THE COLECO CHAMELEON SCAM!!! - An Insane Crowd Funding Scandal !? - Retro Gaming History

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In today's video Lady Decade discusses the history of the Coleco Chameleon, the infamous console that was funded on Kickstarter and Indigogo before the campaign was cancelled completely after it was revealed to all just be a big scam. Lets revisit this ridiculous tale.
Guest Voice Work From
Slopes Game Room - / djslopesroom
Top Hat Gaming Man - / tophatgamingmanchannel
Exploding Music Syndrome - / explodingmusicsyndrome
Edited by Ryan of Exploding Music Syndrome
/ explodingmusicsyndrome
Footage and Image Credit Source List
• Top 25 ColecoVision Games
Top 25 ColecoVision Games
65Gamerguy
• Coleco Chameleon Inter...
Coleco Chameleon Interview & Demonstration - New York Toy Fair 2016
Pegwarmers
• Coleco Chameleon at To...
Coleco Chameleon at Toy Fair
Tom’s Guide
• COLECO CHAMELEON - NY ...
COLECO CHAMELEON - NY TOY FAIR - FAKE PROTOTYPE ON SHOW
gamesreup _
• Coleco Chameleon New Y...
Coleco Chameleon New York Toy Fair Video 3 Sydney Hunter
RetroGaming
• The Ultimate Early 80s...
The Ultimate Early 80s Arcade Tribute
Patrick Scott Patterson
www.colecochameleon.org/
• Top 20 BEST Indie Game...
Top 20 BEST Indie Games of the Decade You Should Own
Get Indie Gaming
www.8-bitcentral.com/blog/2016...
• Tiny Knight Gameplay [...
Tiny Knight Gameplay [PC 1080p]
TheBlueDragon
• The COLECO Chameleon P...
The COLECO Chameleon Prototype is a SCAM?!
Slot1Gamer
cliqist.com/2016/03/07/whats-c...

[@tomoyaokazakiremiejordan756]

lady decade really REALLY sounds like a narrator from a late 90's ~ early 2000's pc console gaming show (gamespot, extended play, electric playground, gaming in the clinton years etc.)

[@douglasboyle6544]

This is the first video I watched from her and you're 100% right! When it started I thought I was getting playback from an old show as an opener

[@decoren45]

Never stop making these videos. In the American army we are old we always wait for you new videos currently in Korea you're awesome!

[@LadyDecade]

That's very cool, thank you! X

[@thekornreeper]

🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

[@pabloignacioscaletta]

@@LadyDecade How long did Coleco make consoles? Aside from the Colecovision, I don't know of other consoles made by Coleco. P. S: Nice touch this inclusion of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 in the intro. YEEEEAAAAHHHH!, as Top Hat Gaming Man would say.

[@suntannedduck2388]

@@pabloignacioscaletta other than the ColecoVision, a Sega/Coleco Sonic in 2006, probably similar timing to the HyperScan by Mattel I'd say for a cheaper console during that era (Pocket Gear in Europe, PlayPal in Canada) handheld having 20 repackaged Game Gear/Master System games offered so I think only Coleco in name or something else they contributed *shrugs*. Those are the only two that come to mind other than the newer Coleco return but I don't know enough as not researched much more than the surface level of that Atari (even if not the same one but keeping the name but still publishing games) and Mattel (obviously toys) it's clear what they have done but no clue who is keeping Coleco alive that keeps the name and releases things at the right time they see a need to that is gaming related at least. Not sure about their other ventures.

[@Swanlord05]

​@@LadyDecade ....cute buttered balloons

[@TipsterLIVE]

I remember this whole ordeal. It was quite the interesting footnote in the history of the retro gaming community.

[@Old_Man_Jay]

Sup tipster. Fancy seein you around here

[@chrisd6287]

It's still making headlines, lol

[@electronash]

Hey, Tipster. It's been a while. lol At least something positive came from the whole Coleco saga - it was very good comedy for a while.

[@electronash]

15:01 - The funniest part there, was I think it was either Albert of atari-forum, or kevtris himself who identified that DVR capture card from the Coleco "clear case" photos. The post on Facebook from Mike got deleted very soon after. lol

[@NoelComiX]

Going back to your roots tipster?

