Jump to content
IGNORED

How has this not been posted yet? Retro VGS


racerx

Recommended Posts

It's beyond disingenuous to say that "Video-game industry pioneer COLECO re-enters the market," and "it will succeed COLECO’s successful Telstar and Colecovision product lines."

 

Of course I (we) know it's set up this way; they've purchased brand recognition. But the story is now "COLECO is back!" It isn't. It's up to Mike, if he is going to earn back people's trust, as he is asking for, if this isn't a cash grab and a way to trick 30 and 40 year olds who aren't as plugged in as we are to correct that perception. He needs to make sure, when press is released that it's clear in a way that it's not in his initial press release that this is a wholly new venture with a wholly new company.

 

This is not COLECO. The COLECO Chameleon, if it comes to pass, has nothing to do with the real company's lineage, anymore than Majesco or ATGames are a part of the lineage of SEGA.

 

It's more than mere branding; it's trading on a lineage and history neither he nor the people that own the COLECO name have anything to do with, and it's gross.

I know. But going out of his way communicating that would imo defeat the whole benefit the branding may have. I doubt there is even the slightest value in the name if you pro-actively make sure every potential customer knows there is nothing behind it.

 

That's what I mean... now that they have taken that step, it is done. They spent money for that specific purpose... naturally they won't just go and try to undo the PR effect they paid for.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I could be wrong but it seems the media around RetroVGS has been pimping clickbiat headlines that state Coleco is back. That kind of stuff is hyperbole for sure. What Mike has actually stated (from what I've read) is sure, brand recognition - but also they themselves carrying forward Coleco ideas.

 

So, yeah. We still have to see what's to come. I think we have to separate clueless media headlines from what Mike is stating here.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

beginning by inviting us into their booth at Toy Fair which is where they want to officially begin rebuilding this brand in more concrete ways.

Does that mean that we should not expect news on the system or games before the event?

 

It is still a while until then, and with NG:DEV and others no longer seeming commited to the project a lot seems to be up in the air.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We remember the past so that we don't make the same mistakes in the future.

 

Mike, if you want respect and this is a real passion project for you, then do this thing without crowdfunding. I believe most of us here would then try to forget your RETRO VGS train wreck and allow your newly branded Coleco Chameleon to have a chance. Go find some investors, go get a business loan, take a mortgage out on your house and make your dream console by the King of Retro Gaming for the Retro Gaming community reality without a Kickstarter. Show us your passion that way. If you have faith that your product is going to live up to the COLECO brand name that you bought then you should have no problems doing this. Its a sure success in your world after all.

  • Like 11
Link to comment
Share on other sites

They said YES there will be a prototype running at the fair, that means someone has INVESTED already.

 

I wouldn't necessarily make that assumption. If they have private investors, why would they need crowd funding? Are you thinking that a prototype needs to cost a lot of money, just because RetroVGS said it would?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow. I have the article with shots in my sig. The press were led to believe based on the official press release.

 

Hey Carl,

 

That "COLECO is Back" title was added at the last minute by our PR firm. And I guess we can all debate what "Back" means. In a sense it is back. Even if in name only. The future of what that means remains to be seen. If this product, with the COLECO name on it, becomes a success at some level, then what will that mean? Is it "back" then? Is there a future in that brand to bring out or lend their name to other "new" products? I really don't think most are reading much more into it other than, "Hey, it would be cool to see that brand name back on a new product." The Chameleon will be the first "new" forward thinking product to adorn that brand name and none of us know where it could take the brand. It was never our intention to indicate this was anything but a licensing deal.

Edited by Parrothead
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Hey Carl,

 

That "COLECO is Back" title was added at the last minute by our PR firm. And I guess we can all debate what "Back" means. In a sense it is back. Even if in name only. The future of what that means remains to be seen. If this product, with the COLECO name on it, becomes a success at some level, then what will that mean? Is it "back" then? Is there a future in that brand to bring out or lend their name to other "new" products? I really don't think most are reading much more into it other than, "Hey, it would be cool to see that brand name back on a new, product." The Chameleon will be the first "new" forward thinking product to adorn that brand name and none of us know where it could take the brand. It was never our intention to indicate this was anything but a licensing deal.

 

oops. I chose some bad wording then :) I was talking about TheVerge saying "The creators of the ColecoVision are back with a new cartridge-based console". That's not quite accurate. They made it sound like the original Coleco company took over your project.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

I wouldn't necessarily make that assumption. If they have private investors, why would they need crowd funding? Are you thinking that a prototype needs to cost a lot of money, just because RetroVGS said it would?

