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The nostalgic Intellivision Amico console is delayed until 2021
Another retro console revival has been delayed by the coronavirus pandemic.
Xbox co-founder J. Allard is working on the Intellivison Amico
The exec who created the Xbox, Xbox 360 and Xbox Live has joined Intellivision to work on its Amico console.
'Earthworm Jim' returns after 20 years as an Intellivision exclusive
It's been 20 years since there was a genuinely new Earthworm Jim game, and longer still since the original team was involved. However, the gang is coming back -- if you're willing to take a chance on a retro console. Intellivision Entertainment is reuniting ten members of the Earthworm Jim team to work on a new game in the franchise made solely for the Intellivision Amico. The title is still in the very early stages. In fact, Intellivision is livestreaming part of the first design meeting on May 4th at 3PM Eastern. However, it might be comforting news if you want to see more of the anthropomorphic annelid beyond remasters and ports of the classics.
Intellivision’s Amico is the latest retro console revival
Intellivision, the video game maker that didn't survive the '80s, is back and ready to build something new on top of gaming nostalgia. After teasing the idea earlier this year, the company has announced plans for a new console called the Amico -- one part retro console and one part family-friendly modern gaming system. Intellivision plans to release it with a mix of classic titles and new originals in 2020.
Intellivision plans a revival with a new game console
Add Intellivision to the list of vintage console brands hoping for another shot at glory. Intellivision Entertainment has revealed that it's in the early stages of creating a new video game system. Details are scarce (there isn't even a name), but the emphasis is on making a system that "all age groups and levels of gamers and non-gamers" can enjoy. There's familiar talent involved, too. Soundtrack impresario and Video Games Live host Tommy Tallarico has been named the President of the fledgling company, while numerous original Intellivision designers and executives are taking on leadership roles. Mattel is about the only absentee at this stage, but that's not surprising.
Coleco Chameleon will resurrect your favorite Atari 2600 games (update)
The Coleco Chameleon from Retro Video Game Systems won't land on Kickstarter until the end of the month. However, it did hit Toy Fair earlier this week to give the public a little taste of its retro-gaming goodness and score a few deals. And score it did, landing the rights to the Atari 2600 library. That's over 300 games, as well an option for the company to develop new games based on all that classic IP. (Update: We've gotten in touch with Atari; see comments at the end of this post.)
Help these 30-year-old Intellivision games live again on PC
One of the biggest problems facing video games as an artistic medium is one of preservation. Thanks to HD remasters, digital distribution and the Internet Archive that's becoming less of an issue. But we still need to do more to keep a record and constant catalog of gaming's past moments. That's the idea behind the awkwardly named "Intellivision Gen2 Video Games for PC & Mac" on Kickstarter. As you might imagine, it's modernized versions of Intellivision titles. Astrosmash, Nightstalker and Shark! Shark! will get the new pixel art, expanded levels and scope should the project reach its $100,000 goal.
'Project Unity' is 15 fully-functional consoles in one giant box
Constructed by evil genius/mad scientist/hardware hacker Bacteria, Project Unity is a single, unified gaming console that can play Sega Master System, Neo Geo MVS, GameCube, Dreamcast, Saturn, Intellivision, Colecovision, Atari 7800, Turbografx 16, PS1/PS2, Mega Drive, NES, Super NES, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo 64 and Amstrad GX4000 games.Project Unity's most impressive feature, besides the fact that it works, is that it was constructed entirely out of authentic hardware and does not make use of emulators or combo units like the FC Twin. It also manages to use a single power supply, video output and custom-built controller, regardless of the system selected.Jump to 09:30 in the video above for a demonstration of this behemoth in action, including the repurposed NES cartridges that contain different circuit boards for each controller type, or start from the beginning for some deliciously chaotic wiring shots.
Project Unity stuffs 20 classic consoles into one: if you can't play it, it's probably too new (video)
Most gamer who want to play with more than one or two vintage console platforms often turn to software-based emulators that may or may not be above-board. How about stuffing all of the authentic hardware into one controller and one base unit? Modders at Bacteria's forums have developed Project Unity, an attempt to natively address 20 consoles across 17 actual platforms folded into a single device. The gamepad, arguably the centerpiece, includes two each of analog sticks and directional pads, along with multiple shoulder buttons and a central button grid that can either be used to steer an Intellivision or fill in for otherwise missing controls. Stuffing the unique controller hardware into one gamepad obviously presents problems with board sizes and the laws of physics, so much of the relevant circuitry sits in modified NES cartridges. Our only dismays are the lack of original Xbox support and the slightly imposing challenge of aggregating and modifying that much classic gaming componentry in one place -- if you're more concerned about convenience in your retro gaming than preserving the original feel of that Sega Master System or SNK NeoGeo, though, you've just found Utopia.
