Coleco strong-arming homebrew publishers and fan sites

[Andromeda Stardust]

 

What kind of resources exactly? I see no evidence of having money, or the tech expertise or anything.

They already have bucketloads of money. Did you not see all the counterfeit bills he shoveled in that video? Sorry don't have the link handy atm.

[enoofu]

[Andromeda Stardust]

Nice, you muted it. Why didn't I think of that?

[+frankodragon]

.

[mr_me]

Apples to Orange comparison I think. The revival of Pabst was more akin to Atari being bought out. The ale being failed and revived just sounds like another corporate takeover to me, just like Mother's Cookies, Archway, Hostess, et al. More info:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pabst_Blue_Ribbon#Peak.2C_decline.2C_and_revival

 

I seriously doubt Coleco can just reenter the market 30 years later given the climate of modern game companies. Coleco/RWB is a trademark troll. Prior to the purchase, Coleco name wasn't dead, it was extinct. All profitable assets, Cabbage Patch dolls, et al, were spun off a long time ago. RWB current takeover would be akin to buying out Pabst Blue Ribbon Ale without the original brewing recipe, then trying to steal new beer recipes from a homebrewers' convention.

 

It's that ludicrus.

I don't think RWB wants to compete with modern game companies. Nor do they want to market products to people who really want to play Colecovision games; a market too small for them. They want to sell a hundred thousand or more cheap $39.95 or less games to people who have some memory of the name Coleco and Rainbow Brite. Like their Coleco Rainbrow Brite tabletop. Selling a few hundred copies of a Colecovision cartridge is meaningless to them.

 

I don't think Cabbage Patch Kids could have been considered a Coleco Industries asset. It was licensed like Donkey Kong was licensed.

 

In Toronto there use to be a beer called Upper Canada Lager in the late 1980s. It was good quality but disappeared, bought out I think and the brand disappeared. Many years later it reappeared as a dollar beer. I bought it once, it was not very good, nothing like the original. I'm sure some people buy it because its cheap and also because of the name; people who dont really care. I've tried PBR its not very good, does it taste anything like it did in 1980?

Edited June 7, 2017 by mr_me

[the80sgamer]

I stumbled across this retro gaming convention called the Classic Game Fest in Austin Texas. I didn't know this existed. I'm pretty sure this has to be way better than whatever Cardildo put together. Here is a link to their facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ClassicGameFest/?hc_ref=NEWSFEED&fref=nf

 

The website is here: http://classicgamefest.com/

Edited June 7, 2017 by the80sgamer

[TPR]

This is a very interesting read: http://nerdlypleasures.blogspot.com/2017/06/the-ownership-of-and-issues-with.html

[the80sgamer]

Looks like Cardildo is on a bender replying to posts on his lousy trademark facebook page.

[PikoInteractive]

I stumbled across this retro gaming convention called the Classic Game Fest in Austin Texas. I didn't know this existed. I'm pretty sure this has to be way better than whatever Cardildo put together. Here is a link to their facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ClassicGameFest/?hc_ref=NEWSFEED&fref=nf

 

The website is here: http://classicgamefest.com/

It is probably the biggest one in Texas, it is not bad but not great as it is mostly a front for the owner's stores. Like the Stores he owns has a bunch of booths. Pricing is reasonable for vendors if you reserve with time. I skipped last year because they made some demeaning public statements towards another really good convention in Oklahoma (bitcon) But it seems like they have changed their marketing strategy since then. Over all, it is well organized.

[the80sgamer]

This is a very interesting read: http://nerdlypleasures.blogspot.com/2017/06/the-ownership-of-and-issues-with.html

 

Very interesting indeed.

[the80sgamer]

I have wondered if Coleco Holdings could even hold claim to "Colecovision" due to the fact that so many homebrew products were using the name prior to them co-opting it. It would be very interesting to know what a court would say about the matter.

[ColecoJoe]

Haha, catching up on the Facebook posts, this one is gold

 

[opcode]

I have wondered if Coleco Holdings could even hold claim to "Colecovision" due to the fact that so many homebrew products were using the name prior to them co-opting it. It would be very interesting to know what a court would say about the matter.

A couple of things:

 

- the article reinforces what I have been saying for weeks

- after 5 years a trademark registration becomes incontestable, even if someone else was using it before. However in this case, using recent court rules precedents, the registration can be canceled, for the reasons pointed in the article (as long as you have the money for the lawyer)

- once the registration is cancelled, one of us can apply for a registration based on the fact we have been using the trademark for longer than they say they are

[Ikrananka]

Haha, catching up on the Facebook posts, this one is gold

 

 

J-F, please correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Chris yet again incorrect in that you haven't "licensed" the game to them but simply agreed to sell them 150 copies?

