Intellivision Entertainment has hired Chuck LaBella to lead its entertainment acquisition efforts, TheWrap has learned. Yes, the video gaming pioneer company is still around and has a new system coming called Amico — more on that below.
The vice president will work with marketing and business development and will be responsible for generating new intellectual property for Intellivision to develop into video games.
Think “E.T.” to Atari back in the day. Wait. Definitely DON’T think that.
“We are so honored and excited to welcome Chuck to our Intellivision family,” Tommy Tallarico, CEO of Intellivision Entertainment, told TheWrap. “His knowledge and experience will go a long way for adding even more incredible partnerships, licenses, influencers and relationships to our ever-growing line of products for Amico. And the best part… like me… he had an original Intellivision growing up!”
“I was one of the lucky ones who had the Original Mattel Intellivision — a real legacy in the home video gaming industry — and am thrilled to be working with Tommy and his creative team,” LaBella said. “I am looking forward to parlaying exciting new partnerships for the company taking Intellivision into the next generation of gaming.”
LaBella most recently consulted for Warner Horizon Television, Fox’s “Let’s Be Real” and “The Masked Singer,” HBO Max’s “Full Bloom” and ABC’s “Holey Moley.” He previously served as the vice president of talent development at NBCUniversal, helping with the development of many of the network’s unscripted programming. LaBella has developed talent for “The Apprentice,” “Celebrity Apprentice,” “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire,” “America’s Got Talent” and “The Voice,” among other shows.
Intellivision’s home video game console was a pioneer of the industry, holding 20% of its market share nearly 40 years ago. Like every other player, Nintendo took pretty much all of that just a few years later. These days, Intellivision aims to put out “simple, affordable, family-friendly entertainment” through the new video game system Amico.
Amico will come with two easy-to-use color touchscreen controllers and is designed to be fun for all ages, according to Intellivision’s own description. It continues: “With a broad variety of family-friendly games and a proprietary system that adapts gameplay for any skill level, players of all backgrounds can truly enjoy gaming together.”
Check out Amico here. You can also pre-order, if so inclined.
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