Intellivision Amico’s trademark changed to ‘abandoned’

[MrBeefy]

10 minutes ago, Razzie.P said:

New week now.... So what was the update?

The update is that they are the same old Intellivision with the same old updates/non updates.

Mission fail @Tommy Tallarico. I like how they've started to license out to other consoles.

 

Tommy had no room dissing Atari's UI. 🤣

 

New game announcement!

Mermaid dress up game! But seriously where are all those games? 🤣

 

This is a funny one. They only banked on nostalgia. Also if Pat said that je was dead on as they only got 6000! 🤣

 

No wonder he hated Pat. Pat had this nailed down.

 

Has anyone decided to burn their Amico shirts? Like some user burned their Pat shirt as a sacrificial offering for Tommy here on AA?

 

Here is a great example of Tommy using Google and not knowing how this article doesn't directly support him.

The premise of Amico is to bring people 'Together Again' and target those families who were left behind during the Wii right? This article in 2019 addresses families that game.

 

Those families are playing on current generation consoles. Amico isn't "needed" for them to do something they are already doing. The Amico's goal was to show how it was a better option than what others were. They were competing with the likes of Switch. Tommy was either lying or just plain stupid when he said they weren't competing. Both possibilities are likely.

 

[Flojomojo]

There was a time when you’d get gagged from participating in those discussion threads @MrBeefy, even if you simply pointed out inconsistencies or times that the emperor had no clothes. Tommy and his enablers couldn’t just let their product speak for itself, they had to actively lock down any mild, common sense skepticism, just in case some potential investors might be watching. 

 

It’s really sad and and disturbing. But @jaybird3rd would say you have “global thermonuclear butthurt” because you didn’t pretend to see the same illusion/delusion. 

[Bill Loguidice]

12 minutes ago, Flojomojo said:

There was a time when you’d get gagged from participating in those discussion threads @MrBeefy, even if you simply pointed out inconsistencies or times that the emperor had no clothes. Tommy and his enablers couldn’t just let their product speak for itself, they had to actively lock down any mild, common sense skepticism, just in case some potential investors might be watching. 

 

It’s really sad and and disturbing. But @jaybird3rd would say you have “global thermonuclear butthurt” because you didn’t pretend to see the same illusion/delusion. 

That's a classic troll tactic and one that disgusts me. Not only was that the tactic on the Amico side, but also on the fan side. For whatever reason, all of the fan groups on Facebook and superfans in general took the same approach, i.e., that any criticism, regardless of how polite, professional, and truthful, was something that needed to be squashed. Obviously as a tactic that only truly works if the company, product, and just about everything else is executed well and the positives far outweigh the negatives. That was certainly not the case with Amico and everyone who mercilessly defended the product, from Tommy to the superfans, look especially foolish after all of these years of failing to get anything out and running out of money for refunds. (I also count myself a fool for buying those damned empty game boxes, as even if I were able to get a Founder's Edition refund at this point, I wouldn't be able to for the game boxes.)

Hopefully all of this can be a lesson for future entrepreneurs in this space on how NOT to deal with the public and treat a fanbase. Honesty and openness really is the best policy from smaller organizations.

[Rowsdower70]

1 hour ago, Bill Loguidice said:

Hopefully all of this can be a lesson for future entrepreneurs in this space on how NOT to deal with the public and treat a fanbase. Honesty and openness really is the best policy from smaller organizations.

And moderators of forums on how not to treat forum members at the behest of some self perceived celebrity. 

 

[Flojomojo]

22 minutes ago, Rowsdower70 said:

And moderators of forums on how not to treat forum members at the behest of some self perceived celebrity. 

Good point. “Buyer beware” makes a lot more sense than “innocent until proven guilty” when handling someone is selling something. 

[MrBeefy]

7 minutes ago, Flojomojo said:

Good point. “Buyer beware” makes a lot more sense than “innocent until proven guilty” when handling someone is selling something. 

