Coleco Chameleon .... hardware speculations?

[enoofu]

Apparently Chris believes they did develop some of the software for the platform , and are probably just starting the hardware process

[elmer]

OMG... hahah. His Engineer responded to his question of if that picture of the clearcase prototype could have anything to do with playing games.... ". I ask my engineer is there anything that can conceivable be on this board, that could be pulled off this board, that could play games, he responds.. "Well Chris, if I say lets bake a cake, and I pull out a frying pan and spark plugs, your probably going to have concerns!'.

So, yeah, NO!!!

 

Sounds like Coleco definitely aren't going to roll-over and play nice with Mike's feelings.

 

So then the next question is, will Mike Kennedy ...

1. Actually have the balls to send in whatever "prototype" he can scrape together from the local GoodWill?
2. Just stay silent and let the deadline pass and lose "by default?
3. Come up with some lame excuse about him being mugged by a little-old-lady on the way to the Post Office?
4. Come up with some lame excuse about it all being the hardware guy's fault for lying to him?

[Shawn]

 

 

Sounds like Coleco definitely aren't going to roll-over and play nice with Mike's feelings.

 

So then the next question is, will Mike Kennedy ...

1. Actually have the balls to send in whatever "prototype" he can scrape together from the local GoodWill?
2. Just stay silent and let the deadline pass and lose "by default?
3. Come up with some lame excuse about him being mugged by a little-old-lady on the way to the Post Office?
4. Come up with some lame excuse about it all being the hardware guy's fault for lying to him?

 

 

5. Fuck off and never show his face in regards to anything video game related ever again?

[Keatah]

The classic way to play classic games like VCS and Intellivision is to sit in front of a console TV, on the floor or in a beanbag, with the console right in front of you, with a stack of carts at your side.

 

And with a Swansons frozen dinner cooking in the oven. That was the best! After my monthly shower, I'd get one and play Superman on Friday nights.

Edited March 7, 2016 by Keatah

[Hannacek]

Business people can correct me if I'm wrong, but seems to me the whole point of buying/keeping a brand is to claim that historical association.

 

Of course there's a danger of running the brand into oblvion, e.g. I don't think much happened out of the C64 brand in the end (latest attempt I remember was a series of high end gaming PC Alienware-style)

 

The problem is that it is a lie to tell people there is an association, when none exists. It is fraudulent to mislead people to believe these is an association.

 

It would be misleading to claim for the ColecoVision flashback that "Coleco is back" or for the Atari Flashback "Atari is back" . This would be misleading because these companies no longer exist, and participated in no way in the product.

 

As far as I have seen, these Flashback consoles never claim Atari is back, or Atari is re-releasing there classic console, because these companies are making honest products they want to sell honestly. They can and do prominently display the logos, because they paid for that. But they never claim to be the original company, because the original companies have died and been buried.

 

Scam artists like the Retro VGS team have claimed that "Coleco is back", and they are "reentering the video game market." Legitimate companies don't make these claims. They buy the right to use the brand names and logos, and they use the brand names and logos.

Edited March 7, 2016 by Hannacek

[RVG_Steve]

Sorry if this link was already posted, but following up on that Youtube screen grab I posted of David G. leaving as editing manager of RETRO...

 

http://www.polygon.com/2016/3/5/11166982/coleco-chameleon-controversy-kickstarter-indiegogo-toy-fair

[Carbon Tiger]

 

Scam artists like the Retro VGS team have claimed that "Coleco is back", and they are "reentering the video game market." Legitimate companies don't make these claims. They buy the right to use the brand names and logos, and they use the brand names and logos.

 

 

I also have to wonder how much of the original Coleco that RWB legitimately has. If I had to wager a guess they likely don't have much more then the name, logos, and some limited usage rights for certain games. Without the original core assets or intellectual proprieties what RWB has isn't worth much of anything. Its probably why despite have the name for over 10 years now they haven't really done anything with it.

Edited March 7, 2016 by Carbon Tiger

[enoofu]

Don't think Coleco owns any of the IP or brands of the old Coleco, even using the old marks of Coleco can get them sued as just about everything of the old Coleco is owned by Hasbro or Hasbro spinoff Atari

 

All they own is their Rainbow Coleco mark, the US Trademark, but Hasbro may still have US trademark status under State Law.

[RupanIII]

COLECO HOLDINGS is fine in its use of the brand, they own it.
It's slow, people are looking for something till the report.

 

Coleco is back, were branding stuff with Coleco! That's what it means.
Nintendo could be owned by GreyGalacticEarthInvestments in a few hundred years.. when they use it, Nintendo would be back.

[Keatah]

Nope. Only the name. The original designers and corporate officers are long gone - replaced with less capable personnel.

