Coleco Chameleon .... hardware speculations?

[Keatah]

In reading all these posts and following the whole RetroVGS debacle.. I hope it teaches people to question everything before buying and supporting any product. Question the "journalistic" sources. Question the profit motives. Question the affiliations. Everything!

[PlaysWithWolves]

I'm pretty sure he's aware which side of his bread the butter is on. When that slice of toast is resting butter-side-down on Mike's kitchen floor Gamster81's ethical organ suddenly perks up and it's mea culpa all around.

 

Well, his apology would have been nicer months ago but at least he seems sincere and took account for his actions. Crow has a funny taste and it's being served on huge platters right now.

 

The real fun will be when Mike comes back and apologizes again.

[enoofu]

If Mike would apology does this mean he will try getting into the same mess 4 months later?

[Cybermario]

 

Watching several videos of MK recently, other flaws aside, I find it truly annoying how he talks almost exclusively out of the right side of his mouth.

i wont talk ill or mock about that, considering could be a sort of facial paralysis issue

[MotoRacer]

In reading all these posts and following the whole RetroVGS debacle.. I hope it teaches people to question everything before buying and supporting any product. Question the "journalistic" sources. Question the profit motives. Question the affiliations. Everything!

 

There's a GPX handheld windows mini-laptop on Indigogo right now that I want really badly. The old me would have bought it in a heartbeat.

 

After this mess, I convinced myself it wasn't worth the risk. I'll be 200 more than the Indiegogo when it's released, but it's 300 right now... 300 I might never see ever again if the project goes bust like this hunk of junk did.

 

It sucks for anyone releasing hardware in the future. I'm even wary of the ZX Spectrum handheld, and that thing looks perfectly done and by the original creator. But I'm just so burnt out by this "give me your money, maybe you get something later" bull, I just can't find it in my heart to back anything else anymore. Especially since this feels like the final straw on a camel's back worth of previous things I backed which either failed or turned out completely different from what they initially promised.

[bretthorror]

Seeking apologies from anyone and everyone ever involved in the RVGS/Chameleon including Mike Kennedy's dog isn't going to get you any closer to the fulfillment you want in seeing Mike come clean.

 

People barking out for apologies here are eerily reminiscent of the old guy on the street corner telling every cop and city worker in sight that he pays their salary.

[MotoRacer]

If Mike would apology does this mean he will try getting into the same mess 4 months later?

 

If he promised to start selling whatever-the-hell-color Jaguar shells to people, I'm sure there would be at least a few people here who would forgive him.

 

I don't think he deserves physical abuse or anything (like people alluded to before), but I don't feel like he should be a business man ... like... ever again. And he deserves to have everything he worked to build crumble in front of him as, at least in my opinion, he's tapped the well too many times for people to ever take him seriously.

 

It's like what Pat said. "Fool me once, shame on me. Fool me twice, shame on you. Fool me three times,.... Fuck You."

[gnarlynick]

 

There's a GPX handheld windows mini-laptop on Indigogo right now that I want really badly. The old me would have bought it in a heartbeat.

 

After this mess, I convinced myself it wasn't worth the risk. I'll be 200 more than the Indiegogo when it's released, but it's 300 right now... 300 I might never see ever again if the project goes bust like this hunk of junk did.

 

It sucks for anyone releasing hardware in the future. I'm even wary of the ZX Spectrum handheld, and that thing looks perfectly done and by the original creator. But I'm just so burnt out by this "give me your money, maybe you get something later" bull, I just can't find it in my heart to back anything else anymore. Especially since this feels like the final straw on a camel's back worth of previous things I backed which either failed or turned out completely different from what they initially promised.

 

Difference would be that GPD has many tangible products on the market. I own the GPD XD and it is a nice handheld emulator the size of a 3DS XL.

[bretthorror]

 

There's a GPX handheld windows mini-laptop on Indigogo right now that I want really badly. The old me would have bought it in a heartbeat.

