Coleco Chameleon .... hardware speculations?

[godslabrat]

To be fair, there's risks in opeing a prototype.

 

Edit: It's obvisous Mike was scammed by a pro scammer.

And a lot of people are commenting without even reading Mike's post in full.

What risk, Mike? You risk losing your reputation? Yeah, you dodged that bullet.

[dj_convoy]

True (that people aren't reading his full post), but I also feel like some people are glossing over what Pipercub had to say, who, let's be honest, is in a WAY better position to know what he's talking about than any of us. You had Clay Cowgill weigh in, too. I don't know that we should be banging the "Mike got scammed" drum just yet.

[godslabrat]

Also, if his story is true, Mike doesn't need a "pro" to scam him. I'm pretty sure he can't be convinced Superman and Clark Kent are the same guy.

[TheClassyGamer]

After all the reading and putting some thought into this mess, the only thing I can come up with is the following.

 

The toy fair was the last point where the whole mess could have been ended with any kind of believable or deniability of guilt. Had the unit been opened and shown, if it were real, then all this would have never happened, and if it were what it actually was then it would have been at least somewhat believable that there MK had been taken for a ride. Though some of the other information that had come out after the toy fair would put the possibility of that still into a very questionable light. Though, I think some face could have been saved. At this point I don't see that there is any reputation left to salvage.

 

 

"For God’s sake, let us sit upon the ground

And tell sad stories of the death of kings;

How some have been deposed; some slain in war,

Some haunted by the ghosts they have deposed;

Some poison’d by their wives: some sleeping kill’d;

All murder’d: for within the hollow crown

That rounds the mortal temples of a king

Keeps Death his court and there the antic sits,

Scoffing his state and grinning at his pomp,

Allowing him a breath, a little scene,

To monarchize, be fear’d and kill with looks,

Infusing him with self and vain conceit,

As if this flesh which walls about our life,

Were brass impregnable, and humor’d thus

Comes at the last and with a little pin

Bores through his castle wall, and farewell king!"

[toiletunes]

After 323 pages, here's a list of everything I know for absolute sure about the RVGS:

 

1: If I was a hardware guy, I would NEVER work for Kennedy. Too many bus incidents.

 

2:

[Cybermario]

Just when i thought this was over, Mike shows up in here with a bunch of lies and excuses that doesnt make any sense. Without offendeing anyone, but how can some of you be sympathetic and believe Mike right away, honestly someone that really cared for his reputation and was truly honest would have opened the snes "prototype" right after the fair was done and compare it to the pics posted online "hey Sean you scumbag you conned me!" not giving it back w/o any further inspection. Or heck, have Seanopen it right in front of you in YOUR house, nop... he didnt.

 

Also how can i believe Mike just hired someone that contacted him via email and NEVER did a background check or asked for references of his previous work? No no, dont get me wrong, i know people can be deceived and act in good faith, but Mike is a sales man, he's been in the business for years to know this is 101 in business, hate to use this languge but he can't be this kind of stupid. But if he is this kind of stupid, he deserved to be played by "LEE".

 

Show a bank statement with the money taken from your bank account, heck, arent checks in the usa returned to the account owner? (remember Bart sending a check to Krusty to get an autograph that way?), in this case pictures or didn't happen, Mike posting in a forum he paid money to Sean dont prove he is telling the truth.

 

Don't know anyone that cares for his reputation and remain in silence for over a month while his name is slandered all over the internet, plus Mike never explained how Sean "LEE" got a clear jag shell did he? (honestly was a big post and could have easily missed that) sure, another meeting in his house or maybe a dark alley? Come on and what about deleting the facebook photos right away? Again he omitted any comment on that regard.

 

Open your eyes people, dont let an explanation full of holes that doesnt add up fool you this easy. Oh and now i can see people like Gamester81 and others join the chorus of apologists "See guys? Mike is a nice guy, he never intended to trick anyone! Y'all haters!"

Edited April 6, 2016 by Cybermario

[Amstari]

Even if Mike was clueless about the hardware he was still lying about many other things. Like all the big software companies who were going to make games for the RVGS.

[Albert]

I have seen some of the checks Mike paid to Sean, he said I could post them, but I'll allow him to do that himself. They are three separate checks totaling $7,000 between January 8, 2016 and February 29th, 2016.

 

..Al

[homerwannabee]

OK, it's enough of a story for me to believe Mike since I see him at the SC3 when I attend. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that anything Coleco related would end up having three and a half times more posts than the E.T. Landfill thread. I mean they made a major documentary on the E.T. landfill, and it still has nowhere near as many posts. So yeah, a documentary could easily be made out of this whole mess.

[Cybermario]

I have seen some of the checks Mike paid to Sean, he said I could post them, but I'll allow him to do that himself. They are three separate checks totaling $7,000 between January 8, 2016 and February 29th, 2016.

 

..Al

that's what i am talking about, also you really got the molds? sell some shells please

[godslabrat]

I'm not doubting that money changed hands, I'm doubting that Mike ever thought any of these were legit prototypes.

[Albert]

I'm not doubting that money changed hands, I'm doubting that Mike ever thought any of these were legit prototypes.

 

Well, some people will surely doubt it, and it's something I can confirm, so just doing so.

 

..Al

[SoulBlazer]

Albert, on 05 Apr 2016 - 8:11 PM, said:

I have seen some of the checks Mike paid to Sean, he said I could post them, but I'll allow him to do that himself. They are three separate checks totaling $7,000 between January 8, 2016 and February 29th, 2016.

