Clint Thompson

my response to Coleco:
 
1.) Where's the molds from the original run in 1982? It would keep costs down (just like the Retro VGS/Chameleon) to repurchase/aquire the original plastic shell molds (like they did buying the Atari Jaguar molds).
2.) I'm guessing the VFD displays are not do-able today, so LED screens would have to be used.
3.) Keep it under $100 each. If at all possible under $50 (but they were $59.99 in 1982 when the originals came out)
4.) Titles: would like to see the original Coleco "in development" titles finally released: Berzerk, DK Jr., & Omega Race, and possibly a mini MAME/multicade type of unit. Others would be Joust, Dig Dug, Burgertime, Rally-X
5.) Most important! A "working" model - don't copy the Chameleon.
6.) Would they run on 4 "C" batteries and/or the original Coleco Perma-Power adapter? Updated with a rechargeable battery built-in, maybe.

Coleco is actually stepping up, since the Chameleon mess, and asking what we want!...... for the return of the Coleco Tabletops.......
 
https://www.facebook.com/1616402778636687/photos/a.1623318027945162.1073741828.1616402778636687/1699779790298985/?type=3&theater
 

...I figure I'll start things off with a bang.  Behold!
 

 

 
I love, love, love my 2800.  Everything about it!  Don't get me wrong, I love a woodgrain sixer like anyone else, but there's just something about this thing that grabs me by the shoulders and demands my attention:
 

 
It's got a great overall look, but there's also the little things, like the Atari plates on the controllers:
 

 
Got a 4-player game?  Got you covered:
 

 
Sure, I can't play Space Shuttle on it very easily:
 

 
And I do wonder why my controllers weren't manufactured at the same time the console was made:
 

 
I mean, is it a Sears Video Arcade II with different plates?  Well, yeah.  But regardless -- this is beautiful technology to me, and it's easy for me to see why they modeled the 7800 on this design.
 
More to come!

At least Virtual Boy was real! 

More from Mark Thomann, the owner of the Coleco brand and President of River West Brands:
 
"Our intention is genuine, to come out with something unique under the Coleco brand. If that's not happening with this group [RetroVGS] we'll be doing it with someone else. Sometimes when you have something like this happen, maybe there's a group out there that can do it, and help us introduce a better product.
 
Any partner we do business with has to be 100 percent transparent. If that's not the case, we're not going to go forward with any partnership, license or otherwise. A lot of this is new information to me. But we have great relationships with other companies, and we will produce new products for Coleco fans."
 
[Via] Nintendo Life

shows you how serious they are about the brand unlike how people thought they are just giving thier name out.

I don't know man...the fact that they legally had to hold a private contest for the third prize was kind of surprising.  Was that third prize ever awarded? 
 
“They held a very quiet, non-public contest with the 10 people who solved the Waterworld contest. The crown was awarded to the third prize winner.” While we could find no hard evidence of this contest, Vendel says the contest had to take place by law.

That's the part I hadn't heard about, but I can't tell if Curt is speculating or not.

Link stolen from Facebook post by Marty Golberg
 
http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-quest-for-the-reallife-treasures-of-ataris-swordquest?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=atlas-page
 
Interesting research on what happened to the prizes that were and weren't awarded. Looks like only the chalice remains.

Quite sad, knowing that some of the prizes are forever lost.  

BREAKING: COLECO HOLDINGS HAS OFFICIALLY PULLED ITS NAME FROM THE CHAMELEON PROJECT
 
Statement from Coleco:
 
"Retro has decided that the work that they have created is not sufficient to demonstrate at this time. Consequently, we can no longer proceed with the project and the Chameleon project will be terminated. This separation is amicable. We wish Retro luck in the future."
 
The first line of the statement is a polite way of saying RetroVGS has refused to comply with Coleco's demand to inspect their prototype units within a seven day timeframe per their agreement. This puts RetroVGS in breach of contract with Coleco, and has resulted in Coleco Holdings pulling their name from the project. Coleco was never able to examine the prototypes and has no new information to share with us.
 
 
 

 
 
From Engadget:
Coleco Officially Pulls Its Name From The Chameleon
It's time to abandon ship.
http://www.engadget.com/2016/03/08/coleco-pulls-support-from-chameleon/

another article:
 
http://motherboard.vice.com/read/crowdfunded-coleco-chameleon-game-console-is-a-mess
 
Crowdfunded Game Console Is Made Out of Tape, Cardboard, and Fake Circuits

I knew. This whole thing is a sham. A damn shame, I tell you. *shakes head*

Can't forsee them getting much of any support now that they've deceived and lost the trust of anyone and everyone. Such a shame too, considering the free press of gaming sites they were given and the amount of people that were actually interested in something like this to materialize. Those poor Jaguar molds.... such a shame I don't have the money or means of obtaining them.

I feel the same way, its sad because at the heart of the script its about the love of retro gaming.  It's sad to see how far this got out of hand, it's been quite a lesson my kids have been learning this week about telling the truth and how one lie can turn into a nightmare.  Thanks for the kind words about the Jag Bar, I try to take the high road on most things but this part of the story needed to get out, today was the day.

