The New and Improved Super Game Module (aka 4th run)

[GraziGamer]

Bosconian has been out of stock at Atari Age, with a message saying it will be available again in early February... is this still on track?

 

Thanks.

 

Yes, we just came from vacations and we will restock AtariAge with more Bosconians very soon =)

[JEFF31]

 

I actually feel the same way. I pre-ordered the SGM back in May 2016 (3rd run). It didn't arrive until December 2016. Almost 8 months. So I finally get my SGM and I don't think two weeks go by and I see this Pro version.

 

I don't even have any SGM games yet. The $100 SGM is a beautiful box sitting on my shelf until I can save up $60+ for one game to use with it. But, that's not even true really because I don't see any SGM games for sale. At least not the ones I want to play. Where is DK? Gradius? Even if I had $60 to spend on a SGM game I wouldn't be able to actually buy it. They're not available.

 

Now, don't get me wrong. I realize this is a hobby market and I should be grateful new hardware and software is coming (which I am). But I would be lying if I said I wasn't at least a little disheartened in that it took SO long to get it and now it's already old news.

 

If I'm being honest here, it's almost enough to make me not interested in new stuff for CV any more.

 

I'm not sorry I bought the SGM. It's beautiful. Maybe one day, I will actually be able to use it.

 

 

OK - forgive me If you are not from this planet....

 

 

Upgrades happen ALLLLL the time... Well who knows - as you said this is a hobby market... and yes it sucks that you had to wait so long... this is NOT a BILLION dollar based company.... (well Ed does go to Brazil often - LOL - maybe he's got money! LOL - NOTTTTTT (get you wife to the states!!!)

 

I bought 2 SGM's thinking that this was it! Use one and a backup.. Now one is 'worthless' but I'm glad I have it - Will probably get the 'Pro' also.

 

And now Collectorvision is releasing earlier games by Daniel B. making my originals 'less' valuable. Before maybe a 1000 people interested - now maybe 10 if I wanted to sell...

 

 

That's life - ups and downs.

 

 

Enjoy the CV and all the new publishers bring...

 

And don't get me wrong - I have my 'beefs' also.

 

Jeff31

[cbmeeks]

 

 

OK - forgive me If you are not from this planet....

 

 

Upgrades happen ALLLLL the time... Well who knows - as you said this is a hobby market... and yes it sucks that you had to wait so long... this is NOT a BILLION dollar based company.... (well Ed does go to Brazil often - LOL - maybe he's got money! LOL - NOTTTTTT (get you wife to the states!!!)

 

I bought 2 SGM's thinking that this was it! Use one and a backup.. Now one is 'worthless' but I'm glad I have it - Will probably get the 'Pro' also.

 

And now Collectorvision is releasing earlier games by Daniel B. making my originals 'less' valuable. Before maybe a 1000 people interested - now maybe 10 if I wanted to sell...

 

 

That's life - ups and downs.

 

 

Enjoy the CV and all the new publishers bring...

 

And don't get me wrong - I have my 'beefs' also.

 

Jeff31

 

Yes. I am aware of all of that. In fact, I mentioned it in my original post.

[SiLic0ne t0aD]

I can see your guys point of view but Imo, that's a silly way to think.. The Roms are have been freely available for a few years now, so there's nothing super exclusive there. Plus fans and serious CV collectors would still buy Daniel's early games since they're the original, first printings..hence somewhat rare. Re-releases pending or not, I think they'll hold their value.

The original SGM is definitely not 'worthless'. Sell one, keep one and get an SGM Pro. I'm sure someone would take one off your hands, via eBay, etc.

[opcode]

We are listening... More info to follow..

[SKELETOR68]

I still have my First Gen SGM (from first run)and it is staying on my Coleco. Just waiting for LadyBug, Donkey Kong Arcade and Donkey Kong Jr.

[ColecoGamer]

Yes, we just came from vacations and we will restock AtariAge with more Bosconians very soon =)

Yes! This is great news! When can we expect the restock to happen?

 

I currently have two games on order with Team Pixelboy, and I need to pay for that before I can buy Bosconians. We were suppose to recieve a late Holiday bonus in our paychecks before the boss man went on vacation, but no one got it last pay peroid. I've been literately chewing my finger nails off because I had plans to purchase quite a few Coleco games. The boss is back, though, and he promised everyone that we will see the money very soon. Grrrr. It can't happen soon enough!!!

[GraziGamer]

Yes! This is great news! When can we expect the restock to happen?

 

I currently have two games on order with Team Pixelboy, and I need to pay for that before I can buy Bosconians. We were suppose to recieve a late Holiday bonus in our paychecks before the boss man went on vacation, but no one got it last pay peroid. I've been literately chewing my finger nails off because I had plans to purchase quite a few Coleco games. The boss is back, though, and he promised everyone that we will see the money very soon. Grrrr. It can't happen soon enough!!!

