At Games Colecovision, Intellivision, 2600 Flashbacks Pre-order

[Greg2600]

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=35290526

http://www.toysrus.com/graphics/product_images/pTRU1-18559542_alternate1_dt.jpg

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=35350896

http://www.toysrus.com/graphics/product_images/pTRU1-18564829_alternate1_dt.jpg

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=35291066

http://www.toysrus.com/graphics/product_images/pTRU1-18559451_alternate1_dt.jpg

$39.99 (I assume that's the full price), and will come out on October 1. CV/INTV have 60 built in games, and overlays and look fantastic. The downside is the lack of an SD card-type interface, though the Atari 2600 At Games console didn't either. I've been told this is by request of the license holder. There will be a new 2600 Flashback, number 5. Sticks are wireless, and the bright spot is that the game library is now up to 100, the most ever. All three are composite video only.

[Greg2600]

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=35291136

http://www.toysrus.com/graphics/product_images/pTRU1-18559448dt.jpg

Also a new Genesis flashback, this time in Model 2 flavor.

[Jorpho]

How many of these can they really expect to sell..? I would have thought anyone who wanted an Atari Flashback would have one by now, and the fans of the Intellivision and Colecovision are surely dwindling?

Clicking through reveals that the actual Colecovision console is a much sleeker design than what is pictured on the box, which is good, as I can't imagine that old behemoth as making much sense from either a sales or manufacturing position. But weren't the Intellivision's controllers always resoundingly unpopular?

[Akito01]

How many of these can they really expect to sell..? I would have thought anyone who wanted an Atari Flashback would have one by now, and the fans of the Intellivision and Colecovision are surely dwindling?

Clicking through reveals that the actual Colecovision console is a much sleeker design than what is pictured on the box, which is good, as I can't imagine that old behemoth as making much sense from either a sales or manufacturing position. But weren't the Intellivision's controllers always resoundingly unpopular?

Well, I can only say, as someone who has both an Intellivision II and ColecoVision, that I'm very excited about these flashbacks -the controllers being part of the reason. The Flashback 2, as you may recall, has wired controllers that were compatible with original Atari hardware, and were quite excellent apart from the benefit of not being 30+ years old. From what I hear, the controllers on the Intellivision Flashback are also detachable -which means, in all probability, you can use the detachable controllers from the Intellivison II on the Flashback, and much more appealingly, the Flashback controllers on the Intellivision II. I presume this may be the case with the ColecoVision as well. Having completely new controllers that can be used on the original console hardware almost makes these Flashback devices worth the price all on their own.

Yes, those controller styles were far from ideal, but they are so part and parcel of the experience of these machines that it would have been disappointing if they didn't try and replicate them. Having modern microswitches would be a great improvement to them all on its own even without messing with the basic design.

I'm really surprised and delighted by the inclusion of those arcade ports on the Coleco. Given how much of the Coleco library is filled with arcade ports, it probably wouldn't have been worth doing without those arcade titles included on the Flashback.

As with the Atari Flashback, part of the reason these Flashback's are appealing is that the built in composite video is cleaner than what I've been able to get with video mods on the original system (this is most especially the case with the Intellivision, which simply does not mod well to composite video).

[Melf]

I'm definitely buying the Colecovision one. I've been wanting the console for some time, but they're few and far between where I live and insanely priced online. This will be a nice holdover until I can find a real console, and I'll have new controllers to boot!

[Stringfellow]

I might need to get the colecovision one just for the controllers

[Jorpho]

Too bad it won't have the classic Colecovision scent, but then modern technology can only go so far.

[megasdkirby]

Definitely Colecovision version for me. Time to slowly save up my pennies!

[InsaneDavid]

How many of these can they really expect to sell..? I would have thought anyone who wanted an Atari Flashback would have one by now, and the fans of the Intellivision and Colecovision are surely dwindling?

Clicking through reveals that the actual Colecovision console is a much sleeker design than what is pictured on the box, which is good, as I can't imagine that old behemoth as making much sense from either a sales or manufacturing position. But weren't the Intellivision's controllers always resoundingly unpopular?

Oh you'd be surprised. I couldn't keep the Atari Flashback 4's in stock last holiday season and I thought we had pretty good replenishment. There was always demand and I had someone come in looking for one almost every day. Even after I explained to many people the shortcomings of what they were getting for $50 (granted, the current hardware revision isn't bad at all) compared to what they could pick up on craigslist at the time, they still wanted it.

