Why People Dislike the Intellivision Amico

[@toyvania]

They raised 17.7 million and are now 8 million in debt. The company is virtually bankrupt. And fun fact: Phil Adam, now CEO of Intellivision, was the official CFO of the Coleco Chameleon. No joke. Plus, Tallarico backed the Chameleon project with a couple of thousands on Indiegogo, and he is friends with Mike Kennedy.

[@ccricers]

What's amazing to me is 17.7 million is about 6x as much money as Atari raised for their VCS (despite not releasing anything unlike Atari). That is stupid good for a retro gaming brand that has far less brand recognition than Atari. Just shows how powerful a slick marketing pitch can be.

[@toyvania]

@@ccricers All for boats and hoes.

[@pferreira1983]

According to you guys the company was bankrupt more than a year ago. You do love moving goal posts. 😆

[@1-eye-willy]

​@@pferreira1983nobody is moving goal posts, the company is bankrupt. this is an indisputable fact.

[@pferreira1983]

@@1-eye-willy Again you guys have said the company is bankrupt a year ago. You're just moving goalposts, you guys have done this already many times. 😂😂

[@AlexBeyman-j2h]

Meanwhile Atari VCS is getting ports of all the Amico's exclusives. You know you're not doing well when Atari beats you

[@pojr]

Good point!

[@jasonmartinez5116]

And now Atari has purchased Intellivision

[@AlexBeyman-j2h]

@@jasonmartinez5116 We live in the least probable timeline

[@el_puma_real]

Soulja Boy, a B-List hip hop artist was able to put out a system and get a cease and desist order all before Amico.

[@MagicNumberArg]

All those "cheap consoles" fail the basic test of "why can't we just connect a tv and some wireless gamepads to midrange phone"?

[@potato9832]

Don't even need a phone. Most people have smart-TVs capable of running custom apps delivered through an app store. They also natively support Bluetooth game controllers. Amazon Fire, Samsung, Sony, LG, and VIZIO have TVs connected to app stores. Intellivision could have had an app in the TV's app store that included an emulator. It could have been linked up to their own webstore for purchasing and delivering indie games or console ROMs. But... the problem with that is it's too simple, too cheap, and might actually work.

[@ThatGastrodon]

I think there's probably a market here for parents who don't want their kids to have smartphones. I know that I'll be getting dumbphones for my future kids and severely limit their access to the internet. An inexpensive device that's specifically for playing family-friendly games seems like a good idea. That being said, with the price going up like in the video, parents might as well just buy a switch and turn on parental controls. But I can totally see a low budget, closed ecosystem glorified phone be a hit among a certain demographic.

[@seishino]

As far as I know the Amico is the only console that you can buy and receive games for but the system has never shipped. And at $20 a game, they aren’t cheap.

[@ladynikkie]

Those supposed physical copies come in four packs so you're forced to pay ranging between 80 to $150 for games that were supposed to be under $10 if both games are even functional at all

[@Specter227]

The biggest issue with the Amico wasn't necessarily the console (even though I actually think it wouldn't be a success anyway, it always sounded too much like a "MY childhood games were better" pipe dream), but Tommy Tallarico. He turned the whole Amico brand into a flaming trash heap.

[@CommodoreFan64]

This 100% as the way Tommy ran the company was just scummy, and shady AF!!

[@The_Real_DCT]

It also was the console. It was a horrible underpowered system using a old budget 2010 mobile chipset with the controller only having a few megs of memory for it's functions. The system was a joke and a insult to the intellivision legacy as the original system was made to be the top of the line system. It even used a 16 bit processor.

[@CommodoreFan64]

@@The_Real_DCT I can agree to that as well, as the specs of the system when it was originally announced, where a total joke, even $50 prepaid Android phone was more powerful. 😅

[@Rwc900]

You missed all the drama Tommy had with Pat the nes punk

[@CommodoreFan64]

Considering both of them are scummy, and drama whores none of that surprised me.

[@pojr]

True, I should have mentioned Pat the NES Punk like I did in the chameleon video.

[@CommodoreFan64]

@@pojr Given how scummy Pat is, i'm surprised he's not attacked you yet for the chameleon video. 😅 Just for context to say I have a dislike for Pat is understatement, as I helped him with a few of his past charity streams helping to raise a lot of money, and got zero thanks, or respect!!!

[@pferreira1983]

@@CommodoreFan64 It's people like you that gave him the time and it's a community he's nurtured that's going after people interested in the console. Seems like you got karma.

[@poboxchristmas380]

@@pferreira1983 and Pat had to ban you for constantly stalking him for years. That's why you always respond to anything about him on some single white female trip.

[@davidpellman8157]

The Amico was going to be niche console. It would have competed against the likes of the Evercade. I was interested in it when the Moon Patrol remake was announced. However, as time went on it seemed less and less likely the console or game was never going to release. So, glad I didn't fall for the so-called physical releases. I saw a video a couple of days ago where they were showing off the Amico and still talking about it coming out. The price point would be around $250-$300 bucks. Okay, I'm at the store deciding between this and the Switch. HMMMM???? Moon Patrol, Shark Shark, Finnigan Fox or Evil Canivel. When I could have a choice of Mario, Zelda, and Metroid for the same price point. Let me think on that for a minute?????? This thing seriously couldn't out sell the WII-U, little loan the X-Box Series Consoles. Let me finish with this: I believe this thing started out with good intentions, but became a scam as time went on. Does anyone remember "Brewster's Millions" yeah the Intellivision Amico story is the sequel to that. Lets get $18 million and just blow through it with nothing but the one lone prototype to show for it!!!!!!! Oh, yeah one detail left out was that Mike Kennedy was involved in both the Coleco console and this one as well. We know how it is going to end.

[@mchenrynick]

They should just port those physical games onto that Atari VCS of 2017. This console is just going to fail big-time if it releases.

