sack-c0s Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 Acorn Computer had one week to pull together a prototype of the system that would become the BBC Micro from a concept design, otherwise the BBC would have pulled its funding for the computer's development. Acorn succeeded, just barely, and met the deadline for the prototype inspection. Conceivably, with experienced and talented engineers working day and night with a clear goal, the Retro VGS team could meet Coleco Holdings deadline. However, given what we have seen so far, it seems incredibly unlikely that the deadline will be met with whatever hardware guy or guys Mike Kennedy is employing. It seems like almost everybody who has or had any connection to the Retro VGS or Coleco Chameleon has either disassociated or distanced themselves from it. Kevin Horton/kevtris, John Carlsen, RetroGamingRoundup, Piko Interactive, CollectorVision, gamester81/John Lester, Jag Bar. The editor of Retro has resigned and even Coleco Holdings is demanding an inspection of the "prototype". Sites like Gamestop and Endgadget are reporting on the controversy. Everybody except the core Retro VGS team has seemed to have jumped off the sinking ship as of this writing. Having shown a willingness to use deceit (multiple fake prototypes) and intimidation (ReviewTechUSA YouTube strike threat) to get his way, perhaps Mike Kennedy should have his toys taken away from him. He has three of any note, the Jaguar shell molds, Retro magazine and Game Gavel auctions. Should the community organize a boycott of his existing sources of revenue in order to force him to give up his poisonous attempts to con the community out of its money? Or can one separate the indisputably bad from the arguably good even though both are controlled by the same man? Acorn was staffed by the same Cambridge graduates and students that gave us the ARM processor - they didn't stick a teasmaid PCB in a box and hope for the best. Ont thing about all of this though - it has been kind of inspirational in a way. I've had an old FPGA dev board sat in the cupboard for a few years with the intention of learning VHDL. When I did think it was going to linger on like a zombie corpse I did get the urge to dig it out and start to actually learn properly and see if I can bring something up. I was sure that even with my limited knowledge (which is basically 'the program controls the pin outputs', 'it's kind of asynchronous programming', and 'don't piss kevtris off because if you need help he's probably a great person to ask') I could bring something up before they did - even if it is just a massively innaccurate ZX Spectrum. When I get back from my business trip I might actually do that to satisfy my curiousity 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 Wow, this story is unreal. I still want to buy this thing, if it is real. Perhaps it was just faked for the show because they were under time constraints (trying to find the best case scenario). I've read about scammy kickstarters before, however. I don't know what to think yet. Subbed. Hardware emulation does sound neat. I'd buy it just for the possibility of putting carts of different types into it. (If that is what it is, and I'm understanding it correctly.) It's not real, and you don't wanna buy it. Yes it is possible it was faked because of time constraints, but not likely, they had many months or a year or two to get the ball rolling. There are other things like Retron 5 for emulation. And a well-rounded emulation rig would consist of an i7 set-top-box stuffed with emulators, supplemented by an R-Pi, and perhaps some sort of FPGA rig. All that shit will fit in the corner of your desktop and play thousands of classic games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 [..] As for this topic though, none of it matters. We aren't the target audience for this, at least, we aren't anymore. Maybe when the project was first thought up but not what it's become. We can speculate and deconstruct and figure out everything the CC team posts, tweet, videos or puts pictures up of. Hell, you guys did just that. You all are insanely talented and so passionate about this hobby that the truth comes out so quickly. The problem is, the CC team doesn't care about us. As a matter of fact, they don't need to sell the Chameleon to us. Mike and crew just need to shove a SNES on a Chip into a Jaguar shell with a new edge connector. That's it. That can be the Chameleon and there are people who will buy it. Maybe a grandma for their kids, maybe a kid thinking about retro and seeing it in a store, maybe a dude our ages who wants it as an impulse buy because he remembers Coleco from his childhood. Those people will add up dotted across the country to a nice, healthy profit return for Mr. Kennedy. It isn't the one he initially envisioned but it profit. He'll find people willing to port out games to it, they might not be the people who are there now, but he'll find people. That will be be that. The world gets their cartridge console and Mike gets his money. Sun rise, Sun set. Thanks for putting up with my stupid posts guys. You're all pretty great people. That is absolutely right. I was really hard-up to get some of these for my summer tech bash. But in short order the thing morphed itself off my radar. I follow this thread, now, mostly for the drama and little else. Maybe some camaraderie and few other reasons, that sort of thing you know. And of course to continue my one-man crusade to convert every gamer to emulation!