Dick Swiveller
Well-known member
- Sep 9, 2011
- 9,537
Probably a very narrow market on here but someone might find this interesting. I'm into retro computers and gaming and have listened to the Retrogaming Roundup podcast for years. Last year, one of the presenters, Mike Kennedy, decided he was going to produce his own console - the Retro VGS. The idea was that it would take cartridges and play old games as well as new Indie games and it would be great because you were collecting cartridges like the old days. Being a computer rather than console fan, it held no interest to me other than I knew of the guy in charge so I watched the launch on Indiegogo last autumn. They wanted the best part of $2m and went with Indiegogo rather than Kickstarter because Kickstarter require a prototype and they didn't have one.
The first couple of days were slow with people saying they wouldn't invest without a prototype. The reply was that they couldn't afford a prototype. No-one jumped on board so suddenly this video appeared (Along with the geekiest looking man in history).
It took less than an hour for the very knowledgeable people on AtariAge to spot very big problems with the video such as the console not actually being connected to the screen and identifying some of the boards lying around as odd.
Fast forward a couple of months and the hardware guy in the video is sacked and they now have naming rights - it will now be the Coleco Chameleon. They have a protoype and will launch on Kickstarter and the price has dropped from $400 to $150. They decide to launch at a New York toy fair and have a very ropey looking console with a Super Nintendo game playing on it. They are a bit shifty about allow access, claiming it is fragile and all will be revealed when they launch their Kickstarter. This is the video they used to demonstrate it along with the main man himself.
From that video and a couple of blurry pictures, the good folk on AtariAge decided it was 99% likely that the prototype was the board from an old Super Nintendo shoved into their case and covered up with electrical tape. One of Kennedy's former co-hosts actually recreated the prototype exactly using the parts it was claimed were used. Furious denials were issued and still - wait and see when the Kickstarter launched.
A week later, the Kickstarter was announced as delayed but a couple of photos of the console were released in a see through case to show the haters that there really was a proper circuit board in there. This time, it took several hours until Atari Age figured out it was a PC Video Capture card from eBay.
Having bored 99% of the board, I'll explain why I have found it so fascinating despite never wanting one. Watching the nerve/stupidity of someone trying to cobble boards together from what they have lying around and gluing bits on is entertaining. Watching the way knowledgeable geeks piece things together is like watching the thread title - CSI:Geek. But equally fascinating is watching the way the modern internet deals with it and it has parallels with NSC. There are people making spoof videos and forever promoting them (HB&B), people essentially calling for lynch mobs, people trying to mollify to crowd and explain Kennedy's action, accusations against those slightly involved or who supported the project, Ernest like accounts saying how great it will be when it is finally released to reel in the fish etc. Posts on Twitter/Facebook are taken as fact without question. The only thing missing is a BG figure asking why his Atari 2600 won't turn on or people demanding that the community 'Jamie' Mike Kennedy. (Although Kennedy could be a bit BG like in that he seems to think that pulling videos and pictures from the internet means they will never be seen again and seems confused when they resurfaced - not understanding saving and reposting)
If nothing else, I have given you the opportunity to laugh at geeks/nerds/dweebs but for anyone interested, there is a 6000+ post thread on Atari Age for the second part with a handy index for the key moments.
http://atariage.com/forums/topic/247145-coleco-chameleon-hardware-speculations/page-1
The first couple of days were slow with people saying they wouldn't invest without a prototype. The reply was that they couldn't afford a prototype. No-one jumped on board so suddenly this video appeared (Along with the geekiest looking man in history).
It took less than an hour for the very knowledgeable people on AtariAge to spot very big problems with the video such as the console not actually being connected to the screen and identifying some of the boards lying around as odd.
Fast forward a couple of months and the hardware guy in the video is sacked and they now have naming rights - it will now be the Coleco Chameleon. They have a protoype and will launch on Kickstarter and the price has dropped from $400 to $150. They decide to launch at a New York toy fair and have a very ropey looking console with a Super Nintendo game playing on it. They are a bit shifty about allow access, claiming it is fragile and all will be revealed when they launch their Kickstarter. This is the video they used to demonstrate it along with the main man himself.
From that video and a couple of blurry pictures, the good folk on AtariAge decided it was 99% likely that the prototype was the board from an old Super Nintendo shoved into their case and covered up with electrical tape. One of Kennedy's former co-hosts actually recreated the prototype exactly using the parts it was claimed were used. Furious denials were issued and still - wait and see when the Kickstarter launched.
A week later, the Kickstarter was announced as delayed but a couple of photos of the console were released in a see through case to show the haters that there really was a proper circuit board in there. This time, it took several hours until Atari Age figured out it was a PC Video Capture card from eBay.
Having bored 99% of the board, I'll explain why I have found it so fascinating despite never wanting one. Watching the nerve/stupidity of someone trying to cobble boards together from what they have lying around and gluing bits on is entertaining. Watching the way knowledgeable geeks piece things together is like watching the thread title - CSI:Geek. But equally fascinating is watching the way the modern internet deals with it and it has parallels with NSC. There are people making spoof videos and forever promoting them (HB&B), people essentially calling for lynch mobs, people trying to mollify to crowd and explain Kennedy's action, accusations against those slightly involved or who supported the project, Ernest like accounts saying how great it will be when it is finally released to reel in the fish etc. Posts on Twitter/Facebook are taken as fact without question. The only thing missing is a BG figure asking why his Atari 2600 won't turn on or people demanding that the community 'Jamie' Mike Kennedy. (Although Kennedy could be a bit BG like in that he seems to think that pulling videos and pictures from the internet means they will never be seen again and seems confused when they resurfaced - not understanding saving and reposting)
If nothing else, I have given you the opportunity to laugh at geeks/nerds/dweebs but for anyone interested, there is a 6000+ post thread on Atari Age for the second part with a handy index for the key moments.
http://atariage.com/forums/topic/247145-coleco-chameleon-hardware-speculations/page-1