People might make fun of states in the Midwest, but Missouri has a great state nickname applicable to all this. It is the Show Me state. Basically the idea is stop yapping about it and show me.

 

I'm amazed as to how stupid people were at just accepting what Tommy said without him showing anything. Jaybird was the head of that department. It is funny to watch him make fun of Atari and the VCS. Basically making fun of how they'd probably celebrate a wall plug and defend Tommy who would later celebrate an Amico branded wall plug.

 

I don't think AA received anything from Tommy for being an advertising platform for him. I think it just appeared that way. Jaybird, who should have known better, was a sucker for Tommy, and ended up doing his bidding while shutting off his common sense.

2 hours ago, Flojomojo said:

There was a time when you’d get gagged from participating in those discussion threads @MrBeefy, even if you simply pointed out inconsistencies or times that the emperor had no clothes. Tommy and his enablers couldn’t just let their product speak for itself, they had to actively lock down any mild, common sense skepticism, just in case some potential investors might be watching. 

 

It’s really sad and and disturbing. But @jaybird3rd would say you have “global thermonuclear butthurt” because you didn’t pretend to see the same illusion/delusion. 

It got to the point where I started to feel like I was the only one who wanted to see it be successful.  I had standards and wanted to see them do better. I mean shit they can't even spell their company name correctly on an insert for their console!

 

Were people that delusional that they couldn't see if they can't figure out those small details they were never going to figure out bigger details?

[MrBeefy]

2 hours ago, Bill Loguidice said:

That's a classic troll tactic and one that disgusts me. Not only was that the tactic on the Amico side, but also on the fan side. For whatever reason, all of the fan groups on Facebook and superfans in general took the same approach, i.e., that any criticism, regardless of how polite, professional, and truthful, was something that needed to be squashed. Obviously as a tactic that only truly works if the company, product, and just about everything else is executed well and the positives far outweigh the negatives. That was certainly not the case with Amico and everyone who mercilessly defended the product, from Tommy to the superfans, look especially foolish after all of these years of failing to get anything out and running out of money for refunds. (I also count myself a fool for buying those damned empty game boxes, as even if I were able to get a Founder's Edition refund at this point, I wouldn't be able to for the game boxes.)

Hopefully all of this can be a lesson for future entrepreneurs in this space on how NOT to deal with the public and treat a fanbase. Honesty and openness really is the best policy from smaller organizations.

Tommy trained them to be that way. It's why it was/is a cult. It's why other AA members tried doxxing me and others wanted to use pictures of my kid to shut me up.

 

There are still current AA members still in that mindset. They sold their dignity to join a cult about a vaporware console.

 

Also take this as lightly as you can... WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING BUYING THOSE EMPTY BOXES!? There were redflags everywhere it wasn't ready! I love you man, but come on! 🤪

[PlaysWithWolves]

Most people @Tommy Tallarico designated "haters" were people who were originally interested or tried to help him.
He proudly proclaimed early in the Q&A thread he was an "East Coast Italian with a Napoleon Complex".  That may have worked in his favor as a 1990s bad boy, but not so much as a 2020s family-friendly console maker who has zero consoles to his name.

 

1 hour ago, Rowsdower70 said:

And moderators of forums on how not to treat forum members at the behest of some self perceived celebrity. 

 

I know I got into righteous indignation mode back then and probably could've handled things better (three years later I'm still on "temporary" mod preview), but I'm not sure people realize the complete shift in AtariAge policy enforcement that happened with crowdfunded consoles of questionable existence with the Amico.🥴 Some of us got booted from the Q&A thread just for asking why SmashJT flip-flopped on his Amico views after meeting Tallarico.

[ApolloBoy]

2 hours ago, Rowsdower70 said:

And moderators of forums on how not to treat forum members at the behest of some self perceived celebrity. 

