genoa said:

And it was never released outside the US, unfortunately

I was only born in 1992 so I genuinely don't know and a quick google search didn't really tell me anything. How many countries was the OG Intellivision sold in? Looks like it sold somewhere around 3 million consoles, how many of those 3 million were in the US?

[Rev]

5 minutes ago, Pink said:

I was only born in 1992 so I genuinely don't know and a quick google search didn't really tell me anything. How many countries was the OG Intellivision sold in? Looks like it sold somewhere around 3 million consoles, how many of those 3 million were in the US?

Not sure how many exactly was only in US.  
 

It was sold in these countries. I think i recall most of them. 
 

US, Canada, Mexico, parts of South America, Australia, Middle East, South Africa, Japan, Greece, Germany, France, Spain, UK, Pretty much all of the European countries. 

[Steven Pendleton]

4 hours ago, MrBeefy said:

Do people just hate the big 3? And if so, why?

PlayStation = underpowered PC with almost the exact same games and performance as Xbox. Only major difference is the controller. Pay to play online. Almost everything here worth playing is on PC and better there. Has thrilling exclusive games like Life of Black Tiger.

 

Xbox = underpowered PC with almost the exact same games and performance as PlayStation. Only major difference is the controller. Pay to play online. Almost everything here worth playing is on PC and better there. Lacks thrilling exclusive games like Life of Black Tiger.

 

Switch = underpowered Neo Geo X ripoff thing, but isn't as cool because it doesn't have a fake Neo Geo as its dock. Okay on its own, but if you don't care about Nintendo games, it usually (but not always) has the worst versions of modern games, whether due to its own hardware limitations or due to it having almost universally higher input lag than PC and the other consoles. Pay to play online. Some of the worst controllers ever conceived due to abnormally high failure rate.

 

Conclusion = PC is superior.

Edited February 18, 2023 by Steven Pendleton

[Pink]

3 hours ago, Rowsdower70 said:

For me it doesn't have anything to do with the "Big 3", its more like a .. the more the merrier?   I just think competition in general breeds innovation. 

Game consoles these days are all glorifed PCs. There is very, very little difference between an Xbox and a PlayStation and exclusives are few and far between and have been a dying breed for a long time now, and even then most are also available on PC as well so they aren't even truly exclusive anymore.. The biggest differences are, like Steven Pendleton just said, are the controllers. For a lot of people it comes down to whatever controller they like the best, what console their friends own, or whatever irrational brand loyalty they may have.

 

 

[Tommy2D]

Speaking of PCs... 

 

I wonder if the Amico controllers would work with a PC? 

 

Does the Amico console have any sensors that interact with the controllers, aside from Bluetooth? 

[Steven Pendleton]

21 minutes ago, Tommy2D said:

Does the Amico console have any sensors that interact with the controllers, aside from Bluetooth? 

Does USB count? I think you are supposed to be able to use USB controllers on it.

 

BTW I don't think any major game hardware manufacturer uses anything other than Bluetooth for wireless now. I think the PS4 controller is so ridiculously fast over Bluetooth that it is actually slower wired, and I think I read somewhere that the PS5 controller is actually very slightly slower than the PS4 controller. Switch controllers are typically faster over Bluetooth than wired as well, not because the Bluetooth they are using on it is super fast like Sony's (and it isn't), but because the USB ports on the Switch dock are ridiculously slow in comparison.

[MrBeefy]

29 minutes ago, Tommy2D said:

Speaking of PCs... 

 

I wonder if the Amico controllers would work with a PC? 

 

Does the Amico console have any sensors that interact with the controllers, aside from Bluetooth? 

The question is do they even work? There is plenty of visual evidence they are broke.

[MrBeefy]

47 minutes ago, Steven Pendleton said:

PlayStation = underpowered PC with almost the exact same games and performance as Xbox. Only major difference is the controller. Pay to play online. Almost everything here worth playing is on PC and better there. Has thrilling exclusive games like Life of Black Tiger.

