Team Pixelboy News Bulletin - February 5th 2013

[Pixelboy]

Hello ColecoVision fans!

 

Welcome to another edition of the Team Pixelboy News Bulletin. This bulletin will be relatively short because I want to dedicate it to a single topic, namely the re-issue of my 2010 and 2011 releases.

 

Between December 25th 2012 and January 31st 2013, I let people pre-order new copies of my older releases which were all sold out. The plan was to make just enough new copies of these games in February 2013 to cater to this short-term demand. I was expecting to get something like 4 or 5 pre-orders for each game...

 

I got at least 25 orders for each game, a couple of them even received over 30 pre-orders. Ooof!!

 

Luckily, I have enough boxes to meet this unexpected demand (the bulk of these boxes are being shipped by UPS by my contact in Germany as I write this, and I should receive them in about a week) and I can get manuals and cartridge labels printed locally on short notice. I gave 5-11under the mandate to solder together the cart electronics, and I have all the styrofoam inserts and almost all the cartridge shells I need.

 

My only real problem is time: It's going to take me all of February just to glue together all these boxes, so I won't have time to assemble the cartridges before the next reminder service e-mail (set for February 27th). The cart assembly+testing will therefore happen in early March, and the games will likely be ready to ship somewhere around mid-March. I'm glad to provide new copies of my older titles to so many people, but gosh, this is going to be a brutal amount of work for me (and for 5-11under too, I might add). And that's in addition to preparing new copies of Thexder (if Moldex can finally deliver those transparent dark blue casings to me, with them it's always "they'll be ready next week, next week...") and also a few new copies of Wonder Boy, Princess Quest, Quest for the Golden Chalice and King's Valley to help alleviate the issue of back-orders.

 

Beyond this, there's also a more long-term price to pay for this "successful" re-issue of my older titles. Once I've assembled, sold and shipped all these games, I'm going to be so tired and fed up that I will want to take at least a month of vacation away from Team Pixelboy activities. Heck, I could use that month of vacation right now, to be perfectly honest. If I take this vacation in April/May, that means I will not be able to release any of the new games from my upcoming lineup (such as Mecha-8 or Battle of Hoth) in May or even September.

 

So yes, my friends, I'll have to return to my same old modus operandi of releasing all my games on Christmas. Hey, don't blame me, blame all those perps who ordered so many of my old releases!!

 

Anyway, I will be using this forum thread to post any and all news concerning the re-release of my older titles.

 

This concludes this Team Pixelboy News Bulletin. We now return you to your regular forum activities.

[KeizerGhidorah]

Once I've assembled, sold and shipped all these games, I'm going to be so tired and fed up that I will want to take at least a month of vacation away from Team Pixelboy activities. Heck, I could use that month of vacation right now, to be perfectly honest.

 

Honestly, with all the work you do to get these games out, I don't think anyone would fault you for wanting to take some time off.

[+Ransom]

Clearly, you need to raise your prices.

[Pixelboy]

Honestly, with all the work you do to get these games out, I don't think anyone would fault you for wanting to take some time off.

 

Oh, don't worry, I'll take the time off when the proper time comes.

 

Clearly, you need to raise your prices.

 

Huh... Why?

[ColecoDan]

This is actually the perfect example to everyone that asks why do producers close out games.

 

Yeah more people might want them but the producer wants to deliver new games and rest and as you can see from this example Luc's generosity has tuckered him out

[+Ransom]

Huh... Why?

 

Less work, more reward.

[Jaymiester]

Why can't the end user put his own box together? Wouldn't this save a lot of time and ease some of the burden?

[AtariBrian]

If im paying for the extra amount for a box I would want it already done . I would however suggest cart and manual only which would save time on his end and money on our end . Just a suggestion, nothing more .

[IG-88]

I would mind doing all the assembly myself if it helps you on your end to get the games out sooner... If you feel like knocking a couple bucks off then all the better, but not necessary.

[nanochess]

It looks like people really liked your previous releases , surely you're really happy.

 

Myself I took the chance to get Circus Charlie and Pitfall II Arcade, so myself I'm guilty of delaying Mecha-8

 

Just take it with calm and don't get tired , this is homebrew and it should be a hobby not a work

[Pixelboy]

It looks like people really liked your previous releases , surely you're really happy.

 

Happiness is short-lived. The real satisfaction comes once the games are all shipped and you can move on to other things.

 

 

Just take it with calm and don't get tired , this is homebrew and it should be a hobby not a work

 

You can take it as a hobby all you want, Oscar, but some days are just crunch time. Case in point: Last night I went to bed after midnight because I wanted to have at least 9 packages ready to be taken to the post office tonight. And when I get home from the post office later in the evening, I'll have 9 or 10 more packages to prepare. After those will have been shipped tomorrow evening, then I'll be able to rest a little bit. But not too long, because I've got a ton of boxes to glue together this month. It takes discipline and dedication to get it all done, and when you're in the thick of it, you can understand why guys like Eduardo Mello prefer to leave the publishing to others (namely me and those who help me) and concentrate on the coding.

[VGC1612]

Does Zaxxon Super Game still available?

[Pixelboy]

Does Zaxxon Super Game still available?

