ColecoVision Flashback System

[Bill Loguidice]

I never had or particularly wanted an ADAM, but the platform definitely has associations with hardware failure. The fact that there's so little written about it outside of the wikipedia article doesn't help. It would be neat to see some of the spiffier ADAM software built in to a future Colecovision Flashback or similar product.

 

Bill, it's September now. Can you say anything about the upcoming digital releases to go along with the Flashback hardware? :-)

 

I suggested Adam software for the next iteration of the ColecoVision Flashback. It's all a question of how well it will work with their emulator. Maybe some of the gentlemen who provided the homebrews can offer up their cartridge conversions. We'll see.

 

As for the digital strategy, which is being worked on at present, here's a hint for the non-mobile aspect of it: http://digital.gamefly.com/#!/pc

[Flojomojo]

I had heard that Gamefly sold its digital store to AtGames. That seems like a tough market to compete in. As a consumer, I don't see any reason to buy digital stuff from anywhere other than Steam, or grudgingly, Origin if it's not on Steam. This would be a good place to sell stuff like Intellivision Lives, though. Mailing CDs is awfully retrograde, even for old games.

[Bill Loguidice]

I had heard that Gamefly sold its digital store to AtGames. That seems like a tough market to compete in. As a consumer, I don't see any reason to buy digital stuff from anywhere other than Steam, or grudgingly, Origin if it's not on Steam. This would be a good place to sell stuff like Intellivision Lives, though. Mailing CDs is awfully retrograde, even for old games.

 

This will have a retro section as well, yes.

[Bill Loguidice]

I just wanted to provide a quick update on some further testing I did. I was really disappointed in the text output on the ColecoVision Flashback. I tried it on an LG Flatron TV Monitor, as well as a Commodore 1084S. The 1084S was only marginally better. I then tried it on a late generation Sharp world TV (a 13" CRT). On that display, it was all but perfect. Nice and crisp, etc. I then tried it on a large LG LED TV. Without doing a direct side-by-side comparison, I'll say that its display may have been slightly better than the Flatron and 1084S, but nowhere near as good as the Sharp. So, to summarize, the type of display really does matter with these things, and there's not much rhyme or reason to it (though a pure CRT TV might be the ticket). As such, it's not necessarily the output of the Flashback that's at fault, though it would be nice if it were optimized better for today's TV's (that goes for all of these AtGames units).

 

I can also confirm (not that it needed confirming) that The Heist runs at about half its normal speed, right down to the music, so it's game-wide.

 

I still have mixed feelings on the controller. I think the keypad is still poor and difficult to press without being deliberate about it and the joystick shaft is too short, affecting accuracy and comfort. The side action buttons are quite good though.

[NIAD]

I never had or particularly wanted an ADAM, but the platform definitely has associations with hardware failure. The fact that there's so little written about it outside of the wikipedia article doesn't help. It would be neat to see some of the spiffier ADAM software built in to a future Colecovision Flashback or similar product.

 

Bill, it's September now. Can you say anything about the upcoming digital releases to go along with the Flashback hardware? :-)

Like any product that is rushed to market, there will be issues that spring up, and the ADAM is a perfect example of what not to do to capitalize on the X-Mas buying season. With that said, my first ADAM, an Expansion Module #3, was bought shortly after ADAMs starting arriving in the Midwest and it worked flawlessly from the first time I flipped the power switch until I sold it in 1998. Hmm, that would have been almost 15 years and I put that sucker to good use albeit I did take very good care of it.

 

I've stated this before and I'll state it again, "While there were indeed issues with systems, components of the system and rushed instruction mauals, MOST of the problems arose due to user error".

 

So little written about the ADAM??? Checkout Joe B.'s website (linked in my SIG) with roughly 200 ADAM newsletters in PDF format for your reading pleasure. Also check out ADAMcon's webste at http://ann.hollowdreams.com and download the monthly A.N.N. disks for A LOT or reading pleasure.

 

Aside from that, I blame Atari, Apple and Commodore for starting a smear campaign against the ADAM!!!

Edited September 4, 2014 by NIAD

[Bill Loguidice]

So little written about the ADAM??? Checkout Joe B.'s website (linked in my SIG) with roughly 200 ADAM newsletters in PDF format for your reading pleasure. Also check out ADAMcon's webste at http://ann.hollowdreams.com and download the monthly A.N.N. disks for A LOT or reading pleasure.

