Without Tommy Tallarico, the video game industry might not be what it is today. Tallarico's work as a video game composer for titles like The Terminator, Earthworm Jim and more helped take the medium's music from simplistic bleeps and bloops to sophisticated musical scores with real instruments. Today he's continuing to push the industry forward with the Intellivision Amico, a brand-new video game console that takes players back to the golden age of gaming while bringing them closer to their friends and family.
The Amico isn't your average video game console, Tallarico explained. "Being a part of the video game industry for over 32 years and being a fan of video games my entire life, it feels like the industry has gone in a somewhat different direction that seems to stray a little from a lot of initial roots that we all loved growing up. I find it near impossible as a gamer to play modern consoles with my non-gaming friends because of the complexity of the controls and the steep learning curves. And in mobile where most of the hyper-casual stuff exists, there isn't really a lot of ways to play with others at the same time (besides a few great exceptions like Jackbox). It seems like microtransactions, loot boxes and in-app advertising have become the norm. Some game designers and developers are basing designs around how to extract as much money out of people as possible."
The Intellivision Amico aspires to be more than another generic video game console. Tallarico's hope is it will bring gamers closer to their family and friends with high-quality games they can't get anywhere else. Despite the hardships brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic, Tommy and his team managed to persevere and create an inventive video game system unlike any other. "We're the first video game console in 30 years that comes standard with 2 full controllers. You can also download our FREE app which allows you to use your mobile device as a controller (up to an additional 8 devices!). Amico also comes with 6 games right out of the box! Not tech demos but 6 complete games. We don't allow any microtransactions, loot boxes or in-game advertising. All of our digital games are $9.99 or less at launch, our physical media (which is also extremely unique and never been done before) is only $19.99."
The Amico is also aimed at repairing the trust lost with gamers after decades of broken and unfinished video games. Games like Cyberpunk 2077 and WWE 2K20 launched in nearly unplayable states, but a plan for strict curation aims to keep the Amico library at a high level of quality. "We also 100% curate EVERY game which must pass a rigorous quality control regimen. So NO shovelware allowed!" he says, "We actually sign up and pay every developer that creates games for us and we spend our own money and resources to ensure the highest quality as well as promoting and marketing it."
"This ties into our TRUST and VALUE proposition which is our main focus for all of our consumers/customers. It's more of an internal scale that we use to ensure not only quality curation but also to ensure the content inside the game remains family-friendly. We only want to put out games of quality and a certain fun factor. For our internal testing and focus group scale, it needs to be at least a 7 out of 10. Too many times in the past (Nintendo Wii and mobile devices as examples) game platforms are overrun by shovelware and people just looking to make a buck. We are dedicated to ensuring that doesn't happen. Anyone remember the Nintendo Seal of Quality that was on all of their NES cartridges back in the '80s? We'd like to bring that kind of sensibility and quality control back into the industry and on to our platform."
Alongside its dedication to quality, the Amico is bringing a focus on family-friendly content back to gaming. "We don’t allow M-rated or Teen rated games which means no blood, violence, sexual content or bad language. Everything is family-friendly and safe for everyone." To ensure the Amico is appropriate for gamers of all ages, every game will be rated E10 or below (Pegi 7 or under in European territories). Mr. Tallarico and the Intellivision team wants the Amico to bring family's together through fun virtual experiences. "Our goal with Intellivision Amico is to bring back simple, affordable gaming with family and friends no matter what your skill level."
In a world full of graphic FPS shooters and grizzly horror titles, the Amico hopes to be an alternative to the more mature next-gen consoles, but Tallarico wants to assure hardcore gamers will also enjoy the upcoming console.
"We have a pretty good initial mix to get any gamer or non-gamer out there interested in playing. Intellivision Amico, for hardcores, would be a great system to play when your non-gaming friends come over and/or to play with those family members who are off playing their own single-player games (that everyone else isn’t interested in) or a person in the household who is turned off by what modern consoles have to offer. Although our focus is casual, hyper-casual, non-gaming, family-friendly, etc. about 25% of our games are targeted at and enjoyed by a more hardcore audience as well. Intellivision remakes like Night Stalker, Cloudy Mountain and Battle Tanks or some of our exclusive Atari retro reimagined classics like Missile Command, Breakout and Tempest. Even great retro reimagined arcade classics like Burgertime, Bump 'N Jump and Moon Patrol. Then we have some cool co-op SHMUPS like Rigid Force Redux Enhanced or platformers like Finnigan Fox. And remember, everything mentioned not only has single-player modes but couch co-op and/or versus as well."
Tommy also explains that indie game developers will play a pivotal role in the Intellivision Amico. With indie games becoming more popular with every passing year, Mr. Tallarico wants to make sure lesser-known dev teams have a voice on the upcoming system.
"We feel that the Indie scene is where ALL of the game industry and design innovation is happening right now. The bigger publishers seem to keep cranking out the same type of products each and every year. I feel the AAA stuff is starting to get a little stale. And the great thing about how we are approaching Indie studios is the best part. We truly form a partnership with the devs and give them all of our internal resources with people who have over 60 years' experience in the game industry. From art direction to audio design to code optimization."
"We also provide the marketing and PR AND we pay developers upfront! No need to struggle or to create a Kickstarter or IndieGoGo campaign. We provide the funds to build their dreams. It's a very different type of eco-system than the industry is currently doing and it harkens back to the way things used to be in the '80s and '90s. Oh, one other thing… we also GIVE them a development kit. They don't need to pay for it like all the other consoles.”
“We have a huge list of games that we’ve already secured including 12 of the biggest Atari titles (from Pong and Missile Command to Tempset, Asteroids, Breakout, Adventure, Yars Revenge and Warlords, etc.). We got Burgertime and Bump N' Jump that we are reimagining as well as a lot of our original Intellivision games like Night Stalker, Astrosmash and Cloudy Mountain (originally D&D). Other great arcade classics like Moon Patrol are being remade as well and ALL of the games include a multi-player/co-op/versus type mode. In fact, anyone can download our free Amico Club app (iOS or Android) and play the first level of Moon Patrol for free!”
Retro fans have a lot to look forward to with the Intellivision Amico, like the return of legendary platformer Earthworm Jim, along with a ton of arcade classics. And for diehard industry fans, they'll be happy to hear Tallarico, one of gaming's most iconic music composers, will be helping with sound design -- and has already started producing music for Earthworm Jim 4.
"It's my weekend job! Out of the 50 games we currently have in production, I’m the Audio Director on about 40 of them. I'm doing a lot of the sound design, but also music supervision and composing."
Developed by Intellivision Entertainment, the Intellivision Amico is available for pre-order now at GameStop. Base consoles are priced at $249, with limited edition consoles also available at $279; both are scheduled to launch on October 10, 2021.