ColecoVision Flashback System

[cimerians]

No store has it where I live. I had to spell COLECO V I S I O N....for some people. I pre-ordered one but I figured I'd give a call to a few stores.

 

Man I feel old.

[Cards1971]

_{I think Toysus will correct this very quickly. It comes up on the register as not allowed to sell until Oct 1. They let me buy an Intellivision Flashback but they immediately started pulling the others off the shelf. You just have to be lucky to get one to the register before they realize they realize it.}

[TrekkiELO]

_{I think Toysus will correct this very quickly. It comes up on the register as not allowed to sell until Oct 1. They let me buy an Intellivision Flashback but they immediately started pulling the others off the shelf. You just have to be lucky to get one to the register before they realize they realize it.}

 

That's crazy, this is one of the dumbest things I have ever heard of or seen in retail!

Edited August 24, 2014 by TrekkiELO

[TrekkiELO]

Releasing in October does not mean October 1. It means "some time" in October. No exact dates were given nor do I think they can be given. These chains have to receive stock, then distribute the stock, etc. It could even be sooner than October 1, but it almost certainly will be some time after. If there are any updates, I'll let everyone know, but right now there are no hard dates.

 

Apparently October does mean October 1st!

[SoulBlazer]

Good for fans, but what a mess!

Indeed. As commented in some other threads, someone at Toys R Us messed up and put the Flashbacks out for sale at a number of their stores and didn't realize it for some 24-48 hours. Now they have been yanked for the 'official' release date of Oct 1st. Someone posted pictures of the boxes they came in, and a video of them playing.

 

At least this means there's some extra information and reviews out for everyone before the release date.

[akator]

I took a chance and at 5PM looked for the Flashbacks at my local Dollar General. Nope, and they didn't even have anything resembling a shelf or endcap space they might sell them. When I asked they had no idea what I was talking about.

[SoulBlazer]

I took a chance and at 5PM looked for the Flashbacks at my local Dollar General. Nope, and they didn't even have anything resembling a shelf or endcap space they might sell them. When I asked they had no idea what I was talking about.

It was just a Toys R Us screw up. Knowing them, I can't say I'm shocked either.

[Bill Loguidice]

It was a screw up at two different retailers (that we know of), with Toys R Us being one of them. Hopefully all stores have pulled back the stock and will wait for the October 1 street date, because that could really be bad news for AtGames's relationship with other retailers. They're all supposed to release at the same time.

[Hyperboy]

I took a chance and at 5PM looked for the Flashbacks at my local Dollar General. Nope, and they didn't even have anything resembling a shelf or endcap space they might sell them. When I asked they had no idea what I was talking about.

Same here in WV, No clue what I was asking about.

[TrekkiELO]

It was a screw up at two different retailers (that we know of), with Toys R Us being one of them. Hopefully all stores have pulled back the stock and will wait for the October 1 street date, because that could really be bad news for AtGames's relationship with other retailers. They're all supposed to release at the same time.

 

Two?! What was the 2nd retailer?

[Bill Loguidice]

 

Two?! What was the 2nd retailer?

 

I can't say.

[TrekkiELO]

 

I can't say.

 

Why?!

 

If it was on their store shelves for everyone to see!

Edited August 24, 2014 by TrekkiELO

[Bill Loguidice]

 

Why?!

 

If it was on their store shelves for everyone to see!

 

Because the person who discovered it hasn't revealed it, so it's not necessarily public knowledge yet. If that person were to reveal the retailer, that's a different story. It's not my place to break that particular bit of news.

[Flojomojo]

Once again the brick and mortar stores get it before the internet preorders! Somebody call me a waaahmbulance, I've waited 30 years and don't want to wait for another five weeks!

[didimo63]

Hey all! Interesting tread. Which may become more interesting after I add a few comments .

So, I'm originally from Italy, born and raised there, but for the past 20 years I've been spending 8 months a year in the US, first as a grad student, then as a college prof. Why does that matter? Well, it doesn't really (especially if you forgive my non-native English ], except that I was in Italy for the whole summer (like I've been doing for the past 20 years). I left in mid-June, and I returned on the 21st.
While in Italy, I don't have a reliable internet connection. I use a crappy 3G Internet Key, which SORT OF works, only really at night, whenI have my own administrative work to do, and very little time to "play" online.
So, as a result, I did not know about the pushed back date for the Intellivision, Colecovision and Atari 5 units.
When pre-orders opened online at Toys'R US several months ago, I thought about pre-ordering, but since no date was specified, and I knew I'd be back on the 21st, I waited.
About 10 days ago I went on the TRUs website and noticed that the pre-orders were nowhere to be seen [so, no, they have not been taken down over the last two days or so. They probably were taken down at least two weeks ago].
Yesterday it was my first jet-lag free day since I returned. I had errands to run and I did not make any plans, and ended up visiting friends in the county, a good 30 miles away from my area. On my way back I decided to stop at a retail store [no, I won't name it], to see whether the Inty, Coleco and Atari 5 had been made available in the meantime. Good, they were on the shelves! I got all 3, debated whether I really needed a Flashback 5 (I already own 1 through 4!), and ultimately decided that YES, I did.

