triverse

I was involved because I took the names that Mike dropped in the original NintendoAge thread making the announcement of the RETRO Video Game System and putting them in an article. Then I used basic journalism skills to decide to contact those companies about their involvement. Out of Konami, Sega, Capcom, Bandai Namco, John Romero and a few others, only Konami even admitted knowing anything about this thing. I was given a phone number to call, it was for Mike Rajne (name may be off) who was noted in the "Kennedy Release" of e-mails as the one that Mike Kennedy was using as a source that Konami was onboard. In the "Kennedy Release" we saw that Mr. Rajne was indeed NOT giving consent that Konami was developing games for the RVGS, rather he tentatively was saying Mike Kennedy would be responsible for everythng involved and even then it was not a guarantee that Konami would agree to that version of their properties. In short, I am one of the first people to stand up and point out the lies and not toeing the company line (I was also an early banned member from their Facebook group- not sure if I was first, but I am sure at least in the first 10). I am not on a witch hunt, just a hunt for the truth.

From my personal experience, the company that we have to be concerned about drinking too much Chameleon-Aid is CollectorVision. For proof, check out Jean-Francois' comments to my post a few days ago. https://www.facebook.com/Scenic7PR/posts/10207477997284688?pnref=story

Just wanted to drop in and let everyone know about another site covering the developments concerning the Coleco Chameleon. They source my site, Retro Gaming Magazine, claiming I apparently landed an interview with Mike. I did not get an exclusive interview with Mike Kennedy- my e-mails must be going to his trash/spam folder. http://blogjob.com/oneangrygamer/2016/02/coleco-chameleon-kickstarter-gets-underway-february-26th/ added a new post covering the Kickstarter Reward tiers, what the pack-in could be and a little more: http://retrogamingmagazine.com/2016/02/20/coleco-chameleon-kickstarter-reward-tiers-announced-updating/

Nintendo's lawyers don't go for shutting down the whole ROM site, just removing Nintendo IP's. Look at Romhustler.net for an example of this legal action. If other companies are notified of such sites they will usually send a C&D letter to the site owner and order their games removed. Capcom won't send a C&D for Data East properties for instance, unless they own them. Konami, for instance, has the rights to the whole NEC library of games, all of Hudson Soft's games, Ultra Games, and Konami of course. That is quite a large library of titles but they don't bother ordering ROM sites to remove their titles for some reason. Nintendo on the other hand is quite interested in this stuff and will take, at least minimal, action.

True fans are worth their weight in gold.

N http://retrogamingmagazine.com/2015/12/21/we-open-the-door-to-the-coleco-chameleon-as-we-shut-the-door-on-the-retro-video-game-system/ Adventures of Tiny Knight was addressed in this article I wrote in late December 2015- basically not exclusive anymore and now listed as "maybe" coming to the Chameleon. Also mentioned in that article, according to Gamester81, acting public relations representative of CollectorVision, they are only currently working on the Sydney Hunter game because it is the only game they are contractually required to work on for the Chameleon. Please see the above article, it explains that NG:Dev Team have no plans to support the Chameleon with any games at the time of that article (late December 2015). I have yet to hear any updates to this so I can only figure that their stance has not changed since then. Hope that helps.

For anyone n Piko has a few games on Steam now, including Legend- which was shown in the videos released from the Toy Fair. For $5. Right now. http://store.steampowered.com/search/?snr=1_4_4__12&term=piko

I definitely will but I will make sure it is posted in the correct forums (if you don't mind, I will PM you, if I remember, when more info is made publicly available). I am being called a hater by some key people I used to respect in this fiasco. Rather a shame. The lines are quickly being drawn and people that I thought were friends are showing me that I can either join in supporting the Coleco Chameleon, based on their promises that it is real, or well I should just go away. lol Not doing either folks. Not doing either.

There are a few companies that are coming out with single platform retro consoles that will support HDMI out and other features that we all probably wish for any such console. This area is getting hot fast and it is going to pass the Chameleon by rather quickly.

