Cheetahmengames.com

[Jorpho]

I hadn't heard of this before.
http://www.cheetahmengames.com/

They've got a pretty nifty article on the creation the the Action52, apparently reprinted from NintendoAge:
http://www.cheetahmengames.com/MYQUESTISOVER.html

What blows my mind somewhat is this:
http://www.cheetahmengames.com/Cheetahmen-The-Creation.html

Alas, everything is plastered with "Coming Soon!" messages, so it's hard to say just what is going on here.

[P.S. The WHY DO YOU WANT TO KNOW THIS article is here (http://www.nesworld.com/ae-search.php).]

[cheaterdragon1]

I don't get it. Is it a new Cheetahmen game or a different one? The website does look like it will have a lot of useful information soon.

[Jorpho]

It looks like it is a new game, but it's hard to tell if it's really scratch homebrew or if they actually dug up previously unused level data somehow.

[lookfun78]

It is the game that never came out. Just go here for all the info and a pic of what you get with the game and yes other stuff comes with the game. http://www.gamepodunk.com/page/index.html/_/game-industry-news/cheetahmen-resurfaces-after-all-these-years-r750

[swlovinist]

For the price I cant support this project. For the same money I can buy like 10-15 homebrew videogames that actually play well.

[Kitsune Sniper]

Even though it's a reproduction and not even a full game there will only be 1,500 available (just like was the case with Cheetahmen II). 500 of these will be a special collector's package and cost $499. This egregiously priced edition comes with a factory sealed game and box "to save forever", another copy to actually play, reproduction of The Cheetahmen comic, poster, music CD, t-shirt, and another game box. At a lower price there will be a regular edition available too. That will include simply a sealed game, box, and comic at a still pricey $199.

So 1500 copies, 500 of which have two carts. So 2000 copies?

[mikesides]

That price is a bit ridiculous.

[Jorpho]

It is the game that never came out. Just go here for all the info and a pic of what you get with the game and yes other stuff comes with the game. http://www.gamepodunk.com/page/index.html/_/game-industry-news/cheetahmen-resurfaces-after-all-these-years-r750

The game itself is simply pulled from a prototype version of the Action 52 cart.Ah.

I agree, it's kind of a shameless bit of manufactured rarity, isn't it?

The last time I can recall something remotely like this was Adventure II for the 2600, but that really was in a different ballpark.

[treismac]

I get schadenfreude in playing crappy video games. I do. I also understand collecting video games rather than just buying them to simply play them. What I struggle with, though, is paying $499 or $199 for a special edition "newly discovered" sequel to a rare bad video game. Honestly, I would be hard pressed to drop even $30 bucks on this.

With all of this said, I do love the idea of this strange event coming to pass. What a wonderfully bizarre world the world of retro video game collecting is, eh?

:)

[Parodius Duh!]

This will end up dumped eventually and then you can just buy a repro for a normal price from someone else. $499 for that package and $199 for cart only is absurd and these people should feel ashamed of themselves for trying to sell this pile of shit for that much. I will do everything I can to stop people from falling for this sham.

[Drixxel]

I'm blown away at the audacity of this, to be charging such gross amounts for what is a wildly unnecessary cartridge release. Two unseen levels pulled from an early build of Action 52? That's a waste of fucking plastic.

[buzz_n64]

I have to agree with all of you on this one, a repro of an NES game should never cost more than $50 unless it's the freakin' Starfox 2 of NES games, and this is clearly not the case. Now, if these were originals of a crappy yet extremely rare game, then I could see it fetching those insane prices.

[goatdan]

Hmmm...

500 * $499 + 1000 * $199 = $448,500

Even if you take into account the cost of manufacturing everything, you could still buy a mansion with the profits that they would expect to have.

That's officially amazing.

[Parodius Duh!]

so how can we all (or at least me) go about boycotting this release and making sure nobody falls for this scam? anybody know how to rip out these same levels like they have done, and then just spread the rom for free like a virus.....seriously fuck these guys, Cheetahmen sucks and Im sure theres a couple of dimwits that will fall for this.