NYC's WPIX resurrects Intellivision gaming segment for Morning News
Those of you out there over the age of about 26 who live in the New York metro area might remember a popular call-in segment on WPIX. During day time children's programming, like the classic Magic Garden, viewers were encouraged to dial in and play a simple Intellivision game by shouting "PIX" to fire at falling blobs. Well, the TV station is bringing it back courtesy of a console direct from creator Keith Robinson. Only now, instead of calling, participants will be brought into the studio live to shout alongside the anchors. We're already trying to figure out how to get ourselves on the list. Check out a retro commercial promoting the segment after the break.
The Game Archaeologist plays with MUDs: Your journeys, part 2
This is the end, my only friend, the end. Of our elaborate plans, the end. Of everything that MOOs, the end. No safety or aggro radius, the end. Man, listening to The Doors early in the morning does not put you in a happy state of writing, let me tell you! In any case, we've extended our MUD/MU* month here on the Game Archaeologist Channel to include a few more first-hand testimonies of Massively readers' favorite text-based MMOs. As much as anything else we've talked about in this column, it's vital that we not forget the roots from which our current MMOs were born nor neglect to take the opportunity to expose a whole new generation to a graphically simpler but textually richer experience. So let's kick the tires and light the fires of nostalgia as we talk with five of the baddest MUDders you'll ever know!
Centipede crawls out of latest Game Room update
Some good news for patient Game Room fans today, as Game Pack 008 has been released -- and Centipede along with it. Joining Atari's classic segmented shooter are three other Atari 2600 titles: 3-D Tic-Tac-Toe, Beamrider and Cosmic Commuter; in addition to Intellivision's Thin Ice. As usual with Game Room updates, the remainder of Game Pack 008, which includes six more Atari 2600 games and four more Intellivision titles, will be released over the coming weeks. Xbox.com: Add Game Pack 008 to your Xbox 360 download queue (free to install)
Intellivision Lives! comes back from the dead this September
Virtual Play Games unearthed a collection of ancient relics, believed to have been called "Intellivision games" in their time. To allow modern audiences to examine these historical artifacts for themselves, Virtual Play has built a mobile exhibition called Intellivision Lives!, which requires only a Nintendo DS for admission. In other words, the publisher's putting a bunch of old games on a DS cartridge and selling it this September. The collection includes classics like Astro Smash, Armor Battle, Night Stalker and Shark! Shark! (a precursor of Flow), as well as six unreleased games, for a total of 60 titles from Mattel's console. The DS touchscreen substitutes for the Intellivision controller's number pad, with an image of each game's custom controller overlay! The last we heard of this project, it had been banished from DSiWare. It'll finally be out (as a cartridge-based game) this September, and we'll get a chance to play ... these games that have been out since 1982.
Game Room 'Game Pack 007' now available
The 007 update for Microsoft's Game Room is available for download right now, and will enable 15 new games in total: three Konami Arcade games; nine Atari 2600 games; three Intellivision titles and zero James Bond games. However, not all of the games are available right now -- the Game Room Facebook account lists the first five, and a message posted further down the thread notes that the rest will trickle out over "multiple weeks." Here's what's available as of right now: Barnstorming Fishing Derby Gyruss Hover Force Quadrun We'll update you on the rest of the games as they're made available.
Game Room adds Asteroids, Time Pilot and more
Game Pack 004 is now available for Game Room, featuring seven new titles. The two standouts are Asteroids and Time Pilot, classics of the arcade days of yore. Also in the pack are a handful of Activision Atari 2600 games, including Stampede, Grand Prix and Demons to Diamonds. Rounding out the pack is the arcade game Space Duel and the Intellivision title Shark! Shark!. The pack itself is free, while individual games run 240 ($3) to 400 ($5) depending on the license. Xbox.com: Add Game Room Game Pack 004 to your Xbox 360 download queue
Intellivision DSi collection held back by Nintendo policy
Would you like to have a downloadable collection of vintage console games on the DSi? We would too! Oh well. When the DSi was announced, Intellivision president and IP holder Keith Robinson decided to move a stalled DS version of the Intellivision Lives compilation to DSiWare. However, Nintendo rejected the project. Apparently, according to an email Robinson received from Nintendo, WiiWare and DSiWare games cannot "run under emulation."Because of this rule, we're missing out on the most authentic presentation of Intellivision games yet. Look at that -- even the Intellivision keypad is emulated on the touch screen, with overlays and everything. Nintendo didn't respond to IGN's inquiry about the rule, so as of yet we don't have an explanation for the refusal. It's likely that Nintendo refuses emulated projects to avoid Virtual Console-style games on WiiWare. But there's no Virtual Console on DSi, so either that rule needs to be changed or there will be a VC soon. Scratch that -- the rule needs to be changed.
Retro GC compilations offer Wii owners options
Virtual Console pricing got you down? Not to fret -- there are plenty of GameCube compilation titles available at a budget price. Racketboy recently took an in-depth look at a few of these game sets, offering readers a detailed look at what's included in each ... and some answers to the question of whether or not they're worth your $10. For instance, he reports that the Namco collections play well, but Midway Arcade Treasures seems to feature a few games with below average controls. But even with a few duds, the pricing on most of these sets is just right for gamers on a tight budget who need to get their retro fix.