 

After this mess, I convinced myself it wasn't worth the risk. I'll be 200 more than the Indiegogo when it's released, but it's 300 right now... 300 I might never see ever again if the project goes bust like this hunk of junk did.

 

It sucks for anyone releasing hardware in the future. I'm even wary of the ZX Spectrum handheld, and that thing looks perfectly done and by the original creator. But I'm just so burnt out by this "give me your money, maybe you get something later" bull, I just can't find it in my heart to back anything else anymore. Especially since this feels like the final straw on a camel's back worth of previous things I backed which either failed or turned out completely different from what they initially promised.

 

I would be very interested in that Vega +, but I want to know what 1000 games are on it. I don't think it's on their IGG though.

[keepdreamin]

 

The real fun will be when Mike comes back and apologizes again.

I don't think any amount of apologizing would be acceptable at this point. I can't even begin to think what he could do to absolve himself of this mess. The only thing I can think of that would be remotely acceptable is to run a front page apology in his next mag issue, refund any outanding subscriptions with the promise to stay away from the gaming industry in anyway shape or form.

 

Maybe go do something more noble, like sell used cars.

[MotoRacer]

No, it's not listed there.

[MagnaRyuu]

 

There's a GPX handheld windows mini-laptop on Indigogo right now that I want really badly. The old me would have bought it in a heartbeat.

 

After this mess, I convinced myself it wasn't worth the risk. I'll be 200 more than the Indiegogo when it's released, but it's 300 right now... 300 I might never see ever again if the project goes bust like this hunk of junk did.

 

It sucks for anyone releasing hardware in the future. I'm even wary of the ZX Spectrum handheld, and that thing looks perfectly done and by the original creator. But I'm just so burnt out by this "give me your money, maybe you get something later" bull, I just can't find it in my heart to back anything else anymore. Especially since this feels like the final straw on a camel's back worth of previous things I backed which either failed or turned out completely different from what they initially promised.

Last I had heard the handheld ZX Spectrum made all it's money plus 50%. Plus I'm certain Sir Sinclair will not allow this to fail cause it's his reputation on the line

[MotoRacer]

Last I had heard the handheld ZX Spectrum made all it's money plus 50%. Plus I'm certain Sir Sinclair will not allow this to fail cause it's his reputation on the line

 

So was Mike's.

 

See how this ruins your trust in people?

Edited March 2, 2016 by MotoRacer

[MagnaRyuu]

 

I would be very interested in that Vega +, but I want to know what 1000 games are on it. I don't think it's on their IGG though.

Even if a lot of the 1000 games on it were ones you didn't like it does have the ability to allow you to load your own roms through the sd card slot

[MagnaRyuu]

 

So was Mike's.

 

See how this ruins your trust in people?

HA true, but Sir Sinclair is British and Knighted so his reputation is more valuable, and a failure would be really bad for him in the media. Plus Sinclair has a track record of good products.

Edited March 2, 2016 by MagnaRyuu

[deckardbr]

Has anyone tried posting to the facebook page? Is he pulling posts? Personally I don't think Mike is done. The Kickstarter will happen probably out of his own stubborness. Do you think if the Snes Jr was never discovered the Kickstarter would have happened without the delay? If so, then he may be looking to grab the kickstarter funds and then flee with the money. Which has happened before.

[Dr Manhattan]

So what happens next? Anyone want to make a guess?

 

Also no one has answered the million dollar question. Why?!

 

I already read one very intelligent post in this thread that speculated the RetroVGS people blew their funding early buying parts and the rights to the Coleco brand. And that this latest prototype was merely a scam designed to help them raise money to make a real product. That seems logical, right? But here's the thing...

 

It's so painfully obvious that they were going to get caught. This community is filled with people who really know their stuff. That's part of the reason I come here. The discussions on Atari Age are fascinating because we have so many skilled and knowledgeable people in our midsts. Many of them are industry veterans, authors, or people have made their own products.

 

There's no way the RetroVGS crew was going to get away with this scam. Absolutely no way. It just wasn't going to happen. Their lie was uncovered in a matter of hours after the pic was posted. So then why would they do it? They had to know they were going to get caught. After all, these people are familiar with this community.

