Intellivision Entertainment founder and CEO Tommy Tallarico will step down, IGN report. Tallarico, known as a prolific video game composer, purchased and relaunched Intellivision in 2018 to produce Amico, a new console meant to appeal to more casual players.
Tallarico will remain with Intellivision, moving into the role of company president. He is also the largest shareholder of the company. Chief Revenue Officer Phil Adam will replace him as CEO. A statement from Intellivision provided to IGN said the change was made “to better align its resources with those new challenges” related to Amico’s growth.
“As an industry executive for more than 30 years, I am delighted to be transitioning into the CEO role at Intellivision,” said Phil Adams. “As a business in the late stages of pre-launch, Tommy felt it was important to provide focused roles so he could continue to do the things he loves most. As always when, we will work hand in hand to bring Amico to market.”
Intellivision has spent the past few years developing its Amico console. The device was announced in October 2018 as a lower-spec, family-focused dual-touchscreen sports console designed to play smaller, affordable games. . When are we? Interview with Tallarico during E3 2019, he explained that Amico is primarily targeting casual players saying, “For us, there are three billion players. They don’t call themselves gamers, they play on their phones every day. In fact, they account for 55% of the entire $140 billion industry. The Amico Library, which includes original titles and both classic and remastered Intellivision games, will be sold digitally, with 20 games available at launch and 6 included with the console. . The Amico itself is priced at $249.99.
Unfortunately, Amico has suffered three delays, with Intellivision citing supply problems caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Pre-orders that opened in 2019 (with 6,000 initial orders) for the October 2020 launch were previously pushed to April 2021 and then again to October 2021. Frequently asked questions about the company’s website currently says Q1 2022 as its expected release window. That means Amico has until March 31 to launch on time which seems unlikely, but time will tell.
[Source: IGN]
