The Coleco Chameleon is officially dead after Coleco pulls its name
And maker Retro VGS has disappeared following prototype inconsistencies
Last week, we brought you the tale of the troubled Coleco Chameleon, a cartridge-based game console that had apparently been promoted with faked and/or misrepresented prototypes. Unsurprisingly, the ending isn’t a happy one.
Today, Coleco Holdings – the company that owns the rights to the classic gaming brand – announced that it has pulled out of the deal with manufacturer Retro VGS, which means that the Chameleon won’t see the light of day. Well, at least not with the Coleco name attached. Coleco stated last week that Retro VGS needed to demonstrate its prototype console within one week or risk losing the deal.
“Retro VGS has decided that the work that they have created is not sufficient to demonstrate at this time. Consequently, we can no longer proceed with the project and the Chameleon project will be terminated,” reads a statement from Coleco on its Facebook page. “This separation is amicable. We wish them luck in the future. We thank the gaming community for their continued support, input, vigilance and trust.”
And if you think Retro VGS will simply soldier on without Coleco, that seems very much in doubt: the official website has been pulled, and the company’s Facebook page has been deleted. Retro VGS also runs a video game print magazine called Retro Magazine in the States, and managing editor David Giltinan departed over the weekend, stating, "I have to separate myself from everything associated to it."
Fans of old-school gaming and cartridges might lament the passing of a once-promising project. However, given the fact that one of the recent prototype photos appeared to simply be a computer capture card shoved inside an empty console shell (see above), it’s unlikely that the Chameleon was going to live up to all of its myriad promises anyway.
Andrew Hayward
Freelance Writer 
