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[NoFaceNico]

Wow, I'm speechless. Out of all the twists and turns this project has gone through I did not expect this.

... well, actually it's not that surprising. The "Coleco" name doesn't mean anything. The name is owned by River West Brands who just slap it on anything. I made a video last year reviewing a handheld called the "Coleco Sonic" which played games from the Sega Master System and Game Gear.

I love the Retro VGS story. But part of me was excited that we might see them actually turn this into an affordable, viable product like those Coleco/Intellivision plug & plays you would see at discount stores. However, they're still planning to use crowdfunding so it looks more like their old shtick with some Coleco branding to try to erase the painful memories of the past.

Anyone going to that toy fair? Mind getting some video and info?

 

[OrbitalBeard]

The Coleco brand barely meant anything to consumers when the ColecoVision was new. I can't imagine this is going to resonate with many people in 2015 / 2016. Not to downplay the ColecoVision (it's actually pretty cool), but this just seems odd.

 

[Deleted member 10571]

To be fair, Coleco Chameleon does sound way better than "Retro Video Game System".

But yeah, same story as before, I don't see this going anywhere :/

 

[NoFaceNico]

To be fair, Coleco Chameleon does sound way better than "Retro Video Game System".

You can be sure that Coleco Chameleon is a "clever" take on Kid Chameleon, which is a game Steve Woita worked on.

 

[ElectricThunder]

...LOL, it'll be "interesting" to see their KS pitch vid at this rate---at least they picked one of the least offensive corpses to try to burrow into and animate as an abomination to stalk the earth.

It could be that they've learned nothing, could be that they've found a way to do this up somehow even worse.

 

[emb]

Neat. Even if it's the same product as before, I like the new branding.

...LOL, it'll be "interesting" to see their KS pitch vid at this rate---at least they picked one of the least offensive corpses to try to burrow into and animate as an abomination to stalk the earth.

Heh, I like the way you worded that.

 

[Kawika]

I have no idea if this partnership changes anything. Mike's public breakdown really put me off to this project. I actually am surprised he didn't burn every bridge when the RVGS crashed and burned. At least this time they are going to KS it and they will likely have some working prototype. I am still waiting for Kevtris to talk about his FPGA but he has been busy making some fpga music player as of late (according to his youtube channel). I miss this thread and I miss Nico exposing the bullshit. I hope this time, Nico has less material to work with and Kennedy and crew got it right.

 

[NoFaceNico]

I hope this time, Nico has less material to work with and Kennedy and crew got it right.

Well I sure don't. Christmas came early for me this year!!

 

[Kabuki Quantum Lover]

When this fails, can we look forward to the Vectrex Velocity?

 

[Balb]

Mike's been pretty sleazy in terms of lack of honesty and screwing over his old podcast co-hosts so I can't say that I'm interested in seeing his revamped effort succeed.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

Trying way to hard to grasp at nostalgia. Just like with getting the Jaguar shells. Just because it's old and has to do with video games doesn't make it have any sort of retro appeal.

 

[geomon]

When this fails, can we look forward to the Vectrex Velocity?

If it was an actual Vectrex machine, I would buy that in a fucking heartbeat.

 

[s_mirage]

FFS. They better have more than this. A "pull at the retro heartstrings" branding change, logo change, and new concept renders, don't fix the problems they had before. How about an actual working prototype, and some kind of indication that they're addressing the criticisms the previous attempt had?

 

[NeOak]

Mike's been pretty sleazy in terms of lack of honesty and screwing over his old podcast co-hosts so I can't say that I'm interested in seeing his revamped effort succeed.

Oh? Could you please share some of that story?

 

[Lothars]

Mike's been pretty sleazy in terms of lack of honesty and screwing over his old podcast co-hosts so I can't say that I'm interested in seeing his revamped effort succeed.

Could you please list some proof? I've never heard any of this

 

[NoFaceNico]

Oh? Could you please share some of that story?

Could you please list some proof? I've never heard any of this

Mike has a hard time separating his hopes and reality. He also has no problem telling a half truth or reinterpreting an event simply because the opposite can't be proven. Well... until it is.

Here's a post by ninja_gaiden2015 on the AtariAge forums that was made when Mike actually got caught in a lie after the person he mentioned denied his involvement:

The exaggerations about the involvement of developers (Capcom, Konami and Sega - the list goes on) was what got me the most annoyed/dissapointed/upset.