[@TheCommanderTaco]

There were quite a few details left out of this video, but it does a good job for a quick cover lol. Another detail is that Tommy originally hated on using a smartphone as a controller and kept hounding that it was difficult for old people to learn to use them( mobile gaming) only to settle on practically a smartphone design and making an app on the smartphone which contradicted his statement that the Amico was the only way to enjoy said games lol. I agree with your statement. It started off with good intentions, and the sad thing is it truly was a talented team that had passion for the project, but under Tommy's management who was just too infatuated with the Wii it failed. Rather then focus on being a startup he rented expensive office space and bought luxurious furniture. It also didn't help when it came to light Tommy made a deal where they wouldn't make a profit until they sold like 2000 units or something like that lol.

[@bitwize]

Yeah, it was like Theranos. Elizabeth Holmes definitely wanted to build a business around nanofluidics magic that she totally thought was possible, but turned out to be wildly impractical to implement. So her business model became "fake it till you make it". And that's what Tommy was doing with Amico.

[@1-eye-willy]

pojr, ive been following the amico since day one, this console never had a cold days chance in hell.

[@TitanSix]

The Intellivision Amico isn’t necessarily a bad idea. Casual games are very popular despite a lot of gaming enthusiasts turning up their nose at it. The problem I see with the Amico is that I truly believe that the people involved had no idea what they were doing, chasing dollar signs without actually thinking about if it was even a viable product. Like I said, a casual game console isn’t the worst idea ever. This seems like a good idea on paper, but who would really care about it? Who really wants to play Shark Shark or whatever else that Intellivision marketed? Tallarico’s promise of stuff like an Earthworm Jim sequel just screams what everything about the system has been: buzzwords that make people think “Yeah, I remember that!” So that consumers get nostalgic for the good ol’ days when gaming wasn’t super complicated. Basically, Tallarico shilled nostalgia bait without actually figuring how to end up with a sellable product. On the topic of nostalgia, though: Who even remembers the Intellivision? The console is 40 years old at this point. Most gamers probably have barely played the games on a compilation, let alone seen a console in real life. That’s not to say that the games aren’t fun, but most of them are shallow experiences that you can experience the totality of in 20 minutes or so. There’s nothing to sink your teeth into. Granted, that’s the point of casual games, but there needs to be something more for consumers. Most consumers don’t care about Intellivision because they’ve barely seen one. The time for cashing in on Intellivision nostalgia has basically passed. I think whether they release a product or not, the Amico is/was dead in the water regardless of what they do.

[@XanthinZarda]

On your second point, I was born before the USSR collapsed and I don't even remember the Intellivision. It was buried and gone by the time the Famcom showed up in the USA.

[@pferreira1983]

@@XanthinZarda Then you wouldn't even remember the NES arriving in the USA. 🤦‍♂

[@Ziko577]

This sums up my feelings on this whole debacle. They waited way too long and that ship has sailed forever. This isn't SEGA and Nintendo with their mini consoles which were trash imo. Hell, Taito works alongside a company that specifically does this like with the Astro Mini which clearly is aimed at a certain market and there was a recent announcement that DDR is getting a mini cabinet which I thought was strange as that franchise is more or less dead in modern times. Perhaps if they went that route things wouldn't have bottomed out like this did? Idk, I'm spitballing at this point.

[@pferreira1983]

@@Ziko577 Putting aside your take on mini consoles being bad (ouch) the Amico is going for more than just a retro gaming audience. It's not the Astro Mini Arcade crowd they're going for.

[@nahumgardner]

I always laugh at Tommy trying to say Nintendo isn't family friendly.

[@CommodoreFan64]

It is a good laugh, but he's 1/2 right as Nintendo's first party games for the most part are family friendly, but if you include 3rd party games they have allowed onto their consoles over the years then he's right, but again still a good laugh coming from Tommy.

[@dpc4548]

@@CommodoreFan64 I've not heard of this Tommy guy, but he's not wrong with that statement.

[@The_Real_DCT]

Considering he got booted off Metroid prime early on. He has a bit of a grudge

[@XanthinZarda]

The parental controls are some of the best in the industry, and if you, a parent aren't concerning yourself with what your child is playing/allowed to play, then maybe you shouldn't have dropped the sprog from your bonnet. @@CommodoreFan64

[@ccricers]

@@The_Real_DCT Then later he back pedals a bit by saying "I worked with Miyamoto on the Wii"

[@samcadwallader2899]

I wouldn't buy a trash bag from Tallerico let alone a console.

[@Baker-2111]

Finnegan Fox looks like a reskin of "Fox 'n Forest", which is on the Nintendo Switch. It had 16bit graphics, not soulless mobile game graphics though.

[@MattPilz]

Yes. Tommy had said studios were getting $100k+ from them to rework and add exclusive features for games (including Evil Knievel which was originally a mobile game). They basically just blurred the backgrounds and then redid the foreground graphics and in my opinion the Amico version completely loses the charm and detail of the original. Tommy was for unknown reasons strongly opposed to pixel graphics on anything, despite the core group of supporters for Amico being 80s Intellivision fans who love pixel art.

[@XanthinZarda]

That's because it is a reskin.

[@pojr]

Interesting, didn't realize this when I made the video. I didn't think the game looked that great to begin with, the fact that it's just a reskin only makes it worse

[@MattPilz]

@@pojr Since each Amico game was promoted as being multiplayer-oriented, they also did add a 2nd player mode to this game. But that was just turn-based not unlike the original Super Mario for NES, which in my opinion is the weakest form of mutliplayer out there. Same was done with Rigid Force Redux Enhanced, they took an existing game and for Amico allowed the 2nd player to control the sub-ship that never could die.

[@ladynikkie]

​@@pojrif you think that was bad one of those games they were selling was Evel Knievel a 2016 game that was free on Mobile! And may have the gall to charge $80 to $150 for physical products that may or may not have a functional game what a scam

[@Helloduby12345]

The original Intellivision was developed and released by the toy maker Mattel.

