Intellivision Amico
Image: Intellivision

Tommy Tallarico has stepped down as CEO of Intellivision, the company he revived back in 2018 after acquiring the rights to the brand which started life back in the early '80s.

Intellivision is in the process of releasing a new games console, the $249.99 Amico, which is aiming for the same family sector of the market that Nintendo currently dominates.

According to a statement provided to IGN by Intellivision, Tallarico will remain on board as the company's president and Chief Creative Officer, as well as its largest shareholder. Former chief revenue officer Phil Adam will step into the role of CEO.

To give some additional context, it's worth noting that Tallarico recently revealed that he was now looking after his terminally-ill father:

Speaking about the move, Adam said:

As a 30+ year industry executive, I am excited to transition into the CEO role at Intellivision. As a business closing in on the last phase before launch, Tommy felt it important to provide focused roles so he can continue to do the things he loves the most. As always, we will be working hand in hand to bring Amico to the market.

Intellivision also told IGN that the change comes hand-in-hand with the commencement of Amico production and would "better align its resources with those new challenges."

One of those challenges is making sure the system generates a profit. Speaking in an interview on The Retro Bro podcast (spotted by VGC), Adam warned that Amico’s already lofty $250 price tag could rise after launch in order to make sure the venture is profitable:

Some people sit there and yell that ‘hey, the cost of goods is nothing. The cost of goods that has been reported is the cost of our two controllers. You know, it’s been challenging. The cost parts have escalated, or whatever, and everybody keeps saying ‘I’m going to wait for the product to go down in price’. Well, I’m telling you it’s not going in that direction. It will go up before it goes down, because essentially there isn’t much profit into what we’re shipping day one.

The development of the Amico hasn't exactly been a smooth one. It has been delayed three times (the original launch was supposed to happen in October 2020) and, as of February 2022, the console still doesn't have a solid launch date.

According to the company, 6,000 pre-orders have been placed so far. In an unusual move, Intellivision sold a selection of Amico games last year which were essentially RFID cards that would (eventually) unlock games over the internet, apparently using NFT technology.

To coincide with the news of Tallarico's role change, Intellivision has launched a new trailer that really hammers home the concept of "family-friendly" play.

This article was originally published by nintendolife.com on Tue 8th February, 2022.

[source ign.com]