Edited June 7, 2017 by Ikrananka

[Ikrananka]

A couple of things:

 

- the article reinforces what I have been saying for weeks

- after 5 years a trademark registration becomes incontestable, even if someone else was using it before. However in this case, using recent court rules precedents, the registration can be canceled, for the reasons pointed in the article (as long as you have the money for the lawyer)

- once the registration is cancelled, one of us can apply for a registration based on the fact we have been using the trademark for longer than they say they are

 

Perhaps we should start a Kickstarter to get a lawyer onto this.

[newcoleco]

Even after all these days, I see a lot more pages here and my name mentionned again and I think "OMG when it's gonna stop?".

This is a very interesting read: http://nerdlypleasures.blogspot.com/2017/06/the-ownership-of-and-issues-with.html

Thanks for the link.

After a first read, I don't understand it all; legal documents tend to make me feel dizzy and I just click OK when installing software.

I'll read it again later, with more care, not in diagonal.

...

We all like to be happy, so do I. And I love sharing my work but this drama made me feel terrible.

- the attention toward these particular games which in my case are refered as more sexual than they are.
- a brand that is part of my childhood memories being now so childish and upset toward the same fans and people that keep the name alive.
- this forums thread is huge, must be a record on AtariAge.
- the rollercoaster of emotions; it made me cry, depressed, questioning if I really want to come back in the active scene in these circonstances.

Seeing homebrewers and fans together, the community is stronger than ever, makes me happy.

I'm confused but I like the spirit of continuing our passion of making videogames so... I'm back.

I know, some of you already told me that I should not feel bad or say sorry. I've let this drama affects me more than it should.

Thanks everyone and let's enjoy videogames

Best regards,

Daniel

[LionHearted78]

Atari Age. You never cease to amaze me about the level of depth that you dig up. You guys really are super sleuths. Always amusing how utterly and completely you can bitch-slap down aholes like the guys associated with these crazy stories regarding Coleco. You all are my heroes.

 

With regards to the story in itself. It's just utter stupidity to strong arm the fans and the ONLY POSITIVE REASON WHY YOUR BRAND EXISTS on the internet. These people are either smoking copious amounts of crack, or they are INSANE.

 

Great read!

[ColecoGamer]

This thread has me glued to the screen. It's like a daytime soap opera with Cardillio as the villian. What will happen next? Will Cardillo back off (which he should) or will he try to fight this until the bitter end?

 

BTW: Their Rainbow Brite game is a joke! It looks like a cookie-cutter NES game.

[enoofu]

We shouldn't attack the Rainbow Brite game as it being made from some homebrewers on this site

 

They are not the troublemakers that did the unlawful DMCA requests or other trollish behavior

[phattyboombatty]

Yes. The game will undoubtedly be a solid effort. The programmer(s) may not have known who they were getting involved with. I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt.

[DuggerVideoGames]

This thread has me glued to the screen. It's like a daytime soap opera with Cardillio as the villian. What will happen next? Will Cardillo back off (which he should) or will he try to fight this until the bitter end?

 

BTW: Their Rainbow Brite game is a joke! It looks like a cookie-cutter NES game.

I wouldn't knock the quality of the game. The graphics remind me of something you'd probably see from The Guardian Legend (one of my favorite games). If you're going to knock anything about the game, let it be the likely small target audience. This game probably won't sell a fraction of what other homebrew games sell for; however, that does NOT speak to the quality of the game itself. You can knock perception/appeal of it, but not the work itself. Give the developers credit for doing a good job with what they create.

[Dauber]

Wait, isn't that Rainbow Brite game the one that Bob D is working on???

[enoofu]

Riverwest brands has never made or designed anything

That is why just about every Trademark they filled is using someone else's product on the market as they can't even design a box

 

We should just leave the Rainbow Brite homebrewers alone as quite a lot of people have stated they had nothing to do to what is going on

 

They are a 3rd party and Coleco is just going to be their publisher

[ValkerieSilk]

https://youtu.be/qvPugcb7QGE

 

 

Riverwest brands has never made or designed anything

That is why just about every Trademark they filled is using someone else's product on the market as they can't even design a box

 

We should just leave the Rainbow Brite homebrewers alone as quite a lot of people have stated they had nothing to do to what is going on

 

They are a 3rd party and Coleco is just going to be their publisher

[ColecoGamer]

We shouldn't attack the Rainbow Brite game as it being made from some homebrewers on this site

 

They are not the troublemakers that did the unlawful DMCA requests or other trollish behavior

Oh, great. I had no idea that homebrew developers from the community were working on Rainbow Brite. I've read a good portion of this on-going saga, but apparently not enough of it! I apologize to the hombrew developers for the comment I made. I'm just upset with Coleco, Cardillio and the trouble they have caused.