[@B1FFCO]

Darius Truxton was the first to call it a scam... back when everyone else was fake excited for it😂😂

[@chrisnizer]

Don't think it was an intentional scam. I think T.T. figured he could create enough hype and someone would buy them out because he doesn't know anything about mass production and retail sales, and shipping products, etc etc etc. The big office in Irvine, all the sales pitch videos, etc was advertising for a buyer. Of course that didn't work. So MORE LIES have to be told: "The rocketship is ON THE LAUNCHPAD." and "We're ready to start production." All lies told to hook a potential buyer. Before he knew it, the money was going...going...GONE, and still no buyer. That's when the wheels finally fell off.

[@thelunchbox420x]

The hardware isnt just no better than a smartphone... A 10 year old smartphone

[@VOAN]

The Intellivision Amico at one point was going to be a legit console and there were more people excited for the system but as time went on it is slowly becoming more and more like a scam and Tommy Tallarico didn't help calm the customers and followers down either doing more talks and no show. People want to see progress on the system yet the dude made only promises with no evidence that the console is ever in development, in production or in working order.

[@TheCommanderTaco]

He was too busy ranting on discussion boards rather then being a CEO lol.

[@ccricers]

Tommy is a good example of "failing upwards". I think he had genuine passion to see the Amico being made but way in over his head. I don't think the Amico was a full-on scam until after the company benched and removed Tommy from his CEO position and replaced him with Phil Adam. Then it has the classic hallmarks of Kickstarter/IndieGogo scams- running out the clock, announcing vague updates at a slow pace and not answering the hard questions so they'll have plausible deniability and just say " we tried our best and they didn't understand". Also, Phil was involved with the Chameleon console as well.

[@XanthinZarda]

I mean, do you really think Intellivision needed to waste their money renting a shaker machine or a battery tester array? Or 100k$ worth of *RENTED FURNITURE?*

[@pojr]

I think you said it well. He wanted the console to happen, but he wasn't fit to make it happen.

[@pferreira1983]

People complained when he was too transparent and then complain when the company isn't transparent. 🤦‍♂

[@poboxchristmas380]

@@pferreira1983

[@friendlyghost75]

I usually like your videos but you are missing a LOT of context here and some of the things you say are just wrong. For example: Intellivision raised more like $17,000,000 than $5.5 million. The 5.5 number is from just one of their crowdfunding campaigns. You missed a price increase now bringing the cost of a system with 2 controllers to over $300. You don't mention that they took pre-orders that were supposed to be 100% refundable but many were never refunded. They also sold "physical product" games that were deeply flawed (just a link on an RFID card to an unencrypted website with nothing on it). Additionally they made outlandish claims like that all their games would be NFTs etc... You missed the fact that some of the allegedly exclusive games are now being released on other consoles AND their announcement of "Amico Home" a smartphone app that supposedly does what the Amico did and runs its software. Every system ever shown was a prototype and almost certainly had non-final hardware. They were android boxes of some kind but there is no evidence any were of final Amico specs. And there's a lot more (such as self-dealing among the board by renting expensive office space from board members and usurious loan terms.) You don't mention the scandal where they showed a preview of a game with assets stolen from World of Tanks and had to re-edit the video 4 times. Basically in your attempt to be evenhanded you come off way too nice and make this company appear much better and more professional than it was. Everything positive you discussed was revealed to be smoke and mirrors and if you want to tell the story fairly you need to look past that. The biggest difference between the Amico and the Chameleon is that the Chameleon never took anyone's money while Intellivision took almost $20,000,000 and delivered nothing. Which is the bigger scam now?

[@SaviorGabriel]

On top of all that, Tommy Tallarico claimed multiple times early on that the Amico would NOT be crowdfunded. Just one of his many many lies.

[@francishelie8658]

It is a pretty shoddy and incomplete review of the Amico disaster. Really not worth the time I spent listening to it.

[@The_Real_DCT]

Nor to mention that they are instead going to use a mobile phone as the console now, via a Amico home app which also requires additional phones to use as controllers. 😅

[@pferreira1983]

In other words not biased enough. 😉

[@FreddyKruegerRealEstate]

@@pferreira1983 *_NO..._* you braindead narcistic troglodyte. lol.🤦‍♂ Have you spent too much time habitually online compulsively leaving a trail of thoughtless replies to practically every comment under the videos you watch? That is not how "bias" works, nor the point they are making. When facts are placed within the vacuum of a retrospective video - any bias formed will simply be the conclusion made after weighing such evidence if done properly by the presenter/material. If a man is caught red handed robbing someone - the jury is not bias after seeing the tape and convicting him... they are simply informed on the undeniable facts of the case. The job of this video should be to layout the complete narrative & facts that transpired around the timeline of this device (a heavy mountain of both 'bias' and unbias documentation/reporting exists).... and if done so properly, one will have included all publicly available information pertinent to that narrative. If this is not done properly, then an incomplete narrative is delivered - which might naturally obstruct certain facts from being known by audience/viewers who might not be aware of this case/topic. This will inevitably paint an altered view of the events and the subject in a vacuum free of all the facts. Therefore, it actually might be 'bias' to *NOT* be as thorough as possible, when presenting such important facts on a subject as tangled and longwinded as the Intellivision Amico. This includes all public and known-private interactions (both legal, illegal, professional and unprofessional) between Tommy Tallarico, acting CEO at the time, and customers, media & investors who were involved. MEANING (dunderhead), that by laying out the complete timeline with all the facts you are (again) BEING UNBIAS with the information and allowing the viewers to make up their own minds. If you shave a few details here, neglect some facts there, and use flowery language here.... you tilt the narrative one way or the other.... whether intentional or not. I do believe Pojr was not intentional in his laziness, nor meant to be bais - he simply seems less educated/interested on the subject of the Amico, and wanted to put out a video quicker than he should have (considering how complex, controversial, well documented and tangled this subject is). If you bothered to fully read the very pertinent facts that this commenter has brought up that were left out of the video (and many more things I also am aware were missed) - you would understand that a lot of those mentions probably would-be appreciative context for the viewer.... and yes... might have the knock-on effect of making the Amico look more like a scam (and certainly subject a criminal element to the actions of those in charge of allocating public funds as they sold/promoted it). But you sir... you simply wanted to leave a smug comment and feel better about yourself. A lazy little self-entitled poke. A (based on your comment history) severely narcistic fool who spends far too much time connected to internet-life-support, attempting to 'correct' people (or "dealing" with them as you say) - sadly, under the ironic guise of a witty presence masquerading behind a self-Inserted 'Family Guy' OC for an Avatar - sarcastically quipping with those who clearly are more informed (and classy) than him. An irony that is not lost on me, but certainly is on you. 😉

[@poboxchristmas380]

When they crowd funded and were forced to reveal the percentages for completed hardware/software, it proved Tallarico lied. A chip shortage would be a moot issue because they revealed that the console and hardware were both incomplete by launch. How could you manufacture a product that wasn't even completed and STILL isn't completed.