 

All the SGM games are currently back-ordered. I'll want to make more copies of all of them this spring, after I'm done with that large lot of new copies of my older games, and I've already taken a couple of steps towards that end (more unglued SGM game boxes shipped from Germany, more MegaCart PCBs ordered via opcode) but the one remaining question mark will be the cart casings: I need more transparent red/green/black casings (for Dragon's Lair, King's Valley and Zaxxon Super Game respectively) and I haven't even placed the order for those with Moldex yet, because I'm waiting to have the transparent dark blue and silver casings delivered before placing another order. When Moldex will actually deliver this new lot of casings is anyone's guess.

 

All this to say that anyone who's on the fence about pre-ordering any of the SGM games should just place their pre-orders in advance, because new copies won't be ready anytime soon anyway.

[Nateo]

Happiness is short-lived. The real satisfaction comes once the games are all shipped and you can move on to other things.

 

 

 

 

You can take it as a hobby all you want, Oscar, but some days are just crunch time. Case in point: Last night I went to bed after midnight because I wanted to have at least 9 packages ready to be taken to the post office tonight. And when I get home from the post office later in the evening, I'll have 9 or 10 more packages to prepare. After those will have been shipped tomorrow evening, then I'll be able to rest a little bit. But not too long, because I've got a ton of boxes to glue together this month. It takes discipline and dedication to get it all done, and when you're in the thick of it, you can understand why guys like Eduardo Mello prefer to leave the publishing to others (namely me and those who help me) and concentrate on the coding.

 

Reading this makes me wish I lived in Montreal so I could volunteer some hours to put some boxes together.

[Pixelboy]

Reading this makes me wish I lived in Montreal so I could volunteer some hours to put some boxes together.

 

Actually, my way of glueing boxes together is a pretty technical process (it is at least from my point of view) and I wouldn't easely trust someone else to do it in my place.

[Jaymiester]

Actually, my way of glueing boxes together is a pretty technical process (it is at least from my point of view) and I wouldn't easely trust someone else to do it in my place.

 

I'm thinking you got too many gold stars with your Macaroni art in Kindergarten and you let it go to your head!

[Pixelboy]

I'm thinking you got too many gold stars with your Macaroni art in Kindergarten and you let it go to your head!

 

Well excuuuuuse me for wanting boxes that will still hold together 10 years from now.

[+5-11under]

Well excuuuuuse me for wanting boxes that will still hold together 10 years from now.

For a few minutes, I tried searching for a picture of a bunch of monkeys all working in an assembly line.

[Pixelboy]

For a few minutes, I tried searching for a picture of a bunch of monkeys all working in an assembly line.

 

What does CollectorVision have to do with this?

 

(Sorry J-F and Tobie, I couldn't resist!)

[+grips03]

 

Myself I took the chance to get Circus Charlie and Pitfall II Arcade, so myself I'm guilty of delaying Mecha-8

 

 

Circus Charlie is really good. Not sure if you have kids nanochess, but my 8 year old loves that game

Pitfall II Arcade is best played with the secret code

[nanochess]

Circus Charlie is really good. Not sure if you have kids nanochess, but my 8 year old loves that game

I don't have kids, I'm still a free guy but a cute lady is trying to lure me

Pitfall II Arcade is best played with the secret code

I'll be very happy to play the game to find it out

[nanochess]

Happiness is short-lived. The real satisfaction comes once the games are all shipped and you can move on to other things.

I've the same satisfaction when I put the finished seal to a game

You can take it as a hobby all you want, Oscar, but some days are just crunch time. Case in point: Last night I went to bed after midnight because I wanted to have at least 9 packages ready to be taken to the post office tonight. And when I get home from the post office later in the evening, I'll have 9 or 10 more packages to prepare. After those will have been shipped tomorrow evening, then I'll be able to rest a little bit. But not too long, because I've got a ton of boxes to glue together this month. It takes discipline and dedication to get it all done, and when you're in the thick of it, you can understand why guys like Eduardo Mello prefer to leave the publishing to others (namely me and those who help me) and concentrate on the coding.

I've to recognize that although I take game development as a hobby, sometimes I have to put some extra effort in a game just to get it ready in time, using part of nights or lunch time.

 

Sometimes I've came so far as to dedicate whole weekends to solve a difficult problem. So I understand fully when you say discipline and dedication.

[nanochess]

 

 

What does CollectorVision have to do with this?

 

(Sorry J-F and Tobie, I couldn't resist!)

What happened with J-F and Tobie? I don't have seen they lately in the forums.

[ColecoDan]

What happened with J-F and Tobie? I don't have seen they lately in the forums.

 

It must have been something you said.

 

Nah, I know Tobie just posted yesterday or so in the auction thread about his Yolks on you box, but you are right I don't think I have seen a J-F post in a while.

[NIAD]

What happened with J-F and Tobie? I don't have seen they lately in the forums.

The last we chatted, J-F mentioned that he has a lot of things going on that are all coming to a head it seems at the same time.... classes, family, house hunting, etc., you know, real world things that always need to be taken care of first and foremost. It also seems that he is expanding his horizons with the Ouya system and NES, but he did state that he will still be working on new ColecoVision releases... just not at the frantic pace of last year.

 

Good Luck with everything and if you are reading this... please send me an Email or PM when you have the time concerning some of the things we have discussed.

Edited February 7, 2013 by NIAD