Coleco Chameleon .... hardware speculations?

[dj_convoy]

So this morning I get an email from Mike saying that he found an email from Sean that confirms my correction of the timeline (namely that Sean recommended me to Mike, not that he found me and brought me on and Sean joined later). Why he would send that to me (yes, I already know that-- I was there) and not post it as a retraction here, I don't know. I assume he wants me to comment on it since he's no longer posting.

 

Anyway, Sean's email (from November 17th, 2014-- the same day I first spoke to Mike) indicates that Sean was coming on as Mike's "CTO" (a fact that I either never heard before, or that went in one ear and out the other) and Sean was invoicing Mike for a retainer and maximums/hourly rates 'as discussed'. If you're going to make someone a corporate officer it would seem reasonable to expect you'd Google them and talk to some references to vet them first, no? Also seems like a weird thing to forget and leave out of a giant recounting of 'not my fault' events.

 

When it comes to those cashed checks, without an accompanying Scope of Work, invoices, and contracts explaining what was agreed upon in return for payment it's pretty impossible to pass judgement. In my ~14 years as an independent consultant (and employing others in the same capacity) I will say it's generally not 'industry standard' to keep making payments if work is substandard or not up to specification (if you still have a job at all after messing up the first time). In terms of contract engineering work, $7000 really isn't much-- that's a little shy of six days of hourly work for a hardware engineer at middle of the road hourly rates (west coast). Not sure what you'd expect to get done in a week except maybe some kind of mock-up? It's certainly not an entire start to finish engineering effort to build a complete, working, prototype with debugged custom hardware for $7K.

 

-Clay

Thanks very much for posting about this (it's kind of you to even waste time on it), but don't let Mike drag you into posting as his proxy or whatever. next thing you know, Mike will be throwing you under the bus! You clearly made the right decision bailing out of this debacle.

[phoenixdownita]

 

 

Awww, come on... there's room for one more!

Epic picture, I love the guy face down with the cane with a "slight" Gandhi look (I'm a "slight" racist I know), what did he do?

[Clay Cowgill]

Thanks very much for posting about this (it's kind of you to even waste time on it), but don't let Mike drag you into posting as his proxy or whatever. next thing you know, Mike will be throwing you under the bus! You clearly made the right decision bailing out of this debacle.

 

Hey now... I think I should at least merit an honorary "Under The Bus Pass" if only because apparently every other person graced with assisting Mike on hardware work got one! But yeah, I'm done commenting at this point-- don't think I have much of value to add anymore!

 

-Clay

[Flojomojo]

Not in my world. I'm a cheap ba$tard by nature and NEVER buy on speculation or pay in advance for something that could be vapor ware. There a many platitudes I've learned while growing up that have inoculated me from all the sleeze and drama.

 

Buying on speculation is just dumb. Buying on speculation while planning to SELL on the same speculation, while lying about it the whole time is Grandmaster Chump territory, might as well run for President of the US while you're at it.

 

[godslabrat]

Thanks very much for posting about this (it's kind of you to even waste time on it), but don't let Mike drag you into posting as his proxy or whatever. next thing you know, Mike will be throwing you under the bus! You clearly made the right decision bailing out of this debacle.

 

Seconded. If Mike doesn't want to post here, he's under no obligation to do so. If he has something to say, he can nut up and say it.

[leathco]

I want to extend a public welcome to the CC/RVGS dev team alumni here under the bus, we have a great setup, there is a bar over there, a pool, hell the whole place looks like a tailgate party at a Jimmy Buffett show.

But what about showers and lawyers?

 

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[Flojomojo]

But what about showers and lawyers?

 

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And patents and equity.

 

So much business, so little money.

[leathco]

I wasn't going to post this here, but after recent events I think I need to. I wrote an article for RGRs blog about how Mike can actually reconcile with the community at http://retrogamingroundup.com/blog/?p=1246.

 

Mike, if you want to come clean, I would highly recommend reading that article. You did a lot of good for this community in the past, and I'm sorry that a lot of that good hasn't been brought up in this thread, but remember the bad things people do ALWAYS will outweigh the good, especially when we see what looked like a complete reversal in personality from you.