 

Atlantis/Flogomojo

 

The prototype isn't costing me a lot of money and I have funded that myself at this point and would have done this much earlier if my previous engineer would have not over exaggerated the costs and effort involved and ultimately refuse to even progress on anything that resembled a real prototype.

Edited by Parrothead
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Chameleon is not just a rebranded Retro VGS.

 

The COLECO branding was a business decision I made to bring instant brand recognition to the Chameleon.

 

Mark and Chris at River West/Coleco Holdings are also very behind this product and will be helping out in a variety of ways, beginning by inviting us into their booth at Toy Fair which is where they want to officially begin rebuilding this brand in more concrete ways.

 

I believe the product will be much better for going through all of this.

 

Let it speak for itself when we reveal it to you all early this New Year.

 

Merry Christmas to you as well, Mike. I wish you nothing but the best.

 

Once again, you have used a lot of words to say very little. You can ask us to forget all the stupid things that you have done and said in the past, but that's not how it works, especially when you are asking people for money. "Trust me" doesn't usually work the second time around. I'm genuinely curious about what you plan to show, but unless you have a killer slate of exclusive games on deck, some real hardware specs, pricing, and hard delivery dates, you simply don't have a lot of credibility. You're standing in a hole, and will really need to over perform to be taken seriously at this point. Good luck.

  • Like 9
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

oops. I chose some bad wording then :) I was talking about TheVerge saying "The creators of the ColecoVision are back with a new cartridge-based console". That's not quite accurate. They made it sound like the original Coleco company took over your project.

 

theloon,

 

Ya, there was NOTHING accurate about that. But we can't control that or the tons of other media outlets that picked it up. Moving forward we will be more careful about how we address the COLECO licensing.

 

As a side note, look at all the homebrew video games being sold all over the place that are recreating original box art and displaying brand names and IP from the past? Do you not all think this could be confusing to some people as well? Especially when these games penetrate the outside market? I am paying for this license and will pay for everything associated with this console's hardware, integrated software, branding, whatever. It's all above the board :)

Edited by Parrothead
  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow.

 

Don't remember the past as it refers to RVGS. But do remember it when it's COLECO's past (after all, it's bought and paid for). Got it.

 

That was mean.

 

And I agree completely. Our previous engineer over billed and under delivered. But the new guy is perfect. Give us money. The COLECO is Back! I guess we can debate what Back means. We will be more careful with our PR firm* in the future. Happy Christmas! Give us money.

 

*Are you really working with a PR firm?

  • Like 7
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

theloon,

 

Ya, there was NOTHING accurate about that. But we can't control that or the tons of other media outlets that picked it up. Moving forward we will be more careful about how we address the COLECO licensing.

 

As a side note, look at all the homebrew video games being sold all over the place that are recreating original box art and displaying brand names and IP from the past? Do you not all think this could be confusing to some people as well? Especially when these games penetrate the outside market? I am paying for this license and will pay for everything associated with this console's hardware, integrated software, branding, whatever. It's all above the board :)

 

That's the strange thing. No one thinks Atari-esque games and art means we are ripping off the Atari brand. The moment I saw The Verges headline I assumed RetroVGS had bought a brand name and left it at that. That's obviously not your game plan at all. I think some people are stuck in that mentality before, ya know, actually seeing what happens 2016.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's the strange thing. No one thinks Atari-eqsue games and art means we are ripping off the Atari brand. The moment I saw The Verges headline I assumed RetroVGS had bought a brand name and left it at that. That's obviously not your game plan at all. I think some people are stuck in that mentality before, ya know, actually seeing what happens 2016.

 

Atari hasn't made a new thing that retro-heads would care about. The re-issues were old IP like Asteroids, Centipede, and so on faithfully redone by third parties. It sounds like Chameleon might have a chance at some Coleco vintage stuff in the same way, but the bassackwards brag-leaks don't have any details.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey Carl,

 

That "COLECO is Back" title was added at the last minute by our PR firm. And I guess we can all debate what "Back" means. In a sense it is back. Even if in name only. The future of what that means remains to be seen. If this product, with the COLECO name on it, becomes a success at some level, then what will that mean? Is it "back" then? Is there a future in that brand to bring out or lend their name to other "new" products? I really don't think most are reading much more into it other than, "Hey, it would be cool to see that brand name back on a new product." The Chameleon will be the first "new" forward thinking product to adorn that brand name and none of us know where it could take the brand. It was never our intention to indicate this was anything but a licensing deal.

