Intellivision’s Amico wants to be a Nintendo-style “family console”
Intellivision’s Amico wants to be a Nintendo-style “family console”
Recap: You might have missed it in amongst the AAA titles and studio acquisitions, but Intellivision’s presentation during E3 showed off the upcoming Amico as a very Nintendo-like “family console.” It looks pretty interesting, if unusual, for something shown off at E3.
Nestled in-between Microsoft handing out new Xbox Game Pass titles like candy and Nintendo’s time-tweaking Breath of the Wild sequel, this year’s all-digital E3 managed to find 10 minutes to talk about the Intellivision Amico, a home console featuring mostly 2D and 2.5D arcade-like games and seemingly aimed at the family-friendly market that has been the home turf of Nintendo’s consoles for decades.
Read: Intellivision: Gone But Not Forgotten
Possibly the most interesting feature of the Amico are the controllers; the console comes with two of them, styled after those of the original Intellivision console, albeit with a small touchscreen replacing the numerical keypad, and with the presentation emphasizing the uses of each player having their own separate screen.
The controllers are also equipped with motion controls akin to those of the Wii remote and Switch Joy-Cons, and the console can link smartphones to get more players involved.
There’s not much to say about the console itself, beyond its indent at the top for holding and charging its controllers, although its RFID capability was pointed to as a selling point for contactless-payment-like loading of gift cards. Beyond that, there’s also the inclusion of interactive lights in both the base console and controllers, a little puzzling given the focus on the family market; the Amico’s likely to go to children or grandparents, rather than the core gamer audience that tend to appreciate flashy LEDs in their peripherals the most.
The Amico’s tentpole games are Earthworm Jim 4 and a spiritual successor to Ecco the Dolphin, both names approaching their 30th birthday. Intellivision painted haptic feedback and drop-in multiplayer as a headline feature, decrying loot boxes and paid DLC before putting forward an online leaderboard as a substitute — one that that offers emailed certificates for doing well in.
Company president Tommy Tallarico opened citing his voicing of the Roblox “OOF!” amongst his lifetime achievements in the gaming industry, and ended it with a giveaway for three signed Earthworm Jim prints that you could enter by sending in the word “Groovy!”, once again via email. The entire thing felt a little surreal.
That’s not to say that the market for a family console doesn’t exist. After all, Nintendo have made it their home ever since they quit competing with Sony and Microsoft in raw graphical prowess in the early 2000s, but Intellivision seems to have taken that to mean that their titles should all play like refreshed versions of 80s arcade games. In some cases, that’s what they are.
Similarly, in a world where the Jackbox Party Packs and Among Us have seen explosive success, showing off digitized versions of Cornhole and Spades as the Amico’s social games feels a little behind-the-times, and very detached from some of the console’s genuinely interesting features like being able to bring games across to other consoles with your own controller.
It would be great to see something to shake up the more casual, family-oriented end of the gaming market, and Intellivision $10 games (or $20 for physical copies) might be easier to sell than the pricey software and services from the other big names.
But the console itself is still going to be priced at a cool $249, not far off the Switch and its extensive library of household names, and this odd, dated-feeling presentation may not have been the most convincing to prospective buyers.
We’ll have to wait until October 10 for the release of the Amico to see how it all pans out.
- Published in PC Game News, Retro Gaming News, What's New
The new MG 82 for ‘Call Of Duty: Warzone’ is destined for an early nerf
Call Of Duty: Warzone‘s newest weapon, the MG 82, is already getting a nerf according to Raven Software.
The announcement came in a Tweet from Raven Software who said: “The MG 82 (BOCW) made one too many trips to the Pack-a-Punch machine before deploying to Verdansk.”
The MG 82 (BOCW) made one too many trips to the Pack-a-Punch machine before deploying to Verdansk.
Element 115 is off limits in #Warzone so we will be making an adjustment to this Weapon soon. ☢️
— Raven Software (@RavenSoftware) June 18, 2021
The tweet also mentioned both the Pack-a-Punch machine and Element 115, both of which are a reference to the lore of the Black Ops’ Zombie mode.
