Coleco Chameleon .... hardware speculations?

[Lost Monkey]

From the Colecovision FB page bout a half hour ago:

__________

 

 

Chameleon Product: We are thankful to have a large group of passionate engineers and retro game enthusiasts who follow Coleco and other product lines. It has come to our attention that the community has certain concerns over the prototypes involving the Retro VGS model. The team at Retro remains confident that their product is developed to the extent as describe; HOWEVER, in order to confirm or debase these concerns, Coleco has demanded to inspect the prototype units within a seven day time frame. At which time, independent engineers will review their findings and determine if those units are up to our standards. We will report some or all of those findings to the community so as long as they do not interfere with proprietary information. We remain hopeful that the community's concerns are merely speculations, but if there is merit to the concerns, then we have no choice but to abandon the project rather than release a sub-par product. During this time, we ask that the community allow us time to complete these inspections. Time extensions will only be granted if requested by the independent engineer. Time extensions and results will be posted here.

 

 

I have a 2 part prediction:

 

1. The independent engineer will "determine" that the prototype, although in the early stages is indeed legitimate....

 

and

 

2. Although legitimate, the prototype is not up to standard, and therefore the project will not continue.

 

 

 

Basically, I am positing that Mike has now convinced Coleco to participate in one of his cockamamie schemes, or that they have been willing participants all along...

[harryhenry]

Man, this story gets more fascinatingly disastrous with each day that passes. Now the team's got the company that owns the Coleco name breathing down their necks.

[PlaysWithWolves]

I seriously doubt anyone are blaiming the companies that made aftermarket wheels, spoilers and other 3rd party car accessories for the DeLorean because John DeLorean was a criminal involved in cocaine-smuggling and other criminal shenanigans in the 80's around the time his car company fell to pieces.

 

 

Respectuflly, John DeLorean smuggling drugs is nothing like the RVGS/Chameleon campaign. The potential crime would have been if he defrauded the masses to bring the car to fruition. If a DeLorean vendor knew something was fishy but kept going (or even fought against detractors), people might think she was "perpretratin' the fraud" too.

 

Feel free to skip to the last paragraph, where I lay out why I think some of these folks need calling out.

 

Let's say this is the perfect car that the average, every-day guy wants:

 

 

Normally, Homer takes his back-of-napkin design to a company and they either turn him down or they make a product:

 

 

In the show Powell Motors made the $83,000 car, couldn't sell any of them, and subsequently went bankrupt. But for this analogy, we'll call that "The Homer IndieGogo Campaign". Very little money was put up. Vendors were lined up to make the proprietary equipment such as the bubble domes and spoiler. Then someone over at AutoAge.com starts takes a look at the design and:

 

 

And he starts a post at AutoAge.com. Heck, he may even be intrigued by the concept. After all, Homer asks if people remember a time when cars had big engines and simpler electronics. "It's not like today where your radio may fail because something is wrong with your wiper motor. Simpler times... plus think of that rumble of the big engine you or your father had when you were a teen."

 

But over the months, things start sounding odd--and really, who wants shag carpet in their car today anyway? The price will be ridiculous. But hey, he's released new renders of what the car will look like in different colors:

 

 

Some websites pick it up. Maybe he gets lucky and Jalopnik (Gawker) and Autoblog (AOL) run a general piece and generates more interest. No details beyond what Homer offers, and no desire from the authors to look farther.

 

With more fanfare comes more scrutiny. An aerodynamics expert says the spoiler will make it impossible to drive at highway speeds. He should know, as he was asked to design the hulking thing. There's questions about Homer even being able to fulfill his promises at even that high cost. More people start picking away at the design and asking for details, like specifics on the engine and transmission.

 

One vendor--the hornmaker--sees mounting evidence that something is not right and publicly dumps his thoughts. Homer comes on to AutoAge and responds angrily to both him and and the aerodynamic engineer; the vendor finds himself not a Homer vendor anymore. The engineer never thought he was in the loop to begin with. That's okay, because the feelings all-around were mutual.

