galax Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 "Brothers, brothers, we should be struggling together!" "We Are!" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHHitXxH-us&t=45s 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godslabrat Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 Mike, if you're in the habit of paying people you don't know lots of money to do absolutely nothing, let me send you my PayPal info... 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-type Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 (edited) Stupidity obviously accounts for a ton here. No doubt about that. But that toy fair crap was both stupid and dishonest. I don't care how stupid you are, after that damning evidence, if you'Re not willing to open that up and see what's inside you're guilty. Period. That was wilful deception, even if the said guy was who made this prototype. If mike had opened that SNES that first night, and appologised, then I'd consider him innocent, and scammed by this guy. But as it played out? If he really was scammed, it was while trying to scam others. Every single step of the way in this "project", even being the nicest possible and trying to see the best case scenario, Mike still comes off as very incompetent and deceiving. Its very plausible that Sean Robinson scammed Mike Kennedy, but then Mike payed it forward by trying to cover it up and take down the facebook photos. I agree Mike could have easily averted this crisis by opening up the toyfair unit, getting input from a knowledgeable 3rd party such as Piko, and coming clean right away. The only explanation that makes any sense for why he wouldn't do that is either a) he was in on it with Sean or b) he thought he could get away with it and then produce a REAL prototype down the road and then claim that's what they had been using all along. I think it was A & B. When the AtariAge sleuths proved to be far better at proving the SNES mini than he anticipated, he knew that option B was not going to work and asked Sean to give him pictures of a the prototype he claimed to have been working on from earlier [dramatization] Mike:"Well shit, they figured out that its a SNES mini inside. We need to do some damage control.. You know that prototype you had been working on earlier? The one from last January that you were going to run Neo-Geo games on? Just throw that in the clear shell.. oh and make sure there's an LED so people see it powers on. We got a lot of shit for that last fake photo that didn't have an LED" Sean: Um, yea I can do that.... but its not working anymore." Mike:"Don't worry, it doesn't have to be working yet because it'll just be a still photo, we just need them to see the board is not a SNES" Except that Sean had been bullshitting about having been working on a prototype and sent the CCTV pics... At that point he is in too deep to come clean. He missed his chance to come clean during Toyfair. And if he was in on it, as I suspect he was, he couldn't just throw Sean under the bus and get back on track because Sean would speak out to defend himself. Edited April 5, 2016 by G-type 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MagnaRyuu Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 Its very plausible that Sean Robinson scammed Mike Kennedy, but then Mike payed it forward by trying to cover it up and take down the facebook photos. I agree Mike could have easily averted this crisis by opening up the toyfair unit, getting input from a knowledgeable 3rd party such as Piko, and coming clean right away. The only explanation that makes any sense for why he wouldn't do that is either a) he was in on it with Sean or b) he thought he could get away with it and then produce a REAL prototype down the road and then claim that's what they had been using all along. I think it was A & B. When the AtariAge sleuths proved to be far better at proving the SNES mini than he anticipated, he knew that option B was not going to work and asked Sean to give him pictures of a the prototype he claimed to have been working on from earlier Mike:"Don't worry, it doesn't have to be working yet because it'll just be a still photo, we just need them to see the board is not a SNES" [dramatization] Except that Sean had been bullshitting about having been working on a prototype and sent the CCTV pics... At that point he is in too deep to come clean. He missed his chance to come clean during Toyfair. And if he was in on it, as I suspect he was, he couldn't just throw Sean under the bus and get back on track because Sean would speak out to defend himself. Nah Mike was in on it all. Why else would he ban people from the facebook page for calling him out on the SNES Mini at the toyfair? He knew what was in there from the get go. Just like he had a hand in the CCTV PC Card in the clear shell. 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenixdownita Posted April 5, 2016 Author Share Posted April 5, 2016 I'm fully allowed to express my opinion in the same way many, many others have in this thread. Just because your delicate feelings are injured by that does not make it my problem, nor does it require me to follow your demands. It's a forum based on freedom of speech, and seeing as you both are so eager to exercise your right to it you have no business denying someone else that exact right. I'm not hurt one bit. I'm not denying any of your rights but saying that "it's pointless to continue posting" by ... posting .... seems a little of an oxymoron .... but I guess you already know that. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPA5 Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 I'm not hurt one bit. I'm not denying any of your rights but saying that "it's pointless to continue posting" by ... posting ....seems a little of an oxymoron .... but I guess you already know that. I guess I do. Like I said to the other guy, just trying to voice my opinion not start a fight or insult folks. I just want people to focus on the positive aspects of the games industry and the people who are out there doing good stuff, not just the negative crap like this debacle. Not my intention to argue with anyone, and I apologize if my reply was rude, I shouldn't have responded emotionally mate. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toiletunes Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 If Albert sells console shells, I'm interested. My SNES needs one. 18 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenixdownita Posted April 5, 2016 Author Share Posted April 5, 2016 I guess I do. Like I said to the other guy, just trying to voice my opinion not start a fight or insult folks. I just want people to focus on the positive aspects of the games industry and the people who are out there doing good stuff, not just the negative crap like this debacle. Not my intention to argue with anyone, and I apologize if my reply was rude, I shouldn't have responded emotionally mate. No worries ..... but as you may have noticed at this stage this is the "bash Mike" thread .... and that Sean "the scoundrel" guy .... who single handedly took down the fantastic five (Mark Kennedy, Steve Woita, the other 3 VP of this, VP of that, that never said a word but look like total idiots right now for not having the slightest idea of what went on) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deckardbr Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 Piko Interactive dealt with a Mr. Lee. Is Mr. Lee really Sean? Why does Mike not mention this Lee person? It was a huge part of the story and narrative. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawnphase Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 without going back and reading the response, it sounds like one big thing that was left unclear by mike is how he got the snes jr in a jag from sean. did this guy mail it to him? did he meet him in person? did sean give it to someone else to give to mike? did he look into the mailing address if so? i dunno about everyone else, but if i were paying thousands of dollars to a dude and didnt have an address or any tangible info, and then he mailed me...a snesjag, and i were getting on a flight to go across country with this thing taped altogether..well, i wouldnt be praying that the thing held up. i wouldnt be concerned about that, i'd be more concerned about tsa and not being able to give them a definitive answer as to what it even is that im carrying along with me and/or getting detained by airport security for a long duration of time, because that thing looked sheisty even if it did properly do its 'job'. if he was concerned it was going to be functional by the time it got to the toy fair, well whether tsa tore it apart or us, its not like SOMEBODY wasnt gonna do it. did mike think the tape was holding the cores in? did he feel like a smuggler on that flight? did he get a second opinion about that fake proto #2 from any of his peers? did he even care that he had no idea from a technical standpoint what was going on with the machine, when he was going to a toy fair to...show off the technical aspects of the machine? any questions that i might posit to myself in any of this leads me down different paths of quasi-stupidity, trying to hold out hope that in some way mike was simply too foolish or naive to question what he was paying all this money to this guy for, and i cant let myself give in to pitying this dude anymore. even as he comes here and explains himself, i cant even force myself to read it because i keep coming back to 'its gotta be cut and dry to make any sense', with three scenarios being the case: that he was either fully complicit in all of this, or he fully knew he was taking a ride and somehow wanted this guy to take advantage of him because he wanted to be able to once and for all bust him for past stuff done to others (and im sure we'll get to that later), and then the latter sentiment being 'he is simply oblivious and has a childs mind, there is no rational answer here'. i cant imagine that a man who would want a project like this to succeed would go so far out of his way to fuck it up under his own volition. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dj_convoy Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 Piko Interactive dealt with a Mr. Lee. Is Mr. Lee really Sean? Why does Mike not mention this Lee person? It was a huge part of the story and narrative. Mike specifically says Sean “LEE” Robinson in his... whatever it is (apology? excuse? desperate attempt at face saving sympathy?) on page 215. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dj_convoy Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 without going back and reading the response, it sounds like one big thing that was left unclear by mike is how he got the snes jr in a jag from sean. did this guy mail it to him? did he meet him in person? did sean give it to someone else to give to mike? did he look into the mailing address if so? i dunno about everyone else, but if i were paying thousands of dollars to a dude and didnt have an address or any tangible info, and then he mailed me...a snesjag, and i were getting on a flight to go across country with this thing taped altogether..well, i wouldnt be praying that the thing held up. i wouldnt be concerned about that, i'd be more concerned about tsa and not being able to give them a definitive answer as to what it even is that im carrying along with me and/or getting detained by airport security for a long duration of time, because that thing looked sheisty even if it did properly do its 'job'. if he was concerned it was going to be functional by the time it got to the toy fair, well whether tsa