That Genesis clone on the other hand, is complete trash and I had one being sent back as defective almost every day. The "new" version shown here looks like it just has more games on it but is the same crappy hardware. Best AtGames Genesis clone was that Sonic shaped one with the SD card slot and faux Wii remotes as it could be found for $10 at Walgreens and played most of the Genesis library pretty damn well for what it was. I still take mine with me when I'm going to be away from home.

That said, if the performance is decent, I really - really - really want that baby plug and play Colecovision. I miss playing Colecovision games but I had a long string of all my CV hardware becoming extremely problematic, tempermental, and eventually dying a couple years ago. I got tired of having to nurse and repair the hardware so much I decided to just sell off what I had left and get out.

The pictures on the product page are probably just renderings but it looks like the stick shafts are a little shorter, which would make using them as big thumbsticks (how I play CV games anyway) all the easier.

[treismac]

Why does At Games only bother to stick a cartridge port on their Genesis system? I have no intention of buying their other Flashbacks until a port is added. Also, the lack of sd card support is also disappointing, to say the least.

[Tanooki]

That Coleco machine looks fun. Never had one, but used to love in the 90s playing the hell out of the games using an early emulator as it was just on that fringe of the NES era where the stuff still was pretty quality stuff.

That Genesis one though can suck a dick unless that new revision has their awful firecore emulator allowing SAVING OF GAMES. What the hell is wrong with them excluding that, especially on their version that used REAL game carts to not allow a real game to use it's real save chips and batteries to store saves. Whoever approved that needed to be drug out back and shot now allowing saving which is equally awful on that handheld with Mega Man Wily Wars since that uses a battery and not the old password method on the NES/SNES. D U M B

[Greg2600]

Why does At Games only bother to stick a cartridge port on their Genesis system? I have no intention of buying their other Flashbacks until a port is added. Also, the lack of sd card support is also disappointing, to say the least.

Adding a cart port to the Atari, INTV, CV systems will raise the cost and potential failure liability. Beyond that, I heard over at AA that AtGames could change their mind on an SD slot for the "2015" edition of these, if the sales are good. Again, it's more cost, and their margin is probably not terrific to begin with. The other issue is that the license holders of the Atari, Intellivision, Colecovision brands may not want the specter of piracy hanging over their heads.

I also hope that they supply overlays for all the games they are including, but probably won't. I think many collectors will buy these because they look pretty darn cool.

http://www.toysrus.com/graphics/product_images/pTRU1-18564829dt.jpg

http://www.toysrus.com/graphics/product_images/pTRU1-18559542dt.jpg

[Jorpho]

I also hope that they supply overlays for all the games they are including, but probably won't.Well, it does say "limited edition overlays" right there on the box.

I guess all three of these will probably use ARM CPUs?

[Leo_A]

If that's what they use on their Atari Flashbacks, it's a safe bet.

[Flashback2012]

I'll pick up one of those Colecovision units when they come out. I had high hopes for a minute until I realized they were just using the image of the original unit and not reproducing it. Who even owns the rights to Colecovision anymore?

[Greg2600]

Well, it does say "limited edition overlays" right there on the box.

I guess all three of these will probably use ARM CPUs?

I did confirm with someone in the know that "they also both include limited edition overlays for all of the games, even those that didn't originally have them." So that's good. The chip is "custom" with their own software emulation layer, he didn't know the exact type. It's not the Genesis on a Chip that they use for the Genesis clone.


I'll pick up one of those Colecovision units when they come out. I had high hopes for a minute until I realized they were just using the image of the original unit and not reproducing it. Who even owns the rights to Colecovision anymore?

A holding company called River West Brands has owned it for many years. They have been good to the community though, they allowed OpCode Games to brand his Super Game Module officially. He had been talking about a CV II as well for quite awhile.

[BlastProcessing402]

I kind of want that Intellivision one super bad for nostalgia reasons, but only if it includes most of the games I had as a kid. I know I could just emulate (and I have) but this has the freaking proper controllers. Odd as they are, it's weird playing intv games any other way.

I sort of want the Colecovision one too, because I never had one or ever got to play one at a friend's house (they all had Atari if anything in that era).

Atari, meh, I'm fine emulating that. Maybe if they came out with a 5200 one (with controllers that don't break by looking at them funny).