 

Aside from that, I blame Atari, Apple and Commodore for starting a smear campaign against the ADAM!!!

 

For what it's worth (plug), I wrote a good deal about the Coleco Adam in the ColecoVision chapter (plug) of "Vintage Game Consoles," and a bit in passing in the earlier "Vintage Games." The ColecoVision was the second console I personally bought (though through my parents) and the Adam was the third (or was it fourth?) computer. I have a definite affection for it and always have. Funny, I also recall subscribing to the NIAD newsletter and still have those and everything else as part of my collection...

[playazclub]

I went to the local Toys R Us and they have them there in the back but they would not unbox them for me (just so I could see it for myself) and they would not put it out until October 1st. Anybody know if there's a display or unique box they ship in that might be worth acquiring?

[Andromeda Stardust]

 

I've stated this before and I'll state it again, "While there were indeed issues with systems, components of the system and rushed instruction mauals, MOST of the problems arose due to user error".

So I'm sure all those RROD xBox360s were due to user error or failure to read the instructions?

[didimo63]

 

For what it's worth (plug), I wrote a good deal about the Coleco Adam in the ColecoVision chapter (plug) of "Vintage Game Consoles," and a bit in passing in the earlier "Vintage Games." The ColecoVision was the second console I personally bought (though through my parents) and the Adam was the third (or was it fourth?) computer. I have a definite affection for it and always have. Funny, I also recall subscribing to the NIAD newsletter and still have those and everything else as part of my collection...

Thank you both of you for the Adam info. It was my impossible dream back in 1983-85. I wanted one badly, but it cost way too much. The reports of hardware failures were bothersome. I ended up buying (like most of the people in Europe anyways) a Commodore 64 instead. It was one of the first items I bought when I came to the US for grad school in the Fall of '94. I think I got mine from Adam House, with lots of software and a few accessories. It works great to this day (knock on wood ].

I sure would not mind having Flashback versions of Buck Rogers (Adam version, with high-score table, etc.) and Zaxxon.

[didimo63]

My review of the Colecovision and Intellivision Flashbacks was published today on an Italian retrogame website:

http://www.retrogamesmachine.com/2014/09/04/atari-intellivision-colecovision-flashback-anteprima-in-esclusiva/

 

Sorry, it's in Italian (but maybe google translate can give you a general sense of what I am saying. Basically, that they are very good products, especially for the price tag ].

 

I stopped writing professionally about videogames back in 1999 (I used to write for Super Console, the leading Italian videogame magazine back in the days). The launch of a "new" Colecovision and Intellivision was a good reason, I felt, to come back to (some form of) videogame journalism .

Ciao!

 

PS: BTW, in my article I mention Bill Loguidice's excellent work on the Colecovision manual .

Edited September 4, 2014 by didimo63

[NIAD]

So I'm sure all those RROD xBox360s were due to user error or failure to read the instructions? |

I don't know anything about the XBox360 and the issues that were experienced with that system, so I don't comment on things that I don't know about.

 

What I am VERY familiar with is the ADAM Computer having owned one since December 1983 along with many others over the years and I never had a system that I bought for my personal use (store bought or mail order in the 80's and 90's) experience any issues and this includes the Data Drives and Printers. The one hardware item that I did experience an issue with was the very first Disk Drive that I bought after they came out and it ended up being a photo electronic sensor.cell that went bad a couple years later and was eventually fixed.

 

Since I got back into the ADAM in 2010 after selling off my original collection in 1998, I have acquired at least 15 systems in this time, maybe more, and have only had TWO memory consoles that had issues. The first was a completely dead ADAM Logic Board that probably took a direct electrical surge and I swapped in a new board to get that working. The second had an issue with the Data Drive circuit on the motherboard and nothing I tried as far as swapping controller chips and cleaning would fix it... someone bought it that wanted it for playing ColecoVision carts only. I had one disk drive that would no longer format a disk although it would read/write to a previously formatted disk perfectly. Now, I have had about 5 Data Drives that were completely shot out of about 40 and these were all the 1st Revision design that DID in fact have issues as has been stated by myself and other many a time.

 

Not to shabby for a 31 year old computer system made by a toy company... in my honest and UNBIASED opinion. Have I just been lucky over all these years or maybe know better what to look for when deciding to buy a used system? Maybe, but I don't thing so.

