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[mattiewheels]

I don't think he's a scam artist, but I do notice that this guy has an unholy desire to show things off before they're ready to show. But the blood is in the water now.

 

[Rich!]

I don't think he's a scam artist

On the contrary, he's proven beyond all reasonable doubt that he is indeed a scam artist. albeit not a very good one.

 

[jconsolmagno]

I don't think he's a scam artist, but I do notice that this guy has an unholy desire to show things off before they're ready to show. But the blood is in the water now.

Listen here.... Sega is onboard? For what? Interview snippet with Gamester81 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgJWJ3rBT1s&feature=youtu.be

 

[Ninja Scooter]

I don't think he's a scam artist, but I do notice that this guy has an unholy desire to show things off before they're ready to show. But the blood is in the water now.

He is blatantly lying in the name of getting people to eventually give him money. Not sure what else to call it.

 

[Hero_of_the_Day]

I don't think he's a scam artist, but I do notice that this guy has an unholy desire to show things off before they're ready to show.

I don't think he's a scammer in that he intends to take the money and run, but he is obviously knowingly and purposefully deceiving people at this point. There is no other explanation for the SNES mini "showing" at the toy fair and the capture card being used as a proof of "prototype". There is no possible way to explain or wiggle out of it. He's just lying to people. And there's nothing he can do now other than just keep going, since he's obviously not going to just come out and say "yep, I'm full of shit, you guys caught me."

The best case scenario is he believes he'll be able to deliver on the promises later, so it's okay to lie and deceive now.

 

[Fox Mulder]

I don't think he's a scam artist, but I do notice that this guy has an unholy desire to show things off before they're ready to show. But the blood is in the water now.

At best, hes just a dipshit dreamer with no skills or business sense to pull off the project.

The way this has been shown off in a variety of ways now has been intentionally deceitful.

 

[Burai]

I've backed up all the videos they've posted.

In fact, why do you think they only posted under their old Retro VGS YouTube channel?

Lookin' for this Mike??

I have a nice home for those videos. I'll reupload them later this week.

I didn't save everything, but let me check my files because I think I might. Might have the Gamester81 interview you guys were talking about.

He'll copyright claim the lot within hours.

 

[emb]

I don't think he's a scammer in that he intends to take the money and run, but he is obviously knowingly and purposefully deceiving people at this point. There is no other explanation for the SNES mini "showing" at the toy fair and the capture card being used as a proof of "prototype". There is no possible way to explain or wiggle out of it. He's just lying to people. And there's nothing he can do now other than just keep going, since he's obviously not going to just come out and say "yep, I'm full of shit, you guys caught me."

The best case scenario is he believes he'll be able to deliver on the promises later, so it's okay to lie and deceive now.

I think that's what it is too. Started off as some lofty goals and well intentioned ideas mixed with honest over-enthusiasm, eventually their backs were up against the walls, the promises too big, and they gave up on honestly. Probably trying to go full, literal fake-it-till-you-make it mode.

That's the optimistic take, anyway. Even if so, the pattern of incompetency is enough reason not to give RVGS inc any money until after a product exists.

 

[Hero_of_the_Day]

I think that's what it is too. Started off as some lofty goals and well intentioned ideas mixed with honest over-enthusiasm, eventually their backs were up against the walls, the promises too big, and they gave up on honestly. Probably trying to go full, literal fake-it-till-you-make it mode.

That's the optimistic take, anyway. Even if so, the pattern of incompetency is enough reason not to give RVGS inc any money until after a product exists.

Yeah, at this point I don't care how long they wait and what they show with the Kickstarter campaign. You would have to be absolute fool to trust this person with money up front.

 

[NoFaceNico]

He'll copyright claim the lot within hours.

Don't worry, I grabbed up a dozen more like "Official COLECO Chameleon" right after the COLECO announcement came though. Not worried about that.

Plus, he's done for. He'd be a fool to continue this charade.

 

[CoolZombie360]

Oh, that's a classic!

Here ya go: https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&video_id=cYIn-NNoZNA

genius lol

 

[Mega]

I wanna wash my mouth off this fake garbage. Are there any complete FPGA consoles from legit people on the market? I think I saw one for the MSX but I know nothing about that system, and there's that NES one in the works.

 

[MrCunningham]

Great video recently posted by Pat the NES Punk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_4qn52MHI8

He's mostly just reiterating what has happened in recent events, but it is nice that he is doing his part as a consumer watch dog.

 

[wondermega]

It is a shame to see how this has degenerated. It's been fascinating to watch to this point, but I hope for all parties involved that we don't hear any more and it quietly fades away for good. The betting man in me actually expects that this is the final straw.

 

[NoFaceNico]

I wanna wash my mouth off this fake garbage. Are there any complete FPGA consoles from legit people on the market? I think I saw one for the MSX but I know nothing about that system, and there's that NES one in the works.