 

Then another vendor--who also has a YouTube show on autos--starts coming out against the people on AutoAge.com and elsewhere. He claims inside knowledge and says less-than-nice things about the detractors. He even produces what is essentially a "The Homer" infomercial, and only reveals fifty minutes in that his company will produce the bubble domes for the car. Note he says "at cost", but even that could include peoples' salaries. It's not like they're going to take a loss.

 

Other youtubers and websites perhaps join in with promoting The Homer (or at least not inquiring further), despite the idea that there are more questions than answers. There's also the idea that a lot of people could end up with empty pockets and no car, even if Homer is sincere about his dream. Even very successful crowdfunding campaigns by honest people can fail when it's production time.

 

IndieGoGo happens. Details are never given and the motor will be a Yugo three-cylinder, one horn instead of three, and no spoiler at all. It takes stretch goals to get the big V12 motor, three horns and the awesome spoiler. As expected, IGG fails.

 

Weeks pass, and out-of-the-blue we hear Homer has a new brand: The Edsel. Much fanfare is given on websites ("The Edsel is Back!"), again with asking few questions. Speculation is rampant, with a lot of it simply not being corrected by Homer. You see, it's not really lying if someone else says something incorrect. If AutoBlog writes that it'll run on water, they can't trace that back to Homer, right? *nudgenudgewinkwink*

 

All along, though, it seems like it may be a legitimate product. Perhaps Homer learned and wouldn't dare make the same mistakes twice. We would learn if in his shoes, wouldn't we? The answers are so clear--just be clear. Be honest. Don't tell us it'll have a giant motor and give us a three-banger. Surely even Homer can't mess this up. He apologized. Clean slate.

 

 

The vendors are understandably more cautious this time around. It still looks like it could become a legitimate product, and AutoFair is right around the corner. Prototype, baby! Let the conspiracy theory debuffing begin! We all know what happens at AutoFair as well as with the next "prototype".

 

I fully understand its each person's choice. If someone wants to fund The Homer IGG campaign, its his or her responsibility. But I'm not sure that should let influencers off the hook. It doesn't mean they have to be lynched or pilloried or even owe apologies. It just means that maybe next time we look at them with the same scrutiny as we do the next awesome crowdfunding campaign. Simple as that.

[Keatah]

Even if he slipped a small emulator board underneath, it wouldn't be connected to the cart port which was blocked by the capture card. He won't be able to demonstrate plugging a cart in with his board reading it and running the game. Even setting something like that up isn't trivial. An R-pi doesn't have the I/O to read a SNES port so some real hardware and s/w will be needed. If he wasn't ready to show a real prototype on the 29th, I highly doubt he will have anything believable to show in a week.

 

Well yes, That is true. It could be said it's a mock-up. A proof-of-concept model. Like a concept & show car proving a passenger can actually get in and out of the vehicle and that controls can be reached and the general layout is practical. And all the while the engine being a wood box.

 

The DVR board could be said to be about the same size as the expected final production board and therefore was used to test-fit parts and assemblies..

[phoenixdownita]

Why do they need 7 days to do anything?

 

The picture speaks for themselves, twice .... it doesn't matter anymore what RVGS Inc. has or has not. They decided to bring a fake to the Toy Fair and a picture of an impossible board (the capture card) on the "enhanced" proto.

They could have opened the Snes-in-a-Jag at the fair, or right after (the day of closing). They could have taken a picture of a "real fpga dev board" inside their opened case, but they choose deceit hoping no-one would recognize the impossible board.

 

You don't need 7 days for that. Coleco is lending their name to a bunch of liers, proto or not it's irrelevant at this point. I don't think RVGS bought the right to use the Coleco name on any way/manner that suits them, if it was the case I would expect a Coleco Turd-o to appear just about now.

Edited March 2, 2016 by phoenixdownita

[Phillyman]

Surprised

http://retrogamingmagazine.com/

is still down, from all the fans that want to see Triverse articles on this mess

 

HostGator sucks if your site ever sees a shred of traffic. They are the gym memberships of web hosting, sign up....but don't use it!