 

Xbox = underpowered PC with almost the exact same games and performance as PlayStation. Only major difference is the controller. Pay to play online. Almost everything here worth playing is on PC and better there. Lacks thrilling exclusive games like Life of Black Tiger.

 

Switch = underpowered Neo Geo X ripoff thing, but isn't as cool because it doesn't have a fake Neo Geo as its dock. Okay on its own, but if you don't care about Nintendo games, it usually (but not always) has the worst versions of modern games, whether due to its own hardware limitations or due to it having almost universally higher input lag than PC and the other consoles. Pay to play online. Some of the worst controllers ever conceived due to abnormally high failure rate.

 

Conclusion = PC is superior.

Where does Sega fit on this list? 😉

[Steven Pendleton]

Just now, MrBeefy said:

Where does Sega fit on this list? 😉

Still selling Mega Drives and Master Systems in Brazil, actually, but I haven't gotten the chance to try one of those versions yet.

[Pink]

42 minutes ago, MrBeefy said:

Where does Sega fit on this list? 😉

Pretty much the only Sega console that was a legitimate success was the Genesis. Master System sold well in parts of Europe and other random countries like Brazil & Australia, but the two largest markets for video games in the world, the USA and Japan, it got obliterated by Nintendo. The Game Gear was some sort of moderate success, no idea if it ended up being profitable for Sega in the end when it was all said and done.

 

The only flat out successful Atari console out of all the different consoles they made were the 2600, which came to an abrupt end when the video game industry crashed. It's not uncommon for people to simply refer to the 2600 as an "atari" and a Sega Genesis as a "Sega" and when you bring up the fact that both Sega & Atari made many different game consoles over the years, they have no idea what you're talking about and look at you like you're crazy.

 

It took many, many years for the Xbox brand to finally turn a profit for Microsoft after it launched in 2001, in fact there were investors Microsoft urging to sell or spin off the Xbox brand as late as 2013/2014

 

Nintendo's had their fair share of struggles too. The 3DS got off to dismal start, and the Wii U was pretty much a failure when it was all said and done. Also the infamous Virtual Boy flop in the mid 1990s.

 

Knowing all these facts, why do people get so deluded so easily that some godawful half baked, crappy crowdfunded game console will have such an easy & smooth sailing time coming into the market and dominating and being so successful right out of the gate so easily without any trouble or hiccups whatsoever? I'm not talking about niche devices that know & understand their niche and are specifically just targeting said niche, like the Playdate and Evercade, or the Atari Flashback and Sega Genesis flashbacks, but rather garbage like the Amico that came waltzing on in here and making such grand claims like "3 billion casual gamers"

 

Unrelated too but Samsung had their infamous mishap with the exploding Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phones, and Microsoft with their Red Ring of Death (RROD) fiasco with the Xbox 360. Lots of other smaller mishaps have happened throughout the decades too, like Nintendo and their Joycon drift. I remember people discussing about what would happen if the Amico launched and had some big quality control problems of some sort and how would Intellivision go about handling it, and unsurprisingly all were blown off by Tommy & his "friends" and immediately got laughed out of the room for suggesting that such a thing could ever be possible. I wouldn't be surprised if @jaybird3rd even deleted posts and/or even flat out banned some people from the Amico forums for even suggesting that such a thing could possibly happen!

 

Surely if industry giants like Microsoft & Samsung can have disastrous mishaps from time to time, it isn't so unreasonable to think that a quality control mishap of some sort, whether big or small, could potentially happen to some dumpster fire of a start up at some point.

 

Oh wait I forgot, Tommy never loses and his team has over 600 years of experience. How silly of me!

