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Coleco Chameleon .... hardware speculations?


phoenixdownita

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Yeah, it would have been a bit more believable if they would have taken the time to do that. Might have taken a little longer to figure out it was an SNES inside.

Oh, don't get me wrong: even with an LED, it still would have looked like a bad science project hastily put together by a school kid who's trying to convince his friends that he built his own game system. It's just amazing to me that nobody on the team seems to have realized that the first question on the mind of anyone seeing this thing for the first time would be "hey, wait a minute, why isn't the power light on?".

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Well, if it's an SNES Jr., we know why he's lugging around that old heavy TV.

 

I'm looking forward to more posts that we're dragging his (and COLECO's) good name through the mud by pointing out the problems. It's kind of like dragging VW's name through the mud by showing that the cars put out more noxious fumes than advertised.

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Has anyone posted about this on their FB page? I'm guessing that they'd be quickly taking down any such posts and likely blocking anyone who posts anything about it.

someone named David just did under the pic of the back of the console. will see how long it lasts

 

"So ... that's an SNES video cable. I think I know why your prototype controllers aren't working. There's no way for them to work when you've just gone and shoved a SNES in to a Jag shell. That would also explain the SNES flash cart used to play the games. This is not a prototype system."

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i actually can`t believe that anybody would be so stupid to cram a SNES into a Jaguar-shell and call it a prototype for a soon-to-be-released new console... but this is pretty much what this looks like.

i still can´t believe this...

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This is a HW speculation thread after-all so here we go!

 

The Coleco Chameleon shown at the Toy Fair is:

 

1) SNES mini + SD2SNES

2) SNES clone + SD2SNES

3) ARM emu + cart slot adapter + SD2SNES

4) I don't fuxxing care anymore, whatever it is, it is not what they would ask money for anyway.

 

 

What would Mike excuses "take on it" be:

 

1) I didn't know what I was holding in my hand, I didn't see the SD2SNES taped on the back of the cart

2) I didn't know what was inside the Jag case, I just work here

3) Karma karma karma karma karma chameleon, you come and go, you come and go ooooooh

4) ...

All I ask is moving forward into the New Year is you try and give the Chameleon a fair chance to stand on its own, and again forget about the past. Let it speak for itself when we reveal it to you all early this New Year. And finally, lets respect one another and our opinions (some advice I am directing towards myself) and that goes for both believers and non-believers of what we are trying to do. In the end, we all love and are passionate about video games and sometimes this passion causes us to do uncharacteristic things.

ATTENTION: if I am making a fool of myself by jumping to conclusions I am happy to apologize

 

EDIT: I see Albert is keeping a watchful eye on this thread, if I am out of place please let me know, no need to close the thread I think.

Edited by phoenixdownita
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i actually can`t believe that anybody would be so stupid to cram a SNES into a Jaguar-shell and call it a prototype for a soon-to-be-released new console... but this is pretty much what this looks like.

i still can´t believe this...

 

Well, that is the assumption, isn't it. It certainly does not look very good. If a third party that is at the show can confirm it, it is really stick a fork in it.... it is done.

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It's funny, because SD&R pointed that out when the pic dropped a few days ago... I didn't think too much of it. Now, I guess we know why the LED is mysteriously absent.

 

How could they have managed to top their first disaster? It's mind boggling.

 

You know who has two thumbs and feels completely vindicated?

 

200.gif

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This is exactly why I said repeatedly that Mike should gradually leak small pieces of info instead of hyping up his bullshit to inevitably end in a gigantic failure. There's a SNES flashcart in a shell and a SNES board? Give me a break. Does that even count as a prototype for KS? Mike's "miracles" was he took an old console we already all have and old games for it that were currently available for it and plugged it in. That's totally sad and even more of a slap in the face/gut buster than the other proto vid back in the first go-round. At this point I am actually beginning to wonder if Mike is just that dumb or is legitimately trying to scam people. I never thought he had ill intentions before, but now I'm not so sure.

