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:

Growing Up Star Wars

I grew up in a suburb of Fort Worth, Texas, where there were two things that you didn’t dare miss each week: Sunday morning church (at least in our family) and, during football season, the game. If someone asked you at school the day after the game what you thought of it, you’d better have a good answer—if you knew little to nothing about football, you were often branded a “wuss” or a “sissy.”

In 1976, when I was nine-years-old, the  lost the  to the hated , a devastating blow to the Dallas/Fort Worth area. In 1977, the year the original  hit theaters, the Cowboys missed the Super Bowl, but they made a valiant return to the NFL’s showcase game in 1978, trouncing the Denver Broncos.

As an impressionable kid who had a dad and older brother who were bonkers over football, I was bummed when the Cowboys lost and excited when they won. However, my interest in the exploits of Tom Landry, Roger Staubach, Tony Dorsett and company was dwarfed by my fascination with , ,  and the gang. After all, while community pride was at stake when the Cowboys played, the fate of the entire universe hung in the balance when the Rebellion faced off against the Empire.

We didn’t go to the movies very often, but we did see some of the more popular films, including . My parents and my sister sat this one out, but my brother and I made sure to see the film right away. We both enjoyed it, but while my brother got on with his life after the viewing, the movie stuck with me long after the credits rolled. I already loved , and in my young mind, Star Wars was simply a faster, flashier, more explosive version of that franchise.

Nowadays, everyone seems to unashamedly love Star Wars, but in the late 1970s, that wasn’t the case, at least in the Texas town where I lived. You could like the movie and even talk about it at school with impunity, but you didn’t want to show too much enthusiasm or you would risk wearing the “nerd” label, which was a deathblow when it came to your social status. Geek may be chic now, but it wasn’t back then—far from it.

There was one kid in our neighborhood whose love of  was on display for the world to see. Not only did he quote the film ad nauseam, he played with  spaceships and “dolls,” which is what the kids who teased him called action figures. The fearless fan continued proclaiming his allegiance to Star Wars throughout junior high, thanks in part to the release of its first sequel, The Empire Strikes Back, which stunned audiences in 1980 with the revelation that Darth Vader was Luke’s father.

Because of my desire to maintain my social status, I kept my extracurricular Star Wars activities on the down-low. I put together an X-Wing model kit, and I read (and re-read) Alan Dean Foster’s  (1978), the very first  spinoff novel, but those were personal endeavors, so no one was the wiser. And, in seventh grade, my English teacher, much to my surprise, let me do my book report on the Star Wars novelization. Since this was a subtle rebellion (so to speak) against doing reports on “boring old real books,” the other kids, even the bullies, thought it was kinda cool.

By the time  hit theaters in 1983, I was sixteen-years-old and in high school. Once again, it was okay to enjoy the film, as long as you weren’t a “fanboy” about it. And, of course, as long as you hated the cuddly Ewoks, which were the 1980s equivalent of the reviled Jar Jar Binks from Star Wars: Episode I—The Phantom Menace, the first of the dreaded prequels.

Released in 1999, The Phantom Menace mystified most  fans who had eagerly waited for years for a continuation of the series. Darth Maul was awesome (if underutilized), and the pod race was cool, but the plot—something to do with the trade federation—was stultifyingly dull. Plus, the lead characters, most notably Qui-Gon Jinn and Queen Amidala/Padmé, were almost entirely bereft of the charisma, charm, and likability of Han, Luke, and Leia.

The other two prequels, Star Wars: Episode II—Attack of the Clones (2002) and Star Wars: Episode III—Revenge of the Sith (2005), had their moments, but series creator George Lucas, who wrote and directed all three prequels, had definitely lost his way. The romance between Anakin Skywalker and Padmé was sappy, the introduction of midi-chlorians removed the mystical nature of The Force, and the films in general lacked the life, pizzazz, and overall excitement of the original trilogy.

As I write this, , which takes place after , is just a few days from its December 18 release, and I think it’s going to be great. George Lucas, who must be commended for inventing the franchise in the first place, is mercifully out of the picture, paving the way for director (and co-writer) J. J. Abrams. The director of the action-packed Star Trek and Star Trek Into Darkness, Abrams has promised to take the franchise where no Star Wars film has gone before. Believe him, I do.

Sotheby’s Star Wars Auction

If the Star Wars kid in my neighborhood would have kept his action figures in the package, he might have gotten rich. Some of the rarer Star Wars figures from the late 1970s and early 1980s are worth hundreds and even thousands of dollars unopened, a fact not lost upon Sotheby’s, which, for the first time in its illustrious history, hosted an auction completely dedicated to Star Wars items. Of the 175 lots that sold, most were pristine action figures.