The bracketed “BOCW” refers to Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War which is where the MG82 LMG originates.
There have been ongoing issues with weapons ported across from Black Ops Cold War into Warzone, and Raven Software has been fairly swift in updating guns and trying to keep the game’s competitive modes balanced.
Red Doors make a noticeable sound when players are near them and on entry, the will warp players to one of a number of small rooms around the map that contain orange loot crates and cash.
Shortly after launch Raven Software had to update the game to remove armoured cargo trucks, as there was an ongoing issue with players becoming invisible after entering them.
The notorious Roze skin which has plagued competitive modes in Warzone for being hard to see has also received an update in order to make it less of an issue.
In other recent news, Square Enix has said that the launch of its latest game, Outriders, on Xbox Game Pass has been a success.
When asked about the response to Outriders, Square Enix president Yosuke Matsuda stated that Square Enix noted that “the number of active users has also beaten our expectations”.
- Published in PC Game News, What's New
700,000 graphics cards were bought by crypto-miners in early 2021 alone
In the first quarter of 2021, analysts believe that crypto-miners have purchased an estimated 700,000 mid-to-high range graphics cards.
Analysts at Jon Peddie Research claim that the crypto-mining industry was responsible for purchasing 25% of all GPUs in the first months of 2021. They estimate that this translates to “700,000 high-end and mid range” graphics cards which are worth around $500million in market value.
Crypto-mining uses the processing power of graphics cards to create new bitcoin, a digital cryptocurrency that has raised significantly in value over the years.
The research model provided by JPR works on the assumption that PC sales are slightly down, however there’s been a huge spike in sales for individual graphics cards. They believe that their model detects dedicated mining farms because these crypto-miners only purchase graphics cards as opposed to fully build PCs.
The researchers note that they cannot put a market value on the impact of current large scale crypto-miners because the prices of graphics cards “are so volatile and increase almost every minute as bots fight or negotiate with other bots and humans.”
JPR also point out a divergence between the two primary graphics card companies AMD and Nvidia. While Nvdia have taken steps to reduce the effectiveness of crypto-mining on their own cards – such as introducing firmware that reduces the capacity for GPUs to create bitcoin – AMD has made no such move.
As PC Gamer notes, the price of Ethereum bitcoin remains high – meaning that crypto-miners will still have good reason to purchase GPUs in bulk.
- Published in PC Game News, What's New
New ‘Psychonauts 2’ gameplay video spotlights new story details
During the Xbox Games Showcase Extended, Psychonauts 2 received a gameplay video that shares details on the upcoming story, as well as details on new abilities and more.
The new video released today (June 17) featured Tim Schafer – Studio Head at Double Fine Productions – guiding players through what to expect in the Psychonauts sequel.
The video shares details on the story of Psychonauts 2, as well as all-new enemies, abilities and locations.
One of the early levels in Psychonauts 2, shown in the gameplay video above, is the brain of Dr. Caligosto Loboto. Loboto will be familiar to players as the villain in the first Psychonauts, however since then he’s “kinda become friends” with main character Raz.
Across Psychonauts 2 you’ll get to visit the Psychonauts headquarters, as well as a return to the Whispering Rock summer camp from the first game.
New enemies are also featured in the reveal, including Doubts, Regrets and “dangerously explosive” Bad Ideas.
You’re in his mind to try and investigate who kidnapped Truman Zanotto, grand head of the Psychonauts agency.
To do so you’ll get to use some new psychic abilities, including Mental Connection. This will allow players “to see two thoughts in someone’s mind and connect them, sometimes creating new thoughts – making new things happen”.
As you learn this, you’ll “accidentally maybe slightly on purpose” create a lot of interest in gambling in the mind of your new boss. This leads to one of the first levels in the game, where you’ll need to go back into her mind and fix what you’ve done.
Psychonauts 2 will release on August 25 of this year on PC and consoles.
