Podcast: Introducing the Homer!
The Coleco Chameleon has had a long, hard journey. Starting out as the Retro VGS and a failed IndieGoGo, the company eventually repurposed and rebranded the console as the Coleco Chameleon (yes, that Coleco). In this episode Fred and Jam get into what the Chameleon is, why it’s controversial, and why its Kickstarter was delayed. The majority of the show is then spent talking about what the Chameleon is attempting to do and how viable that is in today’s gamespace.
Gaming History 101 
This was a great show, guys. SoCal Mike (aka mr Kennedy) has fallen so deeply in love with an idea of what retro gaming should be, he can’t see past his own nose. He doesn’t know his market, which is strange since he’s a sales professional. Love really does make you blind.
In the Show, you seemed to suggest that a “magic formula” for a retro console doesn’t exist, but I’d like to know, on a personal level, what you guys would want in a retro-console package. Does the Retron already fulfill that need, or would either of you build something better for yourself?
bmullz
March 2, 2016 at 12:26 pm
Hopefully Jam can chime in as well, but for me I think people need to concede that the ultimate retro console for today already exists: it’s computers. Not just PCs mind you – tablets, mobile devices, and consoles using these operating systems belong here as well. C’mon lets face it, the Retron 5 is an emulator that claims to require the cart to play. All of the best actual retro, remakes, neo-retro, and indie games are all $5-$20 downloads on computers. Even better, they are totally laptop and mobile friendly due to the low requirements to run.
In fact, I’m even buying super retro games like Turok with “new HD graphics” and modern controls instead of a Retron 5. The problem with Kennedy’s debate is that it dismisses the fact that most gamers will just use computers or consoles for old games and those that can’t stand the new stuff already purchased and retain the old consoles. Nostalgia doesn’t really work in the tech world where video games reside.
Fred Rojas
March 2, 2016 at 3:08 pm