(Mt. Laurel, N.J. – July 2, 2020) – Coleco, a company from the earliest days of videogames, has strategically partnered with CollectorVision, a leading Canadian based game and recent console manufacturer. CollectorVision have been making new titles for classic consoles since 2008. Their pedigree in the realm of retro gaming is head and shoulders above their competition. They are a forward-thinking company that foresaw the upsurge in popularity for retro gaming. This positioning has placed CollectorVision in a unique position.

CollectorVision was founded by Jean-Francois Dupuis and Toby St-Aubin, two ColecoVision enthusiasts. Initially the company focused on ColecoVision titles exclusively, later expanding to Nintendo NES and Super Nintendo as well as Sega Master System games and more. The next logical step for CollectorVision was to launch their own console as original ColecoVision consoles in working condition are tougher to obtain.

This new console will put Coleco in a league by themselves once again. The new console will be compatible with all your favorite Coleco branded games.   No other console manufacturer from the past offers an option today that accepts previously released cartridges.

In mid-2019 CollectorVision began shipping their CollectorVision Phoenix console. It features a Spartan 6 LX16 Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) board with 512 Mb of SRAM. The Phoenix console also features HDMI output and is compatible with original ColecoVision cartridges.

Coleco and CollectorVision have come to a mutual agreement involving the Phoenix console. The Coleco branded console will carry the official ColecoVision branding, a brand that went toe to toe with Atari in the early 1980s. The ColecoVision console will be unique in its support for original ColecoVision cartridges, as well as newer compatible releases.

“Hindsight is 20/20. That is why we have been incredibly careful when reaching out to partner companies. Partnering with CollectorVision and using their Phoenix technology is a leap forward of many years. This allows Coleco to return to the world of consoles with a compatible console quickly. Much faster than developing another compatible console would require”, stated Chris Cardillo, Coleco partner. He continued, “Returning to the world of consoles is a key step for where Coleco is going. It is a reminder of the dedication Coleco has to supporting their fanbase, new and old as well as being able to deliver on a certain earlier promise!”

Partnering with CollectorVision allows Coleco to deliver a quality console for fans that also value the ColecoVision brand. This is not the first time that Coleco has reached out to partner with other companies rather than repeating innovation and development. In 2016 Coleco partnered with the Retro VGS team to brand that console the “Coleco Chameleon”. The idea being like that of the Phoenix in that both consoles use FPGA chips to recreated classic consoles accurately. That console was also intended to use proprietary developed cartridges with adapters for original cartridge use. Due to horrendous mismanagement by the Retro VGS team, Coleco was forced to pull their branding and dissolve the partnership.

The upcoming ColecoVision console will use original and newly created ColecoVision compatible cartridges. No adapters required. Purchase options will be made available on the Coleco website.  Product will be available early 2021 in limited quantities.