 

The story you are posting now has holes, but those holes aren't what concerns me. I haven't seen the words "this is my fault. I'm sorry." As president of the company, you are directly responsible for the people under you. Sean's actions, even if he scammed you, are your fault because you hired him, he was employed by you.

 

As an example, lets say someone entered where I work at and murdered me. My wife has the right to use the employor as have responsibility for my death. You have responsibility for the people below you.

 

Please Mike, turn this around. Its going to be hard. You will have haters for YEARS, some of which who will never come around. Any business ventures in the retro gaming field are prolly gone. But go back to your roots, remember the real reason why you enjoy these games, and the retro community. Its not about making money, business ventures and whatnot. Its about enjoying games from our childhood. Simple as that.

 

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Edited April 6, 2016 by leathco

[phoenixdownita]

I wasn't going to post this here, but after recent events I think I need to. I wrote an article for RGRs blog about how Mike can actually reconcile with the community at http://retrogamingroundup.com/blog/?p=1246.

 

Mike, if you want to come clean, I would highly recommend reading that article. You did a lot of good for this community in the past, and I'm sorry that a lot of that good hasn't been brought up in this thread, but remember the bad things people do ALWAYS will outweigh the good, especially when we see what looked like a complete reversal in personality from you.

 

The story you are posting now has holes, but those holes aren't what concerns me. I haven't seen the words "this is my fault. I'm sorry." As president of the company, you are directly responsible for the people under you. Sean's actions, even if he scammed you, are your fault because you hired him, he was employed by you.

 

As an example, lets say someone entered where I work at and murdered me. My wife has the right to use the employor as have responsibility for my death. You have responsibility for the people below you.

 

Please Mike, turn this around. Its going to be hard. You will have haters for YEARS, some of which who will never come around. Any business ventures in the retro gaming field are prolly gone. But go back to your roots, remember the real reason why you enjoy these games, and the retro community. Its not about making money, business ventures and whatnot. Its about enjoying games from our childhood. Simple as that.

 

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Where did I hear that again?

 

Oh, that article is not gonna help one bit, even a broken watch is right twice a day, still a broken watch.

Mike has to do a lot of amends especially wrt all the IP transfers under the table among many entities for the sake of cutting out his "partners".

That has little to do with retro-gaming, that's all him.

 

 

EDIT:

found it!!!!

 

 

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/235430-how-has-this-not-been-posted-yet-retro-vgs/page-68?do=findComment&comment=3326074

[leathco]

Where did I hear that again?

Not sure. I'm just adding my voice to the crowd, without trying to demonize the man. He made me angry, yes. But....if you look at the Kennedy of 6 years ago with now, its like he is a different person. I want to see the chance.for redemption, not for him to sell another product, but to just be able to talk about the games and era he loves. I'm not sure he can come forward and say the words "its my fault" but I'm hoping he finds the strength to do so.

 

More or less, I want to see less blaming others and more taking responsibility of what happened. But I also want the community to be willing to let Mike make amends if Mike is willing to. I haven't seen it yet, but still hope it happens.

 

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Edited April 6, 2016 by leathco

[+remowilliams]

I haven't seen the words "this is my fault. I'm sorry."

 

 

Been there, done that. sort of. Turned out great.

 

7) Apologies. [...]I am sorry[...]

 

Now all I ask is that you give my team a fair shot to win back your trust with our second effort that will go long way to address the concerns from the final weeks leading up to the IGG campaign. We will have a playable prototype and it will be on Kickstarter.

[phoenixdownita]

Not sure. I'm just adding my voice to the crowd, without trying to demonize the man. He made me angry, yes. But....if you look at the Kennedy of 6 years ago with now, its like he is a different person. I want to see the chance.for redemption, not for him to sell another product, but to just be able to talk about the games and era he loves. I'm not sure he can come forward and say the words "its my fault" but I'm hoping he finds the strength to do so.

 

More or less, I want to see less blaming others and more taking responsibility of what happened. But I also want the community to be willing to let Mike make amends.

 

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And you felt the need to write an article on that site so there can be clicks and ad money .... not sure I would have chosen that way to appear really interested in helping Mike.