[Greg2600]

Supposedly there will be "surprises" in terms of the games they licensed. Obviously I would hope that some of the Imagic and Activision games are included on both, though they've been absent from the Atari's for awhile now. I've read that AtGames could expand into Amiga, C64, and Atari 8-bit in the future. But yes, a replaceable 5200 controller that self centers would be a God send! Ha ha ha.

[Leo_A]

If they ever touch the Atari 8 bit line, I'm sure that they will include a pair of their CX-40 clones.

Would be nice to see a Imagic/Activision themed Flashback. With these being emulation based, they could provide a range of content across multiple platforms including the 2600, Intellivision, and Colecovision. And if they do ever emulate the C64 and Atari 8 bits, they could also include content from those lines on the same package.

Would be neat to see every major version of River Raid on the same Flashback. And while some versions are pretty close to each other, there's also some neat variations with both Activision and Imagic multiplatform releases.

[Steve W]

I saw the Genesis console in a Hastings Entertainment today, a good amount of classics mixed in with a bunch of weird generic games slapped together by the manufacturer. Those looked like the oddball games that Famiclones tend to have when they don't have legitimately pirated games in them.

I'm really excited for the Intellivision Flashback, but I'd like to know what games are on it. The same thing with the Colecovision, especially considering most of that machine's top games were licenses from arcade companies that are (mostly) out of business now. I'm hoping that the extra games to fill out the Colecovision's lineup won't be the same generic titles that are also on the Genesis one.

[Tanooki]

I really wish that Genesis handheld they do with Super SF2 and Mega Man on it actually worked right. I don't mind it being a little off on the audio and video, it's a convenient little emulator box with a solid screen, control setup and speaker plus with the SD card you can load whatever to it, but the saving is a deal breaker.

It makes me wonder with this better step in quality they seem to be taking with other systems why they don't revisit that and make good on it.

[Yago]

Not interested. I have multiples of the original consoles along with the games. The look, the feel and playing the original games as they were meant to be played, well there just is no comparison.

[o.pwuaioc]

From what I hear, the controllers on the Intellivision Flashback are also detachable -which means, in all probability, you can use the detachable controllers from the Intellivison II on the Flashback, and much more appealingly, the Flashback controllers on the Intellivision II.

This has been confirmed, btw.

[bb_hood]

Id like to get a Colecovision one, finding a working colecovision is a huge hassle. As long as it has Mr. Do! I will buy one for sure.

[Stringfellow]

its too bad that they went cheaper on the Atari flashback after 2. The 2 was pretty much replicated 2600 hardware that allowed people to add their own cartridge slot if they wanted to and many dit.

[bacteria]

I'm interested in the ColecoVision and Intellivision ones for sure, however have one big concern - the versions on the Intellivision plug'n'play units are NOT the same games as the original console used, the games are bad cousins of the originals. For example, Night Stalker, the robots look different and also have a different path they use, the character feels different and the spiders and bats move differently. Not the same. My concern is if these new units are another way to sell shitty conversions of classic games badly or if the new units play the original ROMS and therefore will be faithful to the originals (hopes).

[Jorpho]

I'm interested in the ColecoVision and Intellivision ones for sure, however have one big concern - the versions on the Intellivision plug'n'play units are NOT the same games as the original console used, the games are bad cousins of the originals.Have you seen it running already..?

I remember one of the early releases of 2600 Adventure on some plug-and-play unit or another was kind of badly messed up, namely in turns of the Dot and the secret screen. Was that fixed in subsequent releases?

[Steve W]

the versions on the Intellivision plug'n'play units are NOT the same games as the original console used, the games are bad cousins of the originals.

If you're talking about those plug-and-play controllers that have been out for a few years, then you're absolutely right. The company that put those out essentially used "Nintendo On A Chip" technology (which is what pretty much all pirate Famicom units are built around) and the old Intellivision games were quickly and poorly ported to the new hardware, with results that were at times atrocious.

Here's something funny about that... a couple of years after those devices hit the market, I bought some plug-and-play cheap handheld in a thrift shop, the kind of device that doesn't have pirate games on it, but legitimate new titles. And once I started fooling around with it, I realized that they had pirated a few of the Intellivision knock-offs, hacked the graphics a bit, and made some of them play even more poorly. Pinball was one. There were also games from the first generation Atari Flashback (which was also based on Nintendo-On-A-Chip technology) that had been chopped up and hacked as well. I guess they thought that if they didn't pirate Nintendo's property, they were in the clear.