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 My fear is the actual MRSP is gonna be closer to an Ouya. I don't know what he's thinking carts yet. The KS tier preview vanished so, someones rethinking something a bit. Really upsets me. Chip on a syst with a edge connect. I give up. The KS tier preview vanished because there IS no kickstarter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cav Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 Thanks for the subscriptions, they are appreciated. As there is zero advertising on AtariAge, the subscriptions and sales in the AtariAge Store are what pay the server bills and other related costs to keep AtariAge online. It will be interesting to see the spoke in bandwidth usage due to this thread alone. ..Al At the VERY least do Albert a solid and throw him the lowest tier (only five bucks!). Don't even think of it as a subscription. Think of it as a thanks for hosting the site/forums and providing a place for people to come together to talk about this issue. It's been your go-to place to vent, laugh, and even lurk for the past year. Observing the detective work for the past month is WELL WORTH the five dollar admission. So, c'mon...five dumb dollars! It's just one less "Uncommon" you'll find at the flea market this weekend, but what's more entertaining and informative? This or your "new" glue-tattered actiplaqued Fishing Derby? Plus, really...if you're getting fresh hits to your website or youtube vids then it's a no-brainer (<---Guilt portion of my commercial). 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob_ocelot Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 (edited) Pardon my ignorance, but have they disclosed who is "investigating" this mess? I mean, I wouldn't trust their team to find a "clean" guy to investigate what the system is. Not only that, but I have to ask... why do they need seven days? I mean, it took this forum far less than that to determine it was a DVR card. All the "investigator" would have to do is open the shell, look at the picture of the card, notice the hot glued usb cords, led light powered by a hidden battery pack, and jaguar cart resting (unconnected) on the board, and go... "Yep. Fake". Legal grace period so as not to make the side asking seem unreasonable in their demends. It also gives them time to seek out an expert. It took the forum here only a few days but remember that was many people working in parallel who were fixated on those pictures. We also had a combination of hard work and a little luck that there was a current ebay auction with those cards. We might still have been looking. Worth remembering that hardware engineer's job is really ony to prove what it isn't. We had a vested interest in proving not ony that but also what it was -- an incentive that made us even more determined. The real problem here is going to be finding a local hardware engineer who hasn't been involved with RVGS, Mike, or Coleco -- I'd advise Coleco to not look under the nearest bus Kevtris might seem like a good choice on paper but legally might be considered to have a conflict of interest due to his past dealings with them, however pripheral they may be. Edited March 3, 2016 by rob_ocelot 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 I think that you guys are getting WAAAY too riled-up about a piece of vaporware video gaming hardware. The only thing that anyone needs to do is to stop supporting Mike's ventures in the gaming industry. What is it that you want? Prison time? This is true. And maybe everyone needs a place to vent from time to time, so it happens here. IDK.. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 Although I would very much like that Kevtris or someone else would check out their prototype, I think it is more likely that Mike will break with Coleco before Coleco can send someone over. When Mike knows that he has nothing concrete to show, better break with Coleco than let someone confirm there is nothing and losing face even more. Then he can claim he stepped out of Coleco because of some "disagreements" or "differences in views" instead of that Coleco threw him out. Robert And then start all over again. There are some types of people that once they get an idea in their head they just don't let it go. If you have the skill and insight to make it successful you're a genius. If you're not knowledgeable in some critical areas and yet continue forward, you will fail, and begin looking bad and insane as you bumble about over and over again. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 I swear some of you do not sleep. 34 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaysWithWolves Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 I think that you guys are getting WAAAY too riled-up about a piece of vaporware video gaming hardware. The only thing that anyone needs to do is to stop supporting Mike's ventures in the gaming industry. What is it that you want? Prison time? It's a little strange to see you post that after going after SD&R so hard. While I too wish he and other bloggers/video makers would subscribe, I'd suggest attempting to raise money through fraud is far worse than raising subscribers through linking an URL. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merendino Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 I wonder how many of the 7 days this is going to drag on before they throw in the towel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glimglam Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 Wow... I'd gone off for a three day break, thinking this thread would quiet down, but nope. More insanity. The mystery PCB being identified as a DVR board in the newest "prototype", Coleco apparently on the verge of shutting this thing down... huh. Well, I know I'm a little late to the party now, but I gotta say... having finally caught up on nearly fifty(!) pages of this thread that I missed, on the 200th page of the thread overall, I'm at a bit of a loss on what to say or add. It's basically already been said and told, much better than I could. I'll be eagerly awaiting what Piko has to reveal on the matter, though. That could prove to be interesting stuff. I also decided to throw a few coins into the AA jar, which is the least I owe this place for being such a good community to hang around in, and for helping to "debuff" a scam multiple times over. So, thanks, AtariAge. You guys are great. ^^ (I would have ponied up for a 1 year or 2 year sub, but, I... don't quite have that much to spare at the moment, heh. Already spent my spare change on a copy of 7800 Frenzy from the store here and some joysticks on eBay. I'd be more than happy to do so later when I can, though. I think the place deserves it.) I swear some of you do not sleep. I spent the whole night catching up on this thread, lol. And playing copious amounts of Factorio on the side, but, I needn't get into that right now... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schizophretard Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 I swear some of you do not sleep. Everyone, think about yawning, stretching, and warm covers fresh out of the dryer. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+GoldenWheels Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 So what'd I miss? (looks back to see like 40+ added pages since yesterday) check please! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaysWithWolves Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 So what'd I miss? (looks back to see like 40+ added pages since yesterday) check please! Mostly that Coleco gave MK seven days to get a prototype to them for testing. Press release here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1696447897298841&id=1616402778636687 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattz303 Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 So who wants to update the wiki page.........lol 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raticon Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 I swear some of you do not sleep. Those of us in Europe are holding the lines while people are sleeping in the U S of A too. This is truly an international undertaking! 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Random Terrain Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 I swear some of you do not sleep. Maybe you could program the forum software to alert you when the posting habits of an AA member indicate that he is not sleeping. You could forward that information to the government and receive a nice reward once they confirm that you've fingered an extraterrestrial. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 I wonder how many of the 7 days this is going to drag on before they throw in the towel. I just hope it's not just yet another delaying tactic, like everything else so far: 1. Wait for the Indiegogo, it'll be so great. 2. Sorry about that, I guess you don't want to give us two million dollars to quit our day jobs and try to make something real. No, wait for the relaunch at Kickstarter, that's when we will show you what we can do, give us a chance, am I out of line here? 3. We are back! You want to see something? Just wait a few weeks for the Toy Fair, when you'll see this this thing for real and up close. SNES homebrew works on it! 4. Here are some Kickstarter reward tiers, here are some teases of upcoming software. Hope you like our high asking prices.... Wait a week for more details! 5. You want to look inside? You think it's a poorly disguised SNES? Wait just a few more days until the Kickstarter, when we will show all, including the insides of our prototype... 6. Psyche! Thanks for waiting all day for our Kickstarter. We cancelled it in the evening even though we said it would be up first thing in the morning. 