[@Lorfarius]

Great video. If you want to reduce the green haze around you try putting a bright LED light on the floor behind you, facing the ceiling. Extra light will reduce it massively.

[@pojr]

Really good idea!! Thank you, I've been looking for a way to make the green screen segments easier.

[@jonah1976]

Or a haircut.

[@kenwheeler3637]

This is exactly why I never will cough up funds for any sort of "pre-order" or crowd funded items. Money is too damn hard to come by so unless something is actually finished and in stock and will be shipped out in a timely fashion there's no way I'm parting with any of my very limited amount of capital for it.

[@KeavyGoesLive]

I don’t get why people want to make a new console, which is expensive and time consuming when it’s so much cheaper and easier to just make games for existing platforms.

[@SweetStevieAaron]

I haven’t heard anything about these recent consoles you’ve been covering. Really interesting stuff.

[@MrClawt]

Honestly I think a simple family console with basic games that don't have a steep learning curve would be great. Having everyone in front of the TV after Thanksgiving dinner and playing some kind of Space Invaders clone would be great. I hope this pulls through.

[@lstairvideos1330]

The only thing about that tho is you could also get like a NES clone with 2 controllers for 20 bucks

[@MrClawt]

@@lstairvideos1330 good point. I forgot you could hack the wii pretty easily to make a retro console as well.

[@The_Real_DCT]

It's never pulling through. They are neck deep in debt. They sold the few finished games to another company and instead are going to use a mobile phone as the "console" via the Amick home app. Which requires one phone to act as the system and additional phones to act as controllers.

[@MrClawt]

@@The_Real_DCT Well that's the end of that then.

[@XanthinZarda]

But for the same price you could just get a Switch and use the rebate for Clubhouse Games. Mazeltov.

[@TotusEius]

They could have put a Pi inside that shell, built an OS around it, and released it. Would have been much better than what transpired. Who cares if the games were nothing more than simple phone games. My understanding is this was for 10 year old's.

[@baroncalamityplus]

I've followed this since it was announced and as far as I can tell, it was a real product that could have been released and not a scam at the start. It wasn't good, just that its real. Then the pandemic hit forcing them to delay and they ran out of money. The chip shortage was in fact the chips they were going to use were so out of date they would no longer be manufactured. So not only it was delayed and out of money, it needed to be redesigned in order to use what was available. At that point forward, their attempts at getting funding were in scamy ways. Things spiraled out of control. I don't know if it was just greed, or they were oblivious to the realities but its clear they knew they would never be able to ship the product while they were still taking money.

[@XanthinZarda]

This death spiral idea doesn't explain products such as the Steam Desk, Playdate, Evercade, and many consumer electronics.

[@ccricers]

At this point, companies didn't win or lose by the chip shortage, they won or lost by how they responded to it. Other companies were able to finish their niche consoles. In 2019 (so, before the chip shortage), Intellivision wanted to wait for component prices to come down. Then the pandemic happened. Instead of the usual approach to sell consoles at a loss/no margins and profit with the games, they wanted to profit from console sales too. Even though the margins were even worse than ever. So I think it was greed. They pushed their luck too hard on expecting parts to continue falling down in price.

[@pferreira1983]

One of the better comments here, thank you!

[@AlphaZeroX96]

So in other words, Covid is a complete piece of trash.

[@chrislaustin]

This entire situation is 100% at Tommy's feet, as he was in control of the ship and took it head on in to an iceberg and then jumped off soon after. When Keith Robinson was still alive and the leading force of what was left of the Intellivision brand, he kept things small and doable. And while not all products were amazing, no one looked at the brand and thought "scam". I don't know if the Amico idea was something Keith had in mind before he passed in 2017, or if it was all Tommy after he bought the rights to the company? Or maybe both played a part, I don't know? Sadly, Tommy is like most creative people, amazing in their own talents(musician), but absolutely terrible at business. And that's what happened here, he thought money could fix all problems, when that's just one piece to a very elaborate puzzle. I think this project started with the best of intentions, and as time went on and things got worse due to poor leadership, Tommy's ego was to BIG to ever admit he **cked up. So he just kept stringing people along even though he knew the project was dying or dead. It really sucks, because as a retro gaming fan, now the Intellivision brand is soiled, and decent things that used to get released are probably no longer going to happen due to this debacle.

[@ladynikkie]

The Amico was all Tommy's idea Keith wanted to do something else and wanted to have Tommy involved but sadly he died before he wanted to do anything

[@Nbrother1607]

For some reason the Amico KZbin channel posted a never seen before infomercial from 1978 for the original Intellivision

[@ravensmadhouse75]

I had a feeling this was going to be the next video. Well Done, P. Tommy Tallerico is a walking dumpster fire.

[@pojr]

Thank you! Yeah i had to cover this next

[@belstar1128]

I think what surprised me the most about the amico was the fan base. a lot of people who condemned the chameleon became the most loyal fans of the Amico. and tommy was always in the comments trying to debate even the most minor youtubers. it was really crazy how people didn't see the most obvious flaws with the Amico even you seem way too positive about it its impossible for me to trust youtubers. now there is an aura of fake toxic positivity in retro gaming now. i think a lot of people in the retro gaming generation are starting to get so old they become more vulnerable to scams because they don't know much about modern gaming and technology and some may even have early dementia.