[buzz_n64]

so how can we all (or at least me) go about boycotting this release and making sure nobody falls for this scam? anybody know how to rip out these same levels like they have done, and then just spread the rom for free like a virus.....seriously fuck these guys, Cheetahmen sucks and Im sure theres a couple of dimwits that will fall for this.

Find someone who has a copy, or buy one, and dump it.

[treismac]

Parodius Duh!, do you think many people will actually buy the new Cheetahmen video game at the ridiculous price that they want for it? I might be very wrong but I struggle to imagine the people behind this breaking even, let alone retiring to some mansion after they sell all of the crap games. What I imagine will happen is somebody with a huge surplus of expendable cash will buy the game and send it to the Angry Video Game Nerd to review. If it were not for the AVGN, I doubt this new chapter in the Cheetahmen *cough*saga would have ever come to light in the first place.

On a personal note: would you pay $5 for the game (no shipping charges, mind you), Parodius Duh!? You couldn't be too pissed at the people behind this if the price was reasonable. Sure, the game would still suck, but at $5 who cares?

[Parodius Duh!]

This person is an absolute scamming disgrace and should be barred from owning video games.

[Parodius Duh!]

Parodius Duh!, do you think many people will actually buy the new Cheetahmen video game at the ridiculous price that they want for it? I might be very wrong but I struggle to imagine the people behind this breaking even, let alone retiring to some mansion after they sell all of the crap games. What I imagine will happen is somebody with a huge surplus of expendable cash will buy the game and send it to the Angry Video Game Nerd to review. If it were not for the AVGN, I doubt this new chapter in the Cheetahmen *cough*saga would have ever come to light in the first place.

On a personal note: would you pay $5 for the game (no shipping charges, mind you), Parodius Duh!? You couldn't be too pissed at the people behind this if the price was reasonable. Sure, the game would still suck, but at $5 who cares?


The problem is the fact they are even attempting to get this much money for it. Its flat out bullshit and clearly they only care about their own personal wealth over making good contacts within this hobby and being respectful overall. They are flat out tossing a handful of dog shit into every NES collectors face by doing this.

and to answer your question, no I wouldnt even take this game for free. Its shit and I hate clutter. Only reason I would want a copy is so I can dump it and send it on over to thenesdump.com so they can release it for an actual "real" price.

[Kitsune Sniper]

Um... you know, everyone saying that it should be dumped and that repros should be made haven't realized something.

If these people really do own the rights to the game and the characters, then they can sue your ass and potentially send you to jail for making repros of it. This goes for everyone.

[Gameguy]

I don't know why but the original Action 52 has shot up in value, a loose cart now sells for around $150.00. This used to be a $40 game at most, I sold a complete copy for under $50 years ago. Why is it so expensive now?

http://item.ebay.com/260904431259
http://item.ebay.com/120447088442
http://item.ebay.com/290642994102
http://item.ebay.com/390356879690
http://item.ebay.com/120820755517
http://item.ebay.com/250950687146

I could go on, there's more listings like those.

[treismac]

I don't know why but the original Action 52 has shot up in value, a loose cart now sells for around $150.00. This used to be a $40 game at most, I sold a complete copy for under $50 years ago. Why is it so expensive now?

http://item.ebay.com/260904431259
http://item.ebay.com/120447088442
http://item.ebay.com/290642994102
http://item.ebay.com/390356879690
http://item.ebay.com/120820755517
http://item.ebay.com/250950687146

I could go on, there's more listings like those.

Good heavens, man. This baffles the heck out of me. I can understand emptying out a pocketful of change to own a game as infamously bad as this, but $150???

[tom]

Not bad for a bunch of homebrew games

[Drixxel]

I don't know why but the original Action 52 has shot up in value, a loose cart now sells for around $150.00. This used to be a $40 game at most, I sold a complete copy for under $50 years ago. Why is it so expensive now?

http://item.ebay.com/260904431259
http://item.ebay.com/120447088442
http://item.ebay.com/290642994102
http://item.ebay.com/390356879690
http://item.ebay.com/120820755517
http://item.ebay.com/250950687146

I could go on, there's more listings like those.