Incidentally, you may recall another post from me, my first, a few months ago. I told how last February I walked into a local Wal-Mart and I saw Atari 5 on the shelves. I just assumed they were already available. I thought against buying one, did not think much about it, then only later did I discover, through a post on one of the forums here, that they were not supposed to be available until August. I had no way to confirm my sighting, and that's ok. But I knew what I saw. The unit I saw last February was exactly like the one I got yesterday, with the Centipede logo and the game boxes (but I somehow thought it had 100 games?).

But I digress.

Seeing all three on the shelves did fill me with joy and I took a picture. To see the names Intellivision, and, even more so, Colecovision again on store shelves after 30+ years was quite the sight!

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". They ultimately decided that since they had been selling the Atari's for a while, it was ok to sell them to me. I did not think much of it, I was focused on getting the new toys I wanted .

When I got to my car, incredibly happy to have in my hands brand-new official Intellivision and Colecovision products (and yes, I have all the originals. And yes, I did own them back in the days. And yes, I do know they are not the same thing. BUT I'm happy nevertheless, they are interesting products!), I took my iPhone out of my pocket and googled "Intellivision Flashback release date". Only then did I realize that indeed I had in my possession something I was not technically supposed to have yet. I messaged Bill LoGuidice on FB and sent him the pic. He confirmed that they were not supposed to be available yet. Wow.

Now, a brief review:

I am VERY pleased with both the Intellivision and the Colecovision units. The controllers are GREAT! They look and "feel" like the original, only BETTER! The side buttons on the INTV are much more responsive. The disk and keypad feel the same.
Regarding the CV, too, the controllers feel the same, BUT they are much better. The infamous mushroom stick is a bit shorter (or so it seems) and has a nice click to it, very easy to handle. The side buttons are much more responsive, and the keypad has individual buttons, rather than a single-layer plastic. 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 .
As www.intellivisiongames.com explains, this is an official product under the BlueSkyRangers name. Emulation in both consoles is SPOT-ON. It's the original, actual game code. No crappy remakes (unlike the infamous Intellivision 25 from a few years ago, what a sad travesty that was).
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.
Game selection is very good in my opinion, especially in light of the notorious licensing issues.

I'm very, very pleased with both.

Interestingly enough, some of my favorite Colecovision games from 30 years ago seemed a bit faster to me. But then I realized that that's because at the time I was playing the PAL, 50Htz version, which is a 10% slower than the NTSC 60Htz one .

AtGames has done a great job, as far as I am concerned. One note of praise to Bill Loguidice for the great job on the instructions. They are concise yet complete, a great resource. Bravo Bill!

Hope this helps .

Ciao!

Edited August 24, 2014 by didimo63

[SoulBlazer]

So it wasn't a Toys R Us you found these at?

 

Hum, I could see one chain messing up, but TWO?

 

Yeah, heads are going to roll for this one.

[didimo63]

So it wasn't a Toys R Us you found these at?

 

Hum, I could see one chain messing up, but TWO?

 

Yeah, heads are going to roll for this one.

It may, or may not have been. I don't want any heads to roll. I did not it could not be done, the clerks were in good faith, and they treated me as a customer in a remarkably great way. As far as I am concerned, that was some of the best, most courteous customer service I ever received .

[SoulBlazer]

It may, or may not have been. I don't want any heads to roll. I did not it could not be done, the clerks were in good faith, and they treated me as a customer in a remarkably great way. As far as I am concerned, that was some of the best, most courteous customer service I ever received .

Well, I totally understand you not wanting to say the store if it was NOT a Toys R Us, but other people have confirmed they bought some Flashbacks AT Toys R Us, so we KNOW they screwed up. So there's no harm in saying that it was a Toys R Us that you found yours at if you did indeed find them there. If not, then you can stay quiet on the other chain. (At least until October 1st -- once they make street date then there's no harm anymore.)

 

It also sounds like Bill knows a second chain also messed up on this.

 

Good that they sold you the units, though, I do admit to being a bit envious.

[frank_c]

 

I can't say.

 

Rhymes with?

[phattyboombatty]

Check it out!! Toys R Us had the AF5, the CV, and the Inty!

 

EDIT: Check out the props! Congratulations

Gentlemen!

Edited August 25, 2014 by phattyboombatty

[AtariBrian]

I pre ordered mine from Toys R Us so why would they be selling them if I havent been informed that mine is in yet ?

[Zwackery]

My TRU did not have any out, and indeed there was some confusion over where they will be in the store...likely not with the video games but over in the board games section (that's where they have the Jakks plug'n'play stuff).

[phattyboombatty]

These were right around the corner from the X-Box stuff, by the iPhone accessories. I was considering buying out the shelf stock, but settled for just two.

[+nanochess]

Check it out!! Toys R Us had the AF5, the CV, and the Inty!

 

EDIT: Check out the props! Congratulations

Gentlemen!

Cool!

[didimo63]

Well, I totally understand you not wanting to say the store if it was NOT a Toys R Us, but other people have confirmed they bought some Flashbacks AT Toys R Us, so we KNOW they screwed up. So there's no harm in saying that it was a Toys R Us that you found yours at if you did indeed find them there. [...]

I understand your point. At this point, however, my main goal is to protect as much as possible the nice customer service people who helped me out that store. My location has been mentioned a few times here. Since the people who helped me were in perfect good faith (items were on the shelves, etc), I want to protect them as much as possible . In my experience, in fact, it's always the poor young person down the ladder that ends up paying the price for the screw-ups of the people up above. I truly don't want that to be the case.

Edited August 25, 2014 by didimo63