What the?
On October 22, 2018, Intellivision unveiled the Amico, a family-friendly retro console. The pitch: The games would be simple to play and cost no more than $US8 ($11). The console itself would retail at about $US180 ($247) with all games being exclusive to the console. In that initial trailer, the Amico was given a release date of October 10, 2020. A year and three delays later, a lot has changed for the Amico.
Today in 2021, the console now is available for pre-order for $US250-$US300 ($344 – $412), the games are now $US20 ($27) and they won’t all be exclusives. It would be easier to excuse these changes if the end product seemed exciting enough. But the console’s projected specs, Intellivision’s shady investment pitches, and the poor behaviour of CEO Tommy Tallarico make it hard to get excited about the Amico.
Odds are good that you’ve never really heard about the Amico at all, though. Here’s what you should know.
Before diving into the nitty-gritty of the console, it’s worth knowing about Tommy Tallarico, who has become the face of the Amico. Tallarico purchased the rights to the original Intellivision brand name and all of its classic games in 2018. While you might recognise his name from old episodes of Judgement Day or Electric Playground, Tallarico is primarily known as the creator of a concert series known as Video Games Live. He also composed music for numerous games over the last few decades and created the famous Roblox “oof” noise, though not for Roblox.