[Greg2600]

I'm sure this emulation will be better than those hand held/TV games. In terms of licensing, it sounds like the Disney and Activision (includes Imagic) licenses are unlikely. Obviously that's a big loss, especially on Intellivision.

[bb_hood]

Not having to sit through the 12 second Colecovision startup screen every time I want to play a different game would be very nice. Its one thing I hate about the colecovision.

When will the list of coleco games be released?

[Leo_A]

You could always just change that feature if it's that bothersome.

http://console5.com/wiki/Colecovision_BIOS_Replacement

[Jorpho]

I don't suppose anyone has ever succeeded in coding AI for a computer opponent for all those two-player Intellivision sports games?

[Steve W]

I thought that was what they did with the Super Pro line of sports games, basically reprogram and enhance them to also be single player games? I know that's how Super Pro Football started life.

[Leo_A]

Many if not all of them got such a release by INTV with 1 player modes and many enhancements.

Edit: Hockey, baseball, football, soccer, tennis, skiing, and basketball saw such releases. Golf got a full fledged sequel and football and baseball saw sequels on the ECS in-between the originals and their later remakes (Football never was commercially released but is a finished prototype).

[Greg2600]

Haven't updated in awhile. From our spy over on Atari Age, here are some major updates:

AtGames have decided NOT to include a controller overlay for every game on the device (CV/INTV) as first reported. They will have just 10 of the 60, which sucks. Sam's Club will have an exclusive with 15 overlays.

AtGames were unable to get the Intellivision controllers backward compatible to the original (INTV-II) due to a difference in electrics. May be fixed on the next release. No word on Colecovision so far.

Intellivision will feature a predominantly 1st-party library, while Colecovision will have about a dozen "homebrew." Sad to report that Burgertime was not licensed for either. Dollar General stores will have one extra game on both systems.

[Melf]

My interest just took a major hit. It's bad enough they're not including all the overlays, but what's this bullshit about giving exclusives to a specific store? If I buy the Sam's one I get more overlays, but if I buy at Dollar General I get an extra game? That's some straight up bullshit right there. And they haven't put out a game list yet, but 12 homebrews doesn't really excite me unless they're quality stuff from the community.

All these years, and these companies still can't get these releases right.

[Tupin]

Reading the thread over at AA, apparently they decided that having 120 overlays would be "too confusing" for the average consumer. What they're thinking about doing is selling a fullset of them online separately.

Oh, and apparently there's a version of the console exlcusive to Sam's Club that has 15 overlays instead of just 10. And another version exclusive to Dollar General that has an extra game. This applies for both Intellivision as described by them:

60 games, 10 overlay pairs(non-exclusive)
60 games, 15 overlay pairs (Sam's Club exclusive)
61 games, 10 overlay pairs (Dollar General exclusive)

For Coleco, it's this:
60 games, 4 overlay pairs(non-exclusive)
60 games, 8 overlay pairs (Sam's Club exclusive)
61 games, 4 overlay pairs (Dollar General exclusive)

"Bonus game" for Colecovision is Antarctic Adventure. No clue what it is for Intellivision.

[Tanooki]

I hate to admit it but they're right. To have a 100 overlays for that one system would confused the crap out of your average retail fool looking for a cheap fix of fun with lots in the package. I'm sure most people would be too lazy or get confused trying to set all that stuff up.

Any word on them deciding to man up and do another version of their Genesis handheld and adding in save support? I really did like the one I had pre-SF2/Mega Man on games that didn't save, but the fun ran out when my favorite games were worthless to me (Dune and Star Control to name two.)

[Tupin]

Intellivision Dollar General exclusive is MLB Baseball.

[Melf]

If they sell the overlays separately, that's acceptable. I would buy the Dollar General version and get the overlays online. I do wish they would release full title lists, though. I saw Venture on the box, but I'd like to know what else the ColecoVision one includes.

[Jorpho]

I would hardly say every Colecovision game needs its own overlay – they certainly didn't back in the day. I wouldn't know about Intellivision.

[Tupin]

Dunno, but it seems the Intellivision fans were more distraught between that and the controllers not being compatible on an Intellivision II. Apparently is planned for the next revision.

[Leo_A]

It's bad enough they're not including all the overlays, but what's this bullshit about giving exclusives to a specific store?