The online sale, which occurred December 11, brought in $505,202, an astonishing figure for a bunch of (mostly) plastic toys that are all less than 40 years old. The top-selling item was a seven-character Empire Strikes Back multi-pack that was originally available only through the Sears retail chain in Canada. The rare piece brought in $32,500, three times its estimate.

Next was a 1977 store display from an “Early Bird Certificate Package.” Since there are only five known to exist, it went for $20,000—a lot to pay for a cardboard advertisement.

Other highlights include: an R2D2 walking wind-up figure, $5,000; an Irish “Space Figures” three-pack, $7,500; a “tri-logo” General Madine figure, $12,500; and a Hungarian Boba Fett figure, $15,000.

One of the more interesting items was a Luke Skywalker figure with a “double-telescoping” lightsaber, which was expected to go for upwards of $18,000. It eclipsed that mark by $7,000, bringing in $25,000. According to Sotheby’s, there are “only 20 confirmed examples” of that figure because it was “quickly withdrawn from the market due to the propensity for the lightsaber to snap off.”

As toy collectors well know, recalled items frequently command big bucks. And, as pop culture toy vendors know, Star Wars is a hot property among collectors.

“There have been people collecting Star Wars stuff since the movie hit in 1977,” says Toy & Comic Heaven owner James Gallo, Sotheby’s consultant for the sale. “For a large number of people who originally saw the movie when they were kids, it’s a childhood memory they can capture and we can relate to.”

For complete auction results, go to: www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/2015/return-of-the-nigo-n09402.html

Rick Springfield’s Star Wars Collection 

On Nov. 15, 1984, I went with a buddy to a concert at Reunion Arena in Dallas. The women in the audience outnumbered the men at least 10 to 1. Suave, good looking, and a popular actor and singer, Springfield was the epitome of cool—men wanted to be him, women wanted to be with him.

Much to my surprise, Springfield was recently revealed to be a  nerd, thanks to a Rolling Stone video that has gone viral on YouTube. While he may still pine over “Jesse’s Girl” onstage, the brunette heartbreaker shouldn’t complain—he has one of the most impressive Star Wars action figure collections in existence.

“I actually like the toys more than I like the movies,” Springfield says in the mini-documentary. “When the figures came out I started collecting them. I was just old enough that I took a couple out of the package and starting playing with them. I kind of looked around to make sure no one was watching me and realized I was past that. I liked them, I loved the packaging, so I just bought them all and kept them in the packages and stuck them in my closet.”

My Holiday Gift Guide for Gamers

The holiday season is upon us like on Princess Peach, and it’s time to get that special gift for the gamer in your life. Unfortunately, you may have no idea what titles he or she already owns. Worse, you may not even know their gaming console of choice.

If video game gift giving makes you feel like with no power pellets, never fear, our list of gaming related items is here. Instead of buying a typical game disc or download, which the recipient may or may not want (or may already have), why not surprise your turtle-jumping, tomb-raiding, dot-munching loved one with one of the following peripheral presents?

Nintendo

Nintendo’s cute, colorful figurines are compatible with certain titles for the and 3DS, unlocking bonus content and features (such as costumes and weapons) in those games. The great thing is, even if the person you’re buying a gift for doesn’t have a Wii U or 3DS, Amiibo are cool collectibles and make for great game room decorations.

There are numerous designs, including such iconic characters as , Mario, Pac-Man, Pikachu, Princess Peach, Sonic the Hedgehog and Zelda.

Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie

Screenwave Media

Whether hardcore or casual, most gamers who are also film fans have seen such big budget pictures as Pixels and . However, there’s a thriving indy video game movie scene as well, exemplified by such fun but relatively obscure features as Nintendo Quest and King of the Arcades.

A standout in this category is  (starring YouTube sensation James Rolfe), which is noteworthy not for its quality but for its lack thereof. Adult in the most juvenile sense of the word (Rolfe is famous for his expletive-laden tirades), the movie is so bad it’s good. Call it Plan 9 from Outer Space for the vid kid generation.

Game On! 2016: All the Best Games: Awesome Facts and Coolest Secrets

Scholastic

Everyone loves lists, and Game On! 2016 has several that joystick jockeys will enjoy, from “50 Greatest Gaming Moments” to “Glitches, Stunts, and Fails” to “The Coolest Gaming Secrets of All Time.” Plus, the book, which is recommended for readers ages 8 to 12, spotlights some of today’s hottest video game properties, including , , The Sims, Madden NFL and the 8-bit-inspired favorite, .