Those auctions are startling. It's hip to hate on Action 52, now more than ever. The rise in internet infamy that Action 52 has enjoyed since those two AVGN episodes and other "shitty game" coverage like them has probably convinced enough sellers that they're in possession of R@RE GAEM and people are silly enough to be buying without researching prices first.

I hate to repeat myself, but I think it's important to note that if the website is to be believed, then...

TWO INTENSE LEVELS OF CHEETAHMEN
AS YOU'VE NEVER SEEN THEM….

Unless that's some sort of Action 52 inside joke hinting at there being more levels, like the multiple stages referred to in-game as "Level 3", we're talking nothing more than the inclusion of two stages trimmed from the original Action 52 release. Collector craze aside, that's minutes of new gameplay costing hundreds of dollars. At least if you buy one of the hideously overpriced Action 52 carts from the sort of auctions Gameguy linked to, you're getting 51 other broken experiences for at least $50 cheaper.

[cheaterdragon1]

I remember that before the Action 52 AVGN reviews the NES Action 52 actually did run for $100. You could also get a sealed Genesis version for real cheap. Makes me wish I would've bought one.

And by 2 never before seen levels, I would think they mean the 5th & 6th levels of Cheetahmen 2. Even though those levels have been seen before.

[Zoe F]

And by 2 never before seen levels, I would think they mean the 5th & 6th levels of Cheetahmen 2. Even though those levels have been seen before.

It is my understanding that what's being sold is a game called "Action Gamer" that was present on a prototype of Action 52. Greg Pabich, the man who runs cheetahmengames.com, says that he was given a prototype of Action 52 by Active Enterprises' president Vince Perri. It's supposedly identical to Action 52 in all ways other than the presence of Action Gamer and the menu system having different graphics.

Theoretically that means that you're getting a different game. That said, it was something that Active Enterprises thought was so terrible that it was actually cut from Action 52. Imagine for a moment just how bad that game must be.

Images of Pabich's prototype can be found here: http://www.videogamemuseum.com/2010/06/03/nes-action-52-prototype-carts/

By the way, to my knowledge Pabich has never actually proven that Action Gamer exists. He has shown Action 52 menu shots with a different name listed in Cheetahmen's place. It's important to note that the menu is very, very simple to hack. If I remember correctly, it's actually in plain text inside the ROM. The official website doesn't feature any screenshots either.

I'm not saying it's a scam, but there are red flags.

[InsaneDavid]

Brute Force Collecting, especially on the NES, means that at least a few of these will be sold. Then there will be much slapping on the back and e-peen bragging among those who buy it.

[NerdXCrewWill]

Regardless of their inflated price, I must say the overall package shown in the picture on the front page actually looks pretty nice. I'd buy it if it were much, much cheaper.

[Gameguy]

I kind of wish I held onto the NES copies of Action 52 I had, I could have now traded them for copies of Earthbound, or Snatcher, or Keio Flying Squadrun, or Shining Force CD with both Lunar games, or Shantae, or Little Samson, etc.

[treismac]

I kind of wish I held onto the NES copies of Action 52 I had, I could have now traded them for copies of Earthbound, or Snatcher, or Keio Flying Squadrun, or Shining Force CD with both Lunar games, or Shantae, or Little Samson, etc.

When, where, and for how much money did you pick up Action 52, Gameguy? And, if you don't mind my asking, what was the reason for you wanting to own it?