[@Gojiro7]

im sorry, but you glanced over huge amounts of information about this topic, giving the impression that Tallarico is just a slightly disagreeable guy when really he's been outed as a massive hot head & chronic liar for both his CEO role and career, the company defrauded way more money then you outlined from investors who have been constantly left out in the cold and holding the bag, and despite constantly being on the verge of bankruptcy, they won't make any attempts to do the right thing and just keep pushing on with their narrative. Im not asking that you exhaustively go over every detail of the company up to the point of this videos release (more nutty stuff has happened since then) but this product shouldn't be summarized as "its not fair to compare this to the Chameleon because they actually tried with this one" The Amico is also a scam, but one that fooled its creators into thinking they were making something real, the Amico was Tommy Tallarico's attempt at brainwashing people into thinking his childhood love of the horrible Intellivision controller isn't a bad idea and he tanked the entire intelvision brand in the process (even before Atari bought up the company and took the name away from Amico)

[@DarkLiger]

I don't think the Amico started out as a scam. It is a testament to the powers of ego, arrogance and nostalgia, just about all of it from Tommy Tallarico.. I followed the entire Amico fiasco and you could see Tommy thought the Amico was going to be a smash hit because it was the game he loved as a kid. Tommy wasted so much money to feed his insane ego, to make himself feel like a big boy the equal to the head of Sony to Nintendo. Now where is he? Off the web, reputation damaged if not destroyed, sued by a loan company and his house sold back in Feb. The Amico isn't a scam, it is a wonderful lesson in how NOT to run a start up.

[@fazares]

a very pity indeed..would have liked to see how it would fare if released

[@Dwedit]

Slopes Gaming Room did a very long video on this topic, and it's very well done.

[@pferreira1983]

Not really. It's completely biased.

[@poboxchristmas380]

@@pferreira1983 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@DevilSurvivor69]

​@@pferreira1983Do you ever get tired of being a non paid shill for Tommy and the Amico lol? Maybe it's time to get a life.

[@Robert_Shmigelsky]

If someone or some company wanted to release a retro console with limited specs, like the retro chameleon, they should just take an old console that's already designed and just rerelease it, instead of designing a whole new system from scratch. The supergrafx would be ideal since it only had a limited release, meaning people would have to buy your "new" console if they wanted to play your games. If they wanted better specs, they could just put extra chips in the games. Anyway, would reduce the R&D, which are the doom of many of these console ventures.

[@XanthinZarda]

But uh, let me see if you understand this: You want to ask NEC to collaborate with a bunch of crooks in order to release what was at best _a sidegrade_ to the PC Engine; of which there were a grand total of five games made for? To wit, you have...Capcom's inexplicable prequel to 1942, a horizontal shooter that escapes description, a carbon copy of After Burner, yet another port of Ghosts & Goblins, and a generic looking platformer that's based on an obscure mecha anime. I don't think you've got a system seller there, champ. Besides, the TG-16 mini already exists and has Rondo of Blood.

[@Robert_Shmigelsky]

@@XanthinZarda What does NEC have to do with it? The rights are expired now. Anyone can do what they want with it. And I agree: it wouldn't be any more of a seller than the Amico or Chameleon would have been.

[@pojr]

I'm cool with companies releasing new consoles with retro-like specs. They just need to release it and actually give the fans what they paid for.

[@pferreira1983]

@@Robert_Shmigelsky These are the people I have to deal with. These are the 'rational' people. 😆

[@Robert_Shmigelsky]

@@pferreira1983 It was just a thought, even if I don't think a new retro console would be in demand myself. If someone wants a console like the Chameleon, they might as well just get a Sega Genesis as that's getting new games that are as good as one can make them.

[@retropalooza]

I've talked to Tommy last month, he said quote on quote shut happens it was a great idea that didn't pan out, and then I get a business card with a link to his video games live website private performances for paying customers

[@LethalBubbles]

glad to hear he's ok :)

[@Gojiro7]

.........what a shocker, Tommy shows zero sign of humility, takes zero responsibility for this whole mess, and still tries to hussle like people dont look at him like he's a fraud and a liar who has been outed for coasting off the hard work of others for most of his career.

[@TransCanadaPhil]

The only one of these new retro style consoles that seems to be getting any legit traction is the Evercade. It’s got a pretty solid collection on carts already.

[@GirthUnitz]

Wasn't expecting Zena-Lan stage music from Cosmic Carnage to kick in! Love that tune :)

[@SoulforSale]

Now do Atari VCS...Reality or Imaginary.

[@wilowwy8178]

gamers will take the time to green screen themselves into a fake blurry living room but not bother to brush their hair.

[@AlphaZeroX96]

Rude.

[@LethalBubbles]

I wasn't too interested when the whole thing was going on (they lost me with "Germans forced E ratings" and "NFTs") but seeing that hbomberguy is a cyberbully troll masquerading as activism, I think Tommy Tallarico was treated very unfairly and both he and the Intellivision company deserved better by the public.

[@blackmesacake5361]

I'm very annoyed that we will most likely never get another Earthworm Jim game now because of this.

[@friendlyghost75]

I don't think this will have much impact on that. Within a couple years nobody will remember this and even if they do it's not like there was some big scandal regarding the Earthworm Jim stuff. It's just a game that got announced but never made, which happens a fair amount. The main reason there will likely never be another Earthworm Jim (besides Earthworm Jim 3D) is that Doug TenNapel is very controversial and people don't want to work with him. But Earthworm Jim is on Nintendo Switch Online, Evercade, and the Sega Genesis Mini consoles so it's not totally forgotten and if Bubsy can have a revival...

[@Unregistered.HyperCam.2]

After Tommy was removed from the CEO position and new people took over, they actually put out a message shortly afterward that they'd be releasing a mobile app, Amico Home, where these games would be available, so even if they don't manage to get hardware out, you'll be able to get them on your phone for $5 or $10 each. This would actually get me to put some money toward a mobile game, because I'm a huge fan of Demon Attack, which the Amico supposedly had a new version in development.

