sign in sign up
<<
Home , Intellivision

in progress AMICO

5 Games You Cannot Miss 1

EDITOR IN CHIEF 1. Rigid Force Redux: a classic horizontal MY NAME IS AMICO. MARCO ACCORDI RICKARDS shooter that has charm to spare. It reminds ART DIRECTOR of the great shooters of the past, but with STEFANO CALDARI modernized graphics that will make ISSUE #031 it familiar even to the youngest users, INTELLIVISION AMICO SEPTEMBER 2021 accustomed to playing similar titles on tablet. The version coming out for Amico by will present an exclusive and frenetic Federica Farace 2 multiplayer for console owners. and Fabio D’Anna Despite several postponements, the 2. Earthworm Jim 4: fourth chapter of the historic saga, the rumors about the family friendly console by Tommy development of this title have been going on for more than 10 years now. A good part of the original developers is working on it and Tallarico, the rockstar of gaming, is still certainly, among all the games for Amico Italian term, was also explained, be- already known, it is the one that most of all an ambitious and courageous project. cause the project was to create a ma- has catalyzed the attention of the public. chine for families, simple to use, with 3 We talked about it with the protagonist the immediacy of use of the systems 3. Night Stalker: a maze-like shooter that from the 70s and 80s, or, to be hon- celebrates the homonymous classic for Intellivision of 1982, but with a refined est, even of the itself, of cubic graphics and colorful characters with which it seems the only true spiritual infrared effect. This revised version for ntellivision is not just any name. In successor. Simple, but not technolog- Amico, unlike the one of the 80s, comes with the gaming industry just hearing it ically backward, Amico offers good a single-player campaign, a cooperative and pronounced again makes more than hardware, consisting of 8-core CPU a multiplayer one up to 4 players. Ia tear flow on the faces of nostalgic. @ 1.8Ghz, 2GB of RAM, 32GB of in- 4 4. Breakout: perhaps some will not Let’s take a step back to retrace the ternal storage, expandable via SD, consider it the most shocking game ever history of this project since its ori- HDMI output and 1080p resolution; made, but the new version of Breakout for gins to better understand the pecu- everything that a modern console for Amico is visually hypnotizing. Its immediate liar console that is about to debut on families needs in order to entertain. gameplay and fresh appearance make it the most striking example of the Amico the market, precisely on October 10, But the real strength and distinctive philosophy: simple, accessible and super fun 2021. The idea of bringing Intellivision element of Amico are the two wireless to play with friends. back to life as a real hardware has nev- controllers, aesthetically inspired by er faded. A few years ago, an incred- those of the original Intellivision and 5. Moon Patrol: one of the first augmented ible announcement made the hearts close in ergonomics and practicality 5 reality games for Amico and one of the most interesting even today. Moon Patrol is of enthusiasts beat faster, and in the to the Wiimote. Ultimately, these two inspired by the Moon Patrol for and industry fairs we began to talk about small devices could be defined as the , unofficially on Intellivision a return of the machine; it seems al- successful marriage between the fa- under the name of Space Patrol. We know most impossible, but forty years later mous Wii controllers and a modern for sure that the title will allow a fair Itellivision seems actually ready to rise smartphone: they are in fact equipped customization of your spacecraft and a wide range of shooting modes. from its ashes. Important names in the with a very recognizable pressure disc, industry talk about it seriously, first of which makes the design unique, and a all the legendary , a color screen with touch screen support, veteran of the industry, celebrated vid- personalities linked to the original sys- seeing the incredible project realized. as well as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, speak- eogame musician active in game music tem, including Keith Robinson (one of Tommy, left alone, took over the whole er, microphone and accelerometer. since the early nineties and, by chance, the original creators of the system) did project, and decides to dedicate the All elements that combined transform treme cases can be replaced partially entiate itself from any home entertain- also a die-hard fan of the system. Born the rest, finally realizing the dream. Af- realization of Intellivision Amico to the the single controller into an immedi- even by simple smartphones, through ment machine currently available on in Springfield and also a The Simpsons ter all, Don Daglow’s UTOPIA was one memory of his deceased friend. In the ate and super accessible mini console a specific app. All this to further push the market, Intellivision Amico will of- (perhaps his fellow citizens) enthusi- of the pillars of the original hardware. October of the following year, the new even for people not familiar with the on local multiplayer, a key element of fer exclusive games that will partly be ast, Tommy has always told everyone A new company was founded, and system was officially announced, -dur world of video games (such as grand- the family fun so valued by the revolu- modern reinterpretations of the great that his great dream was to make In- slowly everything materialized, but ing one of Keith’s much-loved trade parents and uncles) not. Intellivision tionary Nintendo console. classics of the progenitor and partly tellivision rise again from its ashes. A unfortunately Keith Robinson passed shows, the Portland Gaming Expo. And Amico can have simultaneously con- Now we come to the important fea- third-party games for a wide audience meeting, at a fair, with some leading away due to an illness in 2017, before the new suffix Amico, derived from the nected eight controllers, which in ex- ture, the titles library. To further differ- and with a rating by PEGI that will not

