Post by Devil Mingy on Dec 21, 2015 18:47:54 GMT -5
Press Release
Once upon a time... not really long ago actually, an IndieGoGo campaign started for a new-age retro game console that uses cartridges. This system, called the Retro VGS, failed to make it in the crowdfunding circle, but managed to draw the attention of whoever owns the rights to the Coleco name now, and has been rechristened the Chameleon and set to be released early to mid 2016.
Not only does it promise sweet retro gaming from the 8, 16, and 32 bit era, it will also allow developers to create new retro style games for release on the system, to be played in the tried and true cartridge format, with no patches or firmware or install times. This little thing has gotten a lot of attention over the last few days, and it calls to me like a moth to a flame.
Wielding the name of a company that hasn't been relevant in 30 years and sporting the chassis of one of the most embarrassing gaming products ever released by a multi-million dollar corporation, the Chameleon strikes me as a pure plea to nostalgia and neophobia. I certainly wouldn't mind owning one as an oddity when it comes out, but at the moment there are just too many questions and concerns I have about this thing to champion or even believe in its cause. Among the big ones...
1. What kind of development costs are going to come with making new cartridge games, and how will those costs reflect on the consumer price of games for the system? To put it bluntly, developers turned away from cartridges for a reason, and even the simplest games are going to cost more to produce in any kind of mass quantity
2. Related to Concern #1, will these be actual ROM cartridges or will it be what amounts to a flash cart, sacrificing authenticity for capacity and cost? The former fits better with what their press release says they're trying to do, but the latter would probably create a better product.
3. The press release makes a bold claim about what developers will include with the games they sell, but fail to mention any games that they are actually going to sell. Are the ones that pledged to the original project still working with this? It's certainly a well-meaning idea, but so was the Ouya.
4. Looking at the old IndieGoGo and (even earlier) Kickstarter pages for the VGS reveals a very shaky concept pushed forward without any focus or commitment on the creator's end to actually make their promises come true. Is having the Coleco name on it enough to change this, or is this just the Infinium Phantom all over again?
5. And to further the above, the original thesis has a lot of nice words about the "good old days" and "back to roots" talk, but glosses over exactly what's under the hood of the machine they're expecting me to pay $300 for.
6. I love the way they show off all of those closeups of their RETRO USB controller, not even trying to hide the fact that it's just a wired Wii U Pro Controller. Granted, this is a minor point, and using other hardware to demonstrate prototype and concept works is acceptable, but I'd be a lot kinder if they at least disclosed that they weren't going to send me a cheap third party Nintendo controller if I pledge to this.
In summary...