[@XanthinZarda]

I don't think Earthworm Jim was ever on the cards, just a pure falsehood Tommy probably paid out the nose to a hateful bigot for.

[@Jeffmetal42]

If I remember correctly, the people who own the Earthworm Jim IP pretty much told Tommy and his people to stop using their IP and advertising it to "eventually be on their console". There is still hope as Intellivision has nothing to do w that series. Basically, all up to the people who actually own the IP. Not saying it's likely, but not impossible.

[@ashtar4413]

I was low key rooting for the Amico NGL, that concept of bringing the console on a tv experience to the touchscreen phone playing people I found very brilliant

[@JohnMartin-ll9cw]

Wait, THAT Tommy Tallerico?! The same Tommy Tallerico who composed for the Earthworm Jim games?!?

[@cujoedaman]

A family friendly console with motion controls? Just buy a Wii.

[@pferreira1983]

Wii isn't currently in production any more.

[@christianpetite4306]

First time viewer. Good videos. ( This and the coleco one). Intro to your videos isn't needed duder, asking for the sub is good enough as a voice over in the beginning don't have to do the crappy green screen behind you with face shot asking for that, and I'm sorry your smile scares the shit outta me. Keep making good videos and I will come back to subscribe.

[@metronome8471]

The Atari 2600+ has more power than a Scamico.

[@AmRealityInc]

wasn't ever supposed to be crowd funded

[@brandogg]

Tommy Tallarico needs to just get a job.

[@SNARC15]

And becoming a professional backgammon player isn't it.

[@Amalga_Heart]

The issue with this thing wasnt even just the console, it was also the games themselves. Even from the very first bits of footage you could tell what would have happened if the thing had released: With the games on it being what they are, most people would have gotten the thing in the mail, played it a lot over the first day, then on and off over a week or two, and then it'd collect dust. Even looking at certain games that are now actually completed like the shark one, these are VERY low budget indie titles. And not exactly high-concept stuff. Some of these are the sorts of things where a talented programmer could basically remake them in a month for a game jam. Heck just looking at that Missile Command one, even I could do that just on my own, and I'm not exactly an expert programmer. I want to note I'm saying this as someone who primarily plays indie games, so I aint knocking them just because of that. And then of course you compare that to smartphones... what's the point of the console when you have those? I know some people might say "well it hooks to the TV" but any Android phone can do that one. Seriously, even if this thing had shipped, it would have been dead in the water after release. People werent buying a console when they backed this thing. They were buying a box of happy childhood feelings that they detected through their rose-tinted nostalgia goggles. I hope those that did buy into it learned a lesson from this, and it's one that the game industry has taught over and over again: Never buy a product that isnt actually finished yet. Pre-orders or the equivalent of them, never a good idea.

[@jimbox114]

If they had actually released it I would have been happy with it. I had originally preordered the $199 version from gamestop and it was canceled when Intellivision decided to raise the price. I was stupid enough to also buy the $150 worth of games in collectible cases which are basically gift cards and nothing else. If the console ever gets released I will probably pick one up. I grew up with an Intellivision and alot of found memories.

[@SNARC15]

Were you able to get your refund after you cancelled the preorder? I too preordered a woodgrain Founder's Edition but when all the issues came up I decided to cancel and thankfully got my refund in one day. However I'm hearing reports that there are those who have cancelled and never got a refund.

[@MrCed122]

Oh, cool, that's the first time I'm so soon on a video that it's only in 360p, neat.

[@nightbirdds]

Not a scam, just a victim of utter incompetance. I don't mean that in the negative sense, just that the folks behind it were not that experienced with what they were doing. However, if you thought the Coleco Chameleon rabbit hole was deep, you've got no idea how far this one goes.

[@SpeccyHorace]

There's definitely been some stuff that's gone into scam territory. The blatant misleading of potential investors at various points being a good example.

[@nightbirdds]

@@SpeccyHorace Fair point. So much happened with that thing it's hard to keep it all straight.

[@joshua.snyder]

It didn't start out as a scam, but it became one when Intellivision mismanaged funds, lied and still had their hand out for investor funds.

[@pferreira1983]

@@SpeccyHorace More BS coming from you I see. Awesome! 😆

[@TranscendentGirlMusic]

Why dislike it? Because they were trying to sell a console that only plays cellphone games for over 300$. It would be fine for 100$, maybe. But a Switch for 320$ comes with two controllers, several free games to download and the possibility to play all kinds of games. Launching a "niche" console doesn't make sense, because all niches are filled

[@pojr]

Fair point. This console wasn't for everybody. Surprisingly a lot of people supported it originally.

[@BuckeyeStormsProductions]

A Pojr video i somehow missed, meaning I get to watch two new to me videos in one evening!

[@polocatfan]

hey you're being a bit harsh here. You can't exactly dislike something that doesn't exist.

[@FunkyStudios]

I find it funny how its competitor, the Atari VCS actual released unlike it.

[@FrogTony]

You're so late to the party

[@luisreyes1963]

"If it sounds good to be true, it usually is." - anon

[@robbieadams9837]

S C A M S 'R' US

[@pojr]

Lol

[@Nygar1]

This would had happened if Tommy wasnt in charge. The guy squandered the money on 2 fancy offices that were in high rent areas one in California and one in salt lake city. Then he bought expensive office furniture and props for his offices to look like Microsoft. He had no revenue stream coming in with a console in deveopment. Had Tommy taken the money got a small warehouse in the middle of a cheap area kept it basic. Then used the money to get a small number of consoles into stores this would have taken off as a niche console like the evercade there was a big market for this but Tommy instead used the money on crap so he could pretend he was phil Spencer when he knew the party was over he threw it on the lap of someone else and ditched hoping that they could fix his blunder the problem now there is no money left to manufacture this so its game over.

[@DarkLiger]

One of those office had five loading bays. I've worked inventory control for a multi billion dollar company, no office outside of main distribution hubs had more than two bays. I full believe Tommy just wanted the room so he could play around on a forklift. He seems the type.