14 15 in progress INTELLIVISION AMICO

1 2

Italian genius A TALK WITH TOMMY TALLARICO, PRESIDENT OF INTELLIVISION

3 by Federica Farace and Marco Accordi Rickards 1 The unique and unmistakable shape of Intellivision, with the handover between the original controller and the modern one, equipped GP: Now that the launch of Amico is smart with how we approach our initial with a monitor. approaching, what are your expecta- launch. Unlike those other companies 2 The digital service of Intellivision will be called tions in terms of numbers and on the we can’t afford to lose hundreds of Amico Game Shop and will be available for all impact that it will have on the media millions of dollars on the initial hard- possessors of Amico from the console's launch day. and gamers? ware sales. 3 There is currently nothing available on TT: Even though we already have over the market that comes close to Amico’s controllers. 100,000 pre-orders and purchase or- GP: We saw that the first wave of ders, because of the major worldwide games will be expected at launch and component crisis we are forced to do soon after. What can we expect next? a smaller “soft” launch of the product Are you planning to expand the type this year. And that’s okay. Although not of games? Will there be surprises? the way we wanted to do it, we are fine TT: Every Amico comes with 6 games! with walking before we run. The good Not demos… full games! We will prob- news is that everyone who plays it real- ably have anywhere from 15 – 25 oth- ly loves it and wants one. So keeping er games available on launch as well up with the high demand may be frus- (will depend on how many units we are "The project trating from a business standpoint, but able to get out there and the timing of in the end… the reality is that people everything). From there we expect to consists of really want it. And ultimately that is a release one new game every 2 weeks be over 10. At least these are the in- solutely in line with the Amico philos- great sign for things to come. initially. As we grow, that number will tentions. No additional content and no ophy, we are talking about 250 euros, creating a probably be about 1 a week. We really microtransactions, for a rich and con- shipping costs not included shipments. GP: Speaking of launch, can you give care about QUALITY over QUANTITY stantly updated library. We are talking Of the three models currently available machine for us certain dates about the US and Eu- and it’s rare for any new video game about both sports titles and classic in pre-order, the evocative woodgrain rope markets? platform to launch with around 20 board games, puzzle games and edu- certainly stands out, which clearly re- families, easy TT: Because of the worldwide compo- brand new and exclusive games. cational games that will be purchasa- minds of th legendary original Intelli- nent crisis we are still not 100% sure ble through a dedicated digital service. vision. We are extremely intrigued by as to when the first consoles will be GP: Will there be any big third party At the time of purchase, in compliance this project that is shaped as something and ready- shipped exactly and to what locations. publishers jumping on board? with its philosophy of immediacy, the totally unrelated to the mechanisms of Our current target date is October TT: Not initially because all of our console will be sold with 6 titles pre-in- the console war and very close instead to-use as 10th but we are still trying to secure as games are 1st party or considered stalled and 29 titles available on the to a way of understanding the video many components as we can. Every in- 2nd party. Meaning we are the pub- platform. Subsequently and periodi- game that (focusing on console level) systems of dustry in the world that uses electron- lisher. We do this to ensure quality cally, other games will be released for seemed to have disappeared together ics (especially touch screens like us) control. So although we have a lot of all Amico owners at a price of about with the Nintendo Wii. To understand the 70s and is affected by this. And because we great licenses and reimagining things 10 euros. Currently, the console can be something more, we went directly to are a smaller company and don’t have like the Atari library, etc. They aren’t ordered in Italy from the specific page talk to the key figures of Amico, Tom- 80s" billions in the bank like , Micro- considered the publisher of the game. of the American site, the price is ab- my Tallarico and Hans Ippisch. soft & Nintendo, we need to be very We’ve been talking to big publishers

