Intellivision Amico

Tommy Tallarico, a video game composer, bought a stake in the company that owned the branding for Intellivision, and then, in May 2018, announced a planned launch of a console under the Intellivision brand (which would later be named the Amico). The console was planned to target families, and it was planned to only allow family-friendly games in its library. Intellivision Entertainment was working with developers (including people who made games for the original Intellivision) to create games for the console. The Amico was to feature touchscreen controllers that dock into the console itself for charging, and could be played using an app downloaded on phones. After facing supply-chain issues because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the console's release has been repeatedly delayed. Some journalists have criticized Intellivision's presentations and the console itself.

• Name — Intellivision Amico • Developer — Amico Entertainment (formerly Intellivision Entertainment) • Manufacturer — Cal-Comp (formerly Ark Electronics) • Type — Home video game console • Price — US$249 (Graphite Black & Glacier White) US$279 (Woodgrain) US$299 (Galaxy Purple) • Media — Digital downloads • Os — Custom Android/Linux operating system • Power — 12V DC barrel plug • System On Chip — Octa-core Snapdragon 624 @ 1.8 GHz • Memory — 2 GB RAM • Storage — 32 GB flash memory, 1x microSD • Display — HDMI (1080p) • Controllers — Intellivision Amico controller, Android/iOS device, Bluetooth controller • Connectivity — Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, RFID, wireless contact charging, 1x USB-C • Online Services — Amico Game Shop • Dimensions — 11 xx • Website — amicoentertainment.com/

In 2017, Tommy Tallarico, best known for creating the concert series Video Games Live, bought a stake in Intellivision Productions after the death of its former owner, Keith Robinson. Tallarico announced in May 2018 that he planned to relaunch the Intellivision, a home console that sold 3 million units in the early to mid-1980s, as a new, retro-branded console. Tallarico noted to Venture Beat that the target audience was "the non-gamer, the family", and that he wanted "simplicity." In December 2018, the new Intellivision Entertainment company that Tallarico had founded announced a planned October 2020 release date and revealed more proposed details about the console. The console's wireless controllers would have a touchscreen on them, and would allow smartphones to be used as controllers for games. Games would be required to have a maximum rating of E10+ on the ESRB ratings scale, meaning that games would be completely focused on targeting families. Tallarico stated that quality control for the console's games would be strict. The console would have an RFID system in it that allows for payments from credit cards to be easily processed for new game purchases and would allow easy sharing of games between consoles and friends. Tallarico announced that the company would be licensing Atari games for the console. An exclusive new Earthworm Jim game was also revealed to be in development for the console, and Intellivision Entertainment was paying a number of studios for exclusive games for the console. At this point in the development process, the console was expected to be priced between $149 and $179. At a conference in Dubai in 2019, Tallarico revealed that the company was launching a Dubai office and was planning on releasing the console at the same time in the Middle East as it was going to in the rest of the world.

Pre-orders were opened in April 2020, and Intellivision Entertainment revealed that it had sold over 10,000 pre-orders of its "VIP edition" of the console; it was priced at $249 for black and white versions and $279 for a woodgrain version. The console received a further $5.5 million from a campaign on crowdfunding site Fig. An October 10, 2020 release date was announced. Tallarico noted that the company had to stop taking retail purchase orders because of supply chain issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and had to make development kits by hand in California instead of the planned manufacture in China. Customers were required to place a refundable $100 deposit in order to reserve the consoles. IGN Middle East's Mufaddal Fakhruddin previewed an alpha version of the console in May 2021 and felt that the games "featured sharp visuals but they would be nothing your mobile phone would not be able to handle." Fakhruddin further noted that the touchscreen software seemed somewhat laggy and unresponsive when playing the game Shark! Shark!, which according to a local representative of the company, was fixed in firmware updates for the retail builds. Fakhruddin felt that the console and its games were "fun and engaging", but "came away less than impressed with the controller", and questioned the Amico's price point at $250. In an interview with the author, Tallarico noted that he had "never experienced the slight delay issue on the controller screen menu of Shark! Shark! like you showed in your preview article", and emphasized that the console was still a work in progress. In May 2020, it was announced former Microsoft executive and Xbox co-founder J Allard had joined Intellivision Entertainment to serve as the company's global managing director, assisting the company in launching the Amico. He left months later and said the role was "not a good fit." Despite this, Tallarico noted the hiring of Allard during an investment call in March 2021 even though Allard had already left. This led to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to send a letter for clarification to Intellivision Entertainment to clarify when Allard had left the company. The console was delayed in August 2020 to a new release date of April 15, 2021 because of issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In February 2021, Tallarico announced a further delay to October 10, 2021, because of continued supply chain issues. In early June 2021, it was revealed that Intellivision Entertainment had hired a number of the original creators of the Intellivision to remake their games for the new console. At an appearance at E3 2021, Tallarico announced a number of the games that would be coming to the console, and noted that although the pandemic had forced a delay of the console's launch, it also gave the company a chance to increase the number of games available for the console. Ars Technica 's Sam Machkovech called the reaction to Tallarico's presentation a "resounding thud." The presentation showcased games that were already available as free web games, like a series of Sesame Street edutainment games. Eurogamers Digital Foundry noted that a presentation by Intellivision Entertainment a couple of weeks later at Gamescom was extremely similar to a 2019 console reveal trailer the company had already released.