 

We intend to restock still this month.

[GraziGamer]

Massachusetts, USA – February 10, 2017 – We have been receiving a lot of feedback since we announced the Super Game Module Pro back in January 1^st, and based on that we decided to change our plans accordingly:

 

1) The SGM Pro is now indefinitely on hold.

 

2) Instead the sound subsystem we created was transferred to Project Prometheus, a new super 8-bit console coming from Opcode Games, and it will be fully backward compatible with the ColecoVision and the Super Game Module.

 

It wasn’t an easy decision, but let me give you a little background so you can better understand why we changed our plans. We started developing the SGM Pro back in early 2016. The board (PCB) was created way back in March, we even printed the boxes and stocked the clear black cases. That was a considerable investment in time and money we already made. However later in 2016, the opportunity for Project Prometheus arose, the perfect conjunction of many happy factors. Add to that the aforementioned feedback we got where: 1) people were frustrated by a new version of the SGM and the confusion it may cause, 2) people were really looking for a new ColecoVision compatible console. In the end of the day it became clear we had too many hardware products planned, and the SGM Pro was looking more and more like the Sega 32X of the ColecoVision line. So we made the hard decision of pulling the plug on the SGM Pro, even though that represents quite a financial hit to us in terms of inventory. On the other hand we believe Project Prometheus will better provide what ColecoVision and retro gaming general community alike are looking for.

 

And what about the regular Super Game Module? Well, that is the good news. Pre-orders for the 4^th run will start in just a couple of week. Same deluxe packaging as the previous run at the same $90 price. Moreover, all games you saw during the SGM Pro presentation are still coming for the regular SGM.

 

More details about Project Prometheus will be revealed later this year. However please notice we aren’t realistically expecting to release Project Prometheus until late 2018.

 

 

 

Grazi and Ed.

[GraziGamer]

.

[+Yurkie]

I would suggest that you use the SGM Pro cases for regular SGMs so that you don't loose money on cases that are already made.

[Pixelboy]

I think keeping your advanced sound chip(s) for a dedicated retro console (instead of an expansion module for an aging 35-year-old console) is definitely a good decision, although I can only wonder what kind of solution you will devise for the controllers. Perhaps recycle Flashback controllers? Or maybe create a brand new dedicated controller? USB is a messy proposition any way you look at it...

 

In any case, I would assume that the steering wheel and Roller Controller won't be part of the equation. Not a big loss, especially given that pretty much all the related games have been hacked to work with standard controllers.

[128Kgames]

Massachusetts, USA – February 10, 2017 – We have been receiving a lot of feedback since we announced the Super Game Module Pro back in January 1^st, and based on that we decided to change our plans accordingly:

 

1) The SGM Pro is now indefinitely on hold.

 

2) Instead the sound subsystem we created was transferred to Project Prometheus, a new super 8-bit console coming from Opcode Games, and it will be fully backward compatible with the ColecoVision and the Super Game Module.

 

It wasn’t an easy decision, but let me give you a little background so you can better understand why we changed our plans. We started developing the SGM Pro back in early 2016. The board (PCB) was created way back in March, we even printed the boxes and stocked the clear black cases. That was a considerable investment in time and money we already made. However later in 2016, the opportunity for Project Prometheus arose, the perfect conjunction of many happy factors. Add to that the aforementioned feedback we got where: 1) people were frustrated by a new version of the SGM and the confusion it may cause, 2) people were really looking for a new ColecoVision compatible console. In the end of the day it became clear we had too many hardware products planned, and the SGM Pro was looking more and more like the Sega 32X of the ColecoVision line. So we made the hard decision of pulling the plug on the SGM Pro, even though that represents quite a financial hit to us in terms of inventory. On the other hand we believe Project Prometheus will better provide what ColecoVision and retro gaming general community alike are looking for.

 

And what about the regular Super Game Module? Well, that is the good news. Pre-orders for the 4^th run will start in just a couple of week. Same deluxe packaging as the previous run at the same $90 price. Moreover, all games you saw during the SGM Pro presentation are still coming for the regular SGM.

 

More details about Project Prometheus will be revealed later this year. However please notice we aren’t realistically expecting to release Project Prometheus until late 2018.

 

 

 

Grazi and Ed.

 

OK so you think people were frustrated with the idea of the SGM Pro, but are going to get behind a whole new console instead? Seriously? How many people actually had a problem with the Pro replacing the original SGM? 5? 10? It couldn't have been that many.

 

Honestly I'm not looking to replace my CV, it works just fine and I enjoy the enhancements the SGM provides. I backed the SGM when it first came out and picked two up from the original run.

