phattyboombatty Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 (edited) When I got to the counter, the very courteous clerk scanned the first item and said "we're not supposed to be selling these yet, let me check".I had a similar experience at Toys R Us today. Was THRILLED to see them there as others have experienced. Had a terrific clerk who, with his love and admiration of toys, made great conversation about gaming and classic machines of the Atari era. This jubilant pal of Jeffrey had a persona that harkened back to the "toy man" of the 1970s who sold toys because he loved it! Anyways, upon bringing them up to the counter, he scanned them and said, Uh-oh. Jeannine? We have the same problem we had with the Mixels with these..." Jeannine had to check "the list" in the back to make sure they were not on it. After that, it was given the all-clear and she said they were a go! Seems to me like the items' release date was rolled back. I'm not sure I understand how several different TRU retailers could ALL erroneously put them out in shelves one Sunday afternoon across several different states. Edited August 25, 2014 by phattyboombatty 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 Ignoring release dates sounds more like something a mom-n-pop shop or a backwoods discount store (Dollar General) would do, rather than a Toys-R-Us or Sams Club, that frequently deal with brand new inventory. I'm still planning on buying my Coleco Flashback at Dollar General on day one (for the extra game), but if these release dates become moving targets, I'll have to make frequent trips. Dollar General especially seems like the type of place that will just put stuff out whenever the truck comes in. I doubt employees or even the managers will know for sure what stuff comes in until they sign for it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoulBlazer Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 They could be considering rolling back the launch date. It would have to be timed with all of the other retail stores, though. Bill would know more. If anyone sees these at Sam's Club, let me know. I'm still holding out to get that version. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkrownd Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 Dang, I'm gone a day and I miss all the excitement! The local store here is a mini-store, and between that and extra transit time for overseas cargo I don't expect I'll get lucky the way some of you have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Loguidice Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 That's indeed the heart of the problem. Other than ruining advertising schedules and other planning, the whole idea behind having the same roll-out to all the stores was so all of the stock would be in place everywhere, i.e., no retailers getting preferential treatment because their shipments happened to arrive earlier, etc. I assume this won't hurt anything long term, it's just unfortunate that there's going to be relative chaos now, as well as some people having it and others not. Based on what I've been told, the hope is that all remaining stock will be held for the intended date and things can start happening in a more coordinated manner as originally planned. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NIAD Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 ColecoVision released August 1982. CV Flashback released (inadvertently) August 2014. Makes a lot more sense to me releasing tye CVFB in the anniversary month! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 Based on what I've been told, the hope is that all remaining stock will be held for the intended date and things can start happening in a more coordinated manner as originally planned. In my completely biased opinion, they should ship out the preorders now to the people who want them. What a clusterflock! At least no one seems to be scalping these on Ebay or Amazon. I know that if I got my hands on an early box, I would keep it for myself. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onmode-ky Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 I'm not sure when the last time Nintendo licensed out LCD products, though. It could be as long ago as 10 years or more. I don't know how complete it is, but the "Nintendo Mini Classics" Wikipedia entry lists several releases, by a number of different distributors over the years, with the most recent being dated 2007. Also, EntertainmentEarth.com has what looks like a preorder up for another run of Nintendo Mini Classics, attributed to a firm called "Global Holdings" (I say it looks like a preorder because I think this site uses the same terms for both yet-to-release products and items that are just projected to restock at some future date). I'm not sure to what degree the Mini Classics line can be used to gauge Nintendo's willingness to license out DK for the Coleco tabletop recreation, though. The Mini Classics concept, and maybe even the "blueprints" for actual manufacturing execution, seems to be something Nintendo owns and licenses out, whereas the tabletop is third party through and through. The only system-on-a-chip AtGames has is for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive. Don't forget their SMS/GG-on-a-chip implementation, the Noza (of which, linking back to the main thread topic, Coleco Holdings had a release in 2006). Interesting