 

Again, is this just a case of incredible hubris? Contempt? Laziness? Is it someone's idea of a bad joke? Because if it was just a money scam these people are the worst cons in the history of the game. I'm sure many of you could think of a better way to fake something like this.

[jaybird3rd]

In reading all these posts and following the whole RetroVGS debacle.. I hope it teaches people to question everything before buying and supporting any product. Question the "journalistic" sources. Question the profit motives. Question the affiliations. Everything!

Yes. Unfortunately, this seems to be even more important now that classic gaming has become a more popular (and potentially lucrative) niche, and thus more likely to attract snake oil salesmen and money grubbers. In the mid-1990s, when it was just a few crazy Atari 2600 homebrewers writing games in assembly and desoldering old cartridge ROMs, it was more like a familial relationship between hobbyists. For better or worse, everyone needs to be more vigilant now.

[MotoRacer]

Has anyone tried posting to the facebook page? Is he pulling posts? Personally I don't think Mike is done. The Kickstarter will happen probably out of his own stubborness. Do you think if the Snes Jr was never discovered the Kickstarter would have happened without the delay? If so, then he may be looking to grab the kickstarter funds and then flee with the money. Which has happened before.

 

His next console will be called the Fairchild FU World.

[bretthorror]

Even if a lot of the 1000 games on it were ones you didn't like it does have the ability to allow you to load your own roms through the sd card slot

 

True, but then I may as well just bypass their hardware all together and just use what I can already do that on.

 

I know little to nothing about the system aside from I know I have an emulator and ROMS somewhere. But when you know nothing about the system, hearing a Spectrum expert's opinion on the game lineup would be a huge selling point to me because I don't really like to muck around with old PC emulators (I never know whether games are loading forever, don't work, don't know the controls, etc.) and if I recall, the ZX was pretty confusing to the beginner. Hence why if I knew it had decent games and their controls were pre-programmed into the system, I'd be interested to just save the headache and mess around with it.

[enoofu]

Has anyone tried posting to the facebook page? Is he pulling posts? Personally I don't think Mike is done. The Kickstarter will happen probably out of his own stubborness. Do you think if the Snes Jr was never discovered the Kickstarter would have happened without the delay? If so, then he may be looking to grab the kickstarter funds and then flee with the money. Which has happened before.

 

I doubt kickstarter would of been successful without the debacle it has become before it's launch

 

Mike has nothing to show anyone, and I doubt Kickstarter would allowed blurry images of hardware in

[galax]

 

True, but then I may as well just bypass their hardware all together and just use what I can already do that on.

 

I know little to nothing about the system aside from I know I have an emulator and ROMS somewhere. But when you know nothing about the system, hearing a Spectrum expert's opinion on the game lineup would be a huge selling point to me because I don't really like to muck around with old PC emulators (I never know whether games are loading forever, don't work, don't know the controls, etc.) and if I recall, the ZX was pretty confusing to the beginner. Hence why if I knew it had decent games and their controls were pre-programmed into the system, I'd be interested to just save the headache and mess around with it.

 

I remember my brother having a multi emulator handheld based on the Dingoo for about half that price 5 years ago. It's not revolutionary but it's cute and has the 'endorsement' of Sir Clive. (not really sure how deep that goes, and don't want to argue all night about it)

 

The lineup of games is likely almost exactly the same 1000 as the first release- a few classics but mostly unplayable dross. I don't know how the Vega handles remapping the keyboard/joystick to the joypad for SD card loaded games but they must have worked something out because people seemed fairly pleased with the first version.

 

Here's the list of all 1000 from the first Vega: http://www.flickeringmyth.com/2015/08/relive-your-childhood-with-the-sinclair-zx-spectrum-vega-full-list-of-1000-games-revealed.html - it's a bit like those Famiclone 300 in 1 multicarts where most of them are just awful, securing the rights for this stuff is a big headache though so hard to fault them for that.

