Panama Joe

Awesome! I'm in for all three as soon as they are offered. Happy Holidays!

Mine left Woonsocket, RI on 12/22 and made it as far as the Jersey City, NJ Distribution Center a day later, where it's been ever since. I know I'll eventually get it and I understand it's coming in a special envelope. My big question is does it get mailed flat (cardboard backing?) My postal delivery person takes every envelope than doesn't have a stiff backing and folds it vertically down the middle before putting it in my mailbox. I would love to get a magazine that doesn't have a large crease down the middle of it.

This is a fascinating thread. Thanks to all for the expert input! Yes, Coleco made mention of a computer add-on on the CV box, but their initial 1982 marketing clearly focused on the Super Game Module. It wasn't until the end of the year that they shifted their advertising to the ADAM expansion. Either way, there is no denying that Coleco (a company that enjoyed tremendous success over the years,) at some point, clearly lost their way and missed the mark with their ColecoVision strategy and marketing.

Like you, I purchased a ColecoVision in August 1982. I still have it, along with all of the expansion modules (minus the ADAM) and over 100 original boxed games. I am not anti ADAM. The point I was trying to make is that IMO, Coleco blundered from a marketing standpoint when they scrapped the Super Game Module and replaced it with the ADAM expansion. They took what would have almost certainly been a less than $100 game peripheral and forced consumers on an expensive upgrade path to a full-blown PC in order to obtain the "Super Game" experience. The fact that decades later OpCode released a very close approximation of what the original Coleco super game module would have been, and that it can perfectly play all of the ADAM Super Games, tells me that Coleco didn't scrap the device for technical reasons. Myself, I already had a computer (Commodore 64) and didn't need another one. However, I would have been all in on an upgraded ColecoVision console experience. That's why I think from a marketing standpoint Coleco really blundered when they foisted the ADAM expansion on ColecoVision owners.

In addition to everything already stated, in my opinion, the ADAM should never have been a CoelcoVision expansion module in the first place. One would think that the space commitment alone that was required to connect the various components would have set off alarm bells in West Hartford, CT. The expansion module was an unwieldy mess when set up on large table (it wouldn't fit on many a standard desk) and it was all but impossible to set up in front of and connect to the traditional living room TV. Had they kept the Super Game Module as a CV expansion module aimed at the console faithful, and at the same time launched the ADAM at the family PC market, then maybe they would have stood a chance. The fact that the ADAM could play the same ColecoVision games (including the Super Games) would be a nice bonus for ADAM buyers, but it would not be the main reason to invest in a home/family PC. At least, in my 20/20 hindsight, that's how I see it. ?

That's fantastic! Thanks for the update, Eduardo. I still have my unopened Penguin Adventure and Gradius at the ready for when the SGM arrives. :-)

Just curious, has anyone heard from or received anything from AA, yet?

First in a series of posts highlighting my collection of 1980's video game magazines

I have somewhere in the neighborhood of 105 games. I believe the number of '80s originally released games is just shy of 130. So, I am missing some, but they are all third party (XONOX. Activision, Sierra, etc.)

Thanks! I also posted pictures of the individual box covers in a couple of other threads here.

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A couple of folks over at the ColecoVision Lunatics group asked me to share these here, so, here goes... My complete (in box with instructions and overlays) collection of ColecoVision games. All purchased new by me back in the early to mid-eighties. I'll post individual box covers in another thread.

I bought my copy of the U.S. version upon original release in the '80s and it came with the "fold-out restaurant menu" instruction sheet. IIRC, this was around the time Coleco had begun drifting away from their 'classic look' package design and went to full cover size images on their box fronts (Illusions, Dam Busters, etc.) Since Coleco was now a computer company, I believe the intent was to position their games to look more like computer software when it sat alongside other titles on a store shelf. By this time, cartridges were beginning to wind down. At least that's my fuzzy recollection...

Columbia, MO

I understand the necessity for this, Eduardo, and I think it is a very prudent and proactive way to go on the part of OpCode. I also know it is difficult to predict, but do you expect the package change to significantly impact the timetable for shipping out pre-orders? I still have unplayed copies of Penguin Adventure and Gradius on my shelf from the last go round that I am patiently waiting to play.

Received the email and just pre-orderd. I've been waiting a long time for this. Bring it on!

Sign me up!!

Allright!! I can't tell you how happy I am to hear this news, Ed! Speaking as someone who bought both games, but was too late to the party to snag a coveted SGM, I am more than anxious to actually play these bad boys! BTW, the game boxes are totally stellar...far exceeding my wildest expectations! I remember how impressed I was by the packaging when I received your very first "homebrew" Space Invaders Collection (#18 according to the little white sticker on the plastic baggie it came in) way back when, but THIS raises the bar to an all new, stratospherically high level. Bravo!!

Ahh... Thanks much!

Congrats on 10 years! I'm new to this site, but not new to ColecoVision. In fact, I'm happy to report that my copy of Space Invaders Collection is still housed in the plastic bag it came in with your handwritten number "18" on it. Just out of curiosity, how many copies made up the first run? (BTW, I have a picture of it I tried to include in this post, but since it's my first one, apparently I don't have photo upload privileges yet.)