Can't forsee them getting much of any support now that they've deceived and lost the trust of anyone and everyone. Such a shame too, considering the free press of gaming sites they were given and the amount of people that were actually interested in something like this to materialize. Those poor Jaguar molds.... such a shame I don't have the money or means of obtaining them.

Can't forsee them getting much of any support now that they've deceived and lost the trust of anyone and everyone. Such a shame too, considering the free press of gaming sites they were given and the amount of people that were actually interested in something like this to materialize. Those poor Jaguar molds.... such a shame I don't have the money or means of obtaining them.

Can't forsee them getting much of any support now that they've deceived and lost the trust of anyone and everyone. Such a shame too, considering the free press of gaming sites they were given and the amount of people that were actually interested in something like this to materialize. Those poor Jaguar molds.... such a shame I don't have the money or means of obtaining them.

So disappointing. I was hoping to see a blurry hamster wheel spinning in there.

To their credit, delaying the Kickstarter until it's ready is better than trying to launch it when it's not. Probably the wisest move at this point if they had that choice. Anything less is digging a deeper hole.
 
Our friends at Warpo Toys launched a successful Kickstarter with their Legends of Cthulhu action figure line in 2014. Needless to say it was an awesome project with an authentic team. They were successful in part because they kept the wraps on things until they were ready to go. Hardly anyone knew about the project until Warpo had all of their pre-production Cthulhu figures, artwork, packaging, sizzle video and website complete. Only then did their project become known to the public.
 
This in my opinion has been the Coleco Chameleon's biggest misstep. Most all upstarts have major challenges to overcome, but they do so while working quietly in the garage where it's okay to make mistakes, not in the public eye after they've already set expectations and set their own deadlines. The public has been focusing attention on this project since the idea first popped into Mike Kennedy's head. Mike could have quietly purchased the Jaguar tooling and sold Jaguar shells without any mention of a new retro console until they were ready to go with a pre-production prototype that would wow the world. This would've enabled them to manage expectations and garner positive press and public sentiment. 

Final verdict: They blew it!
 
Rarely do you ever get a second chance to try and make right on your first, very royal screw up. Yet somehow, they managed to buy themselves a second chance AND a second name, even landing some very generous gaming news coverage. All for nothing.
 
They made announcement after announcement, endlessly hyping a non-proven to exist prototype, clearly shoved what is still proven to be nothing other than an SNES into a Jaguar shell, then daily went into the different KS goals, packages, etc. finally leading to the "Tomorrow is the big day!!!" announcement, and then last minute decide to pull out? What a load of crap. They played everyone. Wasting everyone's time and seriously screwed themselves out of being taken serious to any degree of possible recovery. It's a running joke now and can you really trust someone that mass-deletes every single comment on their social media outlets? It'll be a miracle if this thing ever materializes but I wouldn't place bets to it actually happening, especially now.
 
#Vaporware

Final verdict: They blew it!
 
Rarely do you ever get a second chance to try and make right on your first, very royal screw up. Yet somehow, they managed to buy themselves a second chance AND a second name, even landing some very generous gaming news coverage. All for nothing.
 
They made announcement after announcement, endlessly hyping a non-proven to exist prototype, clearly shoved what is still proven to be nothing other than an SNES into a Jaguar shell, then daily went into the different KS goals, packages, etc. finally leading to the "Tomorrow is the big day!!!" announcement, and then last minute decide to pull out? What a load of crap. They played everyone. Wasting everyone's time and seriously screwed themselves out of being taken serious to any degree of possible recovery. It's a running joke now and can you really trust someone that mass-deletes every single comment on their social media outlets? It'll be a miracle if this thing ever materializes but I wouldn't place bets to it actually happening, especially now.
 
#Vaporware

Final verdict: They blew it!
 
Rarely do you ever get a second chance to try and make right on your first, very royal screw up. Yet somehow, they managed to buy themselves a second chance AND a second name, even landing some very generous gaming news coverage. All for nothing.
 
They made announcement after announcement, endlessly hyping a non-proven to exist prototype, clearly shoved what is still proven to be nothing other than an SNES into a Jaguar shell, then daily went into the different KS goals, packages, etc. finally leading to the "Tomorrow is the big day!!!" announcement, and then last minute decide to pull out? What a load of crap. They played everyone. Wasting everyone's time and seriously screwed themselves out of being taken serious to any degree of possible recovery. It's a running joke now and can you really trust someone that mass-deletes every single comment on their social media outlets? It'll be a miracle if this thing ever materializes but I wouldn't place bets to it actually happening, especially now.
 
#Vaporware

So, the 2nd official letdown. Still calling BS on whatever PCB is in that shell. If you're really creating something unique and special and have really made up a PCB board then where on earth are the photos of the pre-populated PCB boards?
 
Didn't think so.

Wonder if they decided to just cancel it all last minute. Dead silence. *crickets*