[keepdreamin]

So what happens next? Anyone want to make a guess?

 

Also no one has answered the million dollar question. Why?!

 

I already read one very intelligent post in this thread that speculated the RetroVGS people blew their funding early buying parts and the rights to the Coleco brand. And that this latest prototype was merely a scam designed to help them raise money to make a real product. That seems logical, right? But here's the thing...

 

It's so painfully obvious that they were going to get caught. This community is filled with people who really know their stuff. That's part of the reason I come here. The discussions on Atari Age are fascinating because we have so many skilled and knowledgeable people in our midsts. Many of them are industry veterans, authors, or people have made their own products.

 

There's no way the RetroVGS crew was going to get away with this scam. Absolutely no way. It just wasn't going to happen. Their lie was uncovered in a matter of hours after the pic was posted. So then why would they do it? They had to know they were going to get caught. After all, these people are familiar with this community.

 

Again, is this just a case of incredible hubris? Contempt? Laziness? Is it someone's idea of a bad joke? Because if it was just a money scam these people are the worst cons in the history of the game. I'm sure many of you could think of a better way to fake something like this.

You only have to catch a few people. How many scam emails are sent out? How many actually land victims? I don't know, 5% 10%? They keep trying. I think the Retro VGS crew saw they could probably at least recoup or make a few bucks. Hell, as Pat pointed out in his last video. None of the major tech sites that reported on this did one iota of research. There's currently shy of 200 people browsing this forum, how many pass through CNET or whatever on any given day?

[deckardbr]

 

I doubt kickstarter would of been successful without the debacle it has become before it's launch

 

Mike has nothing to show anyone, and I doubt Kickstarter would allowed blurry images of hardware in

 

Thats the big question and the key to all this I think. What kickstarter would have allowed. The biggest kickstarter scam I remember was Code Hero. But that had a working level as a prototype. If the Snes Jr was never discovered, which was Mike's plan, that would have been the prototype used for the kickstarter. And thus the scam. Kickstarter would never have asked to look at the innards of the prototype (I think).

[MotoRacer]

So what happens next? Anyone want to make a guess?

 

Also no one has answered the million dollar question. Why?!

 

I already read one very intelligent post in this thread that speculated the RetroVGS people blew their funding early buying parts and the rights to the Coleco brand. And that this latest prototype was merely a scam designed to help them raise money to make a real product. That seems logical, right? But here's the thing...

 

It's so painfully obvious that they were going to get caught. This community is filled with people who really know their stuff. That's part of the reason I come here. The discussions on Atari Age are fascinating because we have so many skilled and knowledgeable people in our midsts. Many of them are industry veterans, authors, or people have made their own products.

 

There's no way the RetroVGS crew was going to get away with this scam. Absolutely no way. It just wasn't going to happen. Their lie was uncovered in a matter of hours after the pic was posted. So then why would they do it? They had to know they were going to get caught. After all, these people are familiar with this community.

 

Again, is this just a case of incredible hubris? Contempt? Laziness? Is it someone's idea of a bad joke? Because if it was just a money scam these people are the worst cons in the history of the game. I'm sure many of you could think of a better way to fake something like this.

 

 

I said this before, but I truly don't think he ever had any intention to make real hardware. He had the shells. It was enough to make it look official from the outside, and that's all he ever really needed. Even Kickstarter doesn't guarantee you the product will arrive. I know a lot of people here he genuinely thought he'd deceive people long enough to make the hardware, but I don't see it. Or else he wouldn't have made a second fake system right after the first. I think he would have collected the dough, waited a few months, and apologized for the project not working out.... offering some useless magazine subscriptions as an apology, and running away with all the cash laughing as he went on with his other businesses.

 

The reason why I feel this way is because it's not the first time he's stole from this community. Once a thief, always a thief. I don't think he could resist the temptation. If this was simply him being over his head, he wouldn't have taken it so far with so many fake protos, and hiring several people to lie on his behalf.... none the less lie to all these devs who wanted to make games for his non-existent system.