 

..Al

 

Thanks for confirming that part at least, Al. Do you know anything about Sean and the scamming he was 'supposed' to be involved in? At least one of those took place here on AA, I saw, and I also see that he hasn't posted here since Aug of 2013 but he's not banned -- which I take to mean that it wasn't proven, as you've shown a very good track record of swinging the old ban hammer when someone scams someone else on here.

[Parrothead]

http://readretro.com/news/sean-cancelled-checks/

Edited April 6, 2016 by Parrothead

[bretthorror]

From what I understood from Mike's post he basically thought the system he was given had a SNES FPGA core running on it, and that's it. He had no other specs or work done to create his own Chameleon hardware.

 

No matter if it was a real SNES or SNES FPGA (hah), he always knew he had a SNES in that shell. How could he act ignorant when he had a damn SD2SNES in his hand and he knows damn well what one looks like. What goof could possibly be fooled when you've got a fuckin' visible SD card holding ROMs? Plus, the fact he thought everything was running on a SNES FPGA meant he knew the ROMs were SNES ones to begin with. He's backing himself up into even worse of a corner to either be thought of as a scammer or dumber than a sack of hammers.

 

The guy is smart enough to tunnel money every which way but loose, start new businesses, leave his current partners in the dust and split off on his own, but he couldn't put "don't show the authentic SNES parts", an obvious flash cart that would be way more work than the hardware guy needed to do, and the thing was only running real SNES ROMs. We know he read every forum post. He knows a SNES FPGA is incredibly difficult to make and none exist because he would have read that here. And yet he thinks some goof made him one along with a custom flashcart for his system for 4 grand? Really? We know Mike read every word on these forums, so he was just as knowledgeable about all this stuff as the rest of us. I also don't know shit about hardware, but I have enough common sense and info from this thread to know what was put in his hands couldn't possibly be authentic.

 

It's clear as damn mud, Mike knew he was being fucked, but he knew he always had an out to blame someone else to save face. All he wanted to do was get that big KS money and then go to work on the project and throw money around hoping for the best because he knew from day one to the very end that he never had anything. He knew exactly what he was doing and if he hadn't got caught, it might have worked. But, he did. He was more than willing to bend every rule he could to make his console happen by hook or by crook.

 

And still we don't know why he didn't just use KS to properly fund a fuckin' prototype from a real, reputable hardware guy. This is the biggest proponent I have found to use the scam word with Mike, because why else would you not just go that route? Why else do you want all this money up front if you don't plan to do some weaseling, especially since we know of his questionable monetary plans from company to company without his partners knowing to begin with?

[Lost Monkey]

http://readretro.com/news/sean-cancelled-checks/

 

 

On 2/29 we already knew it was a DVR card.. why were you still writing checks?

Edited April 6, 2016 by Lost Monkey

[phoenixdownita]

Wasn't there an announcement on FB that they didn't need KS anymore because they found a private investor?

 

Can we figure out that last tidbit ..... if that's a lie then it's not on Lee's head is it? Or was Lee the private investor?

[bretthorror]

 

 

On 2/29 we already knew it was a DVR card.. why were you still writing checks?

 

That cheque was to flip the DVR card over and try again.

[Dan Iacovelli]

image not found on the checks,did he removed them already.

[jaybird3rd]

image not found on the checks,did he removed them already.

Too bad. From the list of articles on their front page, it seems that those checks were the first new content to be posted to the RETRO Magazine website since October.

[phoenixdownita]

image not found on the checks,did he removed them already.

...something fishy going on ..... AGAIN ....

it's never over ..... what happened this time .... at least I took a good look at them and Albert seems to be having a copy!!!

[StopDrop&Retro]

aaaaaannd, it's down!!

 

 

SMH...

 

Albert, I love you, I love this forum, I love this thread! But don't tell me you fell for the oldest trick in the book!

 

Yeah, let's believe Mike Kennedy with evidence he manufactured! Let's give him a glove to try on while we're at it!

[galax]

...something fishy going on ..... AGAIN ....

it's never over ..... what happened this time .... at least I took a good lock at them and Albert seems to be having a copy!!!

By the time I looked the images had gone but the text was still there:

 

Here are three of the checks I wrote Sean. Note, I have known him for a couple years after he moved down here (So Cal) from Washington. He contacted me and wanted me to help him start up the Commodore Club here in So Cal. It never happend, thank god!

 

Anyway, for what its worth here are the checks. I am going to pay my penance and try and take this guy down. I will keep everyone who cares in the loop with my progress, however, I am not going to forecast what I am doing until things are done so not to tip this SOB off any further.

I kind of liked that fighting talk, a boaa fight with the villain who was behind it all was just what the next level of this epic needed.

[Albert]

Thanks for confirming that part at least, Al. Do you know anything about Sean and the scamming he was 'supposed' to be involved in? At least one of those took place here on AA, I saw, and I also see that he hasn't posted here since Aug of 2013 but he's not banned -- which I take to mean that it wasn't proven, as you've shown a very good track record of swinging the old ban hammer when someone scams someone else on here.

 

No, it's news to me, and something I need to spend some time investigating on my own. I don't catch everything that happens here on the forum, and it seems much of what took place around Sean happened elsewhere. The information seems to be out there, at least, and some people are willing to talk about it, so that's good.

[Cybermario]

Wasn't there an announcement on FB that they didn't need KS anymore because they found a private investor?

 

Can we figure out that last tidbit ..... if that's a lie then it's not on Lee's head is it? Or was Lee the private investor?

 

Was Gillian saying that on Twitter (he removed that already) suposedly a call from Mike himself? This also hasnt been explained at all.

 

aaaaaannd, it's down!!

 

yeah...