Lets hope that's just what it took to get them to carry it. Seems much more palatable to me if this situation exists because they were forced to sweeten the deal with some form of exclusivity just to get them to stock it at their stores. Hard to complain about wider distribution since it benefits us directly by making the product more available and helps ensure its success with follow-ons by offering greater consumer exposure.

Neither bonus game is a big deal if you ask me. Losing these two by not buying them at Dollar General is far better than the Flashback 4's exclusivity for Millipede at Bed Bath Beyond since it's one of the few gems in Atari's unlicensed 1st party 2600 catalog (Where as baseball has a superior version included as standard and this Konami penguin racer is okay but not exceptional).

And Dollar General stores seem to be much more commonplace than the other retailer. So most that want these two bonus games should be able to easily get what they want just by taking a drive downtown to their nearest Dollar General location.

[YoshiM]

If the INTV one had voice, it better work unlike the DS compilation. Some speech worked, others like getting the number of aliens or the energy level in Space Spartans was absent. Now that I think of it, the sound wasn't quite working either-you couldn't getvan arrow count in Cloudy Mountain.


They fix that, I might be interested.

[Bill Loguidice]

For those interested, I posted the official game lists for all of the 2014 AtGames hardware products exclusively here: http://www.armchairarcade.com/neo/taxonomy/term/3892

[synbiosfan]

I'm pretty sure I'll be grabbing the Colecovision one and if the controllers are backwards compatible with a real Colecovision a couple more.

This should be pretty awesome!

[InsaneDavid]

For those interested, I posted the official game lists for all of the 2014 AtGames hardware products exclusively here: http://www.armchairarcade.com/neo/taxonomy/term/3892

Awesome, thanks!

REALLY surprised that Mouse Trap isn't on the Colecovision console! However a pretty nice mix that's only missing a few titles I was hoping for - Mouse Trap, Looping, and Carnival.

Excellent games included, quite a few that are pricey cartridges:

Bump 'n' Jump
Choplifter!
Cosmic Avenger
Dragonfire
Frenzy
Jumpman Junior
Jungle Hunt
Miner 2049er
Montezuma's Revenge
Mountain King
Omega Race
Pepper II
Space Fury
Squish ‘Em Featuring Sam
The Heist
Venture

Also, important as Donkey Kong on Colecovision was - who the heck really considers that a make or break deal on the hardware now days? This'll have Jumpman Junior, a much better take on the Donkey Kong formula for the Colecovision anyway.

This is going to be day one for me and I'm buying the first full shipping carton that comes in for myself and Christmas gifts.

[Greg2600]

CV controllers are 100% compatible. The INTV sadly were not due to a development goof. Keith Robinson said he hoped that could be fixed in the next round, perhaps even with potentially selling the controllers separately. To be honest, I don't personally need that for either.

Just make note of the slight exclusives. Dollar General has 1 extra game (1P Baseball on INTV, Antarctic Adventure on CV), while Sam's Club with have extra overlays for each.

The CV FB by nature would need many licensed games, and I was pleased with the list. Donkey Kong was never happening. Also, the Atari FB 5 will now have 12 M Network games included, all of which are excellent. On the Intellivision FB, Keith Robinson said that rather than put in the "generic" Tron games which were created a few years ago, he hopes to put a deal together with Disney for the next round.

[wizardofwor1975]

I'm really stoked that it has Frenzy & Venture. But no Tutankham!!! The Colecovision port of Tutankham was hands down the best version of the original arcade game. What kinda BULLS&*T is that? :(

[Leo_A]

No details have been posted yet, but according to a user at AtariAge that got an early look at this recently, the Intellivision Flashback controllers can easily be made compatible with no modification to the original console or the new controller.

It was my understanding that we were still awaiting confirmation that the Colecovision controllers were indeed compatible with original hardware.

[CRTGAMER]

For those interested, I posted the official game lists for all of the 2014 AtGames hardware products exclusively here: http://www.armchairarcade.com/neo/taxonomy/term/3892

Look like a good set of games. Probably due to licensing a shame that Donkey Kong is not on there; that was the game that stood out! I see some 8 bit computer games on your Colecovision list. Miner 2049er and Jumpman Jr, wow!

[Greg2600]

http://www.retrogamenetwork.com/2014/08/06/rumor-mill-coleco-holdings-planning-relaunch-of-coleco-mini-arcades-after-flashback-release/

Coleco mini-arcade line sounds like it is coming back.