[@Yakobu90]

I applied to be a developer for the Retro VGS Chameleon by sending an e-mail basically saying "Hi I've never written a single program in my life but I'd like to give it a go can I be a developer please? " and they said yes.

[@Dreamwriter4242]

What else would they say? The Chameleon was going to be a collection of recreated retro game consoles, if you wanted to make a modern SNES game or whatever they wouldn't have had to do anything at all until your game was done and ready to be manufactured.

[@romeisfallingagain]

wow. this is a textbook example why >i never crowdfund projects >i never buy early access games on steam >i never buy ANYTHING until it has been released and i can analyse peoples reception to the product.

[@nthgth]

100% agree

[@mikedrop4421]

I'm here to further my education in video-game history from professor Decade. Man that ATARI Jaguar body has gotten around. ATARI sold the molds to a medical equipment company and it was turned into a defibrillator or something like that and then it's back here. Also I love hearing Slopes reading for you. I love that the Retro games community does that so much. Watching nostalgia nerd, LGR, Kim Justice, slopes, Octavia, you and others and hearing each of you guys throughout everyone's work is great!

[@PopeCop]

You always manage to talk about obscure gaming history facts that none of the other channels are talking about. I had thought there was nothing more to discover until I stumbled on your channel. Great work and great research!

[@JustChrisWillDoTa]

I'd forgotten all about this. I followed the news about it on eurogamer at the time, and when I clicked on the vid I was thinking "wasn't that the one with the capture card in the prototype?" LOL. Nice video.

[@craigwillsmith354]

What another cracking retro gaming fact video, love how its content that not alot off people know about, it's different but in a good way 😃, love this channel for retro gaming nostalgia and learning something new

[@AdamTheAd-vanc3d]

Forget Lara croft , you have dug up some great gaming relics of past. I'm seriously wowed by your research , knowledge and presentations. 👌🏾👌🏾

[@timgerritsen7579]

Thanks for clarifying the 'US home console crash' for modern audiences. As someone who lived through it, my friends and I simply had moved on from the limitations of the cartridge based systems of the time toward computers- you'll note that sales of home computers at this time were very healthy and growing while the home consoles of the time fell off a cliff. (My best friend had a ColecoVision- and I loved it, but my hard earned cash went to a new computer- not a new console).

[@nthgth]

More accurately "North American" as Canada was affected too

[@hardkoregamer1981]

It's people like that who ruin the creditability of any crowd funding site and the trust of the retro gaming community from backing projects on them.

[@Ayixlia]

Im glad I invested in the Ouya and the Evercade VS and not the Coleco Chameleon. I always knew something was off about that kick starter.

[@UberNeuman]

How anyone could see that reperposed Atari Jag shell and not see a scam is astounding.

[@romerogoon]

Bizarrely, that's probably the least sus bit of this video. The mould has been successfully used in to house dental machinery and hotel room set-top boxes in the past. It is indeed an odd choice for a gaming platform though.

[@yuri53122]

@@romerogoon the fact that they tracked down the molds leads me to believe that someone there started with good intentions, but got overwhelmed and just dug themselves deeper and deeper into a hole they couldn't get out of.

[@dmcpcrt]

I'd love to see your take on the Amico as that is ongoing! Your videos are inspiring, thanks for the amazing content!

[@fuckingwebsite1]

The production quality is phenomenal as always

[@jamescameron149]

Got a lot of the love for the channel. Mainly the depth and investigation connected to the content. You keep making them, I'll keep watching them. I'd quite like that Evercade console BTW... Hopefully you get a review unit...

[@kadosho02]

Just yikes. This is a mess. Cannot fathom, how many people must have put their own money into this. Hopefully they were refunded every dollar / pound/ etc More console coverage, yes please

[@TheVoidofNothing11]

No refunds. Took the money and ran.

[@kadosho02]

@@TheVoidofNothing11 aw fudge 🤦‍♂️

[@Dreamwriter4242]

Nobody had their money taken, the IndieGogo campaign wasn't successful, it was the Kickstarter style where they only got the money if they reached their goal.

[@TheVoidofNothing11]

@@Dreamwriter4242 Okay, well I stand corrected if that's true. I thought I'd heard people lost money, but I could be wrong.

