StopDrop&Retro

November 5, 2018

Does anyone know how big Atari claimed their preorder email alert list was? I thought I remember them saying it in an article or interview somewhere but I can't find it now. Maybe I'm not remembering that correctly.

August 17, 2018

I'm excited for 3. I haven't preordered the remasters but I probably will buy.

However, I do feel that many people forget just how many quicktime events the original game has and that will haunt the review scores. Also the voice acting was always terrible if you ask me. I love the rest of the game though.

August 13, 2018

I just got back from Game On Expo and I tested the CollectorVision Game system. It works really well!!

I shot a quick video too: https://twitter.com/StopDropRetro/status/1028447828320743424

July 16, 2018

I don't find non-delivery to be the answer here because you have infamous scams like Skarp Laser Razor that have been going on for much longer than 2 years but have never been hit with a terms of use violation. It has to be something else and considering IGG is the Tijuana of crowdfunding where anything goes, it will be interesting to see which (if any) rule they're enforcing.

July 16, 2018

Unfortunately, the poster also states that he hasn't received the refund. They promised him it would arrive within 5 business days, but it's been two weeks and he's seen nothing.

I wonder where the money will come from too. I remember Indiegogo sent collectors after the ZX Vega+ campaign so maybe they're trying to do the same here. I agree it would be a step in the right direction for IGG but you can't squeeze water out of a rock so they really should explain where the money comes from, if it comes through.

EDIT: ah, you beat me to it.

It will also be interesting to figure out what Terms of Use were violated. I know Atari pulled their branding but they had permission at the time and it doesn't make sense to be retroactively applying rules.

July 16, 2018

Indiegogo is refunding [Atari] Gameband pledges, claiming they "determined this campaign didn't comply with our Terms of Use."

https://www.reddit.com/r/shittykickstarters/comments/8z6iox/id_like_your_opinion_on_my_shitty_contribution/

This explains why the Gameband Indiegogo page erased all amount raised a few weeks ago. The total amount you see there now is the total amount raised on Kickstarter alone (hover your mouse over the question mark to see that notification) https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/gameband-the-world-s-most-powerful-smartwatch/x/12536588#/

July 12, 2018

Damn. I was ready to order when I got the notice they were taking preorders but something was holding me back, I just had an uneasy feeling.

Glad I didn't because it appears that Hyperkin is having the same issues that have plagued them since the Retron 5 release. I really just wanted it because it looked decent and for the "fry" button, but now that I hear Stella can do it I'll just try that out.

Also, I haven't seen one out in the wild but does anyone else feel like the wood-grain color is way off? It looks like a Dorito.

June 30, 2018

That's interesting, and this would be a first from Indiegogo if they actually did something about a campaign that's already finished with the money having been handed over.

Some further investigation is called for.

Agreed. If they handed out refunds unannounced you would think at least one of the backers would show up in the comments and ask what gives. It looks more like they're wiping the slate clean.

June 30, 2018

They're allowed to add new perks and remove ones that haven't been claimed. It's just the ones that have been claimed that cannot be altered.

So, if you've offered up an Atari watch and someone's bought it, tough luck. It's on there for all to see.

Wait. Have you guys checked the Atari Gameband Indiegogo page lately? They've actually changed a lot. You can no longer buy any Gameband on Indiegogo and ALL of the reward tiers are now empty aside from one droid edition watch, mysteriously. The others show 0 backers which we know isn't true, if you just look at my last video I show the campaign page and there clearly are backers listed there.

Yes, there is still an amount raised listed, but it's part of Indiegogo's old trickery. If you hover your mouse over the question mark you can see it was raised on another platform [read: Kickstarter]

But $325,996 minus $325,996 raised on Kickstarter = $0 raised on Indiegogo. So I don't know what to make of this. Did they refund all of the Indiegogo backers? Did they just erase their pledges? Did Gameband ask them to do it? Atari? Or did Indiegogo do it on their own?

Either way. It doesn't look right and once again - no update to clear it up.

June 27, 2018

10 hours later.PNG

I predict they're just going to announce the release date for Cut N' Run.

June 27, 2018

June 25, 2018

^ very good point. A lot of supporters trying to deflect 'the hate' seem to forget Atari it taking money right now, and are not answering questions right now.

Speaking of which. I could swear the funding total is moving down. Have the graphs from that other site been updated yet?

June 24, 2018

Interesting video of a debate between a youtuber detractor vs a supporter. It's long, almost an hour but I'm posting it here for those interested.

Just wanted to say, I'm watching this right now and it's one of the best videos I've seen so far. It is definitely worth a watch.