[galax]

 

Feel free to skip to the last paragraph, where I lay out why I think some of these folks need calling out.

 

Let's say this is the perfect car that the average, every-day guy wants:

 

[...]

 

I think that's the best single-post summary of this whole mess that I've seen.

[Benheck]

They'll lift up the DVR board to find...

 

NICOLE SIMPSON'S "REAL" KILLERS!

[tep392]

 

Well yes, That is true. It could be said it's a mock-up. A proof-of-concept model. Like a concept & show car proving a passenger can actually get in and out of the vehicle and that controls can be reached and the general layout is practical. And all the while the engine being a wood box.

 

The DVR board could be said to be about the same size as the expected final production board and therefore was used to test-fit parts and assemblies..

" in order to confirm or debase these concerns, Coleco has demanded to inspect the prototype units within a seven day time frame."

 

I don't think Coleco is talking about what was shown at the fair or on the FB page. Those can't possibly pass as working proto's. They want to see an actual working prototype from the Retro team.

[Keatah]

That's when they are road-testing cars on test tracks. They don't post photos of the disguised car on Facebook to convince potential investors that they know how to build one.

 

They tow them back and forth to regional auto shows instead of facebook. They're also not convincing potential investors/customers that they know how to build one⁽¹⁾. But instead they ARE attempting to convince investors & customers that they know how to style them.

 

1- Some startup "supercar" makers are doing exactly this. Especially for limited editions of say 10 or 12 cars - costing 10 million each. Very popular in some "outside of the usa" areas.

[Dissident Aggressor]

 

 

I have a 2 part prediction:

 

1. The independent engineer will "determine" that the prototype, although in the early stages is indeed legitimate....

 

and

 

2. Although legitimate, the prototype is not up to standard, and therefore the project will not continue.

 

 

 

Basically, I am positing that Mike has now convinced Coleco to participate in one of his cockamamie schemes, or that they have been willing participants all along...

Why on earth would they do that? Mike has nothing they want, and they know it.

 

I'm predicting that this is an exit strategy. They're already prepared to terminate their licensing contract.

 

Basically, Coleco is already gone.

[phoenixdownita]

" in order to confirm or debase these concerns, Coleco has demanded to inspect the prototype units within a seven day time frame."

 

I don't think Coleco is talking about what was shown at the fair or on the FB page. Those can't possibly pass as working proto's. They want to see an actual working prototype from the Retro team.

My question at this point is why? And why in 7 days?

Put your ass on a plan Mr Cardillo, go to Mike's home (or Mr Lee's home) today and check .... as simple as that.

Edited March 2, 2016 by phoenixdownita

[Thomas Jentzsch]

Why do they need 7 days to do anything?

Maybe they are giving enough time, so that Mike's team can prepare a prototype board which (pure coincidence) looks like a particular capture card.

Edited March 2, 2016 by Thomas Jentzsch

[phoenixdownita]

Maybe they are giving enough time, so that Mike's team can prepare a prototype board which (pure coincidence) looks like a particular capture card.

Sure, but still why? So Coleco is on it the intent to deceive?

[Keatah]

" in order to confirm or debase these concerns, Coleco has demanded to inspect the prototype units within a seven day time frame."

 

I don't think Coleco is talking about what was shown at the fair or on the FB page. Those can't possibly pass as working proto's. They want to see an actual working prototype from the Retro team.

 

I hope that's what they're looking for. Because the toy fair demo and the fb dvr thing.. they're mock-ups. Demonstrating that you can fit a board with chips in the housing. Lame? Sure..

[Dissident Aggressor]

Seven days is your standard grace period, and it's more leniency than Mike deserves.

If Mike can't do something as simple as show the prototype to Coleco in seven days, then that basically confirms that he never had one.