I'm still surprised that certain people are still on the mod team after this whole debacle, pretty shameful IMO

[MrBeefy]

2 hours ago, ApolloBoy said:

I'm still surprised that certain people are still on the mod team after this whole debacle, pretty shameful IMO

Tbf it was really only one mod who "went rogue" there were others who were chill throught everything and listened to what you had to say. Instead of just listen to Tommy and call you a troll or whatever, while siding with sock puppets.

 

I both feel sorry and not for said mod. He got wrapped up into Tommy like others so I feel bad. But then I don't because it wasn't like I didn't try and help him via PMs. But Tommy had to be handled differently.

 

I mean I feel like I had a pretty good bead on it...

Tommy could have made his own forum, but it would have been stupidly small. He needed AA to look legit, and that's why he cultivated his cult here. 

 

Saying look at this huge forum about gaming and how POSITIVE they respond to us looks different than...Hey look at our tiny forum that is a majority of posts from one guy requesting every obscure board game be made into an Amico game!

[SteveTheColecoDude]

I wonder when certain Youtubers who like to boast about being totally balanced "journalists" at every opportunity that on many occasions publicly declared their "love" for Tommy will come to terms with reality... or will it be a lifetime kind of thing? 👀

Edited May 21, 2023 by SteveTheColecoDude

[Rev]

3 hours ago, MrBeefy said:

Tbf it was really only one mod who "went rogue" there were others who were chill throught everything and listened to what you had to say. Instead of just listen to Tommy and call you a troll or whatever, while siding with sock puppets.

 

I both feel sorry and not for said mod. He got wrapped up into Tommy like others so I feel bad. But then I don't because it wasn't like I didn't try and help him via PMs. But Tommy had to be handled differently.

 

I mean I feel like I had a pretty good bead on it...

Tommy could have made his own forum, but it would have been stupidly small. He needed AA to look legit, and that's why he cultivated his cult here. 

 

Saying look at this huge forum about gaming and how POSITIVE they respond to us looks different than...Hey look at our tiny forum that is a majority of posts from one guy requesting every obscure board game be made into an Amico game!

Ha! I forgot i posted a Pat and Ian video there.  
 

Funny how a person can watch a podcast for years prior to the Amico scam and then when it goes south you can become a hater for still listening to the same podcast.   

[MrBeefy]

10 hours ago, Rev said:

Ha! I forgot i posted a Pat and Ian video there.  
 

Funny how a person can watch a podcast for years prior to the Amico scam and then when it goes south you can become a hater for still listening to the same podcast.   

All of us were for Amico before getting put into Tommy's hater folder.

 

Supposedly, Phil's update is coming Monday. Which I think means today. However, we are talking Amico, so it could mean a Monday years from now. I'm sure the announcement is on the launchpad.

 

Maybe it has something to do with this?

 

[Rowsdower70]

3 hours ago, MrBeefy said:

All of us were for Amico before getting put into Tommy's hater folder.

 

Supposedly, Phil's update is coming Monday. Which I think means today. However, we are talking Amico, so it could mean a Monday years from now. I'm sure the announcement is on the launchpad.

 

Maybe it has something to do with this?

 

I'm quite curious.  IE would never let someone give an unbiased review of their product, so did Tommy contact Slopes and make him swoon again?   I feel like we're going to get an "Honestly guys, its a lot of fun and really makes me want an Amico."

I could be wrong, I never guessed he'd own up to being duped in his Kickscammer video. 

[Bill Loguidice]

22 hours ago, MrBeefy said:

Also take this as lightly as you can... WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING BUYING THOSE EMPTY BOXES!? There were redflags everywhere it wasn't ready! I love you man, but come on! 🤪

That's fully on me. Things were not nearly as obvious/bad then, although it's true there were several red flags. My thought process was more if they're doing this with those specific games, at minimum those must be done and ready to go, and of course the console must truly be close to ready at that point, because why else would they do this? I'm generally a positive, trusting person and I clearly didn't properly evaluate the levels of grift that team was capable of behind the scenes. I mean, the biggest red flag I should have registered was Tallarico being an ass to people in public, which to me is unacceptable. However, I've purchased products with vile people as front men before (Arcade1Up for one), so I was a bit more willing to let that slide than I realize now I should have been. Nevertheless, lesson learned for the future.

