Opcode Games Newsletter - March 2016

[opcode]

OPCODE HAS A NEW PARTNER!

 

We are pleased to announce that Opcode Games and AtariAge have entered into an exclusive distribution agreement under which AtariAge is entitled to distribute Opcode Games games and hardware worldwide starting March 2016.

Under the terms of the agreement, AtariAge will be the exclusive worldwide distributor for the ColecoVision line of games and hardware from Opcode Games, including the Super Game Module and such games as Lady Bug Arcade, Pac-Man Collection SGM and Gradius. As a result, Opcode customers looking for the latest ColecoVision releases will now enjoy an easier and more seamless experience when shopping from the AtariAge Store. AtariAge customers, on the other hand, will benefit from the convenience of shopping for their favorite platforms from a single source.

Here's why we feel this is good for everybody:

• AtariAge has a nice store setup already in place, with years' of experience selling homebrew games.
• You will receive first rate customer service and faster shipping.
• The convenience of buying all your homebrew games from a single store, allowing you to save on shipping.
• This partnership frees us from the the time consuming work of handling orders and shipping games, time which can now be spent working on more games.

The first two ColecoVision titles from Opcode Games available at the AtariAge Store will be Penguin Adventure and Gradius.

 

Special Edition pre-orders:

Last January we started a pre-order process for the special editions of 3 of our upcoming games: Penguin Adventure, Gradius and Donkey Kong. Unfortunately soon after the pre-order had ended, PayPal placed a limitation in our account. It seems the pre-order generate a spike in our account that triggered some sort of preemptive alert in their system, so we had no option but to refund. We sincerely apologize for the trouble it may have caused, but unfortunately it was beyond our control. However we would like to thank you all again for supporting us during the pre-order and making it such a tremendous success way beyond our expectations.

Well, here is the good news: now that we have AtariAge as our distributor, we are ready to accept pre-orders again, including pre-orders for the regular edition. That said, there are three possible pre-order scenarios:

1) You pre-ordered the special edition in January and received a refund:please visit the AtariAge Store and place a new pre-order (you can click on the game box images below to be redirected to the AtariAge Store page for that game). You will receive the SPECIAL EDITION when the game ships.

2) You pre-ordered the special edition in January but still have NOT received a refund: You will receive a refund in the near future, but right now there is nothing you need to do. Your pre-order is still safe.

3) You didn’t pre-order in January: now you can pre-order the REGULAR EDITION. Please click on the game box images below to be redirected to the AtariAge Store page for that game.

On the not so good news side of things, we had no option but to raise our prices a bit to accommodate the new structure’s extra costs. AtariAge online store costs money to keep; they must pay for servers, PayPal fees, taxes, etc. And because our margins are already very tight due to very limited run nature of our business, we were forced to raise Penguin Adventure and Gradius price by $5, and they now have a MSRP of $50 each. Additionally, we regret to inform that free shipping can no longer be offered, since we won’t be handling shipping ourselves anymore, and AtariAge, being only a retailer of our games, can’t afford to offer that as well. We would like to extend our sincerest apologies to all the original pre-orders, but we honestly didn’t have many options here. Believe us, price increases were the last thing we wanted to do, and this isn’t a ploy to make more money or anything, it is just the reality of the situation that forced us to make the hard call. However we believe that in the long run our decision will pay off and we will be able to offer even better services as we have explained in the AtariAge agreement announcement.

As a way to make up for the price increase and all the bumps we had during the original special edition pre-order process, we will be offering a bonus with the special editions to make them even more special. Please stay tuned for future announcements on the extra content. Also please check the FAQ section below for some extra information on the new pre-order.

CLICK ON THE IMAGES BELOW TO PRE-ORDER YOUR GAME

P.S.: You will need to create an AtariAge Store account in case you don't have one.

Because of the issues with PayPal in January, we got short in money and had to delay Penguin Adventure’s production and manufacturing process. In order to maintain the quality of the game and packaging, we are now re-scheduling Penguin Adventure to release in July 2016. That will give us time to put things back on track and make sure you receive the best possible product we can produce.

SUPER GAME MODULE 3rd RUN

One of the most frequently asked questions we receive is about the 3rd run of the Super Game Module. We had originally planned to start a 3rd run as soon as we had started shipping the 2nd run modules but plans have changed and you will hear more information about that soon. The French SCART versions will be shipped along or before the next run. We have created a waiting list for the 3rd run of SGM, and you can subscribe by visiting our new Super Game Module webpage HERE.

FAQ:

Q: I pre-ordered the Special Editions versions in January and I WAS refunded. What should I do?

A: Since you made the pre-order in January your name is in our list and you will receive your Special Edition in July if you keep your pre-order. To keep it, please pre-order the games again from the AtariAge Store by clicking on the respective game's image above.

 

Q: I pre-ordered the Special Editions versions in January and I WAS NOT refunded. What should I do?