[Raticon]

I am very cynical and skeptic vs this review of the hardware that Coleco will have engineers do to check authenticity, and i believe that the "prototype" they will be examining won't be the same from either the fair or this latest thing with the capture card and they are doing it to control damage and try to save the project.

 

But i could be wrong. I hope so. I hope the investigation is real and by skilled people and will concern the prototypes shown to the world.

[galax]

My question at this point is why? And why in 7 days?

 

It sounds like the sort of thing a lawyer would come up with, to prevent Mike from having the excuse that the prototype wasn't ready to be demonstrated. I wonder if a formal request for a demonstration within 7 days has been delivered to Mr Kennedy.

 

Which doesn't mean that Colecovision is definitely conducting this through their lawyers, but they at least want to project that image.

[Keatah]

Why do they need 7 days to do anything?

 

Formality I'd guess.

[+remowilliams]

What the heck did this video "prove"? O_o;

 

That dinnertime was delayed that day.

[elmer]

Why on earth would they do that? Mike has nothing they want, and they know it.

 

I'm predicting that this is an exit strategy. They're already prepared to terminate their licensing contract.

 

Basically, Coleco is already gone.

I totally agree that this is an "exit" strategy. But I agree with "Lost Monkey" that River West are likely to say exact what he predicts.

 

It would be a "face saver" for all parties, and allow them to back-the-heck-away without any possible legal blowback from Mike.

 

If they out-and-out call him a fraud, then he might feel it necessary to sue ... and the River West guys actually have some money, so they'd be a target.

 

Much easier to let everyone back away with as much dignity as they can muster and save on the legal fees.

 

I believe that they're just making a good "business" decision now that they realize that Mike isn't going to make them any profit.

 

 

My question at this point is why? And why in 7 days?

Put your ass on a plan Mr Cardillo, go to Mike home (or Mr Lee home) today and check .... as simple as that.

They've probably been getting legal counsel about how to extract themselves from this mess.

 

Just because you're all-fired-up and angry and ready to get out the tar-and-feathers doesn't mean that River West sees all of this in anything other than cold-hard-cash terms, and being seen to give Mike his 7 days rather than just banging down his door, pitchfork-in-hand, is just good legal weaseling.

[Dissident Aggressor]

 

It sounds like the sort of thing a lawyer would come up with, to prevent Mike from having the excuse that the prototype wasn't ready to be demonstrated. I wonder if a formal request for a demonstration within 7 days has been delivered to Mr Kennedy.

Exactly. If Mike says he's being treated unfairly, Coleco can say "What do you mean 'unfairly'? We gave you seven days."

There's no secret meaning behind this one-week deadline other than to show that Mike can't prove himself even when given more than enough time to do so.

[phoenixdownita]

Seven days is your standard grace period, and it's more leniency than Mike deserves.

 

If Mike can't do something as simple as show the prototype to Coleco in seven days, then that basically confirms that he never had one.

For what? Deceit?

Never heard of that.

 

IMHO the only sensible action from Coleco is to cut their ties with RVGS, it's painful because that abomination was front and center a the toy fair booth, still, you don't double down, you cut your losses.

If behind the scene unofficially they want to keep on working with them in the hope that the tooth fairy would given them a new videogame console, so be it. But officially the tie MUST be severed.

[Keatah]

I am very cynical and skeptic vs this review of the hardware that Coleco will have engineers do to check authenticity, and i believe that the "prototype" they will be examining won't be the same from either the fair or this latest thing with the capture card and they are doing it to control damage and try to save the project.

 

But i could be wrong. I hope so. I hope the investigation is real and by skilled people and will concern the prototypes shown to the world.

 

Yes. I doubt the exact original hardware will be inspected. Could even be Coleco "giving" RETRO time to scramble¹ and regroup. Who knows. Coleco could be using the 7-days to come up with something themselves, to help save face.

 

1- I should go play that awesome VCS remake of Scramble!

[jaybird3rd]

This might also be River West's way of protecting themselves against legal action from Mike. They may be forced to go through the motions before cutting him loose, even if that's what they've already decided to do.