[@PH96Official]

Just like the VCS, This console likely just be a Mini PC in a fancy case

[@giraffeman2763]

Also just saying but its unknown if Earthworm Jim 4 is cancelled since its been in supposed development for almost 18 years as of writing this but there's evidence that the game may have never existed on the amico since according to one of the original shiny entertainment members they mentioned how there was no development of it and how tommy talarico gathered them all together for a reunion before recording and gaslighting people into believing they were all back together for a new game and also there was going to be a new Earthworm Jim tv that was going to be alongside the game called Earthworm Jim beyond the groovy wich is another rabbit hole but in short the trailer for it may or may not have been used to sell NFTs theres a lot more to it Also it was revealed that tommy talarico was a fraud and never composed any music and that includes the soundtrack for the original Earthworm Jim 1 and 2 and many more

[@migueldias8546]

The system was dead once they signed those financial deals to stay afloat. But it was doomed from the begining. Every penny, every seconds should have been spent on developping the system from day 1 because we all know the drill, you are not making any money until your products are sold by retailers... It may not have been a scam but this entreprise should be used as an example of what not to do when you start a business! They did all the mistakes possible, at all levels.

[@robbyjvc]

That Tony tgd guy seems like a real toad

[@Heike--]

Con-sull

[@UltimatePerfection]

I don't dislike Amico. I don't like it either. I just don't care about it. To me, any newcomer to the console market must offer something incubents simply can't. And be more powerful than a mobile phone. In this regard Amico fails miserably and the entire concept of it is just... boring and unappealing.

[@micshork]

I wish that Atari would acquire Intellivision.

[@Black_Revue]

Pojr Man, Pojr Man Reviews Games like Nobody Can

[@stevendurrant1724]

GAMING RACISTS

[@PixelsNcreatureS]

I was into it. Even have the "physical" games 😂😂 they failed so many.. How can an unboxing of a system not have the controllers or system covered in plastic? So the controllers are gonna sit in the cradles thru shipping eh?

[@XanthinZarda]

Or maybe the unboxing was a sham and a bad second take.

[@PixelsNcreatureS]

@@XanthinZarda either way it's still ass with both cheeks

[@sittingduhk]

0:40 this background is the pits man, you can do cooler/more interesting than that

[@rfcbass6810]

Dude doesn’t have a clue. 2021: "We see the console first time in action" Oh boy. Hahahaha!

[@XanthinZarda]

You're giving this too much credit, but at least you didn't sniff the armpit of the founder of this harebrained idea. Point being, the missing FCC certification should more alarming the entire time. Also, if documentation leaked from Pachter's own Wedblush are to be taken at face value, one other alarming thing should have been their exit strategy: To get bought out after putting makeup on their prized pig.

[@SmashJT]

Great job on the video man. You're going places on here. Keep it up!

[@DanJackson1977]

The foundational lie of the Amico is "theres no family friendly casual gamer console and Amico will fill that gap". Well, The Switch is the closest you're gonna get to that and its already got an install base of over 150 million systems. Beyond that, everyone has had a phone that plays casual games since, what, 2007 or so? They were trying to feed a market that doesnt exist anymore by trying to sucker Gen Xers and speculators with as much nostalgia as possible by making lame remakes of games that were far more interesting in their original form. I dont need a remake of Moon Patrol or a half assed reboot of Earthworm Jim or ToeJam and Earl... I can go play those original games any number of ways and have a better experience.

[@SomeOrangeCat]

That was problem #1 for the Amico: Trying to solve a problem that didn't exist.

[@pojr]

Good point. Despite that, it seemed like a lot of people were interested in the amico coming out.

[@SomeOrangeCat]

@@pojr Define "a lot."

[@pferreira1983]

@@pojr That's correct. There was an audience for this based on the money they got invested.

[@Solidier1]

Basically any Old Console would go for the same price for a Switch. Which People rather have the current console which People rather play something new than old. I seen so many times people don't wanna play any games on the switch retro console subscription. Which this console would go a little bit higher at DK Oldies.

[@XanthinZarda]

How do you explain F-Zero 99 then? Or the lasting appeal of Tetris?

[@Solidier1]

You can put out so many collection, not many people gonna play em. F zero won't be on long like the other 99 games they put out. @@XanthinZarda

[@XanthinZarda]

@@Solidier1 And yet Tetris 99 is still there, and I imagine F-Zero 99 will have legs due to how easy it is to drop into a quick race.

[@zombos22222]

me is people too, me not dislike intellivision amico.

[@slomo1010]

That controller looks like it could be the worst in history. It has that terrible disk and touch screen buttons.

[@XanthinZarda]

Imagine the worst point between an 8 gate and 360 directions. Imagine it has a 64 direction gate.

[@DisasterSquad]

LOL legit or scam? you're like 2 years late on this question it's been answered It's been answered repeatedly and definitively. Yes it's a scam.

[@infinitecanadian]

I'd buy that, actually.

[@edrosa3485]

At this point it might as well be dead. Do you buy an Evercade EXP or VS or take a chance on an Amico? There is a EXP right besides me, so the answer is pretty damn easy... By pure coincidence I'm really enjoying moon patrol....

[@The_Real_DCT]

It is dead. They are dropping it and instead moving what they have to a mobile app which turns the phone into the con console with additional phones acting as controllers

[@pengun835]

1:10 oh hey its that guy i know thanks dg

[@Kibanekowolfboy]

There more that you left out at that because turn out one of the team members is actually part of calico chameleon hmmmm anti that a bit sus on that part maybe they was apart of this team as well seeing what sticks to con people out.

[@djconvoy]

Don't bother covering these things unless you are going to do something more than a cursory, superficial look at it. The Amico was plagued with MANY more problems than you seemed to indicate or perhaps know about.

[@pferreira1983]

Such as?

[@wubbers662]

This finally came out?

[@mattrogers6646]

Tell me you didn't watch the video without telling me you didn't watch the video.