 

Now you guys were planning an enhanced SGM and I was fine with that, and as some others had posted I planned to sell one original and keep one, and pick up the SGM Pro. I can't see this "Prometheus" coming in at the SGM Pro's price point either, so if you had some people complain about the price of the SGM going up, wait and see what happens when you announce the price of a new system.

 

Buying an add on for enhanced games was one thing, buying a whole new console is another. So what happens now to the enhancements to games like Donkey Kong? You guys take them out after all that work? Or now we need to buy a whole new system to experience them?

 

I would have suggested some type of poll before you made this call, just to gauge how people would react to this overall, how many want the SGM Pro, etc. etc.

 

I hope you reconsider your decision and make the SGM Pro available to those of us that want it, and want to keep supporting you. If you've already laid out the money for the boxes, cases etc. don't give up that investment, make a 1st run for the SGM Pro for those of us that want the new features, but not another system.

[Bloodnose]

I believe I understand the reasoning for this decision, and it is a wise choice in my opinion.

I am glad that there will still be SGMs produced, and will be glad to finally get one.

[AtariBrian]

So does this mean that DKA gets pushed back once again until 2019 ?

[opcode]

Alright, we don't want to discuss Prometheus at this time, at least not until a few months down the road when we have the prototypes. The reason we announced it now was to explain why we are putting the SGM Pro on hold and following with a 4th run of the regular SGM (which is actually a pretty good thing for those still waiting for SGMs, as we see things happening a lot faster this time).

That said, two important things to keep in mind:

1) We are NOT changing our release schedule, so Donkey Kong is still coming out this year as planned. We are just dropping SGM Pro support for that game.

2) While I don't want to discuss details on Prometheus specs (even though specs are pretty much set in stone at this stage), I am going to say what Prometheus is not. Prometheus is not a simple ColecoVision + SGM replacement. It is a true new system that happens to run all CV + SGM stuff, and that is how we are positioning it.

 

While I understand some may be frustrated about the SGM Pro, please understand the number of ColecoVison fans and classic gaming enthusiasts alike requesting a new console is way higher than you can imagine. We want to give people a chance to play all the Colecovision games out there without gambling on a Colecovision on ebay. And of course we want to offer a number of Prometheus exclusive titles in the future as well.

[+davidcalgary29]

Ooh! Does this mean that you'll offer dedicated Prometheus releases? Or will games be SGM compatible with Prometheus upgrades?

[PhoenixMoonPatrol]

Sorta feel mixed on this one. Love the SGM and will order another just to have peace of mind incase the one I have now goes bad someday.

As always- a whole new console deserves original games. If its going to be MSX games then I'll probably sit this one out and watch how things develop games wise.

Thats just me though. One reason is because I'm not the same type of gamer I once was,in that I'm not an early adopter for new consoles anymore. So yeah I'll just sit back and watch how things develop once this hardware is out.

I do like the idea of new hardware,it is exciting,but as always games define a system.

Good luck and will watch with great interest in the days ahead.

Edited February 11, 2017 by PhoenixMoonPatrol

[Pixelboy]

Sorta feel mixed on this one. Love the SGM and will order another just to have peace of mind incase the one I have now goes bad someday.

As always- a whole new console deserves original games. If its going to be MSX games then I'll probably sit this one out and watch how things develop games wise.

Thats just me though. One reason is because I'm not the same type of gamer I once was, in that I'm not an early adopter for new consoles anymore. So yeah I'll just sit back and watch how things develop once this hardware is out.

I do like the idea of new hardware, it is exciting, but as always games define a system.

Good luck and will watch with great interest in the days ahead.

The real point of the Prometheus is to serve as a modern replacement for our aging ColecoVisions, a replacement that plays all our CV carts (legacy and homebrews alike). If your ColecoVision works fine, then consider yourself lucky, because that's not the case for everyone in the CV community. My CV still works well, thankfully, but it's a 35-year-old piece of hardware, and each time I turn it on, I wonder if something under the hood is going to blow which will force me to have it fixed or find a replacement console, neither of which are pleasant experiences. Really, our ColecoVisions aren't getting any younger, and all the cool homebrews we're playing on it are only pushing our consoles closer to the brink of defectiveness.

 

I don't think the Prometheus should position itself as a "new" console, since Opcode Games doesn't have the business financials required to crank out new and original games at a satisfactory pace, nor will it have extensive third-party support aside from the homebrews that have already been released or will be released within the next couple of years. This is just a modern alternative with modern parts (including a modern power supply) that will hopefully be easier to connect to modern televisions (because of Opcode's "Color" line, I won't be surprised if it uses the F18A for graphic output) and will allow us to play all ColecoVision games, including those that require the SGM. I'm sure Eduardo and Grazi want to release a few Prometheus-centric titles, and these will of course be welcome additions to the system's games library, but they won't be the real draw of the system. The real draw will simply be peace of mind that comes with a recently-manufactured system, and we ColecoVision fans definitely need that. Whatever else the Prometheus offers will be bonus gravy.

