Category: Video Game Musings

…that the new Intellivision console to hit the market is NOT the one that was promised all those years ago, but rather one that is a remake of the original console released by the current incarnation of that console’s main rival in what is now known as the “first console war?”

I came home from a quick round of errands when I noticed a brown box by the door. I picked it up and after taking care of some affairs, opened it up to reveal the new Intellivision Sprint console that was released in December. For those who don’t know, Atari acquired the rights to the Intellivision name and software line… and decided to develop a mini console of sorts much in the same vein as their Atari 400 mini platform; has about 45 games built in, but with the option to include other games through other means.

As of this moment, I haven’t tried the console out yet… though I did film some unboxing bits for a future Gimmick Table down the road. Still, I sit back in awe as I look at this spiffy new Intellivision console that I didn’t think would ever be a thing… if only because the only thing that came to mind when the phrase “new Intellivision console” came to mind was that piece of vaporware called Amico.

I haven’t touched much on the Amicovision business ever since it became a thing. I was intrigued by its early pitch and its desire to develop a console without resorting to crowdfunding means – basically the opposite of what then-current Atari was doing with its Ataribox device… which, by the way, did see release and was eventually forgotten about by all but a few hobbyists. After a while and all the bad press that came about, I decided to veer away from that mess and focus on more tangible things.

When news broke that Atari had purchase Intellivision (but not the Amico), I figured that any hope of that project coming to fruition would be deader than dead. I’m sure there are a small, minute number of devotees who still believe in the cause, but it’s hard to hold out hope when most of the games that were pushed as the main draws of the console (that Finnegan Fox game that caused that one guy’s jaw to hit the ground and the Cornhole game) are appearing on other platforms. Let’s be real here; once the new Earthworm Jim makes its way over to Switch 2 and other things, any and all reasons for wanting an Amicovision will have gone out the window… not that there was much reason to begin with.

It’s unfortunate that things turned out the way it did. Do I think Amicovision would have amounted to much had it saw release? Probably not; it’d be a nice little novelty for the hobbyists and collectors, but not much more than that. Still, it’d be more than what any of the backers got so far, which was empty promises and a whole lot of fuck alls. Maybe some day, Amico will see the light of day… but maybe it’s time to just call it quits and move on. Tommy Tallarico sure as hell did.

Anyhoo… that’s my five cents on the matter. Let’s move on to bigger and better things… but first, I need to go to the bathroom.

Later.

Source: https://www.timeextension.com/news/2026/01/limited-run-games-has-been-my-life-for-ten-years-josh-fairhurst-announces-hes-stepping-away

This was sent my way a couple days ago, but I’m posting about it now to keep the post streak going. Long story short; head of physical snake merchants Limited Run Josh Fairhurst is stepping down from his CEO duties, citing other opportunities that he’d rather be pursuing. Obviously, I wish him all the best in all his future endeavors, good health and all that jazz… but anyone expecting this to change the dynamics of a largely shitty enterprise is going to be in for a rude awakening.

I’ve made no secret about not being a fan of Limited Run’s business model. I’ve bought one product from them that took months to ship and when it did arrive, it was a complete afterthought. Granted, it was a fine package for what it was – it’s the TIE Fighter limited edition – but was this the sort of thing that you’d expect from someone championing physical media? Meanwhile, I’ve ordered from a couple homebrewers who made their own carts and I got those in weeks time.

So yeah, nothing against the dude personally. I don’t know him, I don’t know how much he was involved in the way that business operated, and again, whatever he does next, I wish him nothing but the best… but nothing of value was lost from this company because there was no value to be had here in the first place. Why people insist on partnering up with these snake oil salespeople to this day confounds me. Hell, I almost purchased the physical NES cart for AVGN 8-Bit and was willing to spend a premium for that thing… until I realized that I’d be giving my money to Limited Run and thought better of it. That’s how toxic that company has become in my mind.

Anyway… that’s the story. Have a nice weekend, kids.

Source: https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2025/12/limited-run-games-is-bringing-nes-jaws-to-switch-in-massively-expanded-form

Yes, those physical snake oil merchants at Limited Run Games have struck again, planning to unleash a new expanded version of Jaws on NES, which will apparently include material from all four movies. I hate to pull that one quote from former Sony executive Jim Ross, but I have to ask “Why would anyone play this?”

The original Jaws cart on NES is relatively cheap to pick up and even then, it’s not exactly a lost gem or anything like that. Despite what Jeremy Parrish would have you believe – and I’ve been a regular viewer of his stuff for the past few years and enjoy his insight on things – Jaws is not a game that is clamoring for a revisit, let alone a re-release.

For reference, my original Jaws video review from 2013 can be found here.

So the Namco Legendary DLC for Atari 50 was released this past Thursday and contained a number of Atari ports of classic Namco arcade hits. You’ve got the 2600 version of Pac-Man that everyone hates (no, shut up. Nobody likes this game. Fuck you.) as well as the 8-bit versions. You’ve got 2600 and 5200 versions of Galaxian and Dig Dug, while also getting the 7800 versions of Galaga, Dig Dug, and Xevious. The game even includes the arcade Dig Dug and Xevious since Atari published both games in the U.S. once upon a time, which is nice to know.

Less nice is the fact that Xevious on 7800 is stuck on single-button mode, which means you fire both your laser cannon and ground blaster at the same time. In the original release, using a 7800 gamepad or ProLine Joystick allowed you to fire both weapons separately like in proper Xevious gameplay. The fact that this has been omitted from the Atari 50 release upsets me greatly because this is painting a falsehood that Xevious on 7800 couldn’t fire both weapons separately and that’s simply not true. Hopefully, a patch will come along to fix this error because it’s a serious blemish on an otherwise fine lookback at the interestingly fascinating Atari/Namco relationship.