Check out the MIST box. It's for Amiga, MSX and stuff like that but people have been making other cores for it, it has a good deal of community support.

Also, RetroUSB is making that FPGA NES console that looks really fuckin sweet. I'm probably going to buy that the second it comes out.

 

[AnathemicOne]

butwhy.gif

 

[Tempy]

Definitely interested in the RetroUSB AVS.

I'd also be in the market for an Atari 2600 one.

 

[rbenchley]

I wanna wash my mouth off this fake garbage. Are there any complete FPGA consoles from legit people on the market? I think I saw one for the MSX but I know nothing about that system, and there's that NES one in the works.

There's the MIST FPGA board that currently implements the following systems:

Computers: Atari ST, Amiga (ECS, AGA), MSX, Atari XL800, Apple II+, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum

Consoles: NES, Atari 5200, Chip8, PC Engine (HuCard), Atari 2600, SMS, ColecoVision

Arcade Machines: Space Invaders, Pengo, Pacman, Moon Patrol, Galaxian

It's not a complete console per se, but rather it's a single board computer like the Raspberry Pi. You'll need some kind of enclosure for the board, speakers (video is through VGA) and USB micro power adapter and gamepads, USB keyboard and mouse depending on which cores you're using. I believe that games are stored on SD cards.

If you want an FPGA system that allow you to play your old NES carts in HD via HDMI, the RetroUSB AVS should be available sometime this year.

 

[omnislayer]

Holy shit this just gets better and better.

 

[Quadraphonic]

The best case scenario is he believes he'll be able to deliver on the promises later, so it's okay to lie and deceive now.

I believed that until this latest scam.

Even just demoing a kind of game they're going to have on it is feasible.

But we're beyond that now. He straight up fucking tried to deceive us jamming an unrelated card into a plastic shell.

 

[Cynn]

I need one of those clear shells for my actual Jaguar.

 

[emb]

[snip]

 

[emb]

Just saw this from Pat:
https://twitter.com/PatTheNESpunk/status/704798617748385794

Linking to this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kv9cPXW1HLM

Seems interesting. Pretty much the guy who was at one point supposed to make the KS pitch video was also being lied to and being asked to deceive people.

 

[Cheerilee]

I haven't been keeping up with this, what's the story?

Guy buys obscure casting molds that were once used to make the outer plastic of the Atari Jaguar. He makes his money back selling reproduction shells to hardcore retro fans. He thinks to himself "I should make my own retro videogame console, shaped like a Jaguar." His Kickstarter on that fails.

He goes back to the drawing board, lowers the price, rents the "Coleco" name for five bucks (the Atari name was too expensive/unavailable), and claims that his redesigned console will play SNES games natively through something called "FPGA".

Hardcore retro fans say that FPGA is impossible at the price he quoted. He says "Nope, I did it. Industry breakthrough. I will prove it at the toy show." At the toy show, he won't let people take a close look at it, although it does appear to run SNES games. People see that the back panel is an SNES back panel, and realize than an SNES Mini can fit inside a Jaguar shell. He claims he just used the back half of an SNES Mini's circuit board, but the rest of the console is his own invention, which is ridiculous. He says all will be revealed ahead of his new Kickstarter.

He reveals a blurry picture of barely-visible random electronics crammed into a clear Jaguar case, and calls it proof. Then he delays his Kickstarter.

Internet detectives discover that this is his prototype console.

where's dreamwriter?

Just saw this from Pat:
https://twitter.com/PatTheNESpunk/status/704798617748385794

Linking to this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kv9cPXW1HLM

Seems interesting. Pretty much the guy who was at one point supposed to make the KS pitch video was also being lied to and being asked to deceive people.

Wow.

 

[gunstarhero]

Just saw this from Pat:
https://twitter.com/PatTheNESpunk/status/704798617748385794

Linking to this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kv9cPXW1HLM

Seems interesting. Pretty much the guy who was at one point supposed to make the KS pitch video was also being lied to and being asked to deceive people.

Great video - can't believe I was giving Kennedy the benefit of the doubt (I kickstarted his magazine and subbed for the first year).

Oh yeah... and subscribed to the JagBar!

 

[entremet]

Why so much smoke and mirrors?

Why not just do it right and be patient?

 

[OrbitalBeard]

Just saw this from Pat:
https://twitter.com/PatTheNESpunk/status/704798617748385794

Linking to this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kv9cPXW1HLM

Seems interesting. Pretty much the guy who was at one point supposed to make the KS pitch video was also being lied to and being asked to deceive people.

WOW

 

[Necron]

This is amazing stuff. So much deception... a capture card within a Jaguar shell. I've seen it all...

 

[MrCunningham]

Why so much smoke and mirrors?

Why not just do it right and be patient?