[InsaneDavid]

http://www.retrogamenetwork.com/2014/08/06/rumor-mill-coleco-holdings-planning-relaunch-of-coleco-mini-arcades-after-flashback-release/

Coleco mini-arcade line sounds like it is coming back.

$100 says they'll be crappy sun-lit transparent LCDs like when Frogger was "re-released" a few years ago. No way they would actually do these justice with VFDs.

Also love that they show the Coleco Donkey Kong Junior tabletop that was never released - way to do your research! Um.. I mean type "coleco tabletop" into Google Images. They should have posted pictures of the Omega Race tabletop mockup while they were at it.

[Tanooki]

Considering the fact that dk jr is a rebranded nintendo game & watch they likely dont have access to that mold unlike the other so maybe thats why. I also have that new Frogger youre ripping on both tabletop and handheld, also space invaders and pinball in handheld form too all from excalibur and theyre fantastic, superior really seeing that it saves high scores, has a mute button, and runs on far less battery power. I think theyd still go with the classic design if its not just some emulation package. I have to wonder who all of the license holders will let them do this between Nintendo Namco and Sega being involved. I would think Nintendo would be dicks about it, but Namco and Sega I could see them being fine due to other farmed out project tv game things.


who knows maybe they would do omega race if they have the old stuff on it after so long.

[YoshiM]

I see some Intellivoice games on the list: does anyone know if we'll hear actual numbers when the computer lists power levels, number of aliens and such? Nit picky I know but dangit if they are going to make something like this, do it right!

[InsaneDavid]

I also have that new Frogger youre ripping on both tabletop and handheld, also space invaders and pinball in handheld form too all from excalibur and theyre fantastic, superior really seeing that it saves high scores, has a mute button, and runs on far less battery powe

They're complete and utter garbage compared to the soft glow of a VFD, really unlike any other kind of display produced before or since. But man, new is superior, because that's what DP is all about.

[Tanooki]

You know really I don't think the arrogance there was really warranted. So you hate the screen? Whoopdeedoo. DK Jr Coleco used it and it looked fine and that type Excalibur went back to with their stuff from last decade and it worked as nicely too. They're fine for what they are, cheap distractions. I like the VFD style equally so as I've got the coleco Pac-Man and DK, Entex Crazy Climber and the Parker Bros Q-Bert too so I have an even split between the types and I don't prefer one over the other.

It's going to come down to whatever this modern Coleco holder wants to do or can be allowed to do. If they have the rights to the old documents and stuff from the originals they may just duplicate the things with a more modern board inside to keep costs cheap. Hell they may be completely dickish and just make one like the arcade/home Pac-Man Party cabinet where you run an emulator(android likely) and a LCD/LED screen and have it do all the Coleco tabletops in one unit to keep costs down and increase desire to buy. It's really up in the air given what we've seen from resurrections before because even those old Mattel Eletronics games had a come back a decade ago and you could get it with the little red LEDs but there were also black and white cheapo LCD screen versions too like some Tiger handheld.

[kaedesdisciple]

For what's essentially the price of a Threshold cart, I'm in for 1 of the CV units, fo sho.

[Flojomojo]

Bad news? Toys R Us is no longer showing the Colecovision, Intellivision, or Sega Genesis Flashback units as available for pre-order, presumably because they're sold out. If you want one, you'll have to wait until October 1st, which fortunately is right around the corner.

[Greg2600]

Bad news? Toys R Us is no longer showing the Colecovision, Intellivision, or Sega Genesis Flashback units as available for pre-order, presumably because they're sold out. If you want one, you'll have to wait until October 1st, which fortunately is right around the corner.

Most collectors will be going for the Dollar General or Sam's Club versions.

[InsaneDavid]

Bad news? Toys R Us is no longer showing the Colecovision, Intellivision, or Sega Genesis Flashback units as available for pre-order, presumably because they're sold out. If you want one, you'll have to wait until October 1st, which fortunately is right around the corner.

Here's what I can say: The internal break date for these is 9/22. Granted that can be moved up or down but as things are currently, 9/22 is the hard-coded release.

These are being pulled from store shelves because of the 9/22 break date, no other reason, and this is nothing new or specific to this item. It's just something with a hard break date that doesn't have dated "DO NOT STOCK" labels on the carton, no big deal.