A: You will be refunded soon. Please stay tuned.

 

Q: I DIDN'T buy the Special Editions versions in January but I want to get them now. Can I still do that?

A: The Special Editions of Penguin Adventure and Gradius were limited and they are sold out, but you can still get the REGULAR editions by clicking on the respective game's images above.

 

Q: Since Penguin and Gradius will release together, can I combine shipping?

A: Sure, you can pre-order as many copies as you want and during check out the AtariAge Store will calculate the combined shipping.

 

Q: What about Donkey Kong?

A: Since DK is still about 6 months away from being released, we have decided to refund all pre-orders and NOT take pre-orders again at this time. Once we start accepting pre-orders again, the same rules as Penguin Adventure and Gradius will apply, that is, the original pre-orders will be entitled to receive a copy of the Special Edition.

 

[TPR]

Reads very clear! Thanks Eduardo & Grazi!

[SiLic0ne t0aD]

Glad things are coming along, this is all fantastic news! Thanks for the update.

[SKELETOR68]

Donkey Kong Arcade and LadyBug, oh my goodness, looking forward to them both!

[scobb]

Great and thanks!

 

Scott

[Pixelboy]

Just a thought: If you're going to go all out with a SGM 2.0 after the third run of SGM 1.0 has shipped later this year, why not instead do a full drop-in replacement ColecoVision motherboard with all the bells and whistles of the SGM 2.0 integrated into the motherboard's design?

 

The benefits of a drop-in replacement motherboard have been discussed before, the main point being that a custom plastic enclosure (like the SGM's casing) would not be needed, just reuse the casings from existing ColecoVision consoles. Broken consoles could be cleaned up and given a new life with a replacement motherboard and a new custom frontal sticker.

 

Also, assuming that all the components and features of the SGM 1.0 and 2.0 are integrated into the motherboard, the front expansion port could feature a USB port instead of a 60-pin edge connector. Then you could play ROMs from a USB flash key in addition to cartridges via the regular cartridge port. Otherwise, you could put two USB ports and people could use modern USB controllers instead of stock CV controllers.

 

There are lots of possibilities, but I suppose a lot of R&D would also be involved.

[opcode]

Just a thought: If you're going to go all out with a SGM 2.0 after the third run of SGM 1.0 has shipped later this year, why not instead do a full drop-in replacement ColecoVision motherboard with all the bells and whistles of the SGM 2.0 integrated into the motherboard's design?

 

The benefits of a drop-in replacement motherboard have been discussed before, the main point being that a custom plastic enclosure (like the SGM's casing) would not be needed, just reuse the casings from existing ColecoVision consoles. Broken consoles could be cleaned up and given a new life with a replacement motherboard and a new custom frontal sticker.

 

Also, assuming that all the components and features of the SGM 1.0 and 2.0 are integrated into the motherboard, the front expansion port could feature a USB port instead of a 60-pin edge connector. Then you could play ROMs from a USB flash key in addition to cartridges via the regular cartridge port. Otherwise, you could put two USB ports and people could use modern USB controllers instead of stock CV controllers.

 

There are lots of possibilities, but I suppose a lot of R&D would also be involved.

 

Several reasons: price, the hassle of installing such a replacement board, effort involved in designing such a board. And just because I found the perfect solution for an old dilemma. And also because we are too busy this year, but we have a new hardware guy that is ace, he designed the SGM2 board less than 2 weeks, he fit everything in a single board when I told him that was impossible, that is how good he is. And he will be soon working on something else... did I answer your question? probably not...

[fandenivoldsk]

Well I pre-ordered the special edition in January and received a refund, but I used another email address for that pre-order, than the one I use for the AtariAge store. Will you still be able to figure out that those two different emails are from one and the same person, or do I have to PM you and clarify things? I want to be sure I still get the Special Edition.

[Jaymiester]

I'm in the same boat....but I think they're using our confirmed PayPal e-mail address to validate our pre-order status.

[Rey]

Eduardo, will I lose my place when I made the purchase back in January when I repurchase penguin adventure and Gradius? Waiting here for the refund.

[opcode]

Well I pre-ordered the special edition in January and received a refund, but I used another email address for that pre-order, than the one I use for the AtariAge store. Will you still be able to figure out that those two different emails are from one and the same person, or do I have to PM you and clarify things? I want to be sure I still get the Special Edition.

 

We will be using the PayPal email. So in case you used different account, please let us know.

 

 

Eduardo, will I lose my place when I made the purchase back in January when I repurchase penguin adventure and Gradius? Waiting here for the refund.

 

The pre-order list isn't going to change, your special edition copy is safe. As for placing the new pre-order, you don't need to do that until you receive your refund.

 

Again, guys, if you placed a pre-order in January, your pre-order is safe no matter what, unless you contact us and explicitly state you no longer want the game. Other than that everybody is going to receive a refund for the January pre-order, and it is up to you to decide the best time to place a new pre-order with AtariAge.