If in 2016 you would have predicted Intellivision would have an E3 presentation in 2021, people likely would have looked at you with intense skepticism. Yet here we are five years later in the midst of E3 and Intellivision just held a (albeit ten minute) presentation touting the revival of the brand with the upcoming Intellivision Amico. Founder of the revived Intellivision, Tommy Tallarico, took to a virtual presentation today to give updates about the surprising launch of a new console in 2021.

Amico’s main aim is to recreate the feeling of gaming before the days of the internet, where people had to physically gather around to play multiplayer or watch somebody else play their favorite game (who would have thought that would end up being some of the most popular content in the future?). In fact, the console isn’t necessarily aimed at traditional gamers, with Tallarico himself stating “What we are is a really simple, fun party machine that you can bring out when maybe some of your non-gaming friends come over; maybe you have a husband or a wife who isn’t into as gaming as much as you are; maybe grandma comes over and you want to play a simple motion-controlled game, or a board game, or a card game, dice — whatever it is — see all of our games are built around fun and simplicity, that’s the most important thing to us and gathering people in a room together to do it.”

And while the Amico is all-in on the local multiplayer concept, there will be online functionality included. “What we do have is an online leaderboard system for most of our games where you can go in there and check on your scores against your state, your country, the world or the month, the year and of all time,” said Tallarico. “And those scores tie into our achievements as well, so if you have the high score at the end of the month for your country, we’re going to e-mail you a certificate that you can go print out and hang on your wall.”

And the more time has gone on, the more it’s become clear that the Amico truly is centered at families — as indicated by almost every shot of people playing the console during the E3 2021 presentation falling into that category. No bad language, sexual content or graphic violence will be allowed on the platform, every game will be rated E or E10+, and parental controls are built into the console. And with no ads, loot boxes, DLC or in-game purchases, parents won’t have to worry about their offspring accidentally spending their mortgage worth of unnecessary digital content. Of course that doesn’t mean that titles aimed exclusively at older games are impossible on the system, but it will limit the scope of games possible. And with current licenses boasting properties such as Sesame Street and Hot Wheels, Amico is clear what market they are most interested in catering to.

That being said, there are properties in the works that will appeal to an older crowd. The Amico will boast remakes of classic Intellivision games that add multiplayer and couch co-op, such as Night Stalker, and re-imaginings of classic titles like Ecco the Dolphin, who’s original development team is working on a spiritual successor, The Big Blue. And of course the most anticipated title will be the long-awaited Earthworm Jim 4, which still unfortunately doesn’t have a release date.

Priced at $249.99 and including two controllers, the Amico will come pre-loaded with six games (future games can be had for no more than $9.99 digitally and $19.99 physically) and while its console and controller work in tandem with each other and unlike the Nintendo Switch does have a dock that acts more as than basically as pass-through, the controller is clearly the focal point of Amico. Feeling like a mix of a Wii Remote and a touch screen controller, the Amico controller’s main feature is its 64-position disc with pressure sensing and LED lighting. It also features motion controllers, a 3.2” touchscreen, 4 over-sized buttons and haptic force feedback. A cool feature about the controller is that if you bring it over to another household with an Amico, you can use that controller to access whatever games its owner has purchased, making it easier to delve into its ecosystem.

While not a whole not new was shown during Intellivision’s E3 2021 presentation, with only 4 months to go until its October 2021 launch (the console has seen two delays already, however, with its initial launch slated for October 2020), Amico is clearly doubling down on its primary goal being that of an easy-to-use gaming console for the average family with a multitude of ages and skill levels. And while titles like Earthworm Jim 4 and the release of physical titles could entice collectors and retro gamers alike, Amico is all about ease of play — and in a world with increasingly complex titles and confusing micro transactions, perhaps that’ll be exactly what families will be looking for.