It has everything to do with their upcoming Kickstarter that they want to launch as soon as possible to capitalize on the recent console announcement. But in order to do this they need a working prototype. Kickstarter doesn't allow projects like this to go live without a proof of concept. So they have been trying to fool everyone into thinking that they have a working unit.

Now, even if this is all a sham now, there still could be a good chance that they might make due with their promises of delivering a fully functional console after the campaign has ended. But as of now, they really aren't doing themselves any favors.

 

[Quadraphonic]

It has everything to do with their upcoming Kickstarter that they want to launch as soon as possible to capitalize on the recent console announcement. But in order to do this they need a working prototype. Kickstarter doesn't allow projects like this to go live without a proof of concept. So they have been trying to fool everyone into thinking that they have a working unit.

Now, even if this is all a sham now, there still could be a good chance that they might make due with their promises of delivering a fully functional console after the campaign has ended. But as of now, they really aren't doing themselves any favors.

Let's be clear.

There's two possibilities here.

Either they're:
A) trying to scam everyone
or
B) they're trying to fool everyone until they have the funding, then they can hopefully get it made

But either way, there is an absolute 0% chance of it actually getting made now. If they've delayed it this long and all they have to show for it is a receipt for electrical tape, and a used capture card, then they are unequivocally incapable of making a device.

 

[Cheerilee]

Why so much smoke and mirrors?

Why not just do it right and be patient?

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/retro-vgs#/story

Two million dollars.

Would you lie to the internet for two million dollars?

 

[MrCunningham]

Let's be clear.

There's two possibilities here.

Either they're:
A) trying to scam everyone
or
B) they're trying to fool everyone until they have the funding, then they can hopefully get it made

But either way, there is an absolute 0% chance of it actually getting made now. If they've delayed it this long and all they have to show for it is a receipt for electrical tape, and a used capture card, then they are unequivocally incapable of making a device.

I'm going to go with B. I don't think this is a "take the money and run" scenario, especially given how well known the lead project manager is. I really do think that they were trying to pull a bait and switch on everyone by showcasing that they have a prototype up and running so they can get their Kickstarter campaign in motion. Then once they secured the money from the campaign, they were probably going to try and swap out the mock hardware with something that they could afford.

It's a terrible idea, especially when you take into account the progression of the campaign. They were going to have to keep this lie in a perpetual motion to the very end, and I think the chances were potentially very high that someone could have called them out and caused a huge backlash.

 

[CartridgeBlower]

Mike started RETRO magazine, right? It seems like that was genuine, even if it's fallen apart.

But maybe someone with more knowledge of that situation would argue otherwise.

 

[grendelrt]

Mike started RETRO magazine, right? It seems like that was genuine, even if it's fallen apart.

But maybe someone with more knowledge of that situation would argue otherwise.

This month's Retro was reallly good too. I really want to support the guy, but he is making it impossible with these shenanigans.

 

[mattiewheels]

Don't worry, I grabbed up a dozen more like "Official COLECO Chameleon" right after the COLECO announcement came though. Not worried about that.

Plus, he's done for. He'd be a fool to continue this charade.

Have you had personal dealings with this guy? Claiming a dozen channels out of spite seems kind of...

 

[Quadraphonic]

Mike started RETRO magazine, right? It seems like that was genuine, even if it's fallen apart.

But maybe someone with more knowledge of that situation would argue otherwise.

He is genuine. He's started a number of honest business with varying degrees of success. But I think with this he went in full "Make or break" mode and is absolutely committed to getting this done, REGARDLESS OF WHAT IT TAKES. That includes lies and deceit. So instead of being honest, he caves to pressure and makes fake evidence.

But regardless of reason, someone that would sell you an empty house, claiming it's furnished, knowing you wouldn't move in for a full year, is not someone you would want to buy from to begin with.

 

[PeakPointMatrix]

Just read through the whole thread, and wow.

And lol at dreamwriter disappearing after the capture card reveal. It's okay to admit you were wrong man, just roll with it and laugh it off

 

[NoFaceNico]

Have you had personal dealings with this guy? Claiming a dozen channels out of spite seems kind of...

... justified??

A lot of people hold grudges against people online that they've never met in person and claim "it's a scam, just wait and see!" The unique thing about my case is that I and others were actually proven right.

This guy was showing off a PR dream team on his website (gee, that sure helped). And I snagged the YouTube channel names just to prove to myself, and to others later, that they have no PR skills, it's all bullshit.

But I actually have had dealings with Mike Kennedy before he ever pursued a console. I backed his first Kickstarter, RETRO Magazine Year 1. I had faith in the guy at that time I thought he was an old retro head who wanted to bring back the glory of old gaming magazines I missed. Instead, his magazine sucked and I only got 4 out of 6 issues. He gave absolutely no customer support other than "really? My records show I sent you all of them."

