Joe Schmoe

Now delayed until 10/10/21.

Mike86

what a joke. Delayed by six months first, and now a full year.

fujishig

They're going to lose business to those young upstarts Microsoft and Sony, who beat them to the punch this generation, if they're not careful.

Speaking of which, did that expensive Atari console ever come out?

Joe Schmoe

Intellivision put out a video yesterday, blaming it on the pandemic. I guess there's a parts shortage, and it's the reason Sony and Microsoft can't keep their new consoles in stock? Maybe the workforce is affected too with fewer people making the parts? They made it sound like the bigger players will get first dibs when parts are available again. I'm sure Intellivision would rather wait for cheap parts instead of paying a higher price for them now just to make the April 15 release date. They'd probably pass the higher cost onto customers if they did. They also said they didn't want to release it worldwide in the summer because many Europeans go on vacation in August. I guess they figure not too many would be interested in buying a new system at that time. Oh well. This just gives them more time to polish the games and have more of them ready at launch. I sure hope it's the last delay though.

milo bloom

Huh, I totally missed this. I don't recall much about playing one as a kid, I had the 2600 as did most of my friends. I never realized the original console had so many "firsts". Looks like I've got a new subject to look up on YouTube.

But I don't see getting something like this, especially at those prices.

Have there ever been any compilations released for modern systems of Intellivision games?

Joe Schmoe

I don't think $250 is so bad, especially when you get 2 controllers and 6 games for that price. And you can download a free app to turn your smartphone into a controller if you need a third one. The games are only $3-$10. PS5 and Xbox are like $500 or $600 and the games are typically $50-$60, yes? Aren't their controllers around that price too? Granted, those systems are more advanced, but I just don't want to pay those kinds of prices anymore. I used to. Between the original Intellivision and the PS3, I owned several Sega systems, Xboxes, Playstations and a couple of Nintendo systems. I'm definitely more of a casual gamer now, so I'm okay with the Amico's games and prices.

fujishig

Man, the Ouya and more recently Stadia could have really used your enthusiasm.

The Questyen

I'm always amazed by the numbers of posts and excitement these threads generate. It was obvious that the Ouya was going to fail. It was obvious that Stadia was going to fail. And it's extremely obvious the Amico and Ataris new thing is going to fail. Even if either of these two actually ever come out they will be shut down within a year.

fujishig

I did buy the Ouya thinking that it would be an ok XBMC box with controller support, but yup, still in the box after all these years.

Joe Schmoe

Never heard of Ouya. Was the Stadia subscription based and a streaming platform? Not interested in either.

milo bloom

What I'm surprised we don't see more of is simply new consoles of the old systems, that can play the old cartridges. There's tons of the old games out there, but the systems get wear and tear on them. Can you imagine a new Atari console with HDMI out, maybe it could play all 2600,5200 and 7800 carts?
Same for Intellivision, ColecoVision, whatever.

fujishig

I had thought of this before, and we have third party manufacturers making stuff like this (I think the last one announced was a GBA one), but I think all an official one would do is make the prices of the old games skyrocket. I do think they should at least make classic systems where you can buy the old games (or link your eshop or psn accounts to to play them), but that will probably come in the future since the last few generations have all had digital releases.

Honestly, I'd buy something like a classic Saturn or Dreamcast if only because those games haven't seen the light of day since. I think that's a big part of the reason the PS1 didn't sell, the vast majority of those games have been available for a long long time.

Mike86

The Atari VCS is actually out. What anyone is doing with it is another story. There aren’t any major games for it (there’s a store where I think you can download old Atari games), and it basically is a Linux type device in sandbox mode from what I gather.

Joe Schmoe

There's probably a market for it, but personally I don't think I could stomach the graphics anymore. Weren't there mini plug and play versions of them in recent years? One thing that's got me interested in the Amico: remakes of old games with improved visuals and sounds.

fujishig

Wait, did this actually release, or are you going off the specs or something?

Mike86

It’s out (at least to backers). There are unboxing videos on YouTube.

Jay G.

