Remember the Intellivision from 1977? It had that circular disk on the controller and was best known for Advanced Dungeons and Dragons. They’re back with their own modern retro console: The Amico.
The Amico is a modernized console, developed by the Intellivision team, to be a retro gaming console “for people of all ages.” It’ll support a library of classic Intellivision games, all rated E for everyone, with modern comforts and additions to make it more worthwhile.
The console will come with “several built-in reimagined Intellivision Classics” pre-installed. If you want to play the ~20 remaining games available, you have to purchase them from the Intellivision Online Store for $2.99 – $7.99, depending on the game. It’s not been made clear which games will be pre-installed and which ones you have to purchase separately. Funny enough, the press release also brags about not having any DLC or in-app purchases.
The controllers have seen a number of upgrades. Now wireless, the Amico will come with two small hand tablets similar in design to the original controllers. While it retains the spinning disc thing, a 3.5-inch color touchscreen replaces the button pad. What displays on screen will vary by the game. They have a gyroscope and an accelerometer as well, though it’s not clear how the feature will be integrated. If you want more players than just two, you can also use an official phone app to emulate a game controller.
Lastly, the Amico will feature multiplayer online connectivity. All games will have an online leaderboard system, sortable by location or calendar. Multiplayer enabled titles will support playing with or against other players through the internet. There will also be “multi-tiered tournament play,” though details on this have not been made clear at this time.
The Amico will release on October 10, 2020, for somewhere between $149 – $179. The price seems a touch high for only coming with “several” games, all decades old at this point. But all of these retro consoles are fueled by nostalgia anyway, so who am I to judge?
For more information about the Intellivision Amico, check out the official website.
