ral-clan wrote:Strange that they released a portable with a whole bunch of Sega Genesis games in it, though (got good reviews and was only about $50US).
They've released a series of handheld games none of which look particularly noteworthy or are of interest to me. They appear more interested in slapping their name on generic devices built from off the shelf components rather than investing the time and money required to create an Atari Flashback or C64DTV type device. I wonder if there is a modern implementation of the Z80 or if they'd have to create one from scratch (no small task).
Another problem is that while they have the right to use the Coleco name, they don't necessarily have the rights to Colecovision games most of which were licensed from other companies. Many of the games one would expect on a handheld Colecovision have already been released in other 'arcade' handhelds.
I think the best way to go is to create your own handheld classic gaming machines with emulators running on a handheld like a GP2X or Pandora.
Whoa. Way off the topic there.
In the end it will be as if nothing ever happened.
gklinger wrote:I wonder if there is a modern implementation of the Z80 or if they'd have to create one from scratch (no small task).
Isn't the Z80 still a common processor for embedded systems, etc? I wouldn't be surprised if it can still be found (in much reduced form) in furnace timers, etc., etc.
Another problem is that while they have the right to use the Coleco name, they don't necessarily have the rights to Colecovision games most of which were licensed from other companies.
Ah, yes. Excellent point. Why would Nintendo lisence Donkey Kong to Coleco when Nintendo manages its own franchises now.
I guess the strong arcade lisences that were the ColecoVision's strength back then are its weakness now.
Last edited by ral-clan on Wed Feb 11, 2009 2:29 pm, edited 2 times in total.
ral-clan wrote:I guess the strong arcade lisences that were the ColecoVision's strength back then are it's weakness now.
We should probably be whipped for going this far off-topic but I have to comment because you've hit upon a sadness in my life. I have a Colecovision and I love it as much now as I did the day I first got it. Unfortunately, the poor thing doesn't get used very often. In fact, I'd say it is the least used of my classic computers and video games. That's because most of the games I played on it back in the day were the fantastic arcade conversions and with the advent of MAME, why would I play a conversion when I can crank up the real thing?
In the end it will be as if nothing ever happened.
gklinger wrote:with the advent of MAME, why would I play a conversion when I can crank up the real thing?
Well Smurf for one! And also some games have better sound than their arcade counterparts, like Pepper II imho. But have to admit that i wouldnt play zaxxon for fun on the coleco with the horrible scrolling compared to the MAME (arcade version)
It's funny that you should mention Pepper II because that's my favourite Colecovision game and a rare example of the conversion being superior to the original.
In the end it will be as if nothing ever happened.
I tried playing it on an emulator once, but that was just a crappy experience.
Every so often I am tempted to buy a Colecovision on e-bay, so I can play Venture & Donkey Kong on this platform again. However, since I seldom play games the system would likely just collect dust in my basement.
Mega-Cart: the ultimate cartridge for your Commodore Vic-20
The ColecoVision was the "rockin'est" system of the 80s. It was like the Playstation of the time. Finally, we could get arcade hits at home that were pretty darn close to the originals instead of coloured blocks. That was a big thing!
And the cool accessories like the Turbo steering wheel, the Slither track ball, the Atari 2600 adapter, etc. just made it totally kick butt.
We kept waiting for "Tunnels and Trolls" to be released though --- damn that artist's mockup - it taunted us!
I have very fond memories of Smurf, the nice graphics and color. i stll have fun jumping over the crow sometimes.
I have 3 colecos, one is modified with separate RCA audio/video, and i also have an external SN76489 sound chip on a board that is driven by modified emulator code
davidv_ wrote:I have 3 colecos, one is modified with separate RCA audio/video, and i also have an external SN76489 sound chip on a board that is driven by modified emulator code
How was that used?
By the way: Cabbage Patch Adventures in the Park was quite a good game for the ColecoVision despite the title. Very advanced & smooth gameplay - almost NES-like.
I got a bunch of mods done to my Colecovision too (video/audio outputs, intro skip, internal PS etc.) which is part of the reason I can't bring myself to give it up. I think I'll bring it out again this weekend.
In the end it will be as if nothing ever happened.
To sample the heck out of it for analysis for my soft synth project mentioned elsewhere.
ral-clan wrote:
By the way: Cabbage Patch Adventures in the Park was quite a good game for the ColecoVision despite the title. Very advanced & smooth gameplay - almost NES-like.
gklinger wrote:Kind of makes you wonder though. They had to have gone past the idea phase to have bothered with running ads. I tend to think they made a few working prototypes and ran the ads and then Atari's legal department sent a letter and yadda yadda yadda, no can do.
Maybe.
But there is no prototype mock up module, no screen shots, no specs. Only an example box artwork - and very simple at that.
There is no order form - but there is "dealer inquiries welcome".
Seems to me they were testing the water. If enough dealers said they'd order one, Cardco might have felt emboldened enough to manufacture and handle the suit from Atari.
I suspect not enough dealers expressed interest and Cardco decided it wasn't worth the hassle.
There was even Spy Hunter, Up´N Down and Tapper for Coleco.
But at 80´s we played only Turbo, Smurf and Donkey Kong here. Atleast I dont remember that we rent other games to home. Turbo and Wheel were really cool when saw those at local shop. I liked Smurf a lot. Also Donkey Kong conversion is one of the best. Heard that there was two versions of DK, other had Pie Factory?
I have USB flash/multicart for Coleco and chip that gets composite/component/svideo/audio out of it. Hope that one day it gets installed.