 

The essence that created Atari VCS and Colecovision are no more.

[ninja_gaiden2015]

John's Linkedin describes the same project as being in 2010, he stated in the interview rhat they wanted him because of his previous reverse engineering.

 

image.jpeg

 

Yes it makes no sense, so you assume the dates are wrong? Why not conclude instead that he could be a bad liar? Did you notice when I showed earlier that he had turned himself into a co-founder of Iguana despite being a contractor there? His own CV contradicts his lies.

 

... it's probably likely that John lied on his CV, but at the end of the day, does it really matter. So what, that's his personal business to manage and work with. I didn't employ him and it makes no difference to my life.

At the end of the day, we are all on this thread here is for the bogus claims and fake prototypes of the coleco chameleon. Let's try to stick to that and away from anything that could be perceived as personal attacks. I guess all I am saying as since John is long-gone from the project and he was likely ripped off by Mike by not getting paid for his time/contributions, can we John a break, since he was kind enough to feed our thirst for knowledge by giving an interview with triverse.

[enoofu]

Believe the only things they branded are a Sega Handheld (May be Unauthorized)and a ATGames colecovision like device, and T-Shirts

 

Ownership of Trademark is always dicey when a prior Company which is Hasbro in this case still is in business as Hasbro owned the Coleco mark and lost it though no longer issuing products under the brand

[ninja_gaiden2015]

COLECO HOLDINGS is fine in its use of the brand, they own it.

It's slow, people are looking for something till the report.

 

Coleco is back, were branding stuff with Coleco! That's what it means.

Nintendo could be owned by GreyGalacticEarthInvestments in a few hundred years.. when they use it, Nintendo would be back.

 

if this was in Australian jurisdiction, it would be easy to lookup. I work in the legal profession and it's difficult for me to sit back and not comment on legal issues when mentioned. I would have a reasonable idea how things would play out if the legal disputes were in Australia, but I have no idea about other jurisdictions

[Schizophretard]

Who makes a game console that is designed to live its life in the closet for 50 years

 

This whole project reeks of non gamer ideas that silly collectors love, including silly colors;

 

Would be entirely different if they just focused on the NG Market as plenty of people would pay decent money for Great hardware emulation of that platform

 

I'm not trying to defend the console but the 50 years thing is a gamer type idea as opposed to a collector thing. I think it is quite obvious that it wasn't literally about buying it and then just leaving it in a closet for 50 years without ever playing it. The emphasis was more on it functioning to play games after such a hypothetical scenario than about the time doing nothing in the closest. In other words, a console/cart having an attribute of functioning isn't a silly colors collector type thing. It's a gamer thing. A console/cart can sit in a closest, on a shelf, or where ever as a collectors item without functioning but to be a device made for the purpose of playing it has to work. To put it another way, to be able to flip the switch and have a game appear is a gamer idea because it is an idea about it functioning. If it was the opposite, like maybe,"It only has to work for 5 years and then you can just sit the broken thing in the closet." Then I would see how that would be a silly collector idea. But functioning for the purpose of playing a game? That is a pure 100% gamer idea.

[RupanIII]

This is ironic. Need a couple of instruction books?

http://www.hasbro.com/en-us/search?q=coleco

[RupanIII]

Okay, about the Trademark talk.. What GAMES did COLECO OWN.. Games which weren't attached to a License which would have to be reacquired?

Anything?

Did they Develop anything, maybe the Cabbage Patch game?

 

I don't know and am having trouble finding out, so, can someone tell me that?

[enoofu]

Here is the list, but a lot of the games were for IP not owned by Coleco

 

Some of the games weren't finished on this lsit

 

2010 the Graphic Action Game, BC's Quest for Tires II : Grog's Revenge, Brain Strainers, Antarctic Adventure, Buck Rogers, Bump'n Jump, Burger Time, Cabbage Patch Kids, Cabbage Patch Kids : Picture Show, Carnival, Choplifter!, Congo Bongo,Cosmic Avenger, Dam Busters, Destructor, Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., Dr. Seuss : Fix-up the Mix-up Puzzler, Dukes of Hazzard, Fortune Builder, Frenzy, Front Line, Gorf, Illusions, Ken Uston BlackJack/Poker, LadyBug, Looping, Monkey Academy, Mouse Trap,Mr. Do!, Omega Race, Pepper II, Rocky, Roc'n Rope, Slither, Smurf, Smurf Paint, Spy Hunter, Star Trek, Space Fury, Space Panic, Subroc, Super Action Baseball, Super Action Football, Tapper, Tarzan, Telly Turtle, Time Pilot, Turbo, Venture, Victory,Wargames, Zaxxon

[Keatah]

Half'dose games were among my favorites! Played them daily..

