ColecoVision primed for a comeback with Flashback

For $40, you can relive the glory of multi-numbered controllers and 80's favorites.

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Back in the 80's, if you weren't gaming on an Atari 2600 or Intellivision (or if you tried and just couldn't figure out the damn circular controllers), then chances are you were playing on a ColecoVision. This system helped bring some of the most dynamic arcade-to-home ports in the early 80's, including such titles as Sega's Zaxxon, Venture and Mr. Do! Now, AtGames has announced that it's producing a new Flashback console, this time modeled after the classic ColecoVision. Get ready for those multi-numbered controllers!

The ColecoVision Flashback is set to hit store shelves this October for the price of $39.99. The package will come with a plug-and-play system that goes right into the TV, along with two controllers (modeled after the original 80's ones) and 60 games. Although a full game list wasn't revealed, favorites like Zaxxon, Venture and Frenzy will be included, and others like Jungle King, Choplifter! and Bump 'n' Jump are being considered. Some licensed titles, like the infamous Donkey Kong and Buck Rogers In the 25th Century, aren't likely to make the cut, though.

That's not all, either. On top of the return of the ColecoVision, the company has also confirmed the return of the Coleco Mini Arcade units. Back in the 80's, these were awesome collectibles, recreations of popular arcade favorites like Galaxian, Pac-Man and Frogger. There's no word on when these will launch, although sometime in 2015 will be likely.

Those who want a ColecoVision Flashback for themselves can pre-order it here at Toys 'R Us. Now, if there was just some way to connect it for live streaming. After all, how else are we supposed to show off our skills in Bump 'n' Jump?

Robert Workman was previously a games journalist creating content at Shacknews.

From The Chatty
  • reply
    August 6, 2014 8:15 AM

    Robert Workman posted a new article, ColecoVision primed for a comeback with Flashback.

    For $40, you can relive the glory of multi-numbered controllers and 80's favorites.

    • reply
      August 6, 2014 11:34 AM

      [deleted]

    • reply
      August 6, 2014 2:36 PM

      Holy hell. I really shouldn't buy this but if it includes Cosmic Avenger I might tap into my inner eldersveld.

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        August 6, 2014 3:25 PM

        That was my first ColecoVision game (other than the Donkey Kong pack-in). I wonder what the quality will be like for this "flashback" console? Will it closely resemble the original? My GF bought the Atari reproduction, and it's pretty bad: the games aren't authentic at all.

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      August 6, 2014 3:36 PM

      Back in the 90's, I got a handed-down Coleco ADAM computer, and it had a Buck Rogers game (Wikipedia says it was Buck Rogers: Planet of Zoom). It also had a ColecoVision cartridge port, but I didn't have any cartridges.

      That controller was really bizarre. Also, the power supply for the computer unit was in the daisy-wheel printer, and the storage was on "digital data packs", which were one-sided cassette tapes. The tape drive was high speed, where it could rewind and seek forward rather quickly, but it was also a ticking time-bomb: sometimes, the tape would snag inside the cassette case, and the tape would wrap around the spindle inside the case, in a mess of tape-wrinkling destruction.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coleco_Adam

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      August 6, 2014 3:40 PM

      The Super Action Controller was the best. So many buttons.

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