The console is based on an 8-core 1.8 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 624 system on a chip with an Adreno 506 GPU. The system supports Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, RFID, HDMI out, a microSD card slot, a charging cradle for two Amico controllers on the top, passive cooling, and one USB-C port on the back for accessories and expansions. The body also features a built-in LED ambient lighting system with 40 independently controlled LEDs that can change pattern and color in response to gameplay, known as Interactive Guidance Lighting. The console will launch with five available colors: Glacier White, Graphite Black, Vintage Woodgrain, Galaxy Purple and GTO Red. The system has 32 GB of internal memory storage, and utilizes a custom Android/Linux operating system customized in-house.

• Illustration — Concept rendering of the Intellivision Amico controller The system comes with two controllers, designed to be ambidextrous for right- or left-handed preference. The controllers charge in the cradle on top of the console, or via a wired USB-C connection. They charge in 2 hours, and can run for 4–6 hours on a full charge. They feature Bluetooth, speakers, a microphone, an accelerometer, gyroscope, and haptic force feedback. They also feature a 3.2 in color capacitive touch screen, a home button and a 64-way pressure-sensitive directional disc. Four oversized buttons are placed as two shoulder buttons each for right handed or left handed orientation. Each shoulder button features an LED light, and the disc is surrounded by a ring of eight LEDs. These LEDs, in addition to the LEDs on the console, have brightness settings, or can be turned off. The controllers come with wrist straps to prevent them from flying away during game action if not held securely. Two additional Amico controllers can be connected, and mobile devices emulating Amico controllers, using a free smartphone app, can connect through WiFi for a total of eight connected controllers. Developer information obtained by Ars Technica showed that the controller's touchscreen would operate at a framerate of "15–30+" frames per second, and any given game's content on the controller would be coded in SparkAce, an HTML/CSS hybrid with support for the PNG8 and Ogg Vorbis formats, and fit within 1 MB, which the document said was intended to reduce transfer times between the controller and console. Published specifications list the controller memory as 8 MB RAM and 32 MB flash.

Announced accessories include a bag to hold the console, a sleeve to protect the controller and ten themed packs of three controller skins.

According to Tallarico, all games for the Amico would have been both single player and multiplayer, with local cooperative play. Six games were expected to have come included with the Amico, and more than 20 additional games announced to be available at launch. Five of the six included games were announced to have been Skiing, Astrosmash, Shark! Shark!, Cornhole, and Farkle, with the sixth game being a party game. Digitally downloaded games were to be priced at $9.99 (€8.49) or less, while physical copies of games were to have been available at retail for US$19.99 (€17.99). In July 2021, the first 50,000 run of physical game products for both Europe and North America were manufactured but did not contain actual games. • Title — Developer — Ref. References • 10-Yard Fight • ACL Cornhole • Archon — React Games • Asteroids • Astrosmash — Rogue Rocket Games • B-17 Bomber • Back Talk Party • Bad Dudes • Baseball • Beauty and the Beast • Biplanes — WastedStudios • Blank Slate • Bomb Squad — International Headquarters • Bowling • Boxing • Brain Duel — BBG Entertainment • Breakout — Choice Provisions • Bump 'n' Jump • Caveman Ninja • Care Bears Care Karts — PlayDate Digital • Cloudy Mountain — Other Ocean • Darts • Demon Attack • Dolphin Quest — Playchemy • Dracula • Dragonfire • Dynablaster — BBG Entertainment • Earthworm Jim 4 — Intellivision Entertainment • Emoji Charades — GameCake • Evel Knievel — Barnstorm Games • Farkle — Spaceflower • Finnigan Fox — Bonus Level Entertainment • Flying Tigers • Frog Bog • Horse Racing • Hot Wheels Colossal Crash • Ice Trek • Incan Gold / Diamont • Jungle Hunt • Kung-Fu Master • Liar's Dice — The Bitmap Brothers • Lode Runner — Tozai Games • Math Fun • Miner 2049er • Missile Command — Stainless Games • MLB Baseball • Moon Patrol: The Milky Way Chronicles — WastedStudios • MotoRace USA • Night Driver • Night Stalker — Other Ocean • Nitro Derby — Chicken Waffle • Pong — Way Digital Studios • Pool — Pool Legends IVS • R-Type • Rigid Force Redux Enhanced — com8com1, Headup • Sesame Street games • Shark! Shark! — Neobird, Bonus Level Entertainment • Skiing — Aesir Interactive • Snafoo — Thera Bytes • Space Strikers — Couch in the Woods Interactive • Spades — Concrete Software • Spelunker • Soccer • Super BurgerTime • Tank Battle — Lost Mesa Entertainment • Telestrations • Tempest • ToeJam & Earl • Tron Deadly Discs — Other Ocean • Tropical Angel • Utopia • Warlords — Stainless Games • Yar's Revenge