[@Droidparty]

These videos are fantastic. Great detail and amazing research work. I have watched a bunch of them and even though I have been taking since the 80's and have a decent knowledge of gaming history I always find new things in her videos.

[@christopherlesage5995]

Very nice video. Thank you for your effort in making this. Please keep up the good work.

[@komemiute]

Another smashing piece of gaming history! Love it and thank you so very much!

[@grinbrothers]

20:16 - I was going to bring up the Evercade as an effectively successful version of what the Coleco Chameleon was setting out to do so it's wonderful to see it got a good mention here. Thanks for the indepth exploration of the Coleco Chamelon; I was only familiar with the SNES Junior fake-out event so it was fascinating to learn it's other controversies.

[@FunFactFactoryX]

So good! Thanks for making

[@SharifSourour]

Completely ridiculous! Having gone to college for computer engineering, I could have made one myself. This was completely inexcusable but not surprising.

[@neeneko]

I dont know... I'm also a CoE, and spent years developing for an embedded gaming platform. It really feels like it should be easier than it is, and that first 90% of a design can go so smoothly, but that last 10%, esp if you are dealing with custom boards, chips, firmware, and a distributed team, can really be a nightmare. We would go through months or even years of prototypes, having to reject and redo whole subsystems, and we really tried to use as much off the self stuff as possible. I always thought they felt like a company that was trying, but vastly underestimated how difficult a task it really was and got caught up in the cycle of 'if we can just keep people engaged, we can really wow them when the revised board comes back!'. It can be a really vicious cycle to get caught in.

[@SharifSourour]

@@neeneko Yes it's true that when we get to the final stage it always seems like the work is exponential, but at the same time if you have been concentrating and driving momentum into the project up to that point, it should not be as much of a hurdle as having to deal with those final details cold. My impression is a lack of focus and direction making it too difficult to refine one idea. If you are starting as simple as possible and building up to only your needs, regardless of conventions and testing at every step of the way, the need for so many prototypes should dwindle as you would then introduce less complications, points of error and confusion.

[@mattuw82]

Yeah! He could have just bought an off the shelf single board computer like an odroid or a beagle bone and run RetroArch. Getting cartridges to work would have taken some doing, but he could have easily dispelled rumors that the hardware was fake.

[@SharifSourour]

@@mattuw82 Exactly!

[@papawshane]

Great to see a video on this machine/scam. The whole thing was just insane haha. Thank you!

[@KC-kp4vh]

Fantastic work, Lady!!

[@WillieD]

Holy hell, I've never heard of this but what a mess. Thanks KZbin algorithm for recommending this. Definitely subbing! Keep up these videos 🤘🏽🤘🏽

[@adultmoshifan87]

With the gaming market in such a bad state at the time, I REALLY wanted this system to be real! Nintendo were giving no details on their NX console, the PS4 and Xbox One rely heavily on updates and patches and handheld gaming had gone down the toilet with Sony neglecting the Vita, 3rd parties neglecting the 3DS and freemium gaming taking up about 90% of the market! Fortunately, the Evercade was announced in 2019 and released in 2020, it's the kind of system we've needed for EONS!

[@AndrewHawnt]

What a fascinating video! Excellent work.

[@richardg5301]

Initially the idea of the Retro VGS was pitched as an FPGA console that you would buy modules for to play different console cartridges. But FPGA was way too expensive at that point and the concept kept going downhill from there.

[@stefanweilhartner4415]

and "they" had only one developer.

[@joandarc441]

I love your vids lady decade it's calming and informative both you and top hat gaming man

[@francisvebert5830]

Original content !👍👍👍👏👏 very very good job!

[@SegaTron64]

best video I have seen in a while! Keep it up big daddy top-hat and Lady of the decade!

[@joshmetat]

The KZbin algorithm has been good to you. im not a big gamer but this is the second day I see you on my feed. I enjoy your videos, liked and subscribed.

[@jagtaggart936]

As a Jaguar fan I so badly wanted this to succeed but wow was it a hilarious dumpster fire. Thanks for covering this!

[@gaetan4164]

Yes please do an episode on the Colecovision. Those late-second generation consoles are really interesting and little talked about.

[@Evercade_Effect]

Well done! I was always curious to know what the deal was.

