The Intellivision Amico is a video game console made by Intellivision Entertainment. The console was revealed in October 2018 and pre-orders started in April 2019. The console will come out on April 15, 2021, delayed from October 10, 2020, along with 40 games being made for then.
Concept
Most games will be 2D or 2.5D. Other games will be 3D games the company thinks are easy to play and learn. The company helps studios make games for the console with whatever the studios need. All games will have features they will only have on the console. All games will be rated E (Everyone) or E10+ (Everyone 10+) by the ESRB, or PEGI 3 or PEGI 7 by PEGI. Intellivision Entertainment plan to release new games, motion control games, card games and other tabletop games, educational games, and updated classic video games, such as some Intellivision games, some from Imagic, and Atari and arcade games, of which Moon Patrol and BurgerTime will come out at about the same time as the console. Some Intellivision compilations will have licenses from third-parties, such as Tron: Deadly Discs. Games can be downloaded for $9.99 or less when the console comes out, later a higher amount less than $40, or from an RFID card for US$20 to US$30. All games can be played by one player or, because the goal of the system is to go back to family gaming and co-op with people in the same place because the company thinks modern gaming and web-based multiplayer has gone away from that, up to eight players locally. Online multiplayer is planned for a later date.
History
Development
In May 2018, Tommy Tallarico said he planned to make a new Intellivision console, and made a new company, Intellivision Entertainment, becoming the president of it. Intellivision Productions started to name itself Blue Sky Rangers Inc. instead, and Intellivision Entertainment got the video game things they owned instead.
At the Portland Retro Gaming Expo in October 2018, the Intellivision Amico was officially revealed, such as its name, and the fact it would come out on October 10, 2020. Developer kits were expected to go out in Summer 2019.
In May 2019, Intellivision Entertainment announced its first major game exclusive to the console, a third official Earthworm Jim game, and that it got ten people who helped to work on the original Earthworm Jim team to work on it, all for Earthworm Jim's 25th anniversary. In June 2019, the Intellivision Amico could first be used in secret at E3 2019, allowing people with influence in the video game industry to play games in development on consoles, and try using the official mobile app that allowed mobile phones to be controllers for the console.
At Gamescom in Cologne, Germany in August 2019, Tommy Tallarico showed a trailer with footage of video games running on the Intellivision Amico to the public for the first time. In October 2019, Tommy Tallarico came to Insomnia Dubai, a gaming convention held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to say they set up an office in Dubai to make the Intellivision Amico come out in the MENA region on October 10, 2020, the same day as in North America and Europe.
Hardware
Console
The console has Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, RFID, HDMI out, an SD card slot, and three USB ports. Two of those USB ports can be used for charging, and the remaining USB port allows the console to store more data. There is a LED ambient lighting system built into the body that can change pattern and color in response to gameplay. This system is known as Interactive Guidance Lighting. This feature is intended to make playing games on the console "fun and memorable" while also helping guide players in an interactive way.
Controller
The Intellivision Amico comes with two controllers. They can charge wirelessly when they are placed into their cradle, which is on top of the console, charge using a wired USB-C connection, or charge in both ways at the same time. They have Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, RFID, speakers, a microphone, an accelerometer, force feedback and a gyroscope. They also have a full-color touch screen, four big shoulder buttons, a home button and a 64-way pressure-sensitive directional disc with a ring of LEDs all around it. The controllers come with wrist straps so they do not fly away during game action if they are not held in a secure way. Up to six more controllers can connect to the Intellivision Amico. A smartphone running a free controller smartphone app can be used instead of an Amico controller.