7. We are going to make it even better! Just you wait! Here's a phony mockup of some random crap in a Jaguar shell. I'll bet you can't wait to see what we do next! 8. We need a week to look inside this and come up with a suitably outrageous lie that matches the rest of this story. Maybe we will ask you to wait again if our nameless "independent engineer" says so. Why would we make this public announcement of we didn't have an idea of how it would go? I like Pat's "fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on you; fool me three times, fsck you forever" approach. What happens after 8 times? I guess this is the real test to see if the brain rot has extended to "COLECO." It was their booth, their flyers and shirts and stuff, their brand name and reputation on the line. We will soon see how much they care. Unless they delay again, or are just stringing us along for laughs and publicity. Wouldn't it be awesome gonzo marketing if they're deliberately setting themselves up for self-parody, Shatner style? Coleco is a cute joke now ("they'll rust up on ya!") but if they push this viral stuff far enough, they could go so far around it could be a fun, ironic hipster brand. My bet is that it's certainly not brilliant, and it's not even malicious, but that they're all incompetent dunderheads. They want to make the kickass reborn Super NinSegaStation of their dreams but can't find a clue. 19 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 So who wants to update the wiki page.........lol I was thinking that no one has taken that on since their white knights were banned from the page. The story is kind of interesting, but will be easier to tell when it's all wrapped up. RVGS hasn't really done anything except delay things. The Kickstarter never happened, and their Facebook is mostly scrubbed, so it would be hard to find primary sources for citations. If they ever try the Kickstarter campaign, that will be like the failed IndieGoGo campaign: on someone else's server, out of their control, and impossible for them to take down. That would make it a perfect footnote for writing a "just the facts" historical section on Wikipedia. When RetroVGS first appeared, there was a minor debate on Wikipedia whether or not the project was significant enough to deserve its own page. Since nothing but empty promises have been delivered thus far, I think removing the page for irrelevance is a valid idea. RVGS wants attention? Give them nothing. Down the memory hole with it. I'm glad this watchdog thread is still going and that nobody from RVGS or "COLECO" can do anything about it. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROFLcade Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 Epic thread #2 has now reached the length of the original. Bravo! Now please excuse me while I catch up on 16+ pages... And now it's longer, still going full steam..... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
galax Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 well, i feel that often the sellers never know what they have, or they dont have the means to get that kind of money for it. some of those big game hunter vids, he really leans on the people selling stuff, to the point of badgering them with lowball offers.You might think that's distasteful, but the accepted attitude seems to be that it's fine- take them for as much as possible, punish their lack of knowledge. Check out OriginalPSP (Patrick Scott Paterson, was with RETRO magazine from Kickstarter to his resignation yesterday) brags about having 'rescued' over $10,000 worth of cart boxes (https://youtu.be/-MU6YaOJVb8) from a widow: My friend who noticed she was throwing them out went to ask her about them and did indeed (as I've posted in many places) tell her they had value. She did not care, she was throwing out everything in the attic. He was welcome to them, so he took them and called me.He came to AA to start the thread because he was "Going to start putting up for grabs though uncertain of the best way to go about it. Not sure how to price boxes..." http://atariage.com/forums/topic/229753-huge-trash-find-of-vintage-video-game-boxes/page-1 My posts later in the thread where give my views: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/229753-huge-trash-find-of-vintage-video-game-boxes/?p=3079088 - example response: "I grabbed some cheese to go with the "Whine"". Any mention of giving anything back any kind of thankyou gift to the original owner only occurred after he had been questioned on this several times, and likely never happened. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 Mostly that Coleco gave MK seven days to get a prototype to them for testing. Press release here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1696447897298841&id=1616402778636687 That's assuming what "COLECO" says is true, that "they deserve a chance to defend themselves," and that we will receive satisfaction or closure out of anything they show or tell us. Nothing in this project's history leads me to trust anyone involved. Anyone else think it's rather irregular to make a public Facebook post about how you're treating your licensee? Where comments are permitted and encouraged? I encourage everyone to go in there and post a big HAHA reaction (hold down the "like" button to see these options) like I did. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AE35 Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 I wonder how many of the 7 days this is going to drag on before they throw in the towel. TEAM AWESOME never quits! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamus Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 OK, so triverse's website is back, but there's no sign of the Carlsen interview there. :-/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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