There's not a lot of money in selling hardware that can play old cartridges: the real money/appeal is in repackaging the games to sell again, either bundled with the console or as digital purchases. They don't make money by you using the carts you already own, or buy used. Plus the cart slot would open it up to counterfeits and piracy. Not to mention, if it's an emulator, the console basically has to download the cart ROMs to internal memory before running.

The Polymega has add-on modules for plugging in cartridges from a particular system. They're $79 each, which is on top of the $450 price tag for the base unit.
https://polymega.com/collections/modules

You can get a bundle of the base unit and the 4 available cartridge modules on sale for only $650 though:
https://polymega.com/products/deluxe-bundle

So the option exists, but it's a very niche market that wants it, with the pricing to match.

Joe Schmoe

For those interested, here's an interview Tommy Tallarico (Intellivision's CEO) did last month. Here he explains why he thinks there's a place for something like the Amico in the market, filling a niche between solo phone games and the Switch. He stresses the Amico is 100% focused on couch co-op fun:
And in this part, he explains his retail partners like Gamestop, Walmart, Amazon and Best Buy told him they get a lot of inquiries from parents and grandparents asking, "Do you have anything like the Wii?" He explains the Amico could have launched at $150 with one controller and no game, but it was Walmart that advised him $249 is the price point for something like this. So he improved the controller, added a second one and packed in 6 games to give it more value. He says he's selling to the same crowd the Wii was targeted to 15 years ago at the same price, and points out the Wii came with only 1 game and 1 controller:

Mike86

Here’s the problem though- the Wii was put out by Nintendo​​​​​. The company that pretty much is synonymous with video games. Not fucking Intellivision who hasn’t been relevant since at least the 80s. Tommy is a good bullshit artist.

Parents and grandparents asking if there was anything like the Wii would have been guided to a Switch. He acts as though there’s no family friendly console on the market when Nintendo currently has a hot selling console. Who cares if the Amico comes with six games when they’re likely all subpar?

Mike86

Polymega is another company riddled with problems. It was supposed to be out quite a while ago already and also saw a price hike.

If a person wants to play old games on modern hardware the go to company is Analogue. They’re reliable and have released numerous pieces of hardware that can play various classics.

There also are various clone consoles of that are cheaper alternatives and not the same quality such as Retro-Bit and Hyperkin.

Josh-da-man

Astrosmash, Rigid Force, and Night Stalker look like fun.

And I love the Moon Patrol update.

But I don't really want to invest $200+ in a console.

Mike86

They’re probably fine enough games if they were available elsewhere. I don’t think they’re strong enough titles that are going to make people rush to buy an Amico.

Joe Schmoe

I don't deny the Intellivision has an uphill battle and may completely flop, but there was a time when Sony was irrelevant in the video game market, and I'm sure plenty wondered why a company with no video game experience was bothering to come out with a console at a time when Sega and Nintendo had been the major players in the home and in arcades for many years. Still, Sony took a chance, and then Microsoft a few years later. I definitely don't expect the Intellivision to outsell the Big 3.

Rob V

100% hit the nail on the head... this system is DOA but I guarantee Tommy is getting his.

Mike86

There’s been a pattern to consoles like this one as well as stuff like the Coleco Chameleon and even the Atari VCS. They’re all projects taking long dead console brands and aiming products at the retro gaming scene.

I’ll give Atari some credit in that at least the VCS actually came out, but it basically is nothing of significance. It exists and that’s about it. Nothing special about it and no real exclusive games.

The Coleco Chameleon was a total fraud that never wound up releasing. I’m starting to have doubts if the Intellivision Amico will come to fruition or not either. This is what now the third delay? It was set to release last October, then was pushed to April, and now is pushed back to this October.

I think at best it will be like the VCS. It might release, but like Rob said it likely will be dead on arrival.

To me it’s it’s more the fact that people are getting scammed out of money by these things. People like Tommy are using these brands as a way to lure in the most niche audiences into forking over a crazy amount for what will amount to essentially cell phones/tablet style games. Anyone thinking this will be anything more is only fooling themselves.