[@RetroRespawn]

Loved this video. While the ZX Vega Plus scandal had us distracted, the Chameleon merrily swindled everyone. To my knowledge the Jaguar mould was used in the Chameleons design and... A dental camera. What a shame, since I think it was a really good looking form factor.

[@thaneros]

I was really looking forward to this system. The Jaguar design of the console was sick.

[@jplayer073]

Currently my favorite gaming channel. I'm always excited to see a new video.

[@PatTheNESpunk]

Never heard of this... interesting.

[@bradpoole238]

Lol they used the jaguar lmao

[@Horzzo]

It would have been a good competitor for Amico.. right?

[@Dikwili]

IAN!…

[@johanpeiper5908]

Yeah thats just a jag lol..scamers.

[@markjenniferwolkotte8221]

Hey Pat, what are your thoughts about this one?

[@clintgardner7422]

I love your videos, you always get straight to the part of the story without going on rumbling abt nonsence talking. I hope that you never stop making these videos thanks.

[@LowellLucasJr.]

Thanks Lady Decade for the coverage on this crazy console controversy! Never knew this thing existed!

[@mikedrop4421]

I'm so glad you called the crash of '83 a home console crash because I've always been confused about how it was supposed to be a crash when all the quality games and such kept right on being developed for arcades and pc. Basically the thing that crashed was shovelware and junk console so more like a cleaning of house.

[@jaywyse4720]

Good work!

[@BananaTV1978]

Yes! "North American console crash" .... Really nice to hear that stated as opposed to "video game crash of 1983" Thanks!!

[@nthgth]

It was a video game crash, in 1983, and it was the only one (right?). So "The video game crash of 1983" is perfectly accurate.

[@BananaTV1978]

@@nthgth There wasn't one in the UK or Europe though Bryan. If you're purely talking about North America then yes absolutely it's accurate, but if you're talking more globally then it needs a more accurate name. I know it's semantics, but it always irks when it's just assumed the crash was global. 1983 was a stellar sales year in the UK, things slowed in 84/85 due to the amount of systems and games and some of the "first wave" companies like Dragon and Jupiter went bust but that was more due to competition than a market crash.

[@SparkedEd]

From a business standpoint I can't understand how people do this stuff. They have to know they'd be found out and it's just not sustainable to keep operating in a scammy manner.

[@chase36chase]

love this channel!

[@Takeshi357]

And now they're heading off for an entirely new kind of scam with the Amico!

[@clouds-rb9xt]

name?

[@Takeshi357]

@@clouds-rb9xt ...Intellivision Amico?

[@McOuchies]

I remember being super hyped about this console only to be heartbroken by the bad news, even if it was pretty vague/blunt at the time...

[@lemonfraid8136]

I just acquired a ColecoVision, and I'm not terribly familiar with it's history. So I would love a Coleco video.

[@SupremeNerd]

There's plenty of em here on KZbin

[@jacobreed47]

Never heard of this console. She explains why perfectly.

[@tylerkobelia]

Nice video, I like industry documentaries. I’ve never even heard of this console.

[@ninjetti9898]

Brilliant doc, one of your best ever. Top marks all the way

[@paulb2226]

I really enjoy your videos! You'd have been great on bad influence back in the day. Keep up the great work 👍.thanks.

[@BurningRobotOil]

Great video! I've had little dealings with Mike here and there. He proposed if I make a Game Gavel intro on my KZbin show, he could arrange some kind of payment or monetization. That never happened. Another proposal came right after his Toyfare incident. I was invited to join him at a restaurant with his wife and his "team". At the time, he was still doing his Retro magazine, and asked me if I wanted to contribute. This time I refused but only because I was too busy with my own show to do any sort of contribution.

[@leecollins5479]

you should do a video on the vega+ scam

[@jc.1191]

Classic case of "fool me once."

[@Shimazaki00]

Ok, you got my attention in new videos about this console dissasters!

[@EmeraldWarrior420]

Great video, as they usually are. Just wanted to say: While it is correct that home computer gaming didn't suffer, arcades totally did suffer alongside home consoles during the gaming crash in the U.S.

[@HorrorHound87]

Awesome Video Lady Decade looking forward to more of your videos and so cool Daniel Ibbertson Was one of the Voices in here 😎

[@luisvelazco6013]

I love your channel, me encanta tu canal, saludos desde Argentina.