I agree it is an absurd notion to ask them to open the case at the show but, well, considering their past in this regard, it is not absurd at all. It is a necessity. They are trying to rebuild support in the community they are expecting to support this thing but are doing nothing to actually rebuild that support. Now that the show is over, no matter if they do it in the next 10 minutes or 10 days, revealing the "prototype board" now is only going to reek of "bait and switch". No one is going to believe that the board they show off now is the board that was in the Jaguar case at the show. I am sure that there will be tons of people that are all on cloud 9 supporting this thing that will defend it as long as it is the "cool thing to do". I guess that is what us conspiracy theorists are all about though- never happy. I think I will start naming my articles "Coleco Chameleon Conspiracy Corner" or something.

I have been accused of spreading conspiracy theories on Facebook for asking a simple question. Posing a simple solution to the crap storm that Mike and company have caused for themselves. https://www.facebook.com/Scenic7PR/posts/10207477997284688 I have received reports from show attendees and it was obviously not all roses and cherry coke in the Chameleon booth. Anyhow, in my Facebook post, I simply put forward a method of stemming naysayers about the prototype being real. Simply LIFT the cover off and show it in a video or better yet, make it publicly known a time to be there at the booth and the board would be shown - lift the cover once and let some pics be taken and maybe a round of video and put it back on and be done. That would have stopped ALL speculation on this being an SNES Mini board inside that case. Apparently, I am a conspiracy theorist for feeling that would have stopped most of this discussion before it started.

Well, if we are including RGR forums here. Then check this out http://retrogamingroundup.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7550&p=47969#post47969 Actually to be completely clear I cashed in some of our personal 401K to get the cash to buy the Jag tooling. Then I personally loaned that money to GameGavel,LLC to purchase the molds. The new console company will soon purchase the tooling from GameGavel,LLC and then GameGavel, LLC will pay me back the loan. Also, while the tooling was owned by GameGavel,LLC it sold a few thousand dollars in the translucent shells which all that money went back into the magazine. So there was no comingling of funds. As far as my decision to start a second company for the console, it was needed as I don't have enough stock to share with others, something that I will beed to do to grow the console business in the future. The idea though is for the console company to pay GameGavel,LLC/RETRO Magazine for subscribers ( all buyers of the console will receive a digital and or print subscription to the magazine ) and also for a dedicated multi-page section devoted to promoting the console, its games and developers. The console company will pay the going rate for that coverage. So both companies will be working together to benefit the other, but at arm's length. It is still very important to me that my "owners" in GG,LLC will see an upside tied to the success of the console.

It is rather interesting that they first could not afford to create a prototype in time for the IGG campaign, that was in the works for many many months before going live. Yet, in the time since the IGG campaign ended they have not only been able to create a working prototype but also code an FPGA core for a console that was known for being notoriously tough to program for back in the day. On top of that, they are now apparently capable of actually producing a working Genesis FPGA in time for the Kickstarter in less than two weeks. I agree though, they need exclusive titles. I don't care if they are Barney Goes to the Circus Speak and Spell. They have to have something. Preferably something for the market they are going after. If they are going with an FPGA core for the SNES how will the SNES games be different on the Chameleon? Will there be less slow down? Faster FPS action? Less flicker? What is there to make fans buy the Chameleon version over the SNES version (considering they will effectively be the same game code just different cartridge). Something that strikes me weird on this is that, going by their IGG campaign, they are going after the collector market. Low serial numbers, limited editions in the upcoming Kickstarter (surely the first 1,500 units will be different in some significant way to warrant collectors to buy it). They have yet to show anything as far as box design- are they going to have a uniform look like SNES and Genesis did back in the day or are they going generic, with a small icon on the front, like 3DO and PC games? Collectors will want to know this stuff. Course, with what I have heard about the release window they have 8 to 12 months to work that out.

My apologies if I sounded like I was coming at you rude. I meant more of a sarcastic slant at the situation (look at the Kickstarter for the game to see a lot of unhappy customers). From what I understand, since this is running an FPGA core for the SNES, they won't have to make a specific port to the Coleco Chameleon- they will just turn over the SNES ROM to RVGS Inc who will probably still charge them for production of cartridges and then repay royalties based on sales of the console. This brings up an eerie, back of my mind concern, since they are focusing on FPGA cores for other platforms, will we see anything programmed directly for the Chameleon? Even if it is an "exclusive" for say a year or 6 months or whatever, what advantage is there to take advantage of the hardware under the hood (no matter what it is)? To maximize profits devs are going to port the game to other platforms so what is their incentive to make a version that takes advantage of the Chameleon hardware when they know they will be releasing an SNES version later? Not much, I think.