I wouldn't say that was the catalyst of this, but I probably wouldn't have started following the story had it not been for me knowing about him through backing the magazine. His console dream is an entirely different animal. I love it for all the wrong reasons.

 

[theultimo]

Just read through the whole thread, and wow.

And lol at dreamwriter disappearing after the capture card reveal. It's okay to admit you were wrong man, just roll with it and laugh it off

He did the same thing with ouya

 

[Mega]

Wow, that Mist thing... very cool. I always wanted to play C64, Amiga, Spectrum, Atari, Colecovision, etc. but don't have the space for them.

One of these a good place to get it?

http://lotharek.pl/product.php?pid=96
http://amigastore.eu/en/318-mist-fpga-computer.html

I don't need to pay the extra for that Amiga config option, right? I should probably take this to the Retro Gaming thread.

 

[erotic grandpa]

This is all I've been able to think of since the Coleco rebranding.

It's wild how disingenuous this whole thing has been. I hope at least some of the sites that just regurgitated the PR after Toyfair will follow up with these, uh, developments.

 

[Dreamwriter]

Let's be clear.

There's two possibilities here.

Either they're:
A) trying to scam everyone
or
B) they're trying to fool everyone until they have the funding, then they can hopefully get it made

But either way, there is an absolute 0% chance of it actually getting made now. If they've delayed it this long and all they have to show for it is a receipt for electrical tape, and a used capture card, then they are unequivocally incapable of making a device.

There is an option C) they were trying to do it right, but had hardware problems at the last minute, too late to fix in time for the Toy Fair and subsequent Kickstarter, so then tried to cover it up because they couldn't delay the Toy Fair.

And lol at dreamwriter disappearing after the capture card reveal. It's okay to admit you were wrong man, just roll with it and laugh it off

He did the same thing with ouya

Not that it's anyone's business, but I lost my job a week ago and had to move across the country. Thus my posting here has been down quite a bit.

 

[NoFaceNico]

There is an option C) they were trying to do it right, but had hardware problems at the last minute, too late to fix in time for the Toy Fair and subsequent Kickstarter, so then tried to cover it up because they couldn't delay the Toy Fair.

Nope.

 

[Mega]

There is an option C) they were trying to do it right, but had hardware problems at the last minute, too late to fix in time for the Toy Fair and subsequent Kickstarter, so then tried to cover it up because they couldn't delay the Toy Fair.

I wanna see your many discarded drafts before you settled on posting that excuse. Must be some wild stuff if you went with that absurd pile of junk.

But honestly, what is wrong with you? Aren't you an indie game dev who understands what it means to deliver on promises and not fuck over and deceive your audience? Stop defending your friend. He tried to scam people out of their money and lied to a dozen media outlets and subsequently thousands of people, period, 100% confirmed. There are no valid excuses here. None. Quit it.

Edit: So you lost your job and want us to understand you have a living and financial situation, but you refuse to comprehend that Mike has willfully been fucking around with other people's money and deceiving the Facebookers waiting with open wallets?

Okay.

 

[theultimo]

Even collector vision has now pulled out of anything (they had an exclusive game) this is phantom 2.0 level now.

 

[Mega]

Even collector vision has now pulled out of anything (they had an exclusive game) this is phantom 2.0 level now.

Have a link? That's huge.

For anyone unaware, Collectorvision was making Tiny Knight, THE pack-in game for the RVGS/Chameleon that was shown several times in official media.

 

[RomanticHeroX]

There is an option C) they were trying to do it right, but had hardware problems at the last minute, too late to fix in time for the Toy Fair and subsequent Kickstarter, so then tried to cover it up because they couldn't delay the Toy Fair.

So the counter to the claim that they're incompetent and deceptive is that they're incompetent and deceptive?

 

[theultimo]

Have a link? That's huge.

For anyone unaware, Collectorvision was making Tiny Knight, THE pack-in game for the RVGS/Chameleon that was shown several times in official media.

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/247145-coleco-chameleon-hardware-speculations/page-164

Retro lucid is collector vision
He posts a few times how he's done with them

I'm not going to look like a fool because of them
They clearly promised is a "REAL" prototype and many more things....

Hence why I posted this a week ago on my FB page
"Screw me once and I'll screw you twice"

 

[Gunstarheroes]

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/247145-coleco-chameleon-hardware-speculations/page-164

Retro lucid is collector vision
He posts a few times how he's done with them

Damn, even Piko was in that thread too and seems to have lost faith. That was basically the entirety of the new developers there.

This project is toast. No way around it.

 

[Polk]

There is an option C) they were trying to do it right, but had hardware problems at the last minute, too late to fix in time for the Toy Fair and subsequent Kickstarter, so then tried to cover it up because they couldn't delay the Toy Fair.

In this day and age when everyone has camera and is on social media option C doesn't make any sense.