[@DaveVoyles]

This has scam written all over it. I remember watching the drama unfold. So this guy received millions, had absolutely zero clue about hardware, and completely outsourced all of the work to someone he's never met before. Sounds legit. He always had an excuse. "Oh, someone else plugged it in" "I never met the guy", "I was told this card IS the system...." Do you always hand hundreds of thousands of dollars to someone you've never worked with? That's not the sign of a guy managing a solid project. Then the fact that they "split amicably", lol. This guy either screwed you or you screwed everyone else.

[@danestegman155]

Great video! I remember this very story very well! I have been reading an excellent book called " Smoke And Mirrors: The Rise And Fall of a Serial Antipreneur" by Mike James. It tells the story of Mike Kennedy and the Coleco Chameleon debacle! Very good book!

[@majames]

Thanks Dane. Glad you enjoyed it.

[@jasonjones7461]

I knew I had heard of this scam before! Then at 6:25 I recognized the voice and remembered it was Slopes Gameroom kickscammer video where I heard about it.

[@thesegaguru]

Great video and thanks for the credit :) Was one hell of a weird project the Coleco. Starting to think the Amiico is going that way :) Stay awesome.

[@thrice26]

Thank you for being a great show, you sure know alot

[@3581richard]

Damn..you really dug deep for this one.Thats why i love your channel.

[@colinewan2320]

I don't know which was worse the chameleon or the Ouya. At least stadia actually exists, whilst it is not very good it does in someway work after a fashion

[@jesuszamora6949]

The Ouya team not only released a product, but actually believed that a market existed. There's no sin in being wrong.

[@northprime_unlimited]

Good video! I never heard of this debacle, maybe that’s a good thing. Hope you can make a ColecoVision video in the future. Take care.

[@ratt8745]

Also don't forget about the Collectorvision Phoenix console! It is the ONLY true recent Colecovision console that rose from the ashes after that chameleon debacle. I own one and it's amazing!!

[@zackschilling4376]

Ah, The Mysterious Mr Lee, ninja engineer and crackerjack programmer. Funny thing is they had a real crackerjack programmer - Kevtris. But he wasnt as stupid and asked questions and that was a No-No in Retroland. Great video. Anyone who wants more info check out, of course Pat & Ian but dont forget about Stop, Drop & Retro as his stuff was great, too. Dangerous Analyst has great coverage, too.

[@rickweis2787]

Not so Mysterious here in the Northwest, Big time scammer and still around here last I heard and Lee is not his real name.

[@turret72]

I did three videos on the Atari VCS as I was one of the backers. They are on my channel. If you want to talk to someone about VCS experience let me know. I also have an Evercade of my own. It is a good system. I am invested in the Amico as well and look to do an Amico vs VCS video when time permits….once the Amico arrives.

[@therealmakmillion]

0:30 I will never get over that feeling and I will never adopt (paid) digital formats.

[@gbraadnl]

Love the rectified meaning of the 'video game crash' as every time people from the US mention this it is hard to relate to it. It never happened in Europe...

[@maverickhunter24]

True but it happened outside of Europe, such as Canada north American would be accurate.

[@nthgth]

The fact that it was the one video game crash that happened in 1983 renders "1983 video game crash" completely accurate. Hell, it's arguably the only video game crash that's ever happened, so just "the video game crash" is correct too.

[@singletona082]

First off: Thank you for the correction about the american console crash vs world wide affairs. Second: I remember this shit I remember me and a few friends looking at this and 'grab popcorn and watch everything burn.'

[@NoelComiX]

This is your best video yet

[@MechaAkuma]

Looking forward to you covering what a scam the Amico Intellivision is

[@matthewcorlew3821]

I've never heard about this!!! Your presentations are always very well scripted, directed, edited, and produced. Always and forever a flawless video. I genuinely love hearing about the retro gaming scene. Even more so, when it comes to things that I've never heard about. When someone says you're not a gamer girl, they are technically right though... You are a Gamer Woman! But, that is only one aspect, out of many, about yourself. I don't understand why a very small amount of people have to be so negative towards you. I get if someone doesn't like your video as a whole or [a] certain aspect(s),

[@firehawk128]

Glad I got recommended this video. :)

[@michasj9]

We had played the Donkey Kong in the past. 40 years like one day now have passed. I'm a fan (a fan) of retrogaming. I had played (had played) on Nintendo. But I want to try another. Like Coleco! Like Coleco! Cole-, Cole-, Cole-, Coleco Chameleon! You try and go! You try and go! Gaming would be easy if copyright laws were repealed! And we could play (legally) on our PC!

