The much, much, much-maligned journey of Intellivision’s (supposedly) upcoming family console, the Amico, has been dealt another blow. Though initially announced in 2018, a combination of the COVID-19 pandemic and a veritable conga line of misfortune and developmental issues has prevented the system from hitting a string of planned shipping dates. Delayed three times past its original October 2020 deadline – which obviously failed to materialise – it’s now hanging even deeper in purgatory, as Eurogamer report its latest fundraising campaign has bit the dust. At this point, you have to wonder if the universe isn’t trying to send us a sign. After all, the last time we had an official console with the word ‘Intellivision’ in it, we got… well, B-17 Bomber. And very little else.
Yes, another avenue of funding for the troubled Amico has been canned. Whereas a bigger, more lucrative label may have been able to bounce back from something like this, or at least reassure buyers (the Amico having upward of 6,000, growing ever more impatient) that the gadget is still on its way, Intellivision Entertainment have no such luck. Per the report, “a recent SEC filing highlighted ‘significant debt’ for Intellivision and suggested that, having made no revenue since its inception, the company may not be able to operate beyond July 2022 without additional funds.” In other words, based on projections, unless the Amico gets out the door by this summer, it may never make it out at all. Talk about do or die situations.
Amico and fundraising woes
“Intellivision’s SEC filing preceded another round of fundraising for the Amico, in which the company was looking to raise $5m USD in capital through Start Engine,” states the report. “21 days into the campaign, however, Intellivision has now called time, raising just $58,001 from 54 investors.” Now, I’m no math major or anything, but somehow those numbers don’t sound too hot for the company. This is likely putting intense strain on their already-limited resources, and makes for perhaps the worst possible scenario to be attempting to launch a brand new console in.
Fans and investors alike can see the pixelated writing on the wall, and have taken to social media to air their prognostications of death and demise concerning the Amico. The report cites tech culture editor Sam Machkovech, who dubs the cold-turkey cancellation of the campaign as “bright and red a flag as it gets in the world of unreleased tech hardware.”
Considering that games for the Amico have already begun to hit marketplaces, digital and physical alike, despite the actual console itself being MIA, it certainly doesn’t bode well. In fact, I’d say it bodes… unwell. However unlikely, we can only keep our various extraneous appendages crossed that Intellivision sort out their financial woes and get a grip on things before they spiral even more irredeemably out of control.
What’s your take? Did you order the Amico? Do you reckon this will be resolved? Let us know!
Via, Eurogamer.