Inventory pulled from the floor until 9/22 will not be utilized for outstanding online pre-orders. That inventory comes direct from the distribution centers or vendor warehouse supply, as it is with every big box retailer. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say the reason why these were removed from the website is so that people can't attempt to purchase them online for in-store pick up due to the 9/22 break date. Again, all standard policy pretty much everywhere these days.

Allocation seems to be four pieces of each at present for most stores but these will continue to be stocked through the holidays. Packaging is absolute shit with these, with many of them having the little round box tape seal peel or fall off in the shipping carton. That means many of these will be "open" brand new or will be taped shut by the store. Overlays are simply tossed in the bottom of the box under the console with a little paper band around them and the instruction booklet is simply tossed atop the console in the box - nothing is bagged. The included overlays are in no way up to the quality of originals and are film-thin. This is all typical AtGames cheap-ass manufacturing and shouldn't be surprising. I'll have to say that I'm not too impressed with the feel of the controllers but that's not the draw with the Colecovision plug-and-play here, is it? A reliable clone system with a bunch of built in games is the draw. I would pop the box open to make sure everything is in there before purchase but keep in mind nothing is "sealed" inside, so a new system may look used if you're expecting things to be bagged and packed nicely - that's just how they come.

Also a blanket statement, not directed at anyone what so ever: Don't be pricks to people in-store moving these off the floor due to the break date. They're just doing their job and on the bright side, at this point these will be available a week before we originally assumed. What I would like to see is a report of how good the actual emulation is from those who have strong-armed one of these away from a retailer.

[Steve W]

As far as the Coleco tabletops are concerned, I would be so freakin' happy if they replaced the VFD screen with a phone-sized LCD, put a small circuitboard that was just powerful enough to run a bunch of games in emulation, and use that Coleco case design to make tiny fully-functional portable arcade games. They wouldn't have to put an Arduino motherboard or anything inside it, your average $5 pay-as-you-go disposable cellphone circuitboard has more than enough power to run old arcade games. They could license out a bunch of different titles from various companies. For example, one unit could be all twin stick shooters like Robotron or Black Widow. They could always do dedicated machines too, like a Tron arcade unit (complete with little LED lights).

I like the idea of Coleco tabletops coming back, but I probably won't pick them all up because frankly the gameplay and audio were not great. The Pac-Man audio is earbleedingly terrible, for example, and it's kind of hard to tell what's happening onscreen. Technology has moved on, I'd like to see that reflected in new models giving us arcade accurate games rather than expensive novelties you'll only play for ten minutes.

[InsaneDavid]

Alright, Colecovision Flashback is out and uh... it's okay... I suppose... it mostly works correctly.

Controller pinout is screwed up so you're stuck with the pack in controllers, which aren't all that great feeling. Most games run fine but some have missing or gimped sound. Overall sound is just a hair off but no big deal for most games. The Heist runs at half speed, which sucks.

The more I think about it, the games that are missing in my mind (Carnival, Looping, Mouse Trap and LadyBug) would probably sound like crap if Space Fury, Squish'em Sam and Zaxxon on here are any indication.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCD-SgvrDz8

[Leo_A]

Does Zip a Dee Doo Dah still play in Pepper II? All these short clips never go on long enough to see.

It should play when you fill out an entire screen.

[wizardofwor1975]

Alright, Colecovision Flashback is out and uh... it's okay... I suppose... it mostly works correctly.

Sounds like it might be a good backup for my original Colecovision. How does Frenzy & Venture play? However, I'm still irritated that it doesn't have Tutankham though. Alcazar & Spy Hunter would have been nice to.

[InsaneDavid]

Does Zip a Dee Doo Dah still play in Pepper II? All these short clips never go on long enough to see.

It should play when you fill out an entire screen.

Yes, all audio in Pepper II is correct. Love those Exidy sounds. Terribly underrated game plagued with a stupid title - should have just called it Zipper like they originally intended.


Sounds like it might be a good backup for my original Colecovision. How does Frenzy & Venture play? However, I'm still irritated that it doesn't have Tutankham though. Alcazar & Spy Hunter would have been nice to.

Frenzy and Venture play fine but suffer a little due to the sketchy joysticks. The large dead zone (in relation to the stick throw) that develops after the joysticks are broken in, coupled with the very short stick throw, means that it's easy to roll into unintended directions. Audio is a hair off in Venture but nothing ear bleeding.

If anyone has any specific questions, go for it! I'd rather everyone that buys one of these know exactly what they're getting so that straight up negative reviews can be avoided so that AtGames sticks with the license.

