Coleco Chameleon .... hardware speculations?

[PikoInteractive]

 

 

Did the CV Flashback not sell well in the US?

 

In Canada, they were sold exclusively by Bed, Bath and Beyond for $40Cdn. The stores near me sold 500+ of EACH of the available Flashback models, as well as the Sega console and handhelds. I spoke to managers of 3 locations, so that's 1,500 of each model just in my general area. As far as I'm concerned, that's pretty good for a system like that.

 

In here (at least Tx) they were listed at 59.99 and saw them stay unsold for a while. Then all of the sudden they were at $25 (walgreens), and $10 (sams or cotsco can't recall)

[goldenegg]

 

I can't go into more detail, but sales were actually good relatively speaking, although neither the Intellivision or CV Flashback met retailer expectations. That is of course the pitfall with estimating production runs for physical goods. If you overestimate demand, there's unsold stock and retailers lose interest. This is why digital tends to be a much safer approach, i.e., there are no stock levels to manage.

 

 

Interesting. Maybe we just have more ColecoVision fans in the Toronto area

[S1500]

With no real prototype, things such as: the supreme Coleco council, "stakeholders", "inspection team", "vice _____", "_____ president" & other corporate talk doesn't mean anything. I'm just reminded of the South Park kids and their pretend laundry service.

[Bill Loguidice]

 

FTFY

 

[all likes] - [fake likes] - [people who just liked it for the lulz] - [people who don't want to spend money on vaporware] = number of real backers

 

It's probably more than zero but probably less than what would be needed to get this going.

 

I agree. The less specific audience you target, the more likely you are to have cut down the percentage of people who will actually come through with money for a purchase versus those who are "lurkers" (or worse). I bet it could be as low as 5% on a place like Facebook.

[+Random Terrain]

I just discovered that the user Janus, who had been trolling in this thread (including repeatedly calling people here "haters") until I finally kicked "her" out, is actually Mark Kaminski, who works for RETRO Magazine.

So, if there was a band called MK and the Sycophants, he'd be one of the people in green.

 

[Flojomojo]

As a DP admin, I can confirm that the Janus from DP is the same Janus from here. Janus didn't try to hide 'her' email when registering on the site. Mark@......

 

I was so caught up in checking out Flamdini, I didn't think to check the other elephant in the thread.

 

I did a reverse Google Images search on Janus @ digital press, and matched it to a real person's Google Plus account. Not cool.

 

Wow, the Janus thing is unreal. I was sure the account was just a troll messing with us, I would've never though it to be a shill account.

 

I've seen some strange posts in the Jaguar forum over the years, but this saga takes the cake by far.

 

It certainly smelled like a shill account, until it started switching sides and just posting crap for laughs. I had even warned the poster that they would be discovered (it sure sounded like something our pal Parrothead would say). Yet another proof of the Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory.

[Tempest]

I just discovered that the user Janus, who had been trolling in this thread (including repeatedly calling people here "haters") until I finally kicked "her" out, is actually Mark Kaminski, who works for RETRO Magazine.

Well to be fair, I can't believe we didn't catch this earlier. I mean Janus is the two faced Roman god after all.

[Keatah]

 

The ColecoVision Flashback didn't sell well enough, so I don't expect AtGames to make any more Coleco branded products.

 

The mini- arcade units with a Raspberry Pi and lcd screen are a great idea. The only problem is that a Raspberry pi is way too expensive for manufacturing and distributing and then making a profit. To get a Raspberry Pi with a power supply costs more than the entire ColecoVision Flashback.

 

AtGames (or some other company) couldn't use a Raspberry Pi, they would need to make there own board in China for a fraction of the $35 cost of a Pi. And given the lackluster sales of the ColecoVision Flashback, they will probably decide not to make any more Coleco products.

 

However, for someone on Atariage to sell mini-acrade Raspberry Pi units is a great idea. They could either be finished units, or kits you make yourself. You could print out a Coleco logo, or a Pac Man logo, or whatever you wanted. Its technically copyright infringement to do that, but you would never be sued over such a home made kit.