tore it apart or us, its not like SOMEBODY wasnt gonna do it. did mike think the tape was holding the cores in? did he feel like a smuggler on that flight? did he get a second opinion about that fake proto #2 from any of his peers? did he even care that he had no idea from a technical standpoint what was going on with the machine, when he was going to a toy fair to...show off the technical aspects of the machine? any questions that i might posit to myself in any of this leads me down different paths of quasi-stupidity, trying to hold out hope that in some way mike was simply too foolish or naive to question what he was paying all this money to this guy for, and i cant let myself give in to pitying this dude anymore. even as he comes here and explains himself, i cant even force myself to read it because i keep coming back to 'its gotta be cut and dry to make any sense', with three scenarios being the case: that he was either fully complicit in all of this, or he fully knew he was taking a ride and somehow wanted this guy to take advantage of him because he wanted to be able to once and for all bust him for past stuff done to others (and im sure we'll get to that later), and then the latter sentiment being 'he is simply oblivious and has a childs mind, there is no rational answer here'. i cant imagine that a man who would want a project like this to succeed would go so far out of his way to fuck it up under his own volition. He specifically says Sean came over to his house with the proto a day before Toy Fair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidGameR186496 Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 I purchased the molds from Mike. They are now in my control...Al Really glad to know it's in safe hands,now put them to good use Al 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 Said the guy who wants the thread locked. So freedom of speech to you = people have to stop talking about stuff when I don't want them to talk about it anymore. And... let's all remember that freedom of speech doesn't mean that others must put up with you in their house or on their website. It means the government must not silence you. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gentlegamer Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 Hello Everyone, I hate to light this thread up any more but at this time I have made the decision that my reputation is worth protecting and wanted to come in here and break my silence and fill in some holes and answer some questions about the hardware “team” (term used loosely) behind the Coleco Chameleon. Again it was never the intention of myself or those legitimate guys on my team to deceive or potentially defraud anyone. In the end, I am the only one that has lost anything, money, potential opportunity and my reputation in this hobby. Mike 15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 I purchased the molds from Mike. They are now in my control. ..Al Am I the only one who thinks this statement would be better followed by maniacal laughter? 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawnphase Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 He specifically says Sean came over to his house with the proto a day before Toy Fair. wow...even worse than i thought then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godslabrat Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 So, shall we assume that Mike is getting ready to try and sell us something else? I assume that's the only reason he suddenly cares about his reputation. 14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toiletunes Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 or it took this long to cook up the excuse. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoulBlazer Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 godslabrat, on 05 Apr 2016 - 6:47 PM, said:So, shall we assume that Mike is getting ready to try and sell us something else? I assume that's the only reason he suddenly cares about his reputation. Well, he DID say that even though the console is dead, he plans to keep Retro Magazine going (and I assume GameGavel as well). To that, all I can say -- when so many other people have said my thoughts already -- is this: I'll believe it when I see it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osgeld Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 I cant figure out if he thinks we are that stupid, or if we are that stupid to think he is that stupid 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skullmeat Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 (edited) This is where things started to take a big bad turn. In mid-January, I had a lunch meeting with Sean and point blank asked him what he needs from me to spend the next 30 days working on the prototype full-time to get it prepared for the Toy Fair. We agreed on $4,000, which I quickly got to him via a check that he cashed with me at my bank. It was then a day before I was traveling to the show that he came over to my house with the Toy Fair “Prototype”, with his instructions to NOT SHOW the back of the unit no matter what. But without any specific information as to why I shouldn’t show it, other than it used an aftermarket connector that was composite-out and that was used because he didn’t have the HD stable enough to get us through the show. I believed him and went to the show with that unit. My biggest concern at the time was getting this conglomeration through the TSA and on the plane. The fact he instructed you not to show the back of the unit should have at least made you inquire as to why. Why would he say that? You didn't inspect the unit yourself? Then in a move to extract more money from me he indicated that for $3,000 paid now (2/29/16), and $3,000 paid in 60 days he could wrap this up and have a production ready