A New Cartridge-Based Console Is Coming Out Next Year

Megalith

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If only I had a DataVac electric duster for my NES cartridges back in the day.

The Coleco Chameleon will play cartridge games--no, really. That makes it the first console about two decades to do that. In a statement, Retro Video Game Systems president Mike Kennedy said the console "is a love-letter to all the classic cartridge based gaming systems that came before it."
 
With Android set top boxes like the Ouya, Amazon FireTV, nVidia Shield etc, there is no need for this and it will fail miserably. Most people have no idea what Coleco even is/was.
 
I'd be more excited for Nintendo to release an official emulator and ROM set. They'd sell millions.
 
With Android set top boxes like the Ouya, Amazon FireTV, nVidia Shield etc, there is no need for this and it will fail miserably. Most people have no idea what Coleco even is/was.

There something about having your console, your games, and knowing they will work until hardware allows... Can't say that about any of what you mentioned.
I am not so sure it will fail.
 
With the cost of SD cards at what they are, I don't see why "cartridge" isn't an option anymore. You could easily get 32GB into a cart at low cost. Connect some 8GB chips in parallel and you could even get respectable read speeds.

And................

I could finally save my fuckin game TO THE GAME!
 
There something about having your console, your games, and knowing they will work until hardware allows... Can't say that about any of what you mentioned.
I am not so sure it will fail.

How big of an install base is this really going to have? How are they going to bring developers to the table? No install base, no money for developers. This isn't going anywhere...
 
With the cost of SD cards at what they are, I don't see why "cartridge" isn't an option anymore. You could easily get 32GB into a cart at low cost. Connect some 8GB chips in parallel and you could even get respectable read speeds.

I was just talking about this with my wife early this year. Right now it seems all DVD's are good for is installing the game to the HD or SSD anyway.
 
With the cost of SD cards at what they are, I don't see why "cartridge" isn't an option anymore. You could easily get 32GB into a cart at low cost. Connect some 8GB chips in parallel and you could even get respectable read speeds.

And................

I could finally save my fuckin game TO THE GAME!

Said what I was thinking as well. The nominal cost of a cartridge is going to be less than any of the data caps that ISPs are enforcing, so if you are worried about losing customers with slow capped internet, flash storage should be affordable enough to use again.
 
About time! Been hoping for the return of cartridges. Heck... They can still do a hybrid console like the Turbo Duo if people want. Still more expensive than dvds/blurays but I think there's some other advantages that can be now found with this over spinning media... :)
 
With Android set top boxes like the Ouya, Amazon FireTV, nVidia Shield etc, there is no need for this and it will fail miserably. Most people have no idea what Coleco even is/was.

All of those devices failed miserably for gaming.
 
Are they talking about existing retro game cartridges, or is it a new console that works using cartridges?

If it's a new console and not an emulator, then I'm not sure what it could offer. I mean, yeah the games will come in cartridges but what does that have to do with the actual experience of playing games on this console? It will be all about the games, isn't it.
 
I have the retron5 and love it. That being said, I am not going to pay money for a new cartridge game that will probably be a remake, clone, or available on steam.
 
Are they talking about existing retro game cartridges, or is it a new console that works using cartridges?

If it's a new console and not an emulator, then I'm not sure what it could offer. I mean, yeah the games will come in cartridges but what does that have to do with the actual experience of playing games on this console? It will be all about the games, isn't it.

Unapproved emulator I take it would be a problem... unless it goes 'under the table' and it really works, I guess they can do that.. some way (?).
The NeoGeo X is an emulator, but I think all that was approved.
This is the revival of the retro VGS..
I personally think this makes sense.. a revival of button smasher games is due, graphics is not everything, it hasn't been to me for 10years or so.
I am in depending on price, I agree 100% games will make it or break it of course, but also a good and proper media campaign.
 
I have the retron5 and love it. That being said, I am not going to pay money for a new cartridge game that will probably be a remake, clone, or available on steam.

Yep,.. I think they are aiming at new games that deliver the experience of up to PS1 consoles.
As to what that is, I don't know, I don't create games, but I think a lot can be created.
 
Coleco itself is long gone as a company,they just bought the brand name. The question is,just how many original games will be produced,and how good will they be? Between all the retro consoles that can play old cartridges from various systems and emulators for the PC,they're not going to succeed relying mainly on old games.
 
Actually he Playstation TV was the last home console to use cartridges.

Thats not really a good comparison. The playstation TV just plays vita carts its not really a home console its more like plugging a vita into a TV and calling it a home console.
 
With the cost of SD cards at what they are, I don't see why "cartridge" isn't an option anymore. You could easily get 32GB into a cart at low cost. Connect some 8GB chips in parallel and you could even get respectable read speeds.

And................

I could finally save my fuckin game TO THE GAME!
You don't understand, then you can't release a game half-finished and count on day one patches to download.
 
Is there a reason why they directly ripped off the case for the Atari Jaguar in those product renders? It's a little weird to me, because I owned both a Colecovision and a Jaguar...
 
Is there a reason why they directly ripped off the case for the Atari Jaguar in those product renders? It's a little weird to me, because I owned both a Colecovision and a Jaguar...

Yar, apparently it's a cost saving measure made for the Retro VGS (this hardware's previous name). Another poster on here also said they used the Jaguar mold for dental hardware and provided a pic of it. I guess Atari made the Jaguar molds available for purchase.
 
Wow, Coleco is a brand that I've barely heard of and I'm in my 30s. I had to look it up and apparently they went out of business in 1988, so I'm not surprised I know almost nothing about this. This is just yet another one of those stupid bring back a dead brand cash-in like those Commodore-branded PCs from a few years back.
 
This has fail written all over it. If Nintendo or sega wanted to do this? I would be estatic.
 
Aren't Retro the jackasses that ripped most of their code from open source projects which forbade commercialization?
 
Yar, apparently it's a cost saving measure made for the Retro VGS (this hardware's previous name). Another poster on here also said they used the Jaguar mold for dental hardware and provided a pic of it. I guess Atari made the Jaguar molds available for purchase.

Ahh, that makes sense, I suppose. I wonder if they'll eventually release a toilet-shaped cd player attachment :-D
 
There's already a great platform for older games that doesn't have a lot of graphics horsepower. It's called the smartphone.

We have a pile of those multigame controllers that plug into the RCA jacks (Atari, Midway, etc). They come out about once a year while the PS4 and Wii get lots of use. But that's just me.
 
There's already a great platform for older games that doesn't have a lot of graphics horsepower. It's called the smartphone.

We have a pile of those multigame controllers that plug into the RCA jacks (Atari, Midway, etc). They come out about once a year while the PS4 and Wii get lots of use. But that's just me.

We are talking about cartridge based game consoles, not optical based consoles. Herp Derp they arnt the same thing....
 
"ColecoVision sucks" - the uniting call of early cartridge console fanboys. :D
 
Wow, Coleco is a brand that I've barely heard of and I'm in my 30s. I had to look it up and apparently they went out of business in 1988, so I'm not surprised I know almost nothing about this. This is just yet another one of those stupid bring back a dead brand cash-in like those Commodore-branded PCs from a few years back.

I am 32, grew up on a farm with no tv and I had one lol.. Not sure how you missed hearing about it.
 
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