The recent news of the period of release of the Intellivision Amico console raised doubts that have been floating around for some time. The concerns are related to consoles such as Atari VCS and Intellivision Amico itself. What sense does it make today a remake in a modern way? What lies ahead for these gaming platforms loved by nostalgics and vintage enthusiasts?
Intellivision and Atari: the consoles that made history
Passed in history as the first 16-bit console, Intellivision owes its name to the merger between Intelligent and Television. He left the Mattel warehouses in 1979 in California with only one game included: Las Vegas Poker & Blackjack. Its appearance on the market called into question the videogame monopoly conquered by another console, Atari 2600, on sale starting two years earlier and with a wider range of games than Intellivision's. This is because the technology of the latter was more modern and cutting edge than that of Atari.
The competition between the two consoles was so close and became so popular that it took on the name of “Console War”: it went down in history as the first of the wars between consoles, which in the present day resulted in the epic and never-ending battle between Play Station and Xbox. The highlight of this Console War was the Intellivision sponsorship advertising that compared the two consoles: obviously what stood out was the qualitative supremacy of Intellivision itself.
What to expect from the console remake
A few months after the release of the next-gen consoles Play Station 5 e Xbox Series X/S, It is possible to say that the Console War also extends to the various generations of consoles themselves. This allows a reflection on the old ones. Let's take the console remake as a starting point: Intellivision Amico and Atari VCS, which are inspired respectively by Intellivision and Atari 2600. And here the fateful question posed also at the beginning: what sense does it make today a modern remake of these consoles and what future do they have?
Surely what's fascinating about the ramake console is the vintage look and nostalgia that gamers feel against the object. Especially those who grew up with the first consoles. But it happens that, instead of buying the Intellivision Amico console that will be released in October of this year or an Atari VCS released last year, gamers download bit games on next-gen devices.
The emotion, however, of playing with a remote control with buttons typical of old consoles is not guaranteed if you play with new ones. And basically the reason why you decide to sell a vintage product (but revised and modernized) is precisely to let you try that slightly retro taste again.
The case of Intellivision Amico: for or against?
However, dwelling on the case of Intellivision Amico, another reflection emerged regarding the release of the games. The production house boasted, in view of Day One, the launch of 30 games. The choice to launch a console remake with relatively few pre-installed games, but the possibility proclaimed by the manufacturer as a plus to buy the games separately, seems to be in reality his Achilles heel.
Intellivision Amico is a retro gaming console that, due to the price, decides at its own risk to get in competition not with retro gaming consoles belonging to the same class (such as Snes Mini, Megadrive Mini, PSX Mini), but with dangerous opponents such as Nintendo Switch. Which offers a large catalog of retro games downloadable from the Nintendo Shop and fits perfectly with the concept of family gaming. The latter is one of the peculiarities that the Intellivision would be proud of.
In 2021, however, we are used to having everything immediately, but above all a lot and immediately. Thirty Amico games, nowadays, is a negligible number. Especially if we consider the comparison between retro gaming games, of light weight, compared to Xbox and Play Station games with the related Games with Gold and PS Plus services. data. And this is how 30 titles released more than forty years ago cannot, in our opinion, turn out to be a satisfactory offer when compared with the most modern games delivery services.
On the other hand, Intellivision Amico is a console remake designed for the light family fun. Far from any form of violence, sexual content and splatter, Amico was created to let people play also and above all. children. They can have fun accompanied by parents who are a little nostalgic, also due to the use of the remote controllers typical of this console. But also alone: the little ones of the family will be able to play independently. Thanks to Intellivision Amico there will never be a chance that they run into content that is unsuitable for their age.
The games revealed by Intellivision Amico
- Earthworm Jim 4
- Sesame Workshop
- Mattel Hot Wheels
- Rigid Force Redux Enhanced
- Telestration
- Blank Slate
- Finnigan Fox
- Bomb Squad
- Incan Gold / Diamant
- Intellivision Monster Spades
- Liar's Dice
- Space Strike
- Moon patrol
- Evel Knievel
- Astrosmash
- Intellivision ACL Cornhole
All other games are available on the official Intellivision Amico website.
Atari VCS, hybrid console, but in what sense?
Atari VCS, on the other hand, seems to offer a slightly different service than that of Amico. Also designed to revive the thrill of retrogaming, Atari VCS adapts to the new times in a more appropriate way than Friend. In fact, this console remake is defined hybrid. Which would mean everything and nothing and to tell the truth, from the first articles that talk about the launch of the Atari VCS which took place in June last year, there is no mention of it at all. Yet, the console's official site treads its hand on this hybrid feature.
In essence, the hybridism of the Atari VCS is all in the make the console capable of doing many more things than a remake console can do. First, you can connect it to any computer and use Chrome and all the features of Google (Gmail, Calendar, Chat, Docs, Drive and Meet). Furthermore, it exists the Atari VCS app for Android and iOS which provides users with a virtual mouse and keyboard to navigate in Chrome. The console also supports Windows, various versions of Linux and other operating systems such as Steam OS and Chrome OS.
However, we do not know how this hybridism is so important for the players. Is it really essential that the console connects to a computer and offers Google services for a nostalgic and vintage-loving gamer? In this way, doesn't Atari VCS risk losing that console remake and retrogaming spirit that is basically the real reason why it was resurrected from the past?
Almost certainly the move to mix old and new and give life to hybridism has served to bring together the different types of players and welcome even that less passionate slice of retro. Indeed, the Atari company specifies that this new console is "Retro-inspired", so it is free to draw on modernity.
Furthermore, as Intellivision Amico, also Atari VCS, as a good console remake, has revived the classic joystick much loved by nostalgics. But, unlike Amico, it has also thought of those who prefer the modern pad, very similar in design to that of the Xbox.
Atari VCS games unveiled
- 3D Tic Tac Toe – 2600
- Adventure – 2600
- Air Sea Battle – 2600
- Asteroids – 2600
- Asteroids Deluxe – Arcade
- Backgammon – 2600
- Basic Math – 2600
- Basketball – 2600
- Black Widow – Arcade
- Blackjack – 2600
- Bowling – 2600
- Brain Games – 2600
- Breakout – 2600
- Canyon Bomber – 2600
- Casino – 2600
- Centipede – 2600
- Centipede – Arcade
- Championship Soccer -2600
- Checkers – 2600
And they don't stop there: there are many more games unveiled by Atari VCS.
The goal of the console remake: conclusions
After having highlighted the characteristics of the two consoles examined, Intellivision Amico and Atari VCS, and having looked at their strengths and weaknesses, let's go back to our starting question. What's the point of doing a modern remake of Intellivision and Atari?
The numbers speak clearly: Atari VCS presales in 2018 had already reached 2 million from day one. This means that its comeback has been more than approved, as the company only expected pre-orders to go as low as $ 100.000. The success of Amico, on the other hand, we will find out next autumn, when the console will be put on the market.
In our opinion, what Intellivision Amico and Atari VCS offer, gets great response from the public above all thanks to the hype created in the nostalgic hearts of melancholy retrogamers and collectors in general. After the more or less brief use of the consoles, players will probably return to the usual shores of the next-gen, keeping and exhibiting those remakes consoles as trophies, to be used from time to time.
And what do you think of it? Will console remakes be successful in the future or is it just a trend of the moment that makes vintage objects more appreciated? Let us know your opinion, write to us (and follow us!) On Facebook, Instagram, Twitch, or on all the other Tech Princess channels that you find below, in the footer.
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