 

I am almost positive right now that I will not back their KS unless they have amazing deals for first backers. Otherwise I'll definitely just wait and see. If the guy in the other thread that has a deal with Coleco now is right, the games are gonna be $25-$35, which to me is still way too high considering I can get real homebrews for old systems from people who made the games for around that and I don't need to buy more hardware. I really don't see how anyone is gonna trust this guy on a Kickstarter when his proto was a console he never made inside of a Jag shell.

 

The guy has obviously done absolutely nothing in the last 4 months trying to turn the Chameleon around. There's no way he didn't know he'd get butchered for this and found out somehow when the SNES controllers came out. I knew something was up when the system was not hooked up to an HDTV in that teaser pic, but I had no idea they'd stoop so low as to just use a SNES... literally. It also proves why he got with those guys who made those games in the first place and released the lost ones - because all he was gonna have at the Toy Fair was a SNES and he needed "new" SNES games to run on it.

 

One thing is for sure, you can't make this shit up with the RVGS.

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After their IndieGoGo campaign crashed and burned, I assumed that they'd go the "off-the-shelf" route and build a new system around one of the many sub-$40 ARM-based project boards that are out there, even though that would have left them with little to differentiate their system from all the others built around the same technology.

 

Now, I'm beginning to doubt that they were even able to accomplish that much. If they're really using a modern ARM-based system and an emulator, it actually would have been easier to set up their "prototype" with an HDMI display and the USB controllers they've been showing us all along. So why did they bother to lug an old analog CRT TV in there, and why are they using SNES controllers "hard-wired" into the console?

 

The most straightforward explanation is that the hardware inside the console really is some sort of SNES ... which would mean that they've still failed to come up with something that has a reason to exist. Why should anyone buy this over a RetroN 5? Somebody at the show needs to ask them that; I'd be curious to hear what they'd say.

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What i really do not understand is why they not even tried at least a bit to hide the fact that this ist a SNES in a Jag-shell... how hard can it be to use a different controller, to make that damn light work, to use a different TV-cable und to stuff the back of the Jag-shell with something nicer than tape...

I really don`t get this... is this supposed to be some kind of weird joke?

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If this theory with the "SNES-in-Jags clothes" is true then this thing literally has no market value whatsoever, especially at 150$.

Want to make your own Chameleon? Buy a random SNES-clone from china, or the Gamerz Tek SNES-console (about 30-50$). Paint it black (cheap paint from hobby shop) and put Coleco logo on that you printed from the internet on sticker-paper and use the bundled SNES-alike controllers or whatever you want to use to control the game as anything goes, apparently. Bingo!
Want to be totally rad? Buy busted Jaguar from Ebay or random user on AA and spend the evening moving over the Clone into the Jag shell. Apply sticker. "Hardwire" the controllers through a hole in the Jag front.
Make sure to leave the power button on the console inside the Jag shell permanently on and control the power on/off by pulling out the cord from the wall socket. Do not even think about wiring the power LED.

Buy SD flashcart from china. Load with homebrew. Go online and show your new, cool prototype for console that will be the video game cartridge revolution and revival.

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What i really do not understand is why they not even tried at least a bit to hide the fact that this ist a SNES in a Jag-shell... how hard can it be to use a different controller, to make that damn light work, to use a different TV-cable und to stuff the back of the Jag-shell with something nicer than tape...

I really don`t get this... is this supposed to be some kind of weird joke?

they did try to hide it, but they did a bad job. they probably just did not think about the snes cart edge connector being that distinct that it was easily recognizable. and not covering the whole rest of the flash cart with tape was also a mistake. then he took a pic of the back of the console, which he probably never intended to do or he would have put more tape around it to hide the nintendo multiout.

Edited by mickcris
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What i really do not understand is why they not even tried at least a bit to hide the fact that this ist a SNES in a Jag-shell... how hard can it be to use a different controller, to make that damn light work, to use a different TV-cable und to stuff the back of the Jag-shell with something nicer than tape...