16 17 in progress INTELLIVISION AMICO

The European Theatre HANS IPPISCH TELLS GAME PRO ABOUT HIS CONTINENTAL STRATEGY

GP: What are the difficulties of launch- ing Amico in Europe? HI: From a logistical point of view, Eu- rope is definitely a challenge with its different languages, currencies and age ratings. But we all mastered them, delivering every Amico game with nine different languages (including Italian, French, Spanish and German). We are especially looking forward to launch Amico in your country, since the response to Intellivision Amico was like , , EA & Namco ly and I am very proud and passion- possible. I find this very disappointing. particularly positive in Italy. Two of our for over 2 years, but because of the ate about my Italian heritage. This is We are proud to bring the industry forthcoming games are even devel- unique style of games we are making, why I wanted to use an Italian word to back to a time when you just bought oped in Italy! we don’t really need them in order to name the console. But also, it’s the a game and owned it forever! If for succeed. All of the best innovation Italian passion for life, art and FAMILY any r eason a game needs a patch, that GP: Can you tell us any titles that you is coming from the Indie Developer which also rings true throughout the is fine. But we’re not going to charge think will be particularly decisive in this scene right now and we already have entire way of thinking when designing people for extra content. I’d rather market? over 50 developers lined up and mak- everything for Amico. My Italian her- just make a second game as all of our HI: I believe that our target group’s ing unique and exclusive games for us. itage and the Italian culture is some- prices for our games are only US $9.99 international preferences don’t differ thing that is very important to me. I or less on launch (prices will go up in that much anymore, titles like Moon GP: Do you believe that the Metacritic have a lot of family still over there, I the future, but never crazy). We are Patrol, Brain Duel, Dynablaster or Bi- system, with all its problems and crit- have many friends there, I even got not trying to make or sell Call of Duty planes should work very well every- icalities, will also influence Intellivision married in Italy and traveled around or Fortnite. Any of the other systems where. Only in the field of sports will of Amico? the entire country for a month on our can do that. We are just interested in course “Intellivision Soccer” play a far TT: No. Not at all. Our target market honeymoon. making fun and easy to understand and more important role in Europe, as will (families, casual gamers, etc.) are not pick up and play games for everyone… “Major League Baseball” in the USA. And with Intellivision Amico we want course we want to continue this tra- on Metacritic. GP: Zero DLC and zero in-game pur- no matter what your skill level. And al- to help casual gamers to have fun in dition of innovations, but we will not chases. Why? Aren’t you afraid that it though most of our games all have sin- GP: Between traditional consoles, the living room with their friends. duel with competitors via advertising, GP: Amico is an Italian word, we are may be anachronistic? gle player experiences, the real fun is PC and mobile, is there still room for but convince customers with unique Italian and you too are quite an Italian TT: Not at all. I think the reality is that playing all of our games in multi-player Amico? GP: The first Intellivision dared to do gaming experiences, for example with ... How did you choose this name? Is most people hate microtransactions, or couch co-op mode. Our goal is to HI: Definitely, although we see the comparative advertising for the first the dice game “Farkle”, the ski-cross there a bit of an “Italian spirit” in the loot boxes, in game ads & purchas- bring gaming back into the living room market a little differently. There are time in the video game industry. Will mode in “Intellivision Skiing” or the new Intellivision? es, etc. Games these days are being and something that can be played by “only” about 200 million core gamers you be a little cheeky too? co-op Multiplayer mode in “Dyna- TT: Absolutely! Forza Italia!!! All four designed (especially on mobile) to try everyone at the same time. I can’t wait on the market, but 3 billion casual gam- HI: You are right, this is one of the in- blaster”that you can´t experience on of my grandparents were born in Ita- and suck as much money out of you as for people to try it out! ers who play on their mobile phones. novations Intellivision is known for. Of any other console!

18 19