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Indiegogo extends deadline for ZX Spectrum Vega+ as June shipping date announced

Retro Computers Ltd "still determined to deliver the Vega+" despite ongoing dispute with former project leads

The company behind the crowdfunded ZX Spectrum Vega+ has just a few weeks left to deliver the console to backers before Indiegogo sends in its debt collectors.

Indiegogo has actually extended the deadline beyond the original limit, which was the end of May, according to the BBC. Retro Computers chairman Dr David Levy told the Beeb that the extension was until mid-June, a target he is optimistic about meeting.

In fact, the latest update on the original Indiegogo page for the ZX Spectrum Vega+ has announced the first units will be delivered by June 15th, with various previous May updates regularly discussing imminent shipping.

Should the console arrive on time, it will help stay Indiegogo's hand before the crowdfunding firm calls on debt collectors to recoup some of the £500,000 that Retro Computers raised back in March 2016 - an ultimatum originally reported back in February.

But this doesn't mean Retro Computers is entirely out of the woods. Speaking to the BBC, an Indiegogo spokesperson observed that, while the announced shipping date is encouraging, Retro Computers has still not met specific conditions the platform set.

These conditions include: providing physical evidence that the Vega + is sending a final unit to Indiegogo by June 5th; providing contact details for someone at UK broadcaster Sky, which is reportedly delaying the release over an IP dispute; and issuing refunds to any backers that no longer want the console.

When contacted by GamesIndustry.biz, Retro Computers chairman Dr David Levy pointed to the ongoing dispute with former director Paul Andrews as well as other previous members of the project as the reason for the delay.

"We are still determined to deliver the Vega+ to the backers and we will do so unless we are prevented by circumstances entirely beyond our control," Levy told GamesIndustry.biz in a statement.

"We wish to thank the many backers who have been and still are fully supportive of our finishing the project. They are more than aware of the real problems we have faced, far more than we had realised, and we thank them very sincerely for their ongoing support and kindness."

Indiegogo made the rare move to prevent the Vega+ campaign from raising any more funds back in March 2017. You can read more on the controversy surrounding this project through that link.

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James Batchelor

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James Batchelor is Editor-in-Chief at GamesIndustry.biz. He has been a B2B journalist since 2006, and an author since he knew what one was