I really don`t get this... is this supposed to be some kind of weird joke?

Because if you can do no wrong and think everyone else is stupid, you don't need to bother with those kinds of details. There is no immorality to showing the peons one thing, promising them another, and lying to them the whole time because they're below your greatness and as such and aren't smart enough to know whats best for them. Sit down. Shut up. Get behind the project. You don't know anything.

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....

It is the end of a very tumultuous year for me and in the spirit of Christmas and the holidays I wanted to come in here and ask those of you who will listen to let the past be the past as it relates to this (ad)venture. RETRO VGS is the past and COLECO Chameleon is the future. The Chameleon is not just a rebranded Retro VGS. Despite sharing some of the same internal components the hardware has been completely redesigned to lower the cost while maintaining much of its ability to play a wide variety of games in a variety of ways. To boil this all down to its essence we just want to produce a product that is different, affordable and will bring joy to peoples lives. The market will ultimately decide if we are crazy enough to believe a cartridge console can stand its ground in this age of digital delivery. There are clearly lots of people on both sides of this fence and ultimately it will all come down to the games that can be played and if they are compelling enough to vie for peoples hard earned money.

....

I guess the shared components are:

1) electrical tape

2) ....

 

that's it.

 

 

EDIT: I know I'm taking cheap shots, but for once I would love to have Parrothead chime in and say something, anything about the Toy Fair proto.

Edited by phoenixdownita
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I'll give it this much: After all of the speculations, NOBODY predicted this :rolling:

Good job team RVGS! You took a perfectly good SNES, removed the endlabels, gave it a cheaper controller, and voila!

 

Hey, credit where credit's due: At least this time they actually put the circuit board inside of the Jaguar case instead of under it!

 

EDIT: I know I'm taking cheap shots, but for once I would love to have parrothead chime in and say something, anything about the Toy Fair proto.

 

I'm still in denial. After RVGS, I can't believe anyone would do something so idiotic as what is suspected here. I actually want it to be more than an SNES mini. A little faith in humanity may be restored.

Edited by PlaysWithWolves
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So, Is there any better pictures or videos of this 'console' at the toy show? Everything I've seen so far has been blurry, not HD , etc.. It's 2016, not 2006, when we had crappy flip phones. I was really hoping for more as far as that goes.

 

As for the console itself, not to be negative, but I'm not impressed. I think I'll just stick with my vintage consoles like I've always done, they've never let me down.

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....

I'm still in denial. After RVGS, I can't believe anyone would do something so idiotic as what is suspected here. I actually want it to be more than an SNES mini. A little faith in humanity may be restored.

Me too. At the same time it's a little fun to witness what is going on (allegedly).

I am happy that I don't have money at stake here or I would laugh a lot less.

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The quote that keeps on giving.

 

 

....

It is the end of a very tumultuous year for me and in the spirit of Christmas and the holidays I wanted to come in here and ask those of you who will listen to let the past be the past as it relates to this (ad)venture. RETRO VGS is the past and COLECO Chameleon is the future. The Chameleon is not just a rebranded Retro VGS. Despite sharing some of the same internal components the hardware has been completely redesigned to lower the cost while maintaining much of its ability to play a wide variety of games in a variety of ways. To boil this all down to its essence we just want to produce a product that is different, affordable and will bring joy to peoples lives. The market will ultimately decide if we are crazy enough to believe a cartridge console can stand its ground in this age of digital delivery. There are clearly lots of people on both sides of this fence and ultimately it will all come down to the games that can be played and if they are compelling enough to vie for peoples hard earned money.

....

As far as the Toy Fair shows it seems that Parrothead's idea of "different" is to play SNES games with SNES controllers on a SNES mini but in a Jag case and ask you money on KS to accomplish all that. I see the KS part must be the difference.

 

To be fair the SD2SNES hovers at around 180US$, if he can give me the whole shebang console and flashcart (tape or no tape) for 150US$ then I'd buy.

Edited by phoenixdownita
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