There has been a reshuffling of CEO's at Intellivision, developers of the illusive Amico console, which still has no confirmed release date since its third delay.
Tommy Tallarico acquired the rights to the Intellivision brand in May 2018, one of the oldest brands in the video game industry, dating back to the late 1970s and selling millions of consoles during the 1980s. Tallerico as CEO oversaw their rebranding into Intellivision Entertainment and development of the troubled Amico console.
Stepping down as CEO, former chief revenue officer Phil Adam will be taking Tallarico’s place, though Tallarico will be staying on as both a board member and president of the company. Tallarico’s reign as CEO was tumultuous at best. It’s unclear whether his stepping down has any direct connection with the company's Amico console which is yet to release 4 years after it was first announced. In a statement provided by the company to IGN, Phil Adams taking up the CEO position is part of a corporate reshuffling at the company which is “a business closing in on the last phase before launch” and that Tommy’s stepping down is because he “felt it important to provide focused roles, so he can continue to do the things he loves the most.”
The Amico, Intellivision's ill-fated, family-oriented console, was originally due to launch in October 2020 but has been delayed 3 times and remains indefinitely delayed. The console would have wished to see Intellivision return to its former glory and carve out a space in the family console market currently dominated by the massively popular Nintendo Switch.
It is unclear whether the Amico, in whatever state it exists now, could hope to make an impact in the console market. What was already planned to be a low-spec console 2 years ago can quickly go out of date as technologies improve. The next generation of Xbox and PlayStation have both been released since the Amico’s announcement, and its biggest threat, the Nintendo Switch, continues strong, reportedly only in the middle of its lifetime.
The Amico promotes itself as a return to the age of retro gaming from the 80s when the Intellivision brand was at its most prolific. Console gaming with a kid friendly focus, and though this philosophy will appeal to some, evident by the console racking up 6000 initial pre-orders. Still Intellivision may not be doing itself any favors pigeonholing the Amico when other consoles can still offer a wide range of quality co-op and kid’s games while also supporting the adult games as well. The lack of console hasn’t stopped the first batch of games for the Amico being released however, taking the form of bundles containing RFID cards, costing between $80-150 and each copy acting as an NFT.
Source: IGN