Sears Tele-Games Pro Video Arcade?

[ColecoFan1981]

I wonder if Sears had any considerations over slapping its own name on the ColecoVision during 1983, to sell it as the Tele-Games (and no, we are not to confound this defunct brand name with Telegames without hyphen) Pro Video Arcade, just as they had with selling the Atari 2600 VCS as the Video Arcade and the Mattel Intellivision as the Super Video Arcade?

 

Since much of the ColecoVision library was based around arcade licenses, like Donkey Kong and Zaxxon, and at least one cartoon license, Smurf: Rescue in Gargamel's Castle, there would not be many title changes for the Sears versions (such would only apply to Coleco original programming, like Super Action Baseball) of these cartridges.

 

The 12-second title screen on the Coleco publications (with the Sears Tele-Games label) would remove the rainbow COLECOVISION lettering but would retain the other text identifying the game title and licensor, and the Coleco copyright notice.

 

Did you folks have any thoughts on whether Sears could've sold the ColecoVision under its own name?

 

~Ben

Edited December 1, 2012 by ColecoFan1981

[NIAD]

Anything is a possibility, but as you mentioned, all the licensed titles that were in the CV's library at the time would have made such a venture on Sears' part a lot less profitable. Sears would have had only one game to sell under their Tele-Games label, Ken Uston BnP, in early 1983 until more Coleco original productions were developed and still there weren't very many until 1984.Even then, most were licensed from movies and TV shows as well as a number of games from Konami.

 

I'm sure Sears personal took a look at this and decided that it was easier and more profitable just to resell the Coleco brand.

[ColecoFan1981]

Anything is a possibility, but as you mentioned, all the licensed titles that were in the CV's library at the time would have made such a venture on Sears' part a lot less profitable. Sears would have had only one game to sell under their Tele-Games label, Ken Uston BnP, in early 1983 until more Coleco original productions were developed and still there weren't very many until 1984.Even then, most were licensed from movies and TV shows as well as a number of games from Konami.

 

I'm sure Sears personal took a look at this and decided that it was easier and more profitable just to resell the Coleco brand.

In the case of Ken Uston B/P, Sears would eliminate the Ken Uston reference altogether, calling it simply "Blackjack/Poker."

 

Likewise, Super Action Baseball would be renamed by Sears as Team Play Baseball, an allusion to the use of the "Team Play" branding on Sears's Coleco-made handheld electronic games like Electronic Team Play Baseball which itself was the Sears version of Coleco's Head-to-Head Electronic Baseball, and because SAB was originally to be released for the CV in 1982 under the name Head-to-Head Baseball. However, the title screen for the TPB cart would still read "PRESENTS SUPER-ACTION BASEBALL" with "© 1983 COLECO" below that, but again without the rainbow COLECOVISION lettering on top of the screen.

 

I believe that if Sears went ahead and released the Pro Video Arcade in late 1982 (they released their versions of the Atari 2600 VCS and Mattel Intellivision almost immediately in the same year as the respective original versions introduced in 1977 and 1980 respectively), the cartridge labels would've been silver in color to match the ColecoVision boxes which were also silver.

 

~Ben

Edited December 2, 2012 by ColecoFan1981