But what do I know?!! I'm the KING OF HATERS so obviously you won't get my vote, not that you cared.

[leathco]

 

 

Been there, done that. sort of. Turned out great.

 

He said "I'm sorry". Not "its my fault". Two different things. A "sorry" followed by blame isn't much of a sorry. He hasn't taken responsibility yet.

 

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[leathco]

And you felt the need to write an article on that site so there can be clicks and ad money .... not sure I would have chosen that way to appear really interested in helping Mike.

But what do I know?!! I'm the KING OF HATERS so obviously you won't get my vote, not that you cared.

Clicks and ad money? Ask pipercub. I write there for FREE, I make NOTHING from there. I write there because I enjoy it. And that article was written because I considered Mike a friend at one time, and it hurts see what has happened.

 

If you truly think I wrote that for clicks and ad money, than copy and post it here. It won't bother me, or anyone else who runs that site. At all.

 

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Edited April 6, 2016 by leathco

[Thierry Henry]

Its not about making money, business ventures and whatnot. Its about enjoying games from our childhood. Simple as that.

 

Not saying that I know him beyond what I've read here, but if you believe the above was even an option, then you know him even less than I do.

[phoenixdownita]

Clicks and ad money? Ask pipercub. I write there for FREE, I make NOTHING from there. I write there because I enjoy it.

 

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Sure but the first thing I see when I click is a PayPal logo .... so being superficial I thought you were after money ... around here seems to be a common theme.

[godslabrat]

Not sure. I'm just adding my voice to the crowd, without trying to demonize the man. He made me angry, yes. But....if you look at the Kennedy of 6 years ago with now, its like he is a different person. I want to see the chance.for redemption, not for him to sell another product, but to just be able to talk about the games and era he loves. I'm not sure he can come forward and say the words "its my fault" but I'm hoping he finds the strength to do so.

 

More or less, I want to see less blaming others and more taking responsibility of what happened. But I also want the community to be willing to let Mike make amends if Mike is willing to. I haven't seen it yet, but still hope it happens.

 

 

As has been noted, Mike hasn't admitted fault. He's apologized and "explained", but not to address his poor choices. Rather, he wants us to "understand" the choices he made, as if there's a yarn he can spin that will excuse months of empty promises and years of e-begging with nothing to show for it. Also, insulting his customers over and over again.

 

And remember, in Mike's initial post, he himself said he was doing this to protect his good name. Not because he regretted the damage his project did to the community or the financial hardship he may have caused others, he was concerned for his good name. Even in apologizing, Mike is only concerned about what affects Mike.

[Pipercub]

Clicks and ad money? Ask pipercub. I write there for FREE, I make NOTHING from there. I write there because I enjoy it. And that article was written because I considered Mike a friend at one time, and it hurts see what has happened.

 

If you truly think I wrote that for clicks and ad money, than copy and post it here. It won't bother me, or anyone else who runs that site. At all.

 

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Leathco, as are all of our members, is able to publish an article on the site. He is not paid to do so, and you yourself could publish an article with an opposite point of view, we are not in a habit of censoring or deleting content.

[galax]

But....if you look at the Kennedy of 6 years ago with now, its like he is a different person.

 

Different how? You mean he didn't have delusions of grandeur about trying to make his fortune out of the gaming community back then? Oh wait, PostalGamer/ParcelGamer/EKGaming, GamerSpots, ChaseTheChuckwagon: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/247145-coleco-chameleon-hardware-speculations/?p=3464192

[phoenixdownita]

Leathco, as are all of our members, is able to publish an article on the site. He is not paid to do so, and you yourself could publish an article with an opposite point of view, we are not in a habit of censoring or deleting content.

Guys, you do NOT help a "friend" by writing articles ..... nevermind!!! I've got no beef with any of you (or Mike) it's just everything in this debacle is entangled somewhat with some sort of public exposure/views and YT and shit I do not understand but I find poor taste (like many of my jokes so plenty fitting).

[Flojomojo]

Sometimes, the little things are the big things.