[jerseystyle]

6 hours ago, Bill Loguidice said:

That's fully on me. Things were not nearly as obvious/bad then, although it's true there were several red flags. My thought process was more if they're doing this with those specific games, at minimum those must be done and ready to go, and of course the console must truly be close to ready at that point, because why else would they do this? I'm generally a positive, trusting person and I clearly didn't properly evaluate the levels of grift that team was capable of behind the scenes. I mean, the biggest red flag I should have registered was Tallarico being an ass to people in public, which to me is unacceptable. However, I've purchased products with vile people as front men before (Arcade1Up for one), so I was a bit more willing to let that slide than I realize now I should have been. Nevertheless, lesson learned for the future.

I don’t blame you at all. I almost bought them as well knowing full well they wouldn’t come out. It’d be a life long reminder to NOT do what TT did. A good way to check myself in terms of my behavior and values. Kind of like a modern day Ozymondias. 

[MrBeefy]

Well Monday is winding down and still no update from Phil.

 

There's some news that devs are reporting that IE asked for build updates and videos of their games. But never would go through with giving the upfront money they were promised.

 

Considering how the launch lineup went from like 35 down to 15 is sounds correct. I think the biggest crap part is IE asking for things for free.

[MrBeefy]

Hey @vprette could you tell us a little more about your involvement with Intellivision Entertainment? The word is you were being a middleman for Tommy and the company by providing an SDK and asking for videos and builds of some games. There was also the promise of money "coming soon" which never manifested.

 

The games being looked at were these.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1153850/Super_Space_Towers/

 

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1751970/A_Blast_From_The_Past/

 

It was like a 10k euro offer in addition to royalties. They said you continued to ask for builds and videos but never provided the upfront money, contract, or devkit.

 

[rayik]

Intellivision update email:

 

• Announcing "Amico home" - bringing Amico games to other platforms
• Pre-Order depositors - Priority spot on "Amico Club List" which will dramatically reduce the hardware footprint to play Amico games.  Amico games will go on other hardware platforms [No mention of refunds being given]  [No mention of when "Amico Club List" will be live]
• Amico console - Commitment to deliver a unique and innovative platform to bring people together has not wavered.  [But no news on whether the console is going to be released or is actively being worked on to be able to be released]

 

Reddit thread:

 

 

Edited May 23, 2023 by rayik

[IntyFanMatt]

Just got an email from IE and Phil Adam. It’s unbelievable to me that they are trying to press on with this garbage after all this time. I’m still very happy I cancelled my Founder’s Edition last year. Anyway, here it is…

 

“The last 18 months, since becoming the CEO, has been an extremely difficult time for the Intellivision business. A long list of disappointments from both inside and outside of the company had to be taken head on. During this time we laid off a large portion of our staff, restructured our management team, and began the process of reevaluating every aspect of the business, which included the path that lay ahead for Intellivision.

What we have distilled down from countless hours of self assessment is that we are, or more accurately, wish to be, in the business of creating a living room experience that brings people of various ages together in group play. It is the experience between people, sitting in the same room, that will be our primary measure of success. This, first and foremost, comes from offering great content.

As an entertainment business, we realize that creating great content requires world class partners and a focus on strategies where we can effectively achieve the necessary level of excellence to succeed. To this end, we will be announcing a string of new partnerships that will not only help bring fun and innovative content that captures the Amico experience, but also bolsters and celebrates our content's appeal by (1) licensing our IP to development partners who have product pedigrees that are creatively aligned and best poised to bring something great to market, (2) leveraging our IP in ways that ensures delivery on Amico but additionally expands our content to entirely new audiences Intellivision would otherwise be unable to reach and (3) acquiring new IP that embodies Amico and fits our strategic focus. This will include licensing IP for other platforms where it makes sense to do so.

