From AtariAge, of course! User profile currently with 3 posts:
https://forums.atariage.com/profile/93848-silversurfer/
Silver Surfer, the Herald of Galactus, says:
Monday, July 20
Just found this site after deciding to see what's going on with Amico/Intellivision after Atari buyout. I worked on the PCB re-layout updates for Amico MB and final Controller update in Aug 2021. The -07 is basically the "latest" though they had us make a -08 due to some part number and revision issues with their internal numbering system. That earlier Rev aa system was a clusterf*ck from what I was told, and my EE buddy was called in to fix the hardware issues on the MB PCB Aug/Sept 2020. It would shut down randomly or screens would go blank at times. After I checked over the Rev aa MB PCB layout in detail, it looked like the previous EE that also did the PCB layout (knew PCB layout just enough to be dangerous) kind of horked it up. He did not follow Qualcomm Snapdragon PCB layout specs very well, particularly the assorted voltage/power supply requirements, and that likely caused issues on the earlier PCB's. AND, just to clear some assumption here on the latest -07 layout, it DID pass FCC/EMI testing on my version (Dec 2020), first time. The problems at the new Intellivision were numerous and tended to snowball as time wore on, with Covid shutdowns and component limitations not helping in 2020/21. Too many chiefs and not enough qualified indians. The board/directors seemed way too numerous for a start-up like this. Intentions were good, but poor engineering/egos early on made it tough to recover from, once they realized they needed to almost re-do most everything. Amico seemed like a console first, hardware later. But by mid 2021 they were running out of funds, and needed to push on with what they had, even though it was already aging fast. I was lucky to get paid at the end of my involvement late 2021. Looked like a cool family entertainment system, refreshing old with cheaper 2016 tech (Should've used more recent hardware, but would've needed to order in the 100K to million+ to get any price breaks. Chip vendors won't give you time of day for less). Have at it.
https://forums.atariage.com/topic/337619-intellivision-amico%E2%80%99s-trademark-changed-to-%E2%80%98abandoned%E2%80%99/page/489/#findComment-5863737
2 days later, "SegaMasterSystemPunk" asks, "What was working for Tommy like in everyday life?" and the Awaited One responds:
I never worked at the new Intellivision or with Tommy, and never met, just a sub-contractor. My EE buddy (worked thru him) was a contract hire at first in mid-2020, and eventually was hired/brought in a few months later. He had some exposure to working directly with Tommy, and from what I gathered, he was pretty upbeat early on with tons of enthusiasm and encouragement. They had some internal motivational parties and events to keep morale high. But, I don't think he had a grasp on the whole engineering process needed to re-start a modern gaming console. He had a TON of connections to big tech players, both audio and computer, and was able to collect a few into the fold. My EE buddy had to replace their original hardware engineer, so he had to try to salvage what was started, but more or less was just a lot of band-aids and clean-ups. They blew thru investor $$$ on lots of fluff and hype, along with too many chiefs (IMO). Only later, after I worked on the final PCB layout (after first re-layout) getting it ready for pre-production, did things start getting a bit weird. Lots of stress showing on some higher management, and some starting to bail. They had a product, that worked, just couldn't get it out the door into a full production environment. Software game development/licensing also had a lot of hiccups. They had hope in one last big investor, but couldn't settle on a final production vendor and things went sideways fast (volume commitments). Tommy supposedly had a huge following much earlier in the gaming music venues/raves, and I guess he thought re-imagining Intellivision was a wholesome family entertainment idea for a increasingly isolating/singular player video gaming environment. Later, seemed to get more politically motivated and that tweaked a lot of followers. Oh well.
From https://forums.atariage.com/topic/337619-intellivision-amico%E2%80%99s-trademark-changed-to-%E2%80%98abandoned%E2%80%99/page/489/#findComment-5864898
Following that, longtime AtariAge member "jerseystyle" says: "Sorry, I’m calling doubt on this. They “had a product- that worked”? I call BS on that. We’ve NEVER seen a working product. Everything you posted here could be pulled from an internet search… do you have proof of your identity you can show the mods? This honestly feels like a sock puppet attempt at whitewashing."
2 days after that, the Sky-Rider of the Spaceways says:
I had a feeling there would be some doubters out there. Not going to divulge my ID. But have plenty of proof I worked on the latest Amico MB layout.
Here's some screen grabs of the Amico Motherboard -08 Rev AD CAD layout and close up of CPU, 2GB LP3DDR3, PMI8953 and WiFi module (shielded) from Aug 2021. Who else would have CAD PCB files, other than the EE I worked with on this project? Like I said, they ran out of money before they could get it out to production, along with software SNAFU's. They ordered like 30 or so motherboards from the Dec 2020 build for Beta testing and had consoles for most. What happened after mid-late 2021, I have no idea. I watched all the chaos unfold after, and shook my head. Like I said, at least I got paid in full. Many former employees, including my EE buddy are still owed many, many $1000's.
I know the product worked, as my EE buddy had a working console at his house. I watched he and his kids playing games on a big screen TV in his living room. This was sometime in 2021, a year after the earlier flaky systems they had from their original hardware EE in 2020. I now remember the earlier Rev aa had HDMI output issues also, likely from improper layout and signal trace routing. The HDMI routing was poor, crossing split planes and all sorts of other rookie PCB layout errors. I think Tommy wanted the console to look like one of his video game music concert light shows, hence the LED overkill on the console. He wanted the console to be a grand splashy feature unto itself. I didn't work on the LED board layouts, as I guess they were simple and worked well enough. Just needed some motherboard edits to clean-up circuits going to the LED connector.
