Coleco Announces New Gaming Console

It has been a long and bumpy ride through the video game industry for Coleco inc.  For over 30 years since their last console, the ColecoVision, the company has struggled to stay afloat with products such as Cabbage Patch Kids dolls and various handheld electronic games.  Eventually filing for bankruptcy in 1988, Coleco became an irrelevant figure, and it only became increasingly more unlikely for them to make a splash in the console industry ever again.  But they’re attempting a comeback, and they’re bringing cartridge games with them.  In a partnership with Retro Video Game Systems Inc., the Coleco Chameleon is set to launch early 2016.

The Coleco Chameleon will be the company’s first console to feature new games in quite some time.  Unable to compete with the specs of current-gen consoles, the Chameleon aims to focus on new indie titles that feature aesthetics similar to 8-, 16-, and 32-bit games of the past.  With the growing popularity of games like Shovel Knight, and Terraria, it makes sense for the company to consider this approach.

Though the Chameleon may not stand up to the powerhouses currently connected to your TV, what it offers is more of a collectible, nostalgic charm to compliment a growing genre.  No system updates, no DLCs, just plug-and-play gaming simplicity.  The console will debut in a demonstration at Toy Fair New York February 13-16, 2016.