enoofu Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 Found a Microsoft mobile developer called Zenergy with only one game rated 2/5 https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/games/alone/9nblgggznm4f Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 IIRC, it also had one of those awful big ass wall adapters. Why not build all of that into the system and just use a standard plug? I could be mistaken though, since it has been a while since I've seen a Colecovision. I'm no electrical engineer, but I would think the usual reasons would be: to keep the inside of the system cool and ventilated, and to allow for easy swaps of external power supplies for shipping to other countries with different electrical standards. It's also easier to replace the parts if they're external. As for why the case is mostly air? I guess because they like to have a spot for the controllers (less mess), and the big box would be impressive at retail and at gift-giving time. Even the Coleco Flashback is way bigger than it needs to be. It's mostly air inside, the computer portion is the size of a pack of gum. Anything that plugs into a wall requires a UL Listing, proper grounding, ventilation, etc. Devices that do not use mains supply but use a low voltage source (low voltage is generally considered to be 30V or less) are generally exempt from UL listing. By separating the power brick from the console, only the power brick needs the UL certification. And yes, you can ship different bricks if exporting the device internationally. Although I have a lot of nice AV gear that uses AC cords. One advantage of placing the "brick" inside the device is no costly warranty returns because some joker plugged in the wrong / improper brick. Two very different schools of thought concerning electronics design. Generally cheaply made devices (example: clone consoles) ship with a third party brick (which already has UL certification). 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schizophretard Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 If only there were some kind of catchy name we could give it... something to suggest the new console will be like the twin of a console you already know and love... hmm... The CAMKO?(Coleco Ashley Mary-Kate Olsen) 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 Yeah, overall the movie was pretty good, but I'm sure every bone in Indie's body would have been crushed in the impact, if not ejected from the fridge compartment. How did he get out with the latch outside? What type of escape vehicle do you recon Mike Kay will use to escape the Chameleon fallout? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StopDrop&Retro Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 I was checking if the game Chicken Shift was made by Zenergy since that's a mobile game made by Mike's company but no, it was made by Retro Action Entertainment. But HOLY SHIT, their website and Facebook page are down too!! Damn. Maybe he really is calling it quits for good? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 What the hey is Zinergy Games? Mike's next venture? I wouldn't put him past it. Mike goes mobile "Zenergy Games is a new mobile game studio led by industry execs and a cast of seasoned gaming veterans with over 250 games to their names." https://angel.co/gamegavel-1/jobs Well that explains a lot! Mike's story is not over yet... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schizophretard Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 So, is there anybody left alive at RETRO Magazine at this point besides Mike Kennedy? I think they all survived. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 I was checking if the game Chicken Shift was made by Zenergy since that's a mobile game made by Mike's company but no, it was made by Retro Action Entertainment. But HOLY SHIT, their website and Facebook page are down too!! Damn. Maybe he really is calling it quits for good? Doubt it. Finally got caught up with this epic thread... Again! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IrishNerdLife Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 I was checking if the game Chicken Shift was made by Zenergy since that's a mobile game made by Mike's company but no, it was made by Retro Action Entertainment. But HOLY SHIT, their website and Facebook page are down too!! Damn. Maybe he really is calling it quits for good? Chicken Shift was actually developed by ex-Atari programmer Bob Polaro: http://www.polaro.com/resume/resume.pdf Retroaction Entertainment, whoever they really are, handled the publishing. Not sure how much "publishing" is involved in an Android app in the 100-500 download band. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Random Terrain Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 Doubt it. You're right about that. I know about a couple of people that I call grifters and they keep going no matter how many times they get caught in a lie or get caught scamming or get fired from a job for doing something inappropriate and possibly illegal. One of them will even claim that they have cancer to get money out of coworkers and customers, then use the money to go on a Disney World trip and stay at one of the expensive hotels in the park. They've also scammed some of their own relatives, but somehow they always find a way to paint themselves as the victims. On top of all that, they'll post things on Facebook about cutting negative people and haters out of their lives. I guess they lie and scam in a positive, loving way. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 All MK has to do is lay low for a while. New faces come on to the internet everyday. They won't care, especially if they're interns and noobs. With all the inaccurate reporting no one will know what to believe. And a lot of this "Retro" nonsense will be forgotten, lost, or not cared about. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schizophretard Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 Note to self: Get a lead lined retro refrigerator.... to keep the carts safe. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+rdemming Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 Chicken Shift was actually developed by ex-Atari programmer Bob Polaro: http://www.polaro.com/resume/resume.pdf Retroaction Entertainment, whoever they really are, handled the publishing. Not sure how much "publishing" is involved in an Android app in the 100-500 download band. Chicken Shift seems to be a conversion of the Bally Sentry arcade. So maybe publishing consisted of licensing the game. The paid version of Chicken Shift has 1-5 installs Robert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schizophretard Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 I'm surprised no one has connected the dots between the "GoldenEye Room" and "Janus" Janus is the villain in GoldenEye. People know Janus the mythical figure is "two faced" but that's actually a modern misinterpretation of the myth. Janus isn't really two faced as we use the expression today as someone with ulterior motives or a double agent. He has two faces because he sees into the past and the future. Although I do think the double agent misinterpretation was intentional in GoldenEye. You may be on to something. The villain Francisco Scaramanga from The Man with the Golden Gun and GoldenEye: Rogue Agent for the PS2 was played by Christopher Lee. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newsdee Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 So the new venture will be making mobile games? That seems more reasonable, at least they don't have to deal with hardware design anymore. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IrishNerdLife Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 Chicken Shift seems to be a conversion of the Bally Sentry arcade. So maybe publishing consisted of licensing the game. The paid version of Chicken Shift has 1-5 installs Robert Good point. It does seem like an official successor so there probably was some action involved in getting the licence. As SD&R pointed out it seems Retroaction Entertainment, or should that be Retro-Action Entertainment, has removed their website and facebook page so I think this can be chalked up as another unsuccessful endeavor. So far that brings the list of failed or failing endeavors to eight: Game-Gavel Gamer-Spots Postal-Gamer/Parcel-Gamer Retro-Action Entertainment Chicken Shift Retro-Action Entertainment Intellivision Gen2 Retro Retro-VGS Coleco-Chameleon For someone that describes himself as an entrepreneur through and through he doesn't have a very successful track record. I can certainly admire a persons desire to dream big, but surely it should be clear even to Mike that he does not have the skills required to lead these ventures. I'm sure some people would class Retro as a success due to it receiving Kickstarter funds, but given the failure to deliver the product of the expected quality on time and the incredible staff turn over I could only class it as a failure. The most recent shenanigans with the Chameleon really sums up his business ventures. Out of his depth, but willing to do whatever it takes to get funding instead of focusing on the technical skills required to produce a tangible and sustainable product. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IrishNerdLife Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 So the new venture will be making mobile games? That seems more reasonable, at least they don't have to deal with hardware design anymore. No the mobile publisher appears to be MIA now. Chicken Shift is on iOS and Android, but the Intellivision Gen2 Kickstarter failed badly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schizophretard Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 Mike goes mobile "Zenergy Games is a new mobile game studio led by industry execs and a cast of seasoned gaming veterans with over 250 games to their names." https://angel.co/gamegavel-1/jobs I wonder if any of his games will need to ping a server, need updates, and need the internet? 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaysWithWolves Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 It seems pretty clear that MK gets ideas from this thread. I think we can expect a GoFundMe for the RPG version of this saga, as suggested by InnovaX5. This would also fulfill the desire for an exclusive title and pack-in game for RVGS 3.0. No the mobile publisher appears to be MIA now. Chicken Shift is on iOS and Android, but the Intellivision Gen2 Kickstarter failed badly. Psst: Don't tell him, but the YouTube account is still active. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IrishNerdLife Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 Psst. Don't tell him, but the YouTube account is still active. Wonder how long before that gets pulled now 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 Mike goes mobile "Zenergy Games is a new mobile game studio led by industry execs and a cast of seasoned gaming veterans with over 250 games to their names." https://angel.co/gamegavel-1/jobs It's another parked GoDaddy domain. Mobile is crowded. It's easy to get in but very tough to make any money. This is probably where they should have gone before trying to make hardware. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 I really like The Video Game Critic. I like it too. I just said it was amateurish, that's all. It nailed brevity long before Twitter came along. It doesn't discriminate between new and ancient games. It has an internally consistent rating scale and editor's voice. It hosts a few ads but otherwise never asks for money. It's also super ugly and values quantity over quality. That's part of its appeal. It's probably deliberate and it's still a lot of fun. Great writing, though? Nah. It's hackey at best, that's the only reason I brought it up. Not that it ever claimed to be anything other than it is. It has run for years and doesn't seem to care what others think about it, and I'll bet it will stick around for a long time to come. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 Chicken Shift seems to be a conversion of the Bally Sentry arcade. So maybe publishing consisted of licensing the game. The paid version of Chicken Shift has 1-5 installs Robert That's....... abysmal. I remember someone in the Ouya forum complaining they developed a game and it only sold ten copies. Two forum members bought said game out of pittance, so the number of lifetime sales went up to twelve. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 Good point. It does seem like an official successor so there probably was some action involved in getting the licence. As SD&R pointed out it seems Retroaction Entertainment, or should that be Retro-Action Entertainment, has removed their website and facebook page so I think this can be chalked up as another unsuccessful endeavor. So far that brings the list of failed or failing endeavors to eight: Game-Gavel Gamer-Spots Postal-Gamer/Parcel-Gamer Retro-Action Entertainment Chicken Shift Retro-Action Entertainment Intellivision Gen2 Retro Retro-VGS Coleco-Chameleon For someone that describes himself as an entrepreneur through and through he doesn't have a very successful track record. I can certainly admire a persons desire to dream big, but surely it should be clear even to Mike that he does not have the skills required to lead these ventures. I'm sure some people would class Retro as a success due to it receiving Kickstarter funds, but given the failure to deliver the product of the expected quality on time and the incredible staff turn over I could only class it as a failure. The most recent shenanigans with the Chameleon really sums up his business ventures. Out of his depth, but willing to do whatever it takes to get funding instead of focusing on the technical skills required to produce a tangible and sustainable product. But GameGavel and Retro experienced some success, even if short lived. But breaking even should not equate success. Mike used Game Gavel and Retro to siphon funds into his other schemes when he should have expanded the business. No telling how far into the debt hole he went with Chameleon, Jaguar molds excluded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 I like it too. I just said it was amateurish, that's all. It nailed brevity long before Twitter came along. It doesn't discriminate between new and ancient games. It has an internally consistent rating scale and editor's voice. It hosts a few ads but otherwise never asks for money. It's also super ugly and values quantity over quality. That's part of its appeal. It's probably deliberate and it's still a lot of fun. Great writing, though? Nah. It's hackey at best, that's the only reason I brought it up. Not that it ever claimed to be anything other than it is. It has run for years and doesn't seem to care what others think about it, and I'll bet it will stick around for a long time to come. I take VideoGameCritic's reviews with a grain of salt. A number of games he rated "F" I've actually had fun with, and a few with good scores I have no love for. Generally an "F" rating is reserved for something that has absolutely no redeemable quality or is so broken or buggy it's unplayable. But his website is like a breath of fresh air, with real text reviews being a rarity in this youtube world. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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