that according to that website, Coleco Holdings also holds the rights to Zaxxon, not SEGA. Continued below . . . Maybe Coleco had some kind of perpetual "non-exclusive" license to use Zaxxon for electronic games and the consoles of the time. Which website were you guys referring to? If you meant Coleco's US trademark registration for the "Zaxxon" mark, the application for that was filed by Coleco Holdings in November 2012. It's not something that's been around since the 80s. If you're talking about a website discussing the Zaxxon IP itself and its copyright ownership, I don't know anything about that, but the mark (the word) in the context of computer/electronic games is registered to Coleco since August 2013. Curiously, the registration entry says, "Use in Commerce: Jun. 01, 2006." I'm not sure what normally goes in that field, but the last use of "Zaxxon" in commerce is surely not so far back as 2006. My own opinion is that they're not necessarily as careful as they should be with what they can and can't do and what they actually have rights to. That's for them to worry about in the end, though. We should kind of worry about it, too, though, because if something has not been fully squared away through all relevant legal processes, and an injunction (?) is successfully filed by someone, products relating to the disputed properties could get pulled from shelves, no? It would be Coleco's problem to handle, but we would lose out, too. Please note, this is just hypothetical and is not a statement of future likelihood. Ignoring release dates sounds more like something a mom-n-pop shop or a backwoods discount store (Dollar General) would do, rather than a Toys-R-Us or Sams Club, that frequently deal with brand new inventory. The thing is, though, this is classified as a toy, not a video game. Games, movies, music, etc. have set release dates, but toys usually just go out whenever they're ready. If you ask a toy company when X new product will hit stores, they'll just give you a response like "should be sometime in August." So, these AtGames "toys" having been assigned actual release dates is not a typical situation for retailers. Controllers are detachable, and the CV controllers are compatible with the original console. Can't wait to try my new controller on my original CV, but since classes start tomorrow, that may have to wait a few days . (boldface is mine) I'm confused. Are you saying you have or have not confirmed that the CV FB's controllers are backwards compatible with the original CV? Yes, the (bogus) few seconds wait after the title screen in CV games is there . That's because it's the original rom, folks! MINOR cosmetic changes on some opening screens for some games due to copyright issues. I've always been under the impression that the 12-second wait is a ColecoVision BIOS operation, meaning it's not actually in any game code. Thus, running the original game ROMs has nothing to do with it. Can you (or anyone else who has picked up an early CV FB) give examples of the cosmetic changes you're seeing on some opening screens? Request to anyone who already has a CV and/or INTV FB: can someone boot up the system(s) while holding down the Start and Select buttons on the base unit? I'd like to see if this brings up a debug/test mode that may reveal which of AtGames' processors is powering the system. Pictures or video footage in particular would be great. Many thanks in advance! onmode-ky 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akator Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 Which website were you guys referring to? If you meant Coleco's US trademark registration for the "Zaxxon" mark, the application for that was filed by Coleco Holdings in November 2012. It's not something that's been around since the 80s. If you're talking about a website discussing the Zaxxon IP itself and its copyright ownership, I don't know anything about that, but the mark (the word) in the context of computer/electronic games is registered to Coleco since August 2013. Curiously, the registration entry says, "Use in Commerce: Jun. 01, 2006." I'm not sure what normally goes in that field, but the last use of "Zaxxon" in commerce is surely not so far back as 2006. We should kind of worry about it, too, though, because if something has not been fully squared away through all relevant legal processes, and an injunction (?) is successfully filed by someone, products relating to the disputed properties could get pulled from shelves, no? It would be Coleco's problem to handle, but we would lose out, too. Please note, this is just hypothetical and is not a statement of future likelihood. The Coleco website says they own the Zaxxon trademark. Our discussion was speculation about why Sega would no longer have the trademark on a recently active IP. Thanks to your link at the USPATO, I surmise that Sega probably let their trademark on Zaxxon expire and River Brands / Coleco snapped it up. That sort of thing has been happening a lot over the last decade because the USPATO does not research whether trademarks or IP are still in active use before granting it to the new applicant. In most cases these trademarks are lost from smaller IP holders without resources and legal teams. It is more unusual for it to happen to a company like Sega, a multinational company earning hundreds on millions in profit each year. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ed1475 Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 (edited) I got the CV Flashback today. The controllers and everything works and plays great. It looks like they reversed the side button functions though. I noticed it on two games, Cosmic Avenger and Tomarc the Barbarian. It came with 8 overlays. Two each for: Ken Uston, Fortune Builder, The Dam Busters, and War Room. Edited August 25, 2014 by ed1475 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scalpel Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 I got the CV Flashback today. The controllers and everything works and plays great. It looks like they reversed the side button functions though. I noticed it on two games, Cosmic Avenger and Tomarc the Barbarian. It came with 8 overlays. Two each for: Ken Uston, Fortune Builder, The Dam Busters, and War Room. Could you post some pictures ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ed1475 Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retroillucid Posted August 25, 2014 Author Share Posted August 25, 2014 CV_Flashback-1.JPG CV_Flashback-2.JPG If someone can help me getting one, please send me a PM Thanks in advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ed1475 Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 If someone can help me getting one, please send me a PM Thanks in advance PM sent. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gavvv Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 Found CV and Atari FBs at TRU in Indy, no sign of the Intv on the endcap 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradd1978 Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 I'd love a CV and INTV if anyone is willing to ship to Canada Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoulBlazer Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 Boy, it's going to be tough waiting till October, but I want the Sam's Club version with the extra overlays. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
didimo63 Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 [...] It looks like they reversed the side button functions though. I noticed it on two games, Cosmic Avenger and Tomarc the Barbarian. [...] So that's what's different! I actually felt that Cosmic Avenger played somewhat better, but I just could not quite put my finger on it. I'll have to test the two side by side, the original CV and this unit. That said, the new button placement in CA makes so much more sense, in my view. More "natural". 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HkryCrkStudio Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 If someone can help me getting one, please send me a PM Thanks in advance What he said!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
didimo63 Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 Boy, it's going to be tough waiting till October, but I want the Sam's Club version with the extra overlays. I may get a Sam's Club version, also, but I'm definitely planning on buying all the overlays from www.intellivisiongames.com [their official release]. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ed1475 Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 Colecovision Flashback 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NIAD Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 (edited) While I'm sure it's covered in the instruction manual and more obviously in the title screen text of the Homebrew games that are included in the CVFB, I think it would have been nice if the Homebrews were listed together on their own menu screen(s) and not intermixed with all the legacy games to better highlight the fact that these are games that have more recently been developed. Aside from that and the poor choice of where the power cord plugs in (should have been on the back by the video cable), looks like AtGames did a very nice job and I'll have to see if I get lucky at a TrU near me. Edited August 26, 2014 by NIAD 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ataridave Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 Here's some footage of games from the Colecovision Flashback: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=x6-rM3Bqa1U Don't ask me how this person got this footage; it's just someone I subscribe to on YouTube. I've never owned a Colecovision but the quality looks great to me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 Boy, it's going to be tough waiting till October, but I want the Dollar General version with the extra game. Fixed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VectorGamer Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 Fairly bad quality video, but you get the idea. I'm VERY pleased with this product! The controllers feel great, very much like the original, yet better. The "mushroom" stick has a nice click to it, and it's very responsive. The side buttons are great, equally more responsive. The keypad, rather than being made of one single layer, has individual buttons, nice and soft. Emulation is spot-on, down to the (annoying? ] few seconds delay on the title screen. Pepper II plays just like the original (I'm a big fan of this game). Excellent product! I didn't see a skill settings screen for Pepper II? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
AtariAge on Instagram
Watch us on YouTube
Chat on Discord
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.