 

When looking back at the jaw dropping number of ADAM systems that were returned after their release in late '83, consider heavily the people that were mostly buying them.... first time computer owners and probably a lot of first time computer users. My old man falls into this first time everything category and I still remember him pounding on the keyboard after I set everything up because he didn't want every keystroke he entered typed out immediately by the printer. What he didn't spend the time to do, like I did, was RTFM to find out that you had to press the ESCAPE/WP key to enter the full word processor. Thankfully he never tried to use the system again as his mind was made up that it was junk! I guess first impressions are everything.

 

The ADAM definetely wasn't perfect and there were numerous bugs in the O.S., word processor and basic interpreter due mostly to the rush to market, but it wasn't the ticking time bomb that it was made out to be... or maybe it is but the timing mechanism is defective.

 

Back to the CV Flashback discussion....

[HkryCrkStudio]

I've been asking around and it doesn't appear that these will be distributed in Canada, just like the previous Flashback systems. I'm hoping they'll at least show up on Amazon, so I can order from there.

 

How does one spell "disappointment" in Canada? C-O-L-E-C-O H-O-L-D-I-N-G-S

 

P.S. I always get in trouble when I make promises I can't keep... but not everyone does.

[+5-11under]

 

How does one spell "disappointment" in Canada? C-O-L-E-C-O H-O-L-D-I-N-G-S

 

P.S. I always get in trouble when I make promises I can't keep... but not everyone does.

 

Time to make a trip past Windsor or Sarnia.

[retroillucid]

I'll keep saying it, CollectorVision could distribute the Flashback in Canada

Waiting for news from ATgames....

[Skippy B. Coyote]

A question for those who own a Colecovision Flashback: Is it compatible with Sega Genesis controllers? I know it's already been covered that original Colecovision controllers won't work on the Flashback and Flashback controllers won't work on the original, but has anyone tried plugging a Genesis controller into the Flashback to see if it would work in games that only require the use of one fire button?

[Pixelboy]

I'll keep saying it, CollectorVision could distribute the Flashback in Canada

Waiting for news from ATgames....

If you don't mind me asking, what would you do if AtGames let you act as a Canadian distributor? Would you go 100% mail order, or would you approach local retailers like EB Games Canada and try to get Flashback units into their stores?

[didimo63]

A question for those who own a Colecovision Flashback: Is it compatible with Sega Genesis controllers? I know it's already been covered that original Colecovision controllers won't work on the Flashback and Flashback controllers won't work on the original, but has anyone tried plugging a Genesis controller into the Flashback to see if it would work in games that only require the use of one fire button?

I tried plugging an Atari (a real one, VCS) controller into both the Colecovision and the Intellivision Flasback, and it does not work. Only the action button is sort of recognized, but directions aren't.

[retroillucid]

If you don't mind me asking, what would you do if AtGames let you act as a Canadian distributor? Would you go 100% mail order, or would you approach local retailers like EB Games Canada and try to get Flashback units into their stores?

Both actually

 

We would accept orders trough our website and would approach retailers as well

[Nebulon]

It sure would be cool if there was a way to mod the CV Flashback so that it could accept original ColecoVision cartridges.

 

... but I suppose that's likely impossible.

[Pixelboy]

Both actually

 

We would accept orders trough our website and would approach retailers as well

You'd probably have to travel to places like Toronto to meet important people and sign contracts face-to-face. If it ever happens, I hope your girlfriend will post pictures of you wearing a suit and tie.

[Andromeda Stardust]

I'm wondering: Is the Coleco controller not working on real hardware (and visa versa) the result of incorrect pinouts, or do the compatibility issues run deeper than that?

[thevnaguy]

I'm wondering: Is the Coleco controller not working on real hardware (and visa versa) the result of incorrect pinouts, or do the compatibility issues run deeper than that?

pinouts are different. with a little rewiring or making an adapter you can get them to work on a original colecovision or vice versa

[HkryCrkStudio]

 

Time to make a trip past Windsor or Sarnia.

 

I didn't wanna get out of my cozy chair, but ya you're right it's time.

[+evg2000]

If someone were to distribute in Canada, wouldn't everything have to be in English and Canadian (oh, I guess I mean French)

[retroillucid]

If someone were to distribute in Canada, wouldn't everything have to be in English and Canadian (oh, I guess I mean French)

Not for that kind of product....in fact, I've seen Atari Flashback in FutureShop