Our commitment to delivering a unique and innovative platform that brings people together has not wavered. What has changed is our philosophy on how to deliver that experience. The business environment is quite different from what it was in 2018 when the original Intellivision business plan was put together. We cannot solely be dependent on a traditional hardware console business model. The cost and time to scale such a business is too great. We must be more creative in how we deploy our intended entertainment experience - not only delivering a better experience for our customers, but also reducing the time and cost to scale the business.

We want to assure our fans that shipping a console remains a part of our product strategy. The development and hands-on testing of our pilot units have been a successful step forward. As a testament of this progress, we are pleased to share with you this video of a father and son playing Shark! Shark! on one of the pilot units in their home!

As part of our expanded strategy, we also plan to bring the Amico experience to other hardware platforms, starting with mobile devices, under the name Amico Home. Amico Home will dramatically reduce the hardware footprint needed to enjoy Amico games and provide more developers the opportunity to explore the creative potential of in-room multiplayer games with our innovative physical and smartphone controllers. This broadening of the talent pool will bring new ideas and gaming that will shape the future of Intellivision and our place in the market.

We are excited for this future and what it means for bringing the Amico experience to the public. Those who supported Intellivision early on helped set the foundation for all that we have been able to achieve, and we are truly thankful to you all. In the coming weeks, those that have maintained a deposit will be able to sign in and verify their spot on the priority list (Amico Club List). The Amico Club List will be used as the primary mechanism to prioritize access to special products, early access to new games and other unique offers. More details to follow.

Again, we thank you for your patience and support as we chart a new course for Intellivision and establish our own unique position in the vast and vibrant video game industry.

Phil Adam, CEO”

[rayik]

11 minutes ago, IntyFanMatt said:

Just got an email from IE and Phil Adam. It’s unbelievable to me that they are trying to press on with this garbage after all this time. I’m still very happy I cancelled my Founder’s Edition last year. Anyway, here it is…

 

“The last 18 months, since becoming the CEO, has been an extremely difficult time for the Intellivision business. A long list of disappointments from both inside and outside of the company had to be taken head on. During this time we laid off a large portion of our staff, restructured our management team, and began the process of reevaluating every aspect of the business, which included the path that lay ahead for Intellivision.

What we have distilled down from countless hours of self assessment is that we are, or more accurately, wish to be, in the business of creating a living room experience that brings people of various ages together in group play. It is the experience between people, sitting in the same room, that will be our primary measure of success. This, first and foremost, comes from offering great content.

As an entertainment business, we realize that creating great content requires world class partners and a focus on strategies where we can effectively achieve the necessary level of excellence to succeed. To this end, we will be announcing a string of new partnerships that will not only help bring fun and innovative content that captures the Amico experience, but also bolsters and celebrates our content's appeal by (1) licensing our IP to development partners who have product pedigrees that are creatively aligned and best poised to bring something great to market, (2) leveraging our IP in ways that ensures delivery on Amico but additionally expands our content to entirely new audiences Intellivision would otherwise be unable to reach and (3) acquiring new IP that embodies Amico and fits our strategic focus. This will include licensing IP for other platforms where it makes sense to do so.

Our commitment to delivering a unique and innovative platform that brings people together has not wavered. What has changed is our philosophy on how to deliver that experience. The business environment is quite different from what it was in 2018 when the original Intellivision business plan was put together. We cannot solely be dependent on a traditional hardware console business model. The cost and time to scale such a business is too great. We must be more creative in how we deploy our intended entertainment experience - not only delivering a better experience for our customers, but also reducing the time and cost to scale the business.

We want to assure our fans that shipping a console remains a part of our product strategy. The development and hands-on testing of our pilot units have been a successful step forward. As a testament of this progress, we are pleased to share with you this video of a father and son playing Shark! Shark! on one of the pilot units in their home!

