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Friday, December 18, 2015

Coleco Chameleon Replaces the Retro VGS


The Retro VGS, which caused much controversy among retro gamers, is no more. Enter the Coleco Chameleon, a partnership between the owner of the Coleco brand and Retro Video Game Systems. Here's the press release, which they've posted on their Facebook page:

A Return to the Golden Age of Gaming

Hang around an older video-game fan long enough and they'll tell you of a time long ago when getting a new game was an event in and of itself. Be it cracking open the shrink-wrap and catching a whiff of that "new game smell," pouring over the details and illustrations in the game manual, or just taking your cartridges over to a friend's house, these experiences are all but lost in an age of digital downloads and corporate cost-cutting measures.

The COLECO Chameleon aims to bring these experiences back to the modern age by creating a platform that treats video games as more than just software and eliminates some of the biggest frustrations with modern day gaming:

Durable, long-lasting physical cartridges. As long as you have the cartridge, you have the game!

High-quality boxes, instruction manuals, and other supplemental materials that make each title a collector's item worthy of a space on your shelf.

No lengthy system updates: just plug in your cartridge and start playing!


Here's my brief statement on the console:

As a retro gamer, I'm excited about this system. Cartridges and games with an old-school aesthetic rock. However, one thing the creators of this console (whom I know and respect) should shy away from when promoting the system is talking about the "horrors" of modern gaming (downloads, load times, updates, etc.). Video games are more popular than ever (despite said "horrors"), and this should be marketed as a cool niche item, not something that will compete with the Xbox One or the PS4, because it won't.

Here are a couple of more early opinions on the Coleco Chameleon:









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