[@abdelali9279]

I totally forgot about this, but the moment I saw the rebranded jaguar it all came back to me. Talking about scammers if you think only internet people are gullible enough to fund this kind of schemes, just remember that even bit shot wall st brokers invested in the failed Nikola hidrogen fueled truck company.

[@Shinmsl]

I had no idea of this whole fiasco! I definitely be interested in seeing more of these independent new console projects, failed or not

[@gamepad3173]

Same, I may pick up an evercade myself.

[@floydjohnson7888]

Mike Kennedy should consider himself lucky that the stakes were relatively low - otherwise he'd get branded "the Elizabeth Holmes of the retrogaming world" , in that he apparently thought stagecraft would cover a critical lack of know-how.

[@tony2763]

I remember all this. Such fun times. I would like to see a video on the Amico when it comes out and what you think about all this.

[@pabloignacioscaletta]

It looks somewhat similar to the WiiU, but that's my opinion on the issue.

[@YoshiIsCool1]

Thank You

[@RobertVine]

Just subscribed to your channel, amazed that you have all the systems that you reference! Any chance of a video on your collection?

[@LadyDecade]

Not really thought about it to be honest, I don't think it will my channel at the moment in all honesty xx

[@SketchieGambit]

I've no idea if it's on your radar, but the Retro Computer's Spectrum Vega would be worth a look - I was a backer and among the first to get one. I've no idea how many people actually managed to get refunded, but I was lucky enough to send mine back for a full refund.

[@gamepad3173]

'certified snake oil' is what Review Tech USA called and to me that's what it is.

[@veritassyfer1185]

No way I would play with 3 million like that. How you plan on selling a product but never met the person who designed it? come on now.

[@ronanstevens5437]

The Coleco chameleon was inspired by the Atari Jaguar the most misunderstood console in all days.

[@starsINSPACE]

Shame it was a scam - the Coleco Chameleon name was really cool.

[@franksmith7271]

Wasn't just a name tho, it was a statement of intent.

[@ressljs]

I just wonder was the whole thing intended as a scam from the beginning. Or was it a case of incompetent people with big ideas who then lied to buy time, hoping they could eventually get something put together.

[@ccricers]

It's just all weird to me. The fake prototype boards, the back-stabbing and false promises. Nostalgia can sometimes be a drug and this is what you get when people OD on it.

[@noyukikun]

this was the thing that made people very very weary of things like this and is why the polymega was extremely scrutinized in the first place

[@theoldpcgamer77]

As a UK gamer i never touched any console until the 1990 era with import PC Engine, Megadrive, Neo Geo and Super Famicom. It was all arcades and home computers in the 80's. I would have no nostalgia for this type of kickstarter console unlike an american who i guess played these late 70's and 80's consoles.

[@cbmysteryracerDEV]

Can somebody tell me what the name of the song that plays in the bg @16:40 is?

[@rafaelgadret]

Great video! Please do a Colecovision video!

[@jesuszamora6949]

It's worth remembering that, while it would happen later, the US microcomputer industry would implode as well. Kim Justice mentions it in her Jack Tramiel tribute. Americans got tired of micros in 1984, which left the field open for IBM, and later the clones, to sweep across the country in the mid-80s, to the point where Atari ST and Commodore Amiga were non-starters here in the US.

[@ldyson8]

Yes please, I would like to see a full video on the original Colecovision console. And nice nails by the way

[@marklechman2225]

I was never an investor, but I remember when it was announced, it was pretty exciting as that was around the time when retro was really starting to take off, but the cottage industry hadn’t really sprung up around it yet so (at the time) it was seen as a pioneer in the arena of kickstarter retro gear.

[@EoR_2B4GOT10]

good thing you shouted out the evercade that system is awesome while some games are just emulated many are ported over manually like the indie heroes cart