In the interview that Mike did with Lon Seidman at 37:15 odd minutes, after listing the Capcom, Konami and Sega titles to hit Retro VGS Mike said that the "was talking to David Siller" after listing off David CV he said He "may be coming on to develop a new mascot platformer for us ... and we are really on the fastrack to that and keeping him on board to be director of publishing"

As we saw earlier on this thread, David Siller came out to deny that he ever agreed to develop for the console, yet alone a mascot. Whether the intention was to get money out of people or just a crazy imagination, it ends up as a lie

Edit: Sorry, that image won't resize when I link it here. Here's another copy:

Edit #2: ooooh, I forgot about the podcast thing. It's pretty petty, I don't even see it as a big deal but others do. Apparently, Mike was a part of the Retro Gaming Roundup podcast and one day he didn't show up, he said he had to be somewhere. Then on-air one of the presenters on the podcast found out Mike ditched the podcast to go watch a "Surf Dogs" event. It's some bullshit where dog owners teach their dogs to surf. That pissed off the host and he rage quitted that episode right there. I don't think Mike's been on the podcast since, aside from when he was promoting the RVGS the week before the IndieGoGo campaign. I dunno, maybe it's worse than that and I don't have all the facts but I looked into it and that's all I found.

The guy behind Retro Gaming Roundup also claims he helped design the early RVGS console back when it was just a BeagleBoneBlack in a Jaguar case. He says he's entitled to a certain percentage of the company and feels he's been robbed of it. Who knows what's true, the only evidence we've seen are his own posts in the forums. He also said he would have a special tell-all episode all about the early RVGS development but to my knowledge that episode hasn't materialized.

 

[NormalFish]

man saw this thread bumped and thought they couldn't possibly be at it again already. I was mistaken, clearly.

 

[jhmtehgamr20xx]

man saw this thread bumped and thought they couldn't possibly be at it again already. I was mistaken, clearly.

Same. Whaddabump!!

 

[RadarScope1]

Coleco? Wha? LOL.

 

[firehawk12]

Coleco? Why not Atari?!

 

[NeOak]

Coleco? Why not Atari?!

That would have actually costed real money instead of future-promised-money lol.

 

[Tempy]

"Coleco" falls under most people's radar, but they haven't been sitting still.

Besides the Colecovision Flashback, I also have this Coleco Super Game Module which was released a few years ago which adds extra capabilities for new Colecovision homebrew.

Still very doubtful this new RVGS will get much interest beyond a handful of hardcore Colecovision fans.

 

[ElectricThunder]

When this fails, can we look forward to the Vectrex Velocity?

I should think it exists in a higher, almost Valhalla-like plane now, fit only for true tinkerers or non-scummy companies when the day finally arrives that the loud armies of Open Hardware Or Bust actually have it dawn on them that it can be/has been the promised land to a Jaguar-like degree for many years now. Like many old things that didn't get their due justice, there's probably some future ahead of it via FPGA sorcery, maybe tinged with Ming Mecca reckonings for that visual manipulation double whammy just to drive it deeper.

Until then, the world at least has the cleverness of ctrix:

https://www.youtube.com/user/debuglive/videos

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vectrex That Public Domain goodness

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/131526/a_history_of_gaming_platforms_the_.php?page=6 So many things that could stand for proper reference links as things are nigh impossible to find now because this article might as well be ancient for something on the internet.

Of course, the issue with any real deal Vectrex successorship would be the display---history went in another direction entirely, unfortunately, instead of also continuing along that wildly divergent parallel path to reach the horizon's light much the same as trackballs, FM Synth, etc.

 

[Ghost_Messiah]

Well this is a shocking turn of events.

Not loving the new name. Retro VGS was much slicker. Would have preferred them re-tooling the console and re-launching as an independent entity. Coleco is a relic of the eighties to which the name holds zero power or modern-day relevance. Maybe there's some ColecoVision diehards out there somewhere that would care but the modern console audience does not. Most people aren't even going to recognise the brand let alone associate it with a good console maker. Just don't see this "partnership" helping their cause.

You could argue there's some nostalgic value to the brand but I'd argue that value is very little. We're talking about a name that was relevant thirty years ago. Retro VGS sounded cool and modern. Coleco Chameleon sounds like a red-flag pertaining to a product that I absolutely should not buy. If they're still going with Kickstarter and require crowd funding to launch this then it actually sounds like they've made no progress at all. They don't have a financial backer or additional funding - just an agreement to use a new name.

This is all so strangely fascinating. It'll be interesting to see how they fare trying to crowd fund this a second time.

 

[NoFaceNico]

I swear to you guys, you cannot script the saga of the Retro VGS. I live for this shit. If this team can turn this into a success, then more power to them. But it's just so fascinating because nothing is ever what it seems when it comes to the Retro VGS.

According to a Gizmodo article, they were able to get the Coleco branding after joining up with "Coleco partner Chris Cardillo." His Linkedin says he's been with Coleco for 3 months but AtariAge claims he bought an interest just a month ago.

He made an NES collecting guide, which you can find here. It's a 40 page, staple bound collection of NES box art. He also wrote another book titled “Study Less and Earn A’s Without Effort."

He's also an actor. Here's his IMDB.

And my favorite- he's also a rapper named J. Fontaine. Here's his rap rendition of Mambo Italiano.

[image below is possibly NSFW]

Spoiler

 

[jhmtehgamr20xx]

^ Just....just no flippin' way. This is some real-life shit? LOL.

 

[Jazz573]

You can't make this shit up.

 

[JEKKI]

oh shyt... Alpha and Knoxx?!?!?!