Xbox co-founder J. Allard is working on the Intellivison Amico

A reimagined version of Mattel Electronics’ Intellivision is scheduled to be released this fall. To help put the finishing touches on the Amico game console, Intellivision Entertainment — a separate entity than Mattel that owns the Intellivision brand — has hired J. Allard as the company’s global managing director. Allard is one of the fathers of Microsoft’s Xbox division, having served as chief experience officer and chief technology officer. He helped launch the original Xbox, Xbox Live, the Xbox 360 and Xbox Live Arcade. (He also headed up Microsoft’s failed Zune business.) Intellivision is hoping that the exec’s success carries over to its family-friendly console.

It’s not clear which aspects of the console Allard will be helping to improve, but his industry knowledge could be a benefit. The upcoming Intellivision Amico is designed to provide simple and family-friendly entertainment. It comes with two wireless controllers with built-in touchscreens and motion tracking, and includes six simple games pre-loaded. More games can be purchased separately and will cost between $3 and $10. It’s scheduled to be out in October for $250 and is currently available for preorder.