So, a PR firm that you hired made an unauthorized last minute addition to your press release without your approval? Forgive me, but if that really happened, it just proves that the same incompetence you showed with the first failed attempt at Retro VGS is still in full effect here.

  • Like 10
Link to comment
Share on other sites

But we can't control that or the tons of other media outlets that picked it up. Moving forward we will be more careful about how we address the COLECO licensing.

 

Absolutely right. I'd up your game when it comes to giving interviews and press releases. Be choosy. Be specific. More than half the bloggers out there obviously don't know what they're talking about. They publish just to publish and get hits without a care for any accuracy.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey Mike. Good to se you here. Who put this on your Website:

"Trabuco Canyon, CA (PR) – December 17, 2015 Video-game industry pioneer COLECO re-enters the market, partnering with Retro Video Game Systems, Inc., to introduce a new, modern-day video-game system called the COLECO Chameleon."

 

Cause I just copied that from there. Do you think it's accurate?

 

Since you're reading this, please tell us what Technology is going to be inside These cartridges, because nothing has been really said about that for months. This is the main selling Point of the console and I still don't know what These cartridges are going to be.

  • Like 8
Link to comment
Share on other sites

We remember the past so that we don't make the same mistakes in the future.

 

Mike, if you want respect and this is a real passion project for you, then do this thing without crowdfunding. I believe most of us here would then try to forget your RETRO VGS train wreck and allow your newly branded Coleco Chameleon to have a chance. Go find some investors, go get a business loan, take a mortgage out on your house and make your dream console by the King of Retro Gaming for the Retro Gaming community reality without a Kickstarter. Show us your passion that way. If you have faith that your product is going to live up to the COLECO brand name that you bought then you should have no problems doing this. Its a sure success in your world after all.

My thoughts exactly. To just "move on" isn't somethning that's simply done in this case, as the shell, the controller and the idea with carts is still the same, only the LED and the logo has changed beyond the statement that "it's not the same".

I'm with those that could give this a fair chance, like anything, but then i want to see the facts, the hardware, the games and the price first. Of course one can be hyped about something one has never seen, but having been burned so many times by movies, games, books etc. that are over-hyped in press but lacklustre or plain useless at release has made me more conservative in this regard.

 

I'm sorry but i have a hard time feeling nothing but indifference (at best) towards a game console that i hasnt seen anything from except hype and talk.

I don't know the hardware specs for it, hasn't seen any games or hasn't seen anything else really besides the idea that cartridges will be used in a shell from a old console. I guess i'll have to wait for more info to even get a slight spark of true interest up.

 

EDIT: And bear in mind that this is just a few months, or a year or so away from release. And yes, whoever runs the PR over at Chameleon should really consider being a bit more accurate and honest, to say the least.

 

Edited by Raticon
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

If it's too early for sharing information, perhaps it's too early for PRESS RELEASES, too.

It was time for us to establish a new identity for this product moving forward and that was one of the main goals of the press release. We are having a variety of ongoing conversations with companies and people who are working with us in various capacities on this project and we've stopped referring to it as the RVGS. It was something that needed to be done.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So, a PR firm that you hired made an unauthorized last minute addition to your press release without your approval? Forgive me, but if that really happened, it just proves that the same incompetence you showed with the first failed attempt at Retro VGS is still in full effect here.

I can honestly say, over the life of my little PR firm I have dealt with hundreds of clients. NOTHING is added without their approval first. If I had added anything to their press releases without permission I would be terminated immediately by them. Also, the first sentence of the press release states:

 

Trabuco Canyon, CA (PR) – December 17, 2015 Video-game industry pioneer COLECO re-enters the market, partnering with Retro Video Game Systems, Inc., to introduce a new, modern-day video-game system called the COLECO Chameleon.

 

Video-game industry pioneer COLECO re-enters the market... How is that "misleading" sites like Kotaku, Verge, Gamespot and many others into thinking anything but what it clearly states there? Nowhere in the press release does it state that this is "Coleco Holdings" or that the name is licensed. It does clearly state that Coleco is back, right there in the first sentence. If your PR firm added that bit of information without your knowing then you have a major problem on your hands because apparently they have access to post on your site too (without your permission) otherwise you knew that line was in there.

 

I am waiting for more information on your current situation, just like everyone else. Unlike sites like Kotaku, Verge and Gamespot though, I know how to use Google/Bing to do a modicum of research.

 

I do want to make clear that I appreciate your taking time to come back to a place that you have publicly stated is against your project (Arstechnica interview). Most would not bother with anything near that. Thank you.

  • Like 8
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...