Edited February 18, 2023 by Pink

[SegaSnatcher]

On 2/16/2023 at 8:58 PM, rayik said:

TT threatens to leave

 

...  jaybird apologizes

 

... and 5 posts later, TT is staying

 

 

When you go out of your way to please a single individual then perhaps you are not cut out to be a mod.  Just because Tommy found success in the gaming industry doesn't mean he should have been given any special treatment over any other member at AA.  Tommy never cared about AA outside hyping up his Amico project and getting his ego stroked by starstruck INTV fans.  It clearly wasn't worth alienating so many long time AA members by giving Tommy so much special attention. 

I think it would be a great start if Jay considered apologizing to the AA community as a whole for his part in enabling Tommy.  Just put the pride/ego aside and just admit that this could have been handled better.  Nobody is perfect, we all mess up, but the difference is if you are willing to take personal responsibility.  

[roots.genoa]

4 hours ago, Pink said:

I was only born in 1992 so I genuinely don't know and a quick google search didn't really tell me anything. How many countries was the OG Intellivision sold in? Looks like it sold somewhere around 3 million consoles, how many of those 3 million were in the US?

I was talking about the DS compilation, not the OG Intellivision mind you. 😅

 

4 hours ago, Pink said:

Game consoles these days are all glorifed PCs.

Except on consoles you can suspend and resume your game easily, and you don't have to quit to do others things like, you know, working. Also games are optimized on consoles and usually run a lot more consistently, (mostly) without tearing, lag, or audio scratches. And controllers are standard for consoles so you don't have to play with a controller while prompts show you buttons of another one. 😩 Also you don't have to play with a stupid 100+ keys controller on a console. 😝

[Pink]

1 hour ago, roots.genoa said:

I was talking about the DS compilation, not the OG Intellivision mind you. 😅

That I know, was just curious. Because if the OG Intellivision was barely sold outside the US in the 70s & 80s, it doesn't make sense to release a compilation like the DS one outside of the US 20+ years later.

[Pink]

1 hour ago, roots.genoa said:

Except on consoles you can suspend and resume your game easily, and you don't have to quit to do others things like, you know, working. Also games are optimized on consoles and usually run a lot more consistently, (mostly) without tearing, lag, or audio scratches. And controllers are standard for consoles so you don't have to play with a controller while prompts show you buttons of another one. 😩 Also you don't have to play with a stupid 100+ keys controller on a console. 😝

Yeah differences from the consumer side of things. Internally they're all the same, hence why exclusives have pretty much died off except for things the company has an ownership stake in (Such as Sony owning rights to Spider-Man) or a company like Nintendo paying the developer money to help fund development of the game and buy the exclusivity rights like they did with Bayonetta III on the Wii U. Porting games in this day and age is a very simple process compared to what it once was, since consoles like the Super Nintendo SNES/Sega Genesis or Sega Saturn/PlayStation were completely different beasts on the inside.

 

As MrBeefy said, the only major difference between the Xbox and PlayStation is the controller, and I suppose the menu interface/operating system UI.

[Flojomojo]

14 hours ago, dudeguy said:

I havent been able to follow all the drama surrounding the Amico and it sounds like there was definitely some shadiness going on, however Im just happy to see a company besides Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft entering the market with a new console/games, especially if the games are exclusive to said platform. I mean my God, 20 years of the same three major companies duking it out. I dont think a 4th console can truly take away market dominance from any of them but if the systems priced right and the games rate well enough, Id at least check out a demo.

Intellivision Entertainment never presented any competition to the status quo, it was just recycled/rejected ideas from the past, ineptly executed. 
 

There are more alternatives to what you call the “big 3” than ever before, with PC variants, mobile phones and tablets, FPGA consoles, cloud services, and inexpensive Linux-based handhelds that can run every retro game. To dismiss what’s out there in hope of an Amico disruption is like wishing for a flying car.  
 

6 hours ago, SegaSnatcher said:

When you go out of your way to please a single individual then perhaps you are not cut out to be a mod.  Just because Tommy found success in the gaming industry doesn't mean he should have been given any special treatment over any other member at AA.  Tommy never cared about AA outside hyping up his Amico project and getting his ego stroked by starstruck INTV fans.  It clearly wasn't worth alienating so many long time AA members by giving Tommy so much special attention. 

