The name Coleco hasn’t been associated with games for a very long time. In fact if you weren’t a gamer back in the ’80s, you might not have heard of the company at all. In the gaming industry of yesteryear, the company made the ColecoVision, a console along the lines of the Atari 2600. Now, Coleco is partnering with Retro Video Game Systems to make a new console focused on those great days of 8-bit and 16-bit games.
Called the Coleco Chameleon, the console will be a cartridge-based machine that will play off the rising popularity of retro games. There are now retro-gaming trade shows and events around the country on annual basis.
Chris Cardillo, a partner in Coleco said in an official statement, “We’re excited to work hand-in-hand with Retro Video Game Systems, Inc. in the launch of the Coleco Chameleon. It’s ironic that a new ‘retro’ video-game system would actually revolutionize and revitalize the Coleco brand.”
Retro Video Game Systems, Inc. President Mike Kennedy adds, “The Coleco Chameleon is a love-letter to all the classic cartridge based gaming systems that came before it, and we love the fact it will succeed Coleco’s successful Telstar and ColecoVision product lines. It will take gamers and their families back to a simpler time where games were all about great gameplay and fun factor.”
No price for the Coleco Chameleon was announced, but the console is scheduled to be released some time in 2016, and will be shown off at Toy Fair in February.
A similar console to the Coleco Chameleon was pitched on Indigogo this year, but failed to meet its target by a large margin. It only managed to gain 4 percent of its goal.