 

I was told by Sean all along we would have a prototype unit that could be shown in that fashion prior to the Kickstarter going live and being an integral part of the campaign sizzle video.

 

I thought I had bought an Intelli FPGA from Sean and he told me he was getting Intelli games running on our software/hardware.

 

It was then after the show we were in further discussions with them when they said to do this they would need a guarantee upfront of like $50K to do the deal -- something they didn't mention in our booth.

 

It was the start of the end and what has led to the uncovering of Sean's ways.

 

At the time I was convinced that we had real software running the games. I felt these comments were false based on what I was being told by a master manipulator.

 

I will apologize again for this.

 

Sean didn't want to be mentioned as working on this project, wanted to remain "behind the curtain".

 

I removed those that were cause for our delays the first year and we have been trying to catch up.

 

My two "partners" in RETRO Magazine were let go for various reasons, one of them not being able to produce a magazine within a deadline which led to our constant delays.

 

And one of my minority owners has been doing his best to crater the company.

 

Count them up! Nine instances of throwing people under the bus -- mostly Sean, but also at least two people on RETRO, and an unnamed "minority owner" who wants to hurt GameGavel.

 

One half-apology for the Stalinesque censorship of Facebook criticism.

 

That ratio is a bit backwards, don't you think? But then so is designing a game console in reverse (If you're Mike, first you get the shell, then you get the name, then you get the money, and then you work on getting the hardware, if there's time).

 

Leathco, it's nice that you want your friend back, that you want him to go through a retro gaming 12 step program to make amends for his bad behavior, but WOW that's going to be an uphill road for this dude. He really seems to think he's the victim here. How much money will he have to lose before he wises up about his dumb get-rich schemes?

[leathco]

 

Different how? You mean he didn't have delusions of grandeur about trying to make his fortune out of the gaming community back then? Oh wait, PostalGamer/ParcelGamer/EKGaming, GamerSpots, ChaseTheChuckwagon: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/247145-coleco-chameleon-hardware-speculations/?p=3464192

The difference is back then, he would admit mistakes. If he screwed up, he took ownership of it. Was he still trying to monetize retro gaming? Yes. But so were people like Keith Robinson. There's nothing wrong with trying to earn a livelyhood doing something you love. The problem is the lies and backstabbing, something Mike didn't do back then. He gave stuff away all the time, in contests on RGR, and also one case of sending someone a 2600 and games for free to someone I know just because he didn't have one. I'm sure he did other gracious things for others. Hell, just being a host on RGR took a lot of his time, and you know what? He was a damn entertaining host in that era.

 

It hurts to see how he changed. I want to see SoCal Mike come back, and see Business Mike go away.

 

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Edited April 6, 2016 by leathco

[bojay1997]

 

Different how? You mean he didn't have delusions of grandeur about trying to make his fortune out of the gaming community back then? Oh wait, PostalGamer/ParcelGamer/EKGaming, GamerSpots, ChaseTheChuckwagon: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/247145-coleco-chameleon-hardware-speculations/?p=3464192

Agree. While I don't know Mike personally, his public persona has always been delusional IMHO and based on everything his former and current partners and business associates have posted, he is someone who has no problem taking money or time from people who he decides to use, all with no guilt when he uses them up and throws them off to the side. That isn't someone who deserves redemption or forgiveness. It's someone who is a danger to himself and anyone naive enough to believe his lies and deceit.

[phoenixdownita]

...

I want to see SoCal Mike come back, and see Business Mike go away.

 

....

... and I want my long lost virginity back, I've looked for it everywhere but couldn't find it .....

 

Jokes aside maybe it's time to realize that your friend is gone and he was for long time, this new guy you don't like is what's left, like it or not. Deal with it.

[sh3-rg]

... and I want my long lost virginity back, I've looked for it everywhere but couldn't find it .....

 

Jokes aside maybe it's time to realize that your friend is gone and it was for long time, this new guy you don't like is what's left, like it or not. Deal with it.

 

leathco, while that comment above might seem a bit harsh, tbf, months ago Pipercub (and maybe UKMike) made similar kinds of comments re: Mike and the friend replaced by this replicant, but he/they seem to accept that's not happening given their more recent comments.