[Hannacek]

COLECO HOLDINGS is fine in its use of the brand, they own it.

It's slow, people are looking for something till the report.

 

Coleco is back, were branding stuff with Coleco! That's what it means.

Nintendo could be owned by GreyGalacticEarthInvestments in a few hundred years.. when they use it, Nintendo would be back.

 

You don't understand the difference between purchasing the right to use the brand name and logos, and making false claims about the size and nature of the company behind those brand logos.

 

 

If Coleco Holdings hires people who used to work for Coleco back in the day, or they hire toy industry veterans, then they can legitimately make claims about Coleco being back. Or they could hire a new team and claim they are the new Coleco. Those things would be truthful statements.

 

However, Coleco Holdings is one guy in New Jersey, and a second guy I think who lives in Chicago. They have no offices, they don't have employees, they don't make consumer products, they don't do anything. There is no company. They just make licensing deals for other people to make stuff like the Flashback console. It would be false advertising to make claims about the Coleco company that either directly, or by implication claimed the company had offices, employees, and made consumer products.

 

 

 

Anything like the rights to the Cabbage Patch game or Smurf's game went back to the current rights holder of those properties. I'm not sure the exact history, but the rights probably went back to them after a certain number of years.

 

Edited March 7, 2016 by Hannacek

[Cybermario]

That's exactly why, really. Why use your own resources to even bother to re-work 90s technology? You have a guy who reversed engineered consoles for a living for the companies he worked for. Sony most likely had records of which devs had their dev kits, as to recall them. So, I doubt Sony called John Carlsen directly and said, 'Sup' dude? Yo, so, we want you to make a playstation in a controller for us, ok? Your skills are highly desired to us because we know who you are'? No, I imagine they reached out to companies who had done work for them with no dev kits. Find someone who was already familiar with simplifying their work and try to recruit those people to bring on board for a project.

 

It seems easier to me than having to spread out their internal team and snare their current projects down, only to have to break down and simplify the very stuff that was already done in the 90s. I don't think JC was the only guy on the project, I think he was a little guy who was brought into it, hence 'senior staff' and not 'Lead'. His past experience of having to work on Iguana's dev kit because they couldn't afford one paid off. In his case, he hit the lottery job wise.

 

I'm not arguing his Linkedin is padded. Honestly in the field he's in, it has to be. I just don't think he's bullshitting about being on a team that made a small playstation in 2010 for BRIC ~

 

Sony, MS, Apple, everyone knows John has an amazing kitch... er, i mean lab! Of course they want him to do work for them.

 

Regarding the reason why Eli from Piko Interactive (and others) did not see the red flags sooner, I believe Mike Kennedy has some kind of Reality Distortion Field, as Steve Jobs famously had. The only difference is that the range is extremely short, the effect wears off quickly, and it actually works backwards on anyone not involved.

 

As to whether Mike Kennedy will be back, my guess is on "Retro VGS part III: now in 3D", like those bad movies during the 70s/80s.

 

Well, Mike as we know work in sales, if you dont know the bad stuff and see the interviews about the RetroVGS at some point you think "yeah the man is right, i remember the golden age of cartridge gaming!", Mike may be a liar but he know his ways with works, is easy to fall in the trap. Then you discover the lies and how full of BS he is.

[RupanIII]

I appreciate your time and effort.

I had been clicking one by one through the list on Wikipedia and it was like NOTHING.... NOTHING was theirs. they published many games, the whole first 2 years I think. But developed or owned... ugh. Nope. Maybe the Super Action games?
Maybe something written by Bit Corp? I saw nothing.

Here is the list, but a lot of the games were for IP not owned by Coleco

 

Some of the games weren't finished on this lsit

 

2010 the Graphic Action Game, BC's Quest for Tires II : Grog's Revenge, Brain Strainers, Antarctic Adventure, Buck Rogers, Bump'n Jump, Burger Time, Cabbage Patch Kids, Cabbage Patch Kids : Picture Show, Carnival, Choplifter!, Congo Bongo,Cosmic Avenger, Dam Busters, Destructor, Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., Dr. Seuss : Fix-up the Mix-up Puzzler, Dukes of Hazzard, Fortune Builder, Frenzy, Front Line, Gorf, Illusions, Ken Uston BlackJack/Poker, LadyBug, Looping, Monkey Academy, Mouse Trap,Mr. Do!, Omega Race, Pepper II, Rocky, Roc'n Rope, Slither, Smurf, Smurf Paint, Spy Hunter, Star Trek, Space Fury, Space Panic, Subroc, Super Action Baseball, Super Action Football, Tapper, Tarzan, Telly Turtle, Time Pilot, Turbo, Venture, Victory,Wargames, Zaxxon

 

Awesome, which law firm do you own or work for as a lawyer?