For a more scholarly work, hold out for Leonard Herman’s forthcoming Phoenix IV: The History of the Videogame Industry (maybe you could give it as a birthday present next spring), but Game On! 2016 is a fun, photo-heavy read that will keep kids entertained (and somewhat informed) while they’re away from their gaming consoles.

Legend of Zelda Link Robe

ThinkGeek

Give the green gift of comfort with this one-size-fits-most-adults Link bathrobe, which features a pointed hood, a removable brown belt, two pockets (for snacks, magic potions and the like) and a decorative shield on the back. Perfect for marathon gaming sessions (there’s no time to get dressed or even go to work when there are kingdoms to conquer and princesses to rescue), it’s made of 100 percent polyester, so it should last through many adventures.

Non-Zelda fans will be none the wiser when you tell them it’s a Green Arrow or Robin Hood robe.

LEGO Minecraft: The Desert Outpost

LEGO

If you’ve got kids in grade school, you’ve probably heard of . In fact, you may have heard too much about it as devotees tend to discuss the popular world-building game at length (which is polite phrasing for ad nauseam).

Many fans call  “digital LEGOs,” so it only makes sense that there are several related LEGO sets available, including our favorite, The Desert Outpost, which, like the rest of the sets, spurs analog creativity. A child with an especially inventive mind can add Star Wars blocks and figures (sold separately) and create scenes evoking the dusty planet Tatooine.

Mario Kart 8 GO!!! Racing System

Carrera

The “” series, which began with Super Mario Kart (1992) on the Super NES and continues today with Mario Kart 8 on the Wii U, features some of the most popular racing video games ever made. A natural extension of the franchise is this super cool slot car racing kit, which includes a lap counter, a pair of controllers, Mario and Toad in their respective racers and a twisting, turning, infinity-shaped track.

The set is recommended for children ages 8 and up, but parents and grandparents who played with slot cars during the toy’s heyday of the 1960s and ’70s will enjoy it as well. This is a great way to spend some family time together away from screens.

Monopoly: Fallout Collector’s Edition

Monopoly

for the PS4 and Xbox One is just a month old, meaning RPG fans and hardcore gamers are still fully immersed in the game’s vast universe, fighting to survive a world destroyed by nuclear war. But at some point, players must take a break, come up for air and interact with actual human beings. In short, Fallout 4 is an immersive, time-draining, solo experience.

Enter Monopoly: Fallout Collector’s Edition, an immersive, time-draining experience for two to six players. The buy/sell/trade action is similar to classic , but with themes based on the popular “Fallout” franchise, complete with Wasteland environment, customized money and Houses and Hotels renamed Shacks and Vaults.

Other video game-themed versions of Monopoly are available as well, including Halo.

  

Pac-Man Connect and Play

Bandai

Released to celebrate Pac-Man’s 35^th anniversary, this nifty gadget plugs directly into most any TV set and includes 12 old-school arcade games, mostly mazes and shooters: , Pac-Man Plus, Bosconian, Galaxian, Mappy, Super Pac-Man, Galaga, Dig Dug, New Rally X, Pac & Pal, Xevious, and Pac-Man 256, the latter of which lets fans play the 256^th board in , when the coin-op classic would famously freeze.

Ms. Pac-Man is noticeably absent, and the joystick isn’t as sturdy or as sure as that on a real arcade cabinet, but as playable shelf-porn (the cord can be stored in the controller for a streamlined look), this will make any Pac-Fan smile.

RetroN 5

Hyperkin

Retro gaming is rad, but many people—especially casual gamers—don’t want to go through the expense and hassle of acquiring and hooking up a bunch of dusty old consoles. That’s where the comes in. This amazing device, which comes with HDMI connections and a Bluetooth wireless controller, lets users relive gaming’s glory days by playing cartridges (sold separately) from nine vintage systems: the , Famicom (Japanese NES), Super NES, Super Famicom (Japanese Super NES), Genesis, Mega Drive (Japanese Genesis), , Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance.

Yahtzee: Borderlands Claptrap Edition

Gearbox

If you’ve checked this list twice and still can’t decide what to get your favorite gamer, roll the dice on this special  edition of the popular tabletop game, Yahtzee, published by Plano-based Gearbox. Playable solo or with one or more friends, the package comes with a collectible CL4P-TP Dice Shaker Cup, a custom score pad and special dice featuring Borderlands Achievement icons: Vault, Pandoracon, Chest, Map, Psycho Mask and CL4P-TP.

There are Super Mario-, Pac-Man- and Legend of Zelda-themed Yahtzee sets as well.