Are you saying you don't think they will have Sydney Hunter ready in the next 8 to 12 months?

The cost of the licensing of the Coleco name is probably raising the price a bit but I am sure it is not all that much. Deals like this that I have facilitated called for a bit of cash from the licensee (Mike here) and the licensor would get a set amount per unit sold (Riverwest Brands here). Now, the interesting thing I am wanting to hear an answer to is, does this set amount extend to the game sales too since they will obviously carry the "Coleco" name? That is where the real money will be made on a deal like this- only so many will buy the console while each console owner may buy 5 to 10 games over their period of supporting that console. In one of my articles I pointed out that straight from Gamester81, CollectorVisions PR agent, the pack-in will be Sydney Hunter- the only game that CollectorVision is CONTRACTUALLY required to make for the console. That doesn't bode well for seeing other games from CollectorVision on the Coleco Chameleon. It is interesting to hear that they are already revving up the 1984 style revisionist edits on their Facebook account. I mean, I am still banned and I still occasionally see people asking what happened to the IGG money (strangely, those posts are gone too rather than just explaining their situation). I really tried to give Mike a second chance with this Toy Fair thing but it didn't take long for old Mike to come rushing to the forefront on things. It is better to take on critics up front rather than delete their comments (especially when you have fans that support you fighting that battle already- removing their comments too). Deleting the comments of naysayers in this day and age is simply not good business practice. Back in the 80's and 90's with lead times on magazines and such, you could blackball an editor or publication and it go largely looking bad on that publication since they are not getting the early info out to their readers- instead publishing 3 to 5 months later, if at all. Fans noticed that and took it out on the publication. With Facebook and Twitter, deleting comments and blackballing the press just makes you look bad because it takes all of a few seconds for thousands of people to see your action, potentially see mention of your action, or react to your actions. In social media, things can snowball quickly, and it is even more incredibly tough to stop a negative snowball than it is to get a positive one moving. It is interesting to see that they are only offering 1,500 "early bird" specials. I am not confident they will reach that quantity in sales, even at 10% off normal pricing. I could be wrong, they could blow past that number early on and we are onto the next step of seeing how Mike and company handle themselves then. I still stand by the belief that games are what gets fans excited for a console- not the color, not the case, not the controller. Games. How many people bought a Gamecube for the controller? Getting Piko Interactive on board is a good call- they are one of the few legit game sellers out there that is going after unreleased titles, fixing them up and releasing them. I am not pooping on anyone's parade about doing stuff under the table, we all do it. For something to be sold in stores though, it has to be legit from the get go. What does worry me about the Coleco Chameleon though is how many indie's have been willing to go public with announcements that they are working on Coleco Chameleon games? How many big name publishers? Other than Piko and CollectorVision (one of which is apparently done with the platform after one game) are willing to acknowledge their working with these guys. Is that bad? Nah. It could be lucrative to Piko if this takes off. I am more interested in those 200+ developers that supposedly are working on games for this thing. 3DO, Atari with the Jaguar, Philips with the CD-i, Apple with the Pippon, etc all said the same thing when they prepared to launch their consoles. The one thing those companies did different than RVGS Inc is doing, those companies provided a list of most, if not all, of those companies that were "working on games". Sure, the majority of those were probably similar to Mike and his "I tweeted at X developer, they are working on games now" mentality that we have seen in the past but the lists were provided. I remember Gamefan printing most of the list in one of their issues for both the 3DO and Atari Jaguar (there was a lot of overlap and a lot of European developers- nothing wrong there). Silence is not your friend when launching a product. They need press. They need interviews. They need to be releasing bits of information, controlled information, here and there. They can't expect big name sites/publications to get interested in this when there is literally nothing to be excited about. You have to give enough bait to hook a fish. You have to give the right bait to hook the bigger fish. Mike and company are fishing with a hook they waved over the bait bucket. I am no stranger to negative publicity. Still two years since we last published our magazine for RGM and I still get messages from people bitching about the layouts (I should fire that guy) but the content was awesome otherwise. I still get angry messages that this game was not featured but that one was. We get them on our Facebook once in awhile, on Twitter, etc. I don't go deleting those comments, I instead engage them with discussion and try to diffuse the problem. That is how you handle a problem with your product- not by deleting/hiding the problem and hoping no one notices.