 

 

The Starforce Pi was many of these things. But it failed. And regarding an R-Pi being purchased in bulk and then be resold inside a finished product? Sure it will cost what it costs, but you're getting good stuff.

 

Printing out logos of your favorite systems and taping them to the emulation/simulation hardware lends more presence and meaning than you think.

 

A long time ago, when laptops were all the rage, I had a nice full-size Atari logo adorning the lid. And it attracted attention at the likes of Starbucks and Panera Bread. Eventually I grew out of that phase, and the attention was becoming annoying.

[some_canuck]

 

 

Interesting. Maybe we just have more ColecoVision fans in the Toronto area

 

i knew a few as a kid. i couldn't get over the telephone keypad though.

[Andromeda Stardust]

 

Granted the CC did generate traffic for the booth, but from what Chris told me there was quite a bit of interest in the mini arcades as well (Think those would be his best bet to bring back)

Given the fact the Mini arcades are 10,000% more likely to see the light of day compared to the Chameleon, I'm actually somewhat excited about them. I just wish they could reissue Donkey Kong, but due to the iron fist of Nintendo, is unlikely to happen.

[StopDrop&Retro]

I know he had the money I was led to think he spent his own money but he said after posted (posted by a member here) that he funded one project with another, never his own dime. It was a good idea the system idea too but if you do a project you MUST spend your time and money, then ask for help and I feel he skipped it two times to do that.

 

You have no idea....

 

I illustrated exactly what happened with the Jaguar molds situation according to Mike himself in a video I just posted:

 

The Mikeonomic System of Retro Land Explained!

[PlaysWithWolves]

The thread is slowing down and now we're debuffing a guy who may be only remotely affiliated with the Chameleon now. We need MK to do something to liven this place up.

 

 

I just discovered that the user Janus, who had been trolling in this thread (including repeatedly calling people here "haters") until I finally kicked "her" out, is actually Mark Kaminski, who works for RETRO Magazine.

 

[Flojomojo]

I can't go into more detail, but sales were actually good relatively speaking, although neither the Intellivision or CV Flashback met retailer expectations. That is of course the pitfall with estimating production runs for physical goods. If you overestimate demand, there's unsold stock and retailers lose interest. This is why digital tends to be a much safer approach, i.e., there are no stock levels to manage.

 

 

I guess distribution for this kind of thing is tricky. I remember the C64-in-a-stick being available on a home shopping network before it appeared at KB Toys. I was hot to get one of those, and pre-ordered right away. You'd think direct-to-the-consumer would be a better way to find an audience, but would you say that getting these items into physical stores is more important for this kind of toy?

[Cav]

I just discovered that the user Janus, who had been trolling in this thread (including repeatedly calling people here "haters") until I finally kicked "her" out, is actually Mark Kaminski, who works for RETRO Magazine. Janus had a previous account by the name Mr Retro, although he hasn't used that one since last September. ..Al

 

Thanks for uncovering and posting. That's about as sad as it gets. I know I didn't run CGM as successfully as I should have/wanted to, but at least my contributors had some dignity (well, 99% of them anyway). This is getting more and more depressing.

[+5-11under]

Wow, the Janus thing is unreal. I was sure the account was just a troll messing with us, I would've never thought it to be a shill account.

 

I've seen some strange posts in the Jaguar forum over the years, but this saga takes the cake by far.

 

The weird thing (or maybe not) is he never posted anything meaningful or substantial... just stupid random tidbits based on nothing.

[shawnphase]

vice weighs in (with inaccuracies galore)...

 

http://motherboard.vice.com/read/crowdfunded-coleco-chameleon-game-console-is-a-mess

[phoenixdownita]

Wow, the Janus thing is unreal. I was sure the account was just a troll messing with us, I would've never thought it to be a shill account.

 

I've seen some strange posts in the Jaguar forum over the years, but this saga takes the cake by far.