prototype completed. So, again, I wrote him out a check he promptly cashed with me at my bank. Soon after this he emailed me the images of the clear unit with the PC DVR capture card in it. But, when he first emailed me the images, he indicated this was our prototype 100%. I made a comment that it looked great (in the photos) and he responded by saying something like “this is what we can do when given the proper time.” Keep in mind, these pictures were to combat the criticism of the “fake” Toy Fair prototype and were given to me by him to post on Facebook to show people the real “prototype”. Sean even joked about how people online were trying to identify the board in our shell, laughing and telling me they won’t find it because it’s our original work. He even made these comments through my car Blue Tooth speaker with my wife in the car and she heard everything. Again, I believed him. Let’s discuss the Kickstarter for a moment. So, believing I was going to have a working prototype for Toy Fair, I told Sean and Steve I was going to move forward with the Kickstarter campaign and use Toy Fair as a launching point for the campaign. So you have employed this guy, and he was dishonest once. With only his word, you decided to go ahead with the Kickstater? Since this all fell apart I have been trying to get Sean to explain to me why he would point blank lie to my face about that being “our board” and passing that two-bit PC board off as our prototype and he can’t give me an explanation that makes any sense, in fact I get no explanation other than that there was more going on in there than people can see. He mentioned we had chips located underneath the board even and assured me that the cartridge was also plugged into our cartridge connector. Something was just not adding up to me and I continued to lose sleep at night wondering how this all could have happened. First, he never showed me anything in person, that he was working on. I never went to his house, nor was ever given an address where he lives or works. He subscribes to my magazine so I looked at the address the magazine is sent to – a UPS store PO Box. I have paid this guy $7,000 and have nothing to show for it. Oh, I also bought two FPGA cores from a “friend” of his (whom I never met in person) whose wife was having medical issues and needed to sell some things and just so happened his friend had made an Intellivision and Amiga FPGA core. Sean told me his friend would sell them to me for $2,500 which I, again agreed to, and wrote Sean out another check which he promptly cashed at my bank and was going to give the cash to his “friend”. Did I ever get any software cores? NOPE! So, in total, with a couple other smaller checks I wrote to him, paid him nearly $10K in January and February 2016. Nothing to show for it except two fake prototypes and NO FPGA CORES! And, he swindled out my Crystal Castles Commodore 64 prototype cartridge as part of a payment as well!!!!!!! Sean scams you twice, cannot offer an explanation for the second scam, and you continue to hire him anyway. The more I consider it, the more this seems ridiculous. Side note: OH NO, NOT CRYSTAL CASTLES! So, trying to make more sense of all this, I started Googling Sean and this is where things get super crazy. I will just post the links that are online for all to see and you can all take it from there. There is even more stuff you can uncover if you want to all look: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/rec.games.video.arcade/bs4zJtfa4oY https://groups.google.com/forum/#!searchin/rec.games.video.arcade/almightyarcade http://www.megalextoria.com/forum2/index.php?t=msg&goto=297838& http://compgroups.net/comp.sys.cbm/sean-robinson-founder-of-commodorecomputerclub.c/3039131 In addition, I have confirmed with the Riverside County (CA) Assistant DA, Sean was charged a few years ago for 7 counts of Felony Grand-Theft and served part of a one-year sentence in jail and then got out on probation which he evidently complied with and then he made a plea to have the prior conviction AND his admittance of guilt overturned. A loophole that the DA mentioned drives prosecutors crazy. So this guy wanted $4,000 to start with, and you didn't even bother to google this guy, much less do a background check? Criminal Records are public information. Say I believe you and accept that you were unfortunately a victim of a scam, that still doesn't excuse you from the fact that the Chameleon was your project and your product. As such, the conduct of those you employ is your ultimately your responsibility and the buck ultimately stops with you. Edited April 5, 2016 by Skullmeat 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dj_convoy Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 So, shall we assume that Mike is getting ready to try and sell us something else? I assume that's the only reason he suddenly cares about his reputation.RETRO year 3, m'man. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dj_convoy Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 Side note: OH NO, NOT CRYSTAL CASTLES! Seven exclamation points lend it more poignancy. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwald Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 (edited) I agree Mike could have easily averted this crisis by opening up the toyfair unit, To be fair, there's risks in opeing a prototype. Edit: It's obvisous Mike was scammed by a pro scammer. And a lot of people are commenting without even reading Mike's post in full. I believe Mike, I've been scammed myself and you can only blame yourself and feel like an idiot.. but we pull up our big boy pants and continue. I hope MIke continues, he's an asset in the retro scene. Edited April 5, 2016 by gwald 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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