I think it would be a great start if Jay considered apologizing to the AA community as a whole for his part in enabling Tommy.  Just put the pride/ego aside and just admit that this could have been handled better.  Nobody is perfect, we all mess up, but the difference is if you are willing to take personal responsibility.  

+1 for this sentiment. From what we’ve seen, I don’t think it’s going to happen, which has greatly diminished my respect for this site and the people who run it. But it’s never too late to do the right thing. 

[Rowsdower70]

9 hours ago, Pink said:

Game consoles these days are all glorifed PCs. There is very, very little difference between an Xbox and a PlayStation and exclusives are few and far between and have been a dying breed for a long time now, and even then most are also available on PC as well so they aren't even truly exclusive anymore.. 

 

 

I agree completely, I think honestly there's been very little console innovation since arguably the PS2 era.   Would love to see something shake things up and force them all out of their comfort zones. 
I've been almost exclusively a PC gamer since the PS2 days (we did own a 360, but hardly used it). 

[Flojomojo]

15 minutes ago, Rowsdower70 said:

I agree completely, I think honestly there's been very little console innovation since arguably the PS2 era.   Would love to see something shake things up and force them all out of their comfort zones. 
I've been almost exclusively a PC gamer since the PS2 days (we did own a 360, but hardly used it). 

Meta Quest 2 (formerly known as Oculus, a better name in my opinion) is like a whole new game console. It’s a shame you have to put it on your face but the immersion is neat. 
 

Nintendo Switch is a tricked-out gaming version of Nvidia Shield, it’s been an awesome mobile console for me. I think it would be my “desert island” game console (so long as I could also have my phone)
 

What kind of “innovation” are you looking for? Many people just used PlayStation 2 as a DVD player. When the console people try wacky things like PS Move or XB Kinect, nobody plays them. 

[Pink]

40 minutes ago, Flojomojo said:

What kind of “innovation” are you looking for? Many people just used PlayStation 2 as a DVD player. When the console people try wacky things like PS Move or XB Kinect, nobody plays them. 

I absolutely love how Nintendo added online play for any of their 2 player retro titles on the Switch, something I was able to only previously dream and/or imagine about being able to do. Being able to play Nintendo NES Ice Hockey 2 player, or River City Ransom or Double Dragon II with a friend or family member over the internet is awesome! And my friend & I did a co stream back in 2020 when we were all in quarantine due to the pandemic where he streamed on Twitch the two of us playing two player Super Mario World on the Switch online.

 

Only downside is your limited to the games they have available on the Switch, though the library has been expanding since they first introduced it.

Edited February 18, 2023 by Pink

[jerseystyle]

14 hours ago, Rowsdower70 said:

For me it doesn't have anything to do with the "Big 3", its more like a .. the more the merrier?   I just think competition in general breeds innovation. 

See that’s the issue though… it was never a competition. It never could have been. This was obvious to most of us from day 1. That doesn’t mean it couldn’t come out and be a fun unit (see Playdate or Atari VCS) but they touted the Amico as some big disruptor. TT mentioned Nintendo being “afraid” of the Amico, and the CHUDS lapped it up. No one on that side applied an ounce of critical thinking to this. 

[SteveTheColecoDude]

45 minutes ago, jerseystyle said:

See that’s the issue though… it was never a competition. It never could have been. This was obvious to most of us from day 1. That doesn’t mean it couldn’t come out and be a fun unit (see Playdate or Atari VCS) but they touted the Amico as some big disruptor. TT mentioned Nintendo being “afraid” of the Amico, and the CHUDS lapped it up. No one on that side applied an ounce of critical thinking to this. 

 

Tommy said that Nintendo were paying for ads to show on Youtube using Amico related keywords 😆 It was just so absurd.