Do you do this as your every day work?

It's good to have lawyers on our forum here.

 

So, by saying COLECO IS, there is some inference that it means the Company and not The Brand?
In this modern day of the Shrink Wrap license, the name means the Company? Does it even mean the product?
How has this been tested recently? I'm definitely interested.

 

Ah, i see the website's active ads there... yeah, they said company that brought you Cabbage Patch Kids.. yeah, that would seem to be false. Should be Brand.

 

You don't understand the difference between purchasing the right to use the brand name and logos, and making false claims about the size and nature of the company behind those brand logos.

 

 

If Coleco Holdings hires people who used to work for Coleco back in the day, or they hire toy industry veterans, then they can legitimately make claims about Coleco being back. Or they could hire a new team and claim they are the new Coleco. Those things would be truthful statements.

However, Coleco Holdings is one guy in New Jersey, and a second guy I think who lives in Chicago. They have no offices, they don't have employees, they don't make consumer products, they don't do anything. There is no company. They just make licensing deals for other people to make stuff like the Flashback console. It would be false advertising to make claims about the Coleco company that either directly, or by implication claimed the company had offices, employees, and made consumer products.

Anything like the rights to the Cabbage Patch game or Smurf's game went back to the current rights holder of those properties.

Edited March 7, 2016 by RupanIII

[Keatah]

Maybe "retrogamers" and "classic gamers" should become more involved and active in recreating the environment and method for playing their favorites.

[enoofu]

 

You don't understand the difference between purchasing the right to use the brand name and logos, and making false claims about the size and nature of the company behind those brand logos.

 

 

If Coleco Holdings hires people who used to work for Coleco back in the day, or they hire toy industry veterans, then they can legitimately make claims about Coleco being back. Or they could hire a new team and claim they are the new Coleco. Those things would be truthful statements.

 

However, Coleco Holdings is one guy in New Jersey, and a second guy I think who lives in Chicago. They have no offices, they don't have employees, they don't make consumer products, they don't do anything. There is no company. They just make licensing deals for other people to make stuff like the Flashback console. It would be false advertising to make claims about the Coleco company that either directly, or by implication claimed the company had offices, employees, and made consumer products.

 

 

 

Anything like the rights to the Cabbage Patch game or Smurf's game went back to the current rights holder of those properties. I'm not sure the exact history, but the rights probably went back to them after a certain number of years.

 

Yeah, people forgot that Hasbro can challenge the uspto since "RE-Branding" is not attempting to copy prior works or make it look like your the Prior company in any way which is considered BAD FAITH in just about every country i know legally

 

River West Brands even publicly announced that fact

 

----------------

 

JTS sold the Atari name and assets to Hasbro, so technically Atari is the same company, just merge with Hasbro interactive

 

----------------------------

yeah a lot of the rights probably reverted but since CV work on them to port to the platform probably would need who ever is the CV right holder and the 3rd party right holder permission to release them

 

2010 the Graphic Action Game, BC's Quest for Tires II : Grog's Revenge, Brain Strainers, Antarctic Adventure, Buck Rogers, Bump'n Jump, Burger Time, Cabbage Patch Kids, Cabbage Patch Kids : Picture Show, Carnival, Choplifter!, Congo Bongo,Cosmic Avenger, Dam Busters, Destructor, Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., Dr. Seuss : Fix-up the Mix-up Puzzler, Dukes of Hazzard, Fortune Builder, Frenzy, Front Line, Gorf, Illusions, Ken Uston BlackJack/Poker, LadyBug, Looping, Monkey Academy, Mouse Trap,Mr. Do!, Omega Race, Pepper II, Rocky, Roc'n Rope, Slither, Smurf, Smurf Paint, Spy Hunter, Star Trek, Space Fury, Space Panic, Subroc, Super Action Baseball, Super Action Football, Tapper, Tarzan, Telly Turtle, Time Pilot, Turbo, Venture, Victory,Wargames, Zaxxon

Edited March 7, 2016 by enoofu

[Newsdee]

Maybe "retrogamers" and "classic gamers" should become more involved and active in recreating the environment and method for playing their favorites.

Open Source FTW

[AE35]

Now that Piko is out of the MK adventure, it might be time to remove the giant CC picture here:

 

http://pikointeractive.com/blog/

 

I'm really impressed by Piko's choice to take all criticism head on, and not deleting left and right (both on AA and FB).

However, I think it is okay to remove this:

 

https://www.facebook.com/pikointeractive/posts/747829722019685