As part of our expanded strategy, we also plan to bring the Amico experience to other hardware platforms, starting with mobile devices, under the name Amico Home. Amico Home will dramatically reduce the hardware footprint needed to enjoy Amico games and provide more developers the opportunity to explore the creative potential of in-room multiplayer games with our innovative physical and smartphone controllers. This broadening of the talent pool will bring new ideas and gaming that will shape the future of Intellivision and our place in the market.

We are excited for this future and what it means for bringing the Amico experience to the public. Those who supported Intellivision early on helped set the foundation for all that we have been able to achieve, and we are truly thankful to you all. In the coming weeks, those that have maintained a deposit will be able to sign in and verify their spot on the priority list (Amico Club List). The Amico Club List will be used as the primary mechanism to prioritize access to special products, early access to new games and other unique offers. More details to follow.

Again, we thank you for your patience and support as we chart a new course for Intellivision and establish our own unique position in the vast and vibrant video game industry.

Phil Adam, CEO”

 

They are not pressing on. I read it as Amico games on other hardware platform. Amico deposit holders will have priority opportunity to get stuff from the "Amico Club List" [with no mention of when it will be live)  which I would not be surprised if anyone can sign up for.

Edited May 23, 2023 by rayik

[rayik]

On the video showing Shark Shark game play, what is not shown:

 

• Amico booting up
• Amico Menu screen
• Controller shots showing the touchscreen display

 

Link to video:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBw6tvQAuKw

[MrBeefy]

They are starting with mobile. The one thing we have seen multiple times at their events is that they use basic Android and the "Amico UI" is just an app on the device.

 

I'm guessing that is what will become known as Amico Home on your phone. How you purchase their games and most likely connect to the TV in some fashion. It also sounds like they may sell the controllers separately with how that part was worded.

 

Basically they are slowly inching away from hardware it sounds without flat out saying it. Any continued dedication/them fraudulently holding onto preorder money will get you first access to buy their games at a slightly reduced cost. Ignoring that you already paid for them (at least partially with that deposit). 🙄

 

Mullis' not quite 9 minute video felt like 20. Not impressed at all with Shark Shark footage. 

 

Anyone feel the same or different?

[kevtris]

14 minutes ago, MrBeefy said:

They are starting with mobile. The one thing we have seen multiple times at their events is that they use basic Android and the "Amico UI" is just an app on the device.

 

I'm guessing that is what will become known as Amico Home on your phone. How you purchase their games and most likely connect to the TV in some fashion. It also sounds like they may sell the controllers separately with how that part was worded.

 

Basically they are slowly inching away from hardware it sounds without flat out saying it. Any continued dedication/them fraudulently holding onto preorder money will get you first access to buy their games at a slightly reduced cost. Ignoring that you already paid for them (at least partially with that deposit). 🙄

 

Mullis' not quite 9 minute video felt like 20. Not impressed at all with Shark Shark footage. 

 

Anyone feel the same or different?

It basically plays like the 1980's original, with a new coat of paint.  The graphics and such were improved, but there's a whole lot of foreground/background that's just window dressing.  The game is still the same basic thing, married to the "single screen" arcade score chaser genre.  Maybe I'm being a bit harsh, but they did have 4-5 years to work on this, and here is the end result. 

 

 

[IntyFanMatt]

2 hours ago, rayik said:

 

They are not pressing on. I read it as Amico games on other hardware platform. Amico deposit holders will have priority opportunity to get stuff from the "Amico Club List" [with no mention of when it will be live)  which I would not be surprised if anyone can sign up for.

The below section is what I was referring to. They are still pressing on to release a physical console as part of their strategy. But I wouldn’t be surprised if this is eventually scrapped altogether…

 

“We want to assure our fans that shipping a console remains a part of our product strategy.”

 

 

Edited May 23, 2023 by IntyFanMatt