 

As I stated earlier in this thread, my main concern will be what controllers the Prometheus will use, and I'm also worried about homebrew cartridge support: We've seen that some homebrew cartridges don't interact well with certain CV consoles, for reasons that mostly have to do with the cartridge PCB requiring a tad more power than the (aging) power supply block can provide. The modern parts in the Prometheus should fix that, but it's not a perfect guarantee that everything will go smoothly. For example, will games like The Black Onyx and Boxxle (which use my Activision PCB with integrated EEPROM savegame chip) work correctly on the Prometheus? Who knows, there may be a purely technical incompatibility that prevents those particular games from working. Even some legacy carts from 30+ years ago may have some problems running on the Prometheus, simply because they use "funky" cheap PCBs that barely work on stock ColecoVisions. The point is, you can't expect that every CV cartridge out there will work properly on a modern piece of hardware, even if it's designed to do so and advertised as such. Some extensive testing (and possibly motherboard revisions) will be required. I'm hoping guys like TPR will help Opcode Games with all this testing.

[digress]

if possible... make it a drop in replacement or have an option:

 

1: a new system

2: optionally sell just the motherboard as a drop in replacement in a colecovision.

 

3-4 zombie option. make it a drop in replacement in an atari 2600 or intellivision case.

Alright, we don't want to discuss Prometheus at this time, at least not until a few months down the road when we have the prototypes. The reason we announced it now was to explain why we are putting the SGM Pro on hold and following with a 4th run of the regular SGM (which is actually a pretty good thing for those still waiting for SGMs, as we see things happening a lot faster this time).

That said, two important things to keep in mind:

1) We are NOT changing our release schedule, so Donkey Kong is still coming out this year as planned. We are just dropping SGM Pro support for that game.

2) While I don't want to discuss details on Prometheus specs (even though specs are pretty much set in stone at this stage), I am going to say what Prometheus is not. Prometheus is not a simple ColecoVision + SGM replacement. It is a true new system that happens to run all CV + SGM stuff, and that is how we are positioning it.

 

While I understand some may be frustrated about the SGM Pro, please understand the number of ColecoVison fans and classic gaming enthusiasts alike requesting a new console is way higher than you can imagine. We want to give people a chance to play all the Colecovision games out there without gambling on a Colecovision on ebay. And of course we want to offer a number of Prometheus exclusive titles in the future as well.

[opcode]

Grazi is going to kill me if I say something...

Again, I will say what Prometheus is not. It isn't a MSX, And while we can't guarantee 100% compatibility with the ColecoVision at this point (until we get the first prototypes in a few months), we sure are aiming to get as close as possible to that.

That said, the logic here is this, and I hope you guys see that as a good thing: releasing expansion modules to the CV doesn't expand the audience we have. Instead we get a subset. A lot of people wanting to enter the CV scene are refraining from that because they can't find a CV that works fine, or they are kind of afraid to have to deal with a 30+ years old piece of hardware. At the same time, we are in the middle of retro gaming fever, retro gaming is cool, a lot of people are paying attention. And while it would be tempting to position Prometheus as a sort of ColecoVision 2, we are trying to avoid links with Coleco. Instead we prefer to position it as a new retro gaming platform that also plays almost 100% of all ColecoVision + SGM games, and hope it will bring new blood to the CV scene, but also expand beyond that, into the 8/16 bit crowd.

 

Other than that we have some ambitious plans that we aren't discussing yet, and hope to release Prometheus with at least 3 dedicated games. Prometheus games won't run on regular CV with or without SGM.

[opcode]

if possible... make it a drop in replacement or have an option:

 

1: a new system

2: optionally sell just the motherboard as a drop in replacement in a colecovision.

 

3-4 zombie option. make it a drop in replacement in an atari 2600 or intellivision case.

 

Drop in replacement isn't an option for several technical reasons I can't discuss yet, but also to avoid the aforementioned ties with Coleco. Prometheus will be a new console that runs CV stuff.

[Pixelboy]

Thanks for the clarifications, Eduardo.

[lucifershalo]

WOW what a news....great

[sega_SHARK]

Maybe Prometheus could have 8 pin connectors for controllers.

 

That way it could keep compatibility with Super Action Controllers, the Track and Field controller, and whatever custom designed controllers the community has come up with.

 

New controllers with a d pad would be nice too.