Video game composer and creator of the upcoming Intellivision Amico console Tommy Tallarico had a minor meltdown on Twitter today in response to an article reporting on leaked specs of the system. In a series of deleted Tweets, Tallarico accused the author of the article of violating copyright law, threatening both him and the publication that published the article with legal action.
Since it was announced in 2018, the Intellivision Amico has garnered a generally lukewarm response from the gaming community. The new addition to the extremely competitive console market has positioned itself as a family-friendly system centered around local multiplayer gaming; most of the games showcased in the system's marketing appear to support up to four players at a time and seem to consist of simple, straightforward gameplay. This is an intentional marketing choice, as the Amico is being targeted to a more casual gaming audience. Tallarico has been upfront about the system's relatively low capabilities, claiming that the appeal of the Amico will be its role in social settings, not flashy graphics or revolutionary technology.
While it is clear that the Amico is significantly less powerful than leading home consoles, the specifics of the hardware's limitations were not clear until a breakdown was published on the tech news site Ars Technica. In the article, writer Sam Machkovek pulls from leaked Intellivision documents outlining the technology going into the Amico and its Wii U-like controllers, reporting that the Amico's hardware is comparable to that of low-end Android smartphones. In a short burst of public anger, Tallarico took to Twitter with threats of legal action against Machkovek and Ars Technica, claiming that they violated copyright law by disseminating confidential information. These Tweets have since been deleted, but screenshots can be viewed below, along with an apology from Tommy Tallarico, posted after the incident.
The belligerent tone of these tweets coupled with the fact that he deleted them not long after they gained publicity makes for a pretty jarring sight on a social network like Twitter. It may have served Tallarico better to simply refute or provide context for some of the specific claims made in the article, since he clearly wants consumers to know that it misrepresented the console. The outburst, coupled with Tallarico's apology, has done little to disprove any of the apparently incorrect information in the story, which is still up as of the time of this writing.
This outburst is particularly jarring when considering that Machkovek's article-- while certainly critical of the Amico's use of outdated tech in relation to its $250 price tag-- made its arguments in good faith and was far from damning. Tallarico's apology is a good step, but if the company intends for the Amico to stand a chance against the similarly priced and family-friendly Nintendo Switch, it needs all the good publicity it can get.
The Intellivision Amico will be available to purchase on October 10, 2021.
Source: Ars Technica, Tommy Tallarico/Twitter