[@wubbers662]

@@mattrogers6646 I watched. I made this before watching, but after that I watched.

[@superbatman3762]

How can you like or hate something that will never come out?

[@XanthinZarda]

Well, the association of the people involved and their opinions tends to be a strong one. You ever read the drek Alvarado posts on social media?

[@tvvortex9622]

very good video. i don't think the system will release, they seem like they are trying to sidestep away from thei obligations with amico home

[@thweetiebird]

The project is still alive. Amico Home will be the solution, and all it takes to play is a couple mobile devices in order to play and have fun with your friends and family. There will be no rape games on the Amico Home.

[@joshua.snyder]

Home is nothing more than a weak, sloppy attempt to demonstrate that IE did something with investor funds. They know it will fail (if it is ever released); this is about legal posturing to avoid claims of outright fraud.

[@rfcbass6810]

This dude provided about 5% of the story, and late at that.

[@JaxRetroGamer]

It will never come out and by the way this video was made one day after the troll face's 15th anniversary

[@GrindWeCrust]

It's another scam....end of video

[@NumberSixAtTheVillage]

Great video, and no I don't believe it's a scam, they just had problems, like a lot of products do. Not intentional. I had one on pre-order but eventually canceled it. Have you ever thought about doing a video on 8-bit Guy's (David Murray's) Commander X-16 retro computer? They've been out for a little while now. Uses a 65c02 (6502 derivative). It's already out there, but they're planning on making newer versions that are cheaper and smaller.

[@martymcfly3253]

Scam, never coming out. The Intellivision was my first console but even with that nostalgia I never even considered giving them my money.

[@LelandReview]

For the record the Chameleon was never a scam. That idea came from youtubers who have no idea what they are talking about. Making prototype consoles out of spare parts is common in the industry.

[@SomeOrangeCat]

Are you stoned? They tried passing off the guts of an SNES as the first prototype, and then a video capture card inside of a clear shell as the second.

[@LelandReview]

@@SomeOrangeCat What's your point ? Companies bring Frankenstein prototypes to conventions each year. If they shipped those as finished consoles then that would be a scam. lol

[@SomeOrangeCat]

​@@LelandReview If presenting someone else's products as your own is "common" at these trade shows, then you'll have no problem naming four examples.

[@LelandReview]

@@SomeOrangeCat Most famous was Nintendo/Sony prototype that was made and shown before Sony left to make Playstation. Hyperkin showed off the Hyper Boy in 2018 . Then shown in 2021 Hyperkin Ultra 64. Last year we had the Retron FPGA console.

[@SomeOrangeCat]

​@@LelandReview None of those are what I asked you for though. You failed the assignment.

[@ilikepiproductions5916]

Still a scam in 2025

[@GeorgeSerinos]

You are one strange dude.. also the Amico is a old dead topic, why are covering it years late

[@SomeOrangeCat]

Honestly, I think it's all of the trash talk the former CEO kept heaping on people. If you talk that much smack and then crash and burn, you better believe people are gonna be lining up to get their kicks in.

[@GeorgeSerinos]

@@SomeOrangeCat this late in the game though? This topic has been covered in-depth. It’s like if this guy put up a video about the History of Nintendo … how many times does it need to be done? Stand out and talk about things others haven’t

[@SomeOrangeCat]

@@GeorgeSerinos No. This needs to stay fresh in people's minds, because none of the perpetrators are being held legally accountable. Make them so radioactive the next scam they try to start up dies before it gets this far.

[@GeorgeSerinos]

@@SomeOrangeCat we need to storm the gates of there homes, for real then. We need to find them, why are we letting them get away with this? They don’t care about videos, they need to be delt with face to face.

[@mfv1977]

I know your heart is in the right place with this video, but you only stated broad strokes and missed the real journey. The console most likely started with good intentions. But it has to be considered scam territory now. Intellivision has pivoted to “Amico Home” which is a virtual console run on a smartphone. The company has refused to refund preorders which were clearly stated to be 100% guaranteed. The company has sold off IPs which were promised to be Amico exclusive. They claim that there will be a console (which has ballooned over $300) but this is clearly legal wiggling. They will most likely produce less than 100 consoles to avoid fraud charges and disappear from the console market, focusing strictly on basic smartphone gaming. So, pre 2021, this might not have been a knowing scam. But now they are deceitful and are scamming.

[@pferreira1983]

Those are assumptions and a know a lot of people were already refunded.

[@mfv1977]

@@pferreira1983I assume the price ballooned? No. I assumed many people have not received their refunds? No. I assume they sold IPs? No. I assume their main focus is Amico Home and not consoles? I’m going to say maybe, but I’d wager a large sum that very few consoles will be produced.

[@pferreira1983]

@@mfv1977 You might be a betting man but you're speculating...which hasn't helped so far.

[@JohnSegerclucka]

You need to do better research before making videos. This so-called console was based on a 2015 budget smartphone chip they were flash games This whole thing is a scam. Go look at how Tommy talerico went on the rampage insulting people and getting kicked out of Atari age until he was ousted from the company. Lol

[@pferreira1983]

It's not a scam as far as I've seen yet.

[@JohnSegerclucka]

@@pferreira1983 tell that to everybody that didn't get their deposits refunded

[@pferreira1983]

@@JohnSegerclucka I hope the legit number of people not refunded was lower than we have been led to believe.

[@JohnSegerclucka]

@@pferreira1983 It's terrible! They have also sold off the rights to shark shark, Astro smash and other former intelevision intellectual properties lol. So there are no more exclusives for the amico. The Amico is vaporware. It's never going to happen, just like fetch. And the creator of earthworm Jim said that there was never a deal to do a remake for the system It was all a lie

[@pferreira1983]

@@JohnSegerclucka "They have also sold off the rights to shark shark, Astro smash and other former intelevision intellectual properties" Not too sure about that. I'm pretty certain Intellivision can make or release those games if they want to. "there was never a deal to do a remake for the system It was all a lie" ...which is a bit odd since he was involved with the fourth game pitch they did. 🤔