Jay G.

Well, he did say grandparents, so maybe the name Intellivision is still familiar to them?

That said, you're right that the Switch would be the most likely recommendation.

One big issue with these new consoles is always software support. People aren't going to buy the consoles unless there's going to be a good number of games for it, and game developers aren't likely to make games for it until a lot of people have it. A giant company like Microsoft can push into the console market via lots of money, and being able to absorb the losses from the first generation before they get enough market penetration and brand recognition to matter. Ouya and Atari and others are just too small to be able to make an impact on their own.

Analogue had a lot of problems, especially with their first console, which was delayed and crazy expensive. Analogue has since proven itself, but just because Analogue is now considered a safe bet doesn't necessarily mean Polymega is bad.

Also, Analogue tends to stick to a single console per device, so you need multiple devices, which can add up. At least their Mega SG has a cartridge adapter set so you can play other Sega systems. Analogue also only goes up through the 16-bit era consoles at the moment, so if you want Playstation or later, you need to look elsewhere.

Jay G.

Sony had video game experience. They had a game studio that released some NES, SNES, Genesis, and Sega CD games.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_Imagesoft

Sony had also just worked win Nintendo on a CD-ROM add-on for the SNES, and a all-in-one console combining both called, wait for it, the Playstation. Nintendo cancelled it, which prompted Sony to venture out on their own.

So Sony had some experience both making games and designing console hardware.

Same with Microsoft, which had extensive experience making video games, as well as designing the DirectX API, which lead to making a dedicated box for playing DirectX games, a DirectX Box if you will... or Xbox. There's a reason why the first Xbox was basically a locked down x86 PC running a stripped down Windows NT kernel.

Additionally, both Microsoft and Sony had one critical thing for breaking into the games market: money. They could spend the R&D to actually come up with a competitive consoles that could appeal to both developers and gamers, and be able to promise to mass produce it at a level that kept the price down and meant it'd be widely available. Sega got out after the Dreamcast because even though the Dreamcast was selling well, it wasn't selling well enough to offset the losses Sega had taken recently, and Sega basically only survived because a major Sega stakeholder forgave a massive $500 million loan and gave back $695 million in stock.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sega#S...%E2%80%932003)

This Intellivision will make a small blip as some curious for the novelty, or maybe even lured by the built in games, will buy it. But it's an uphill battle to keep a sustained interest, especially if the schedule of new releases is a slow drip.

Mike86

True. The first Analogue device was pretty crazy expensive (I think like $500 for the NT). I didn’t follow it super close so I don’t remember the delays. Just now they’ve proven to be reliable, and at least their products do see release.

I also will agree that one console per Analogue device is somewhat of a drawback. They’re good if you’re really into a particular console. I’ve thought of buying some of their products, but haven’t made the commitment yet. I would like the Pocket at some point when it’s available.

Dan

Bump...
So is this officially dead yet or are we still pretending anything tied to Tallarico has any credibility left?

Indeed.

Dan

I know most/all of you won’t watch a four hour YouTube documentary about this failed console that was arguably vaporware from the day it was announced, but I’m sharing it anyway because it’s a story that needs to be told and is actually very well done and covers almost the entire history of the Amico and the lying liars behind it.


Also, if you haven’t watched the ROBLOX_OOF video that came out last year, that one dives deeper into things like the poor state of sound effects/music attribution in video games, especially in the early years. It goes places. I’d recommend watching that instead of this if you don’t want to dedicate four hours to these topics…

Dan

This is just one twitter user, so it's as yet unverified, but the new "Amico business model" seems to now be focusing on licensing their IP to other platforms, starting with mobile "Amico Home" games, and maybe someday possibly releasing that console they've been promising for years. Neat.


lol. lmao, even.

Jay G.

This article has the full text of that email as actual text, instead of 4 separate images:
https://www.tweaktown.com/news/91581...del/index.html

Just searching, it looks like this email went out to a few people, here's a Reddit post from someone else that got the email:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Intellivisi..._update_email/

It makes some sense. The video games that were developed for the Amico are the only things that they can release for little upfront and continuing cost, and at least a few of them seemed pretty far along in development, if not actually finished. However, I assume they're not refunding any of the "pre-orders," and anyone that bought the "physical releases" of the games seem SOL. Speaking of which, it looks like you can still buy them:
https://intellivisionamico.myshopify...omplete-bundle

I wonder, since the physical release is basically an RFID, maybe they could work with at least a smartphone app to "activate" and play the game on that device. Would you need to keep the RFID card close to the phone the whole time to play though? Maybe they can sell phone cases with a card slot so it's always near the NFC reader on the phone.

Joe Schmoe

I got the email yesterday because I'm still on their mailing list. I figured it was Phil officially announcing the end. I was a bit surprised at how long his message was and what he said.