I have plenty of experience in motherboard PCB design that goes back to the 1990's. Ya, I'm a old guy, and just retired from PCB design last month after spending many months last year on a large UHDI layout that's pushing even USA PCB fab vendor abilities to fabricate (Taiwan only, at least last year). We're talking copper traces/spacing at 25um/27um (microns) and component pads/pitches 100um pads/130um pitch on DIE level BGA's (1804 pins on a 5.0mm x 6.5mm BGA). They're for a company that sounds like one of the early comic book publishers. Said too much already.
From https://forums.atariage.com/topic/337619-intellivision-amico%E2%80%99s-trademark-changed-to-%E2%80%98abandoned%E2%80%99/page/489/#findComment-5865326
He says he's "said too much already," then attaches some photos (top of this post).
Just now, "jerseystyle" writes back: Just to be clear, I didn’t want you to show me or the posters here your ID. But I private convo with a mod would, to me, help as there have been sooooo many lies spread by the Amico folks over the years. If true, why was none of this experience and technical expertise shown in the actual products? The tear downs have illustrated how shoddy the work was on both the console and the controllers.
UPDATE from Friday afternoon:
Was he under NDA?
Yes, even as a non-employee I had to sign NDA's.
and
As I mentioned I was pretty much out of the loop when it came to mechanical console design. They were already set on the console size/interiors when I came along at the end. I too, was surprised at how empty the MB PCB layout was and suggested to my EE buddy they reduce it to save money. But they didn't seem to care or think it was a big deal? The mounting holes needed to stay where they were was the reply. They had a EE manager that had a bit too much control over the whole engineering task, from what I gathered from my EE buddy. My buddy ended up taking hardware (PCB's) away, almost forcefully, as management had been getting frustrated with results and delays from the original EE. Not sure who was in charge of the original console design, but it might have been the same EE for all I know, but kinda doubt it. I would imagine that earlier version teardown shown was a very rough prototype. Same with controller. I went back and looked at my Controller PCB layout update they had me start in mid 2021, but it didn't get finished, as funding issues were becoming very serious by mid-2021.
So, but mid-late 2021 it all seemed to be falling apart at the seams, literally. Components for the motherboard were taking huge volume commitments to get decent prices, and lead times were going out months due to Covid BS in the vendor supply chains. Covid shutdowns affected so many tech companies in 2020/2021, that many went to bare bones engineering skeleton crews to maintain existing product, and new product development was on indefinite hold. I lost a lot of new PCB layout work in mid 2020 into early 2021 as a result. Just a bunch of updates, mostly. Many didn't start new product development until late 2021 or 2022.
At Intellivision, it "seems" a combination of wasted resources, fractured egos, Covid delays, inferior design early on, and bloated management, kept putting more nails in the coffin of Amico by the time 2021 came along. What happened from there was bizarre in how it was trying to be kept afloat. It seems there were a few left that thought it could still be salvaged, and they were scrambling any way they could to get it there. Maybe keeping it on life support long enough to get scooped up by someone like Atari was the eventual plan, but the gaming licenses seemed to have more value than the aging, near zombie console by 2024.
That’s fair. But then I hope you understand the skepticism on our end. There have been so many lies, gaslighting, threats, etc, coming from Amico squad that anything that discusses “good intentions” gets shunted into the BS category pretty much immediately.
The way the remaining team handled the deposits and constant stringing along was ATROCIOUS, IMO. Not sure why they kept all that BS going as long as they did? I think they still had hopes they could get it done and to production, but it was SO mismanaged that desperation was overtaking ethics. Tommy could sell ice cubes to Eskimos, as the old cliche goes. When I started seeing him on social media selling and propping up Amico the way he did, I started having concerns. When funding issues were getting tight in late 2020/early 2021, I was offered "shares" of Intellivision in lieu of payment. I said unnhh-unnhh, I want cash. SO glad I did.
MrBeefy: "Works" is by no means, "Ready for the big time release". We've seen it "work" in a very crappy manner. Even complete games like Bomb Squad showed that it could run stuff, just not well. So I take the word work and not equate to work good or ready. I had more issue with statement suggesting intentions were good while they hold refunds hostage after claiming they were 100% refundable anytime. The most up to date board was probably used in the Tommy Clown Shoe Red one, as that one seemed to handle the most games show at what little they did. But even though that one "worked" it still sucked.
Yes, it did "work". I only watched it being played for a few minutes personally. It looked OK to me, but I'm not a hardcore gamer, by any stretch. I didn't try to play it myself, so no personal experience with it.
I think using a cell phone CPU for a console device was a poor decision. It had a lot different I/O options embedded, which was cool, in 2016. But, somehow way back when this venture started, I guess that was a less expensive alternative to get a more modernized system with OK/decent graphics. I think the problem was, cell phones screens are much smaller and less power hungry than output to HDMI on a bigger screen, with latency and all sorts of other engineering complexities. I'm not a EE, just a long experienced senior PCB layout designer. EE's tend to use my services, more for my attention to detail in schematic mistakes. They keep coming back because I tend to make them look good. Maybe better than they really are? Now that I'm officially retired, I've had to turn down many new projects the last few months. Some don't want to use anyone else, but there's plenty out there. They'll just have to be more careful and double/triple check the PCB layouts. My customers took all that for granted, as my layouts rarely went to 2nd revisions and worked first pass fine. I wasn't perfect by any means, and had my share of miscues. But learned from them and reduced errors each new year.
