Andromeda Stardust Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 Just so you guys know, the Facebook page is probably "unpublished" right now. Why? Mike probably has to remove all mention of Coleco from the Facebook page and the easiest way to do that at your leisure would be to unpublish the page. This leaves Mike with the "likes" when he republishes the page, at least I believe so. It is very likely that Mike will be back with something else. Maybe he got one of those "Under new management" banners you see outside of ailing businesses. I am not privy to that information. I did contact him (probably went straight to his trash bin) in relation to purchasing RETRO Mag from him. As you all know, I co-own Retro Gaming Magazine- a competitor to Mike's product. Removing any chance of truth to rumors that I could be forced to change the name of my site would rather nice in my eyes. This saga is far from over though. If you listen carefully, you can almost hear Mike thinking up a new plan. That would be awesome if you could take over the magazine Triverse. I'm amazed the name of @RetroVGS hasn't changed it still says Coleco Chameleon on twitter Also that's probably why the retrovgs website is down, he is scrubbing it of all things Coleco It would be something if he reposts the RetroVGS stuff... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enoofu Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 One odd thing is that no one has heard anything publicly by Steve Woita on the Retro VGS since IGG, which is odd since he is basically the only person on that Team that know's about hardware and software that we know about "Steve Woita @SteveWoita 19 Sep 2015 It would be so cool to have this #new #cartridge #game #system ! Help make it happen for #RETRO VGS on @indiegogo http://igg.me/p/1429853/twtr/12157634 …" 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dommie Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 So, anyone know anything about any trademarks or anything on all this? Was "Coleco Chameleon" or the logo or whatever registered? If the Coleco/Retrovgs association is over, what does that do to any trademarks or legal ownership of the "Chameleon" name. Coleco Chameleon was never registered. Retro VGS was registered, but officially abandoned and officially dead in record time. I think it was like a month between registration and abandonment. And I believe that was all last year. Check TESS database to confirm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Charlie Cat Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 (edited) Hi guys, I really had high hopes on this project of the Retro VGS in the beginning and supported Mike Kennedy in the past . But as the months went on and was reading more about the concerns that the community had with this, I started to reconsider on supporting his unit. Eventually, I lost interest on Retro VGS/Coleco Chameleon all together. I try to be impartial as much as I can. But what happen with this project really left me with questions on why Mike allowed this to go in this direction, and why he allowed himself to tarnish his reputation that will leave an everlasting impression on him in the video game community. I do wish Mr. Kennedy the best on all of his future endeavors in the near future. But the distrust that he has now in the community is so great, it will be a difficult task for him to regain it in the short and long run! Anthony... Edited March 9, 2016 by fdurso224 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaybird3rd Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 Those who have been following classic gaming long enough to remember Retro Gaming Radio, one of the pioneering classic gaming shows of the late 1990s and early 2000s, might be interested to know that the host of Retro Gaming Radio, Shane R. Monroe, discussed the Coleco Chameleon debacle on his Passenger Seat Radio podcast today (skip to about 22:50). Apparently, in the early days of the original RVGS project, Shane was one of the guys that Mike was bouncing ideas off of; Shane even put him in touch with Cloanto about possibly licensing the Amiga technologies. I seem to recall Mike mentioning at one time that he was "in talks" with Cloanto (of course we now know how little that means), but from Shane's description, they sounded pretty skeptical. Presumably it was Cloanto who decided not to pursue things further with Mike; if so, good call on their part. EDIT 3/9: Yep, Mike said in an early RVGS thread that he was "exploring with Amiga Forever" (that's Cloanto's product). Wow, that was exactly one year ago today! 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vcoleiro1 Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 (edited) What are you guys going to do now that the drama is over. You'll have to go back to playing video games for your entertainment fix. Edited March 9, 2016 by vcoleiro1 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schizophretard Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 No it has to be a lizard Magnavox Mike? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schizophretard Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 Stinkbug is good, but I have another suggestion. I was looking for a defunct console maker that started with "D", but no dice, so I offer up: The V-Tech DungBeetle.You will not believe all the shit MK has planned for this system!! dungbeetle.jpg Dactar starts with a D. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schizophretard Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 I imagine it went something like this: "Gentlemen, before I present our prototype, I would like to invite you to help yourself to the coke and whores buffet I have set up for you." We will find out if you are right when whores come here to complain about not getting paid. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenixdownita Posted March 9, 2016 Author Share Posted March 9, 2016 What are you guys going to do now that the drama is over. You'll have to go back to playing video games for your entertainment fix. Just bought Akai Katana like 30mins ago for 360 and had a run with it .... it's fun to be playing games again instead of talking about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nutsy Doodleheimer Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RupanIII Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 Nope, Polygon has worded this out of sequence. I contacted Coleco who told me that quote refers to their engineers seeing what is on the web and not being satisfied with it. This ended early because Retro informed Coleco they would not provide a prototype because it was not sufficient to demonstrate at this time. Since Retro informed them early, they considered that and released their press releases and sever ties based on Retro's input. Just listen to Coleco's press releases/social media, real journalism is dead and the person at Polygon apparently can't write. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schizophretard Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deckardbr Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 Was Mike this quiet after the Retro VGS went under? I seem to remember more announcements and statements from him. I think there is still more to this story that may show up in an eventual documentary. Who was the mysterious Lee that Piko dealt with? What did the people who run Mike's Retro magazine know? Finally what was the real end game plan after the kickstarter? I think the final product would have been snes boards literally gutted from actual snes and super famicoms. He then would make the consoles limited edition and not produce that many. We may never find out unless someone actually starts confronting people investigative news journalism style. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+rdemming Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 Looks like "Coleco" pulled the plug. http://www.engadget.com/2016/03/08/coleco-pulls-support-from-chameleon/ Coleco partner Chris Cardillo gave Engadget the following statement, which will also appear on Coleco's Facebook page: Why did Coleco/Chris Cardillo gave a statement to Engadget (Kris Naudus), that did a poor research on the story? Chris Cardillo should have posted Coleco's statement here on AtariAge whose members saved them from more embarrassment if this was allowed to continue Robert 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+rdemming Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 BTB gets first crack at the documentary. That would be great. When can we expect the KickStarter to fund the documentary or do you have outside investors 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schizophretard Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 Finally what was the real end game plan after the kickstarter? I think the final product would have been snes boards literally gutted from actual snes and super famicoms. He then would make the consoles limited edition and not produce that many. We may never find out unless someone actually starts confronting people investigative news journalism style. My theory is that he had every intention to produce it but was trying to cheat the system by getting on Kickstarter without a prototype and without trying to fund a prototype first because a Kickstarter already past that step would likely bring in more money. Then after getting an OUYA like success out of it he would then attempt to get it done. I doubt he was going for a take the money and run approach because he likely believed that the console would be a success that would bring in more money than just running off with the Kickstarter money. In other words, I think he was a true believer in his idea to such an extent that he believed it would be a success by assuming that every potential backer would also be a true believer. He had blind faith in it being a success and rationalized that the ends would justify the means. It probably was something like,"I really am going to deliver and everyone is going to be happy with it so a lie wouldn't be that bad..." And then that caused more and more lies which caused him to be more and more reckless with them from the nervousness of it all. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StopDrop&Retro Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 Was Mike this quiet after the Retro VGS went under? Yeah, there was a long period when this thread was dead but nothing like the 5th amendment rights we have now. When you look at the timeline, he called it quits on IndieGoGo on 9/29/15 and came back to AtariAge on 10/6/15, so only about a week of silence. But then he really went quiet until teasing with a big question block on 11/20/15. I seem to remember more announcements and statements from him. I think there is still more to this story that may show up in an eventual documentary. Could be. I wouldn't be surprised to see him make an appearance addressing the community but I can also see him moving on with his life. The odds of either are 50/50 IMO. What did the people who run Mike's Retro magazine know? Probably jack shit. I believe their stories. Mike preyed on gullible people he wanted to get something from. They didn't know any more than the empty promises we already heard. The difference was that they believed it because he made them think they were part of a secret insider's club that he would never lie to. Finally what was the real end game plan after the kickstarter? Only he really knows that. We all have our own opinions but based on what I've found I honestly believe he didn't have an end game plan going into the (most recent) planned Kickstarter. I think his real goal was to just get the cash so he could spend it among his companies as he saw fit. The console would be secondary, he would allocate a set amount of the funds to try to get it made and let the "hardware team" worry about that part. If it actually materialized into a product to ship out to the backers, then great. If it didn't, he wouldn't care, in his mind that isn't his problem. He would believe he made a good-faith effort to create a console and properly market it using his connected companies. If the hardware team ate up its budget, it's their fault. If any of the campaign funds were left he'd give partial refunds of pennies on the dollar and wipe his hands clean of the mess. 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newsdee Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 I'll try to only judge what was put on display. The basic premise was intriguing (bring carts back) and I would have given the final thing a fair chance if something was produced. But it seems to me there wasn't even a clear spec of what the proto should have been, other than "something with cartridges". And based on what ended up happening, it looks like they were more worried about getting supporters and trying to prove "we have hardware" more than sticking to a vision. So I think we can say objectively that they repeatedly missed the point by miles. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8bitforlife Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 It was cringing to watch that lengthy YouTube apology posted a few days ago. You could see him digging a hole in his head and crawling into it. there was an apology video? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 not by mike, just another youtuber. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badinsults Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 This may have flew under the radar, but for completeness in this tale, I found out that Mike Kennedy tried another IndieGogo in the past. He tried to raise a bunch of money for GameGavel, but it must not have got too far. https://web.archive.org/web/20120507022859/http://www.indiegogo.com/GameGavel It was flexible funding, so I assume that he got whatever amount was ultimately pledged. I couldn't find an archive of the completed campaign, though. There were a few posts on this on various forums (such as DP), but it didn't really attract any attention. 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StopDrop&Retro Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 ^ Holy shit! This is the first I've ever heard of that! Thanks for posting it! From what I recall, GameGavel did have some sort of an early adopter incentive. I think the first people to get on board got a lifetime privilege to sell things without ever having to pay listing fees or something. To my knowledge most of the sales on GameGavel are from people who were fortunate enough to get in on this. So even if the site could be described as "active" it makes very little money. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Random Terrain Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 If you're finding yourself bored with this thread, there are many thousands of others to choose from. They do this: While doing this: Then Albert does this: Then they do this: 16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schizophretard Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 ^ Holy shit! This is the first I've ever heard of that! Thanks for posting it! From what I recall, GameGavel did have some sort of an early adopter incentive. I think the first people to get on board got a lifetime privilege to sell things without ever having to pay listing fees or something. To my knowledge most of the sales on GameGavel are from people who were fortunate enough to get in on this. So even if the site could be described as "active" it makes very little money. I was one of those people. The only thing I ever sold on it as an experiment was a sealed Atari 2600 Road Runner. I kind of did the whole Jag with electrical tape thing but duct tape instead for shipping. I was just extremely nervous about it getting damages in shipping so I made a duct taped indestructible safe around it. I probably used a whole roll or 8. I guess I was nervous because it was Mike that bought it. I can't really mess up my first auction with the guy that gave me the lifetime privilege with a crushed box, right? So, I just gave him frustration with overkill. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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