Intellivision names Tommy Tallarico president, plans new gaming console

This past week, Intellivision Entertainment announced that it intended to revamp its brand by naming “Video Games Live” creator and 30-year video game industry veteran Tommy Tallarico as President of Intellivision Entertainment… and by introducing a new home video game console.

Described as simple, affordable, family-friendly and fun, not much else is known about the yet unnamed Intellivision console. Tallarico posted a Facebook Live video on May 31st which was sparse on technical details but better outlined the vision for the new Intellivision system.

New Intellivision console tommy tallarico brand

According to Tallarico, the system will include approximately 60-80 of the original Intellivision games, but will connect to an online store for more content to be purchased. There will be a version of the controller which uses the original Intellivision “disc,” too. Though the new console is not intended to compete directly with Sony, Microsoft or Nintendo, Tallarico stressed that the new Intellivision will focus on new, two-dimensional games and experiences, and that the 60-80 legacy titles included are not the focus of the system.

“I grew up playing Intellivision with my parents and younger brother,” says Tallarico. “It was always my favorite system because the games were cutting edge, yet fun and simple to play so our entire family could enjoy them together. I find those important elements to generally be lacking from our industry with the current modern gaming consoles. Our goal is to change that by focusing on bringing all age groups and levels of gamers and non-gamers together while introducing new generations of people to the legacy success of the Intellivision brand.”

Tallarico also noted on the “Video Games Live” Facebook page that his assuming the position as President of Intellivision will not affect upcoming plans or shows of Video Games Live. Original Intellivision team members will also contribute to this new Intellivision console, including executives, programmers and game designers.

New Intellivision console tommy tallarico coleco chameleon

Artist’s concept of what the new Intellivision console “might” look like…

Originally released in 1979, the original Intellivision console was available at retail  until 1990. The release of the Intellivision spawned the first “Console War” when it went up against the 1980s gaming monolith, Atari. More details of the console will be released on October 1, 2018 and you can subscribe to updates on the Intellivision website. The first 100,000 people to sign up on the website will get an opportunity to purchase a Limited Edition version of the console not available in stores.

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