You don't know how close you are with that little comment...

I remember this. Wish I had recorded the video streams. Poor Steve was completely flabbergasted (as evidenced by his voice in the podcast).

I had decided before the closure of the large thread here on AA to sit back and watch. Since I like both Candyman and Beetlejuice, it was only fitting to wait till my name was said three times. I have several more articles to make available but I am waiting, seeing what develops and making sure everything is factual and properly documented. As anyone reading my recent article can see, I tried to give this a positive spin. All I want is the truth in this. Why is it that hard to get? I love the comments by people on Facebook asking for Mike and company to develop a new Super Monaco GP and bring back other arcade classics. I have contacted Sega, Konami, Capcom, John Romero, Bandai Namco etc (all originally named by Mike as "working on games for this thing"). Only Konami stated anything was known on their end about this console and that it was not even at 10% of even being approved by the parent company in Japan, let alone being a done deal. Mike later revealed personal e-mails with the same point of contact I had with Konami (e-mails that specifically asked him to not discuss it publicly). Those e-mails only proved what I was saying- that there was no official deal between them and Mike's company. That is old news to anyone that has followed this thing (it is still available in the other thread as it is locked, no one can edit their comments). What is new though are the people asking if the games listed on the IGG campaign page will be coming back. As of early December (I know, decades ago in gaming terms) I had finally heard from one of the last devs on their stance of working on games for the Chameleon. All said no. They either are not or were not contacted about working on games for the Chameleon. No Double Fine- their PR rep could not find anyone internally that would own the hinting to Mike that Double Fine was working on games. Watermelon games are not working on anything for the Chameleon either, they state this publicly on their website after I submitted a ticket asking (they are focusing on other more viable platforms). NG:DEV Team stated on their Twitter account, in public, that they are not interested in the Chameleon and will not be supporting it in any way. That means no Gunlord or Last Hope or any of their other games (they are now apparently working on their own hardware). No DOTEmu so no Double Dragon or Raiden or any other retro property they control You get the picture. I am not trying to rain on their parade but their inaction in letting those asking about this stuff just go on without a correction is a lie via omission. This is especially obvious when they are quick to either counter any negative comments that are allowed to stay or in how quick they delete any comment that does not toe the company line (or ban the person altogether like they have done me and several of my staff). I tried to give Mike another chance with the Chameleon in my recent article. Much like the very first article I wrote though, the lies, misnomers and shady activity was not far behind. I write what I see and can prove, I can't help it if it does not make the Chameleon look good- that is Mike's job.

Thanks to StopDrop&Retro for saying my name the third time and to PhoenixDownita for starting it. I have patiently been following this thread, liking certain things here and there (if anyone has noticed). As SD&R stated, I have written an article around their first video. Nothing "critical" or attacking them as that is not my style. I am more interested in the underlying intent, the actions more than the words, so to speak. As SD&R stated correctly, I have avoided commenting here after the rather personal attack that Mike laid out on these forums. I figure it was best to take some time away, let everyone settle down a bit and for us all to remember, it is nothing personal- it is just business. I am working on articles pointing out problems that I know (with pictures to document everything). There are many. Some have been pointed out here, others are not yet discussed. The key to following these types of developments is not to tip your hand too much. There is much to discuss, much to bring up and a lot of holes in the official "company" line already and we are only on day one of the Toy Fair.

I had to cut a bit out of that interview, may have not cut enough.

Jean-Francois, are you making this with Konami's support? If not, I can help make that happen as I know some people at Konami and they are open to licensing out properties (I am working on licensing some for my bead art for instance).

Is there a market for new Jag carts? Homebrew and such?

What about making more copies available but with different packaging (labels and such) so that those that purchased the 20 limited editions can feel well served with theirs as a "collectors edition"?

Flojo, I agree with you about your analysis of the GDP. It is quite good for "non touch" style games such as action games and the like but for stuff like Game of War, Empire War, etc. It is awkward at best. I wish I still had my JXD S7300B. It was like a Wii U controller so turning it up right like you would use a cell phone is not all that uncomfortable. The GPD does open "flat" so it is not that tough to play that way, just more annoying than on a tablet.