In other news, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 has received a new behind-the-scenes video showcasing the work that has gone into developing the sequel.
- Published in PC Game News, What's New
‘Dead by Daylight’’s ‘Resident Evil’ crossover map causing crashes
Behaviour Interactive and Capcom have come together to release a Dead by Daylight –Resident Evil crossover, but the new map is causing widespread crashes.
A tweet from Behaviour Interactive confirms that the Racoon City Police Department map is currently disabled. The map was causing the game to crash upon loading into a round. As compensation, any Dead by Daylight player who logs in over the next week will receive 300,000 blood points.
We know you’re excited to explore the Raccoon City Police Station, so here’s something else to be excited about while we get this fixed up: Login any time within the next week for 300,000 Bloodpoints.
— Dead by Daylight (@DeadByBHVR) June 15, 2021
The expansion features several characters from the recent Resident Evil 2 and 3 remakes. The chapter costs £9.99 and is live now. It includes the Nemesis killer, as well as Leon S Kennedy and Jill Valentine survivors. The Racoon City Police Department is a new map that is free to all players.
The new killer is the Nemesis from the Resident Evil 3 Remake. The Dead by Daylight website describes him as “a nearly unstoppable bio-organic weapon fixated on pursuing and eliminating its targets. Part of the Tyrant T-103 series, this specimen has increased intelligence and awareness due to the NE-α Parasite implanted within it.”
One of the new survivors is Leon S Kennedy from the Resident Evil 2 Remake. “Having faced hordes of zombies on his first day as a police officer, Leon S. Kennedy had to learn the job quickly. Investigating the biohazard that had ravaged Racoon City, Leon infiltrated an abandoned Umbrella Corporation laboratory where a sudden and unexpected black fog led him astray.”
The final new survivor is Jill Valentine, also from the Resident Evil 3 Remake. “Excelling at lock picking and bomb disposal, Jill Valentine was a brilliant Special Tactics and Rescue Service (S.T.A.R.S.) agent. After bravely rescuing her team members from a devastating biohazard, she returned to Racoon City to save any survivors left behind.”
There are also skins for the survivors available for purchase that will let you switch Leon for Chris Redfield or swap Jill for Claire Redfield.
Full details on how the Nemesis will use its T-virus powers in the Dead by Daylight arena are available here.
- Published in PC Game News, What's New
Nintendo to celebrate ‘Zelda’ 35th anniversary with themed Game & Watch
As part of its 35th anniversary celebration, Nintendo will launch a Game & Watch system featuring the first three Legend Of Zelda games.
As revealed during the latest Nintendo Direct at E3, series producer Eiji Aonuma confirmed the handheld is being produced to mark the milestone of the the first game in the series, which released in 1986.
The Game & Watch system will feature:
- The Legend of Zelda
- Zelda II: The Adventures Of Link
- The Legend Of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
Alongside this, there will also be a “special” version of the classic Vermin game starring Link as a playable character. A playable digital clock based on The Legend Of Zelda and a playable timer themed after Zelda II: The Adventure Of Link will be included too.
The trailer can be watched below:
The Legend Of Zelda: Link’s Awakening actually received a full-blown remake in 2019 – most notably, having its art style overhauled to a claymation-like appearance.
The Game & Watch: The Legend Of Zelda will launch on November 12 and will be available to purchase for £49.99 RRP.
Nintendo closed its E3 presentation focusing on the Zelda series. While the Game & Watch was debuted in the middle of this particular segment, it first opened with a new trailer spotlighting the Skyward Sword remaster. The 2011 Wii title will arrive on Switch in July next month.
A new trailer for Breath of the Wild 2 then closed out the full show, with a scheduled release date of 2022 revealed.
The began with series’ hero Link plummeting from the skies. There was focus on exploring floating islands, as well as a range of new Sheikah slate powers .
This new setting perhaps explains the company’s decision to remaster The Legend Of Zelda: Skyward Sword, which was set in the aerial world of Skyloft.
- Published in PC Game News, What's New