The host does a great job of calmly explaining the criticisms to him and it's fascinating to hear the Atari fan defend his position while contradicting himself all along the way.

June 24, 2018

If only that video ALSO had Atari's foot-in-mouth incident with The Register, it would be the perfect "FAQ and Info" piece.

Thanks! I didn't make the video intending it to be an FAQ or a timeline of everything that's happened so far. There were some topics that I chose to leave out and the controversy with The Register is one of them. Personally, I felt that it was a little overblown. A lot of it comes down to Atari disagreeing with the tone of their reporting and they responded by releasing the audio which does justify the reporter's attitude that Atari reps don't know what they're doing, but didn't really reveal anything incriminating. So I just felt it didn't add much to what we already know, that Atari likes to twist things around to help themselves.

As for the question of whether they will deliver, as I stated in the video they SHOULD be able to considering the amount they raised. If you gave me $3,000,000 to deliver Linux PCs to 10,000 people I could find a way to make it happen. There are a lot of pitfalls with the way Atari is approaching it. I don't have faith in their team and I feel they're over relying on subcontractors, which is putting the project at the mercy of other entities. But again, for that price, I wouldn't be surprised to see it deliver.

June 17, 2018

From the campaign ...

Far from clear. I wouldn't put it into a FAQ until they take a stronger stance one way or another.

I don't know if they're correct on the 5200 joystick there. According to this thread, they don't work like that unless you modify them: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/247941-paddle-games-on-5200/

I believe what Atari's thinking of is the Sears Video Arcade II (aka Atari 2800) controllers. I have one and I can confirm those do work as they describe with the joystick being a twistable paddle.

June 6, 2018

I was thinking about picking this up but I saw one comment say that the audio is a little off on Centipede 2600.\

Is that true? Can anyone tell me which part sounds off?

Are there any other inaccuracies? Graphical, or otherwise? Just judging by eye I thought the gameplay I've seen posted seemed a little sped up more than usual.

June 5, 2018

edit: never mind, found it

May 31, 2018

And yet only a total of 4200 or so consoles have been ordered with over 1300 backers opting not to receive any perks at all. Something is off here.

I agree. It does feel very off.

It has almost no presence on social media, unless I'm visiting the wrong places. Hardly anyone is discussing it on Twitter. The subreddit has 159 members. And for the gaming news sites I follow it only got a passing mention on one of them. On every forum I visit the response is always lukewarm. They have a high number of followers on Facebook, but relatively few of them comment or hit like on their posts.

I think something's up. It could be Indiegogo messing with the numbers. We know a lot of people were charged several times for one pledge. It could be Indiegogo correcting the pledges behind the scenes but never reducing the funding figure. A similar thing happened with Fig. Psychonauts 2 "raised" a lot of investor backing but when I looked up their SEC filings at the beginning of the year I saw they only recovered a fraction of those pledges. Their numbers are still uncorrected though.

Maybe we're missing something and it'll take some time for the truth to wiggle its way out. But one thing I'm happy for is that I waited before making a video. Other people asked me to make one during the lead up, which was a shitshow for sure, but I feel that a couple youtubers have egg on their face now.

May 30, 2018

Or maybe they're just charging everybody multiple times.

Screen Shot 2018-05-30 at 9.54.10 AM.png Screen Shot 2018-05-30 at 9.54.28 AM.png

Maybe that's why the backer roll kept repeating names. Maybe people hitting the order button multiple times trying to get a receipt but instead getting multiple orders?

May 30, 2018

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/atari-vcs-game-stream-connect-like-never-before-computers-pc#/backers

If you follow the backer list the names start to repeat. I don't know if that's just the list tripping over itself or something else. Michael Washbourne has appeared 4 times on my screen in just the last minute.

May 30, 2018

^ I'm getting the same. (but for the whole IGG site, not the Atari page)

Also the subreddit r/AtariVCS has been set to private, locking out everyone but the mods, effectively nuking the entire subreddit. They did the same thing for r/ataribox.

@HistorianCM, care to elaborate?

May 29, 2018

Did anyone archive or screenshot? The link is gone and it seems the thread has been wiped from that subreddit.

Ugghhh... when are crowdfunding creators going to understand that this kind of secrecy does them no favors?

Edit: never mind, the other thread has it:

https://i.imgur.com/RiOWTwx.png

May 26, 2018

Living in Australia would be video game hell.

Horrible internet speeds, expensive buy, expensive to import, the government outright bans anything more violent than Myst and you probably have a venomous spider hiding under your controller.