[Leo_A]

Yes, all audio in Pepper II is correct. Love those Exidy sounds. Terribly underrated game plagued with a stupid title - should have just called it Zipper like they originally intended.

Good to hear that it's fully intact. That's one of the real gems here, but I was worried that this and the main theme might end up being edited out due to obvious reasons.

If there's ever an Arcade Flashback, I hope the arcade version makes the cut (Along with Venture, Mouse Trap, and Hard Hat to name three other Exidy favorites).

Speaking of Mouse Trap, odd that it's absent here yet Venture and Pepper II are included.


Frenzy and Venture play fine but suffer a little due to the sketchy joysticks. The large dead zone (in relation to the stick throw) that develops after the joysticks are broken in, coupled with the very short stick throw, means that it's easy to roll into unintended directions.

Does controller #2 do anything in single player? If so, it might be worth rewiring an Atari Flashback joystick to keep plugged into port 2.

Most of my Colecovision time isn't spent with a real Colecovision controller, but rather, my favorite Atari 2600 compatible stick in the second controller port.

Edit: I have that backwards, I think. Haven't fired it up in a couple of years, but I think the workaround for many games requires plugging the Atari compatible stick into port 1, and using the keypad on the Coleco controller in port 2 to select your options.

It would be neat if this workaround still works with their emulator (I.e., if controller 2's keypad can be used to start a game in single player mode).

[InsaneDavid]

Does controller #2 do anything in single player? If so, it might be worth rewiring an Atari Flashback joystick to keep plugged into port 2.

Most of my Colecovision time isn't spent with a real Colecovision controller, but rather, my favorite Atari 2600 compatible stick in the second controller port.

The pinout isn't right so anything other than the included controllers doesn't work right - the mapping is all screwy. On the Flashback if you hold both fire buttons on controller 1 upon power on, it will go to the diagnostic menu. One of the menus is an input test. Utilizing this it's possible to see just how messed up the mapping is. A standard VCS joystick allows you keypad 7 and keypad 9 (if I'm remembering correctly) as a couple of the joystick directions with everything else non-responsive.

[dgdgagdae]

Did you find it somewhere at a retail store? I thought they weren't out until next week. I guess I'll be going to Dollar General, since I don't have a Sam's Club membership.

[Greg2600]

Street date has bounced around. Toys R Us were selling them early, but have often stopped.

[InsaneDavid]

Did you find it somewhere at a retail store? I thought they weren't out until next week. I guess I'll be going to Dollar General, since I don't have a Sam's Club membership.


Street date has bounced around. Toys R Us were selling them early, but have often stopped.

Toys R Us internal street date is / was 9/22. The product run reset for all electronics departments was on 9/22 in preparation for Infinity 2.0 on 9/23. As of today product is still on shelves and selling through the system without issue. What's funny is that for all the interest and hoo-ha about strongarming these away from retailers before the TRU system break date of 9/22, every store in the area is completely full with little to no interest.

[Leo_A]

The pinout isn't right so anything other than the included controllers doesn't work right - the mapping is all screwy.

That's why I was talking about rewiring. :)

[InsaneDavid]

That's why I was talking about rewiring. :)

Re-reading your earlier post I see that now. LOL If anything I would grab a couple connectors and make a patchbox but I'll wait for someone else to make a pinout.

[Leo_A]

I think AtariAge has had one up for weeks for rewiring the pinout to match the Colecovision's pinout. So it would be a trivial matter to apply this knowledge to a CX40 equivalent (And if it was an adapter like I think someone at AA is producing for the Intellivision model, it would be plug and play with Atari joysticks without any modification necessary).

The key question is if controller 2's keypad can be used to get a single player game going while using controller 1 to actually play the game with, like could be done with Coleco published software on the real deal.

If you have to start your game with controller 1's keypad, the value is defeated by the hassle of quickly changing controllers out (Although those really desperate could still come up with a solution).

Seems a shame, it's almost like they intentionally tried to not make these compatible. Even the overlays aren't compatible with the originals on at least one of the two new Flashbacks.

[InsaneDavid]

If you have to start your game with controller 1's keypad, the value is defeated by the hassle of quickly changing controllers out (Although those really desperate could still come up with a solution).

That works as expected but I think there are a couple games where you still have to decide your options with the first controller. I know the games that give you the standard blue Colecovision options screen will allow you to decide the game option with the second controller.