Cake and spark plugs and frying pan

 

I don't think we've seen the end of it. The momentum so far has been one for an incredible climax, I would be sorely disappointed if there was no flamboyant fireworks in the end.

[PapaStu]

 

I did a reverse Google Images search on Janus @ digital press, and matched it to a real person's Google Plus account. Not cool.

 

I did a quick check, it returned back to 5 g+ accounts, at this point I'm sure the image is just being lifted for fake accounts. There were two accounts that referenced North Carolina, not South Carolina, like the profile on DP states.

 

Still shady and desperately sad.

[phoenixdownita]

vice weighs in (with inaccuracies galore)...

 

http://motherboard.vice.com/read/crowdfunded-coleco-chameleon-game-console-is-a-mess

To be fair this whole thing got blew out of proportion when "journalists/youtubers" stopped doing fact-checking or simple checking or in same cases stopped mentioning "paid-advertisement".

So that piece is just a child of this whole story, luckily we don't need it to be 100% accurate.

[shawnphase]

oh i know, i was just a little bit surprised to see vice pick it up at all.

[atm94404]

Wow, the Janus thing is unreal. I was sure the account was just a troll messing with us, I would've never thought it to be a shill account.

 

I've seen some strange posts in the Jaguar forum over the years, but this saga takes the cake by far.

Wow. Mike and Co. aren't even competent at drumming up fake buzz. I thought it was a joke account because of the hysterical level of support and blind devotion didn't seem realistic even for the biggest RETRO fanboy.

[jaybird3rd]

I just discovered that the user Janus, who had been trolling in this thread (including repeatedly calling people here "haters") until I finally kicked "her" out, is actually Mark Kaminski, who works for RETRO Magazine. Janus had a previous account by the name Mr Retro, although he hasn't used that one since last September. ..Al

Thanks VERY much for uncovering yet another example of duplicity and unprofessionalism from the RVGS team.

 

Unless I'm mistaken, the "Janus" profile photo that Mark Kaminski used on Digital Press is actually a picture stolen from a real woman's social media profile (name and link deleted); hers seems to be the original.

 

EDIT: Looks like somebody already beat me to it! I also removed the image and link.

[Keatah]

So true. Bad Good things happen when people stop trying to monetize everything. Good things happen when people support old things out of love and respect for the material.

 

The best thing "Coleco" could do for the community is to turn over to the public domain what little intellectual property it holds. Same goes for "Atari."

 

When your efforts consist mostly of embarrassing missteps (Coleco) or suing people doing cooler things than you are capable of (Atari), it's time to rethink things.

 

Then you'd have the corporate equivalent of seller's remorse. The corporation that gave up the licensing rights would now be feeling quite badly for itself when it eyes the startup that got the formula right and sold 500,000 mini-mame cabs.

 

Companies know that and think that way today, now. And they pre-emptively stop the situation from arising by not licensing in the first place.

 

In the end nothing gets done legally and above-board.

[bretthorror]

Something tells me Mike is paying everyone in Chameleon shares and that is what's causing so much bullshit with his RETRO guys. I don't see why else they'd pretend to stand by this shit like they've done.

 

It's purely speculation, but I don't believe for one second that certain people are dumb enough to drink Mike's Kool-aid when they're involved in the scene and everyone else they supposedly respect is against him. I understand randoms being misled. But not these people. Post toy fair, anyone on his side not talking didn't give two shits about anyone but themselves in this. All they had to do was chime in like Piko did to save face and they didn't. It's a fine line, but Piko played his cards right, others didn't.

 

Again that is 100% speculation.

[jaybird3rd]

You have no idea....

 

I illustrated exactly what happened with the Jaguar molds situation according to Mike himself in a video I just posted:

 

The Mikeonomic System of Retro Land Explained!

Excellent video! I loved the "Office Space" reference at the end. You're right: even if this project were legitimate, there's no reason at all for someone like Mike to be a part of it, much less at the head of it.