[Gameguy]

When, where, and for how much money did you pick up Action 52, Gameguy? And, if you don't mind my asking, what was the reason for you wanting to own it?
I kept finding copies in the wild, I paid $10 for a loose one at some game store. The boxed one was missing the comic but otherwise complete, I forget exactly how much but it was less than $30. I thought I had another loose one but I guess I was wrong about that, I did pass on several loose ones that were priced higher(like $40-$50). Most of the others I saw in the wild/various gaming stores or I knew of other local collectors having copies. Even a few months back I saw someone trade in a copy to a local game store for $5 store credit, I kept my mouth shut but I wanted to offer more for it right then. To me it's not really that rare, it's harder to find some R4s or R5s than that title. I bought them maybe over 5-8 years ago though.

The first copy I bought was the boxed one, at the time I didn't know anything about it but I figured it was complete and there should have been at least a couple decent games on it. I was wrong about that and wished I didn't buy it. I didn't know it was rare at the time.

I still have one for the Genesis that I got in a large bundle, it's not worth as much as the NES one yet though. I also know of other local collectors in my area finding copies of this one cheap.

[goatdan]

Okay, so looking at this closer...

The person selling these does not in any way indicate that he or she owns the license for the original game. Therefore, I'm going to assume that on top of everything else, these are an illegal product.

Fascinating. What I think will happen is that they will sell a few dozen to people who are stupid, no one else will buy, so they'll start marking them down. People that bought earlier will be ticked, and they will get bad word of mouth. And, lo and behold, the game won't sell.

I could see $100 / $200 for this package *IF* they actually licensed the thing, but $200 / $500? Yeesh.

[treismac]

I could see $100 / $200 for this package *IF* they actually licensed the thing, but $200 / $500? Yeesh.

Licensed or unlicensed, as I stated earlier, I've got five on it.

[Gameguy]

10 years from now it will still be worth money, just like any out of print homebrew game that now sells for hundreds of dollars.

[treismac]

10 years from now it will still be worth money, just like any out of print homebrew game that now sells for hundreds of dollars.

I'm kinda curious. What homebrew game games that are out of print are worth a pretty penny these days? If the value of homebrew games always rises over their initial selling price over time, it would seem to be a good financial move for a homebrew developer to sit on a good half or so of the games they manufactured and sell them years later on eBay for twice the price. It might not be the most ethical business move (wait, is that an oxymoron?), but it would definitely be money in the bank.

[Gameguy]

Sudoku 2007 for NES comes to mind, it was sold for I believe $35 originally. I didn't bother buying it since it's just Sudoku and I'm not really into that but months later the game was selling for $200+ on ebay.

Beggar Prince;
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Beggar-Prince-Complete-Sega-Genesis-Megadrive-/130570766794

Legend of Wukong;
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Legend-Wukong-RARE-RPG-SEGA-Genesis-/200658202615

Pier Solar(this is a used reprint copy, originals sold for more);
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pier-Solar-Reprint-Edition-Sega-Genesis-RPG-/140652907443?pt=Video_Games_Games&hash=item20bf910bb3

Any of the Vectrex homebrews, I can't find any listed lately but one sold for over $1000 a couple years ago.

When has a homebrew game ever been worth less than the original selling price? Or at least become entirely worthless years later if it's an unknown title?

[mrmark0673]

Don't confuse Beggar Prince and Wukong with homebrew titles, they're just translations of existing titles. Very different from what Team Watermelon did with Pier Solar and Al Bailey did with Sodoku.

And yeah, $500 is fucking stupid. For say, $50, I may pick up a copy for the novelty factor, but even that is a stretch.

[Parodius Duh!]

sorry to run off track, mark did you get my last PM?

[Jorpho]

The person selling these does not in any way indicate that he or she owns the license for the original game. Therefore, I'm going to assume that on top of everything else, these are an illegal product.I don't know about that. It doesn't seem out of the question that he might have gotten permission somehow.

[Parodius Duh!]

I don't know about that. It doesn't seem out of the question that he might have gotten permission somehow.

Then it would be ideal to mention it and I believe most people would want to seeing as how it would be a better selling point "NEW OFFICIAL RELEASE" is all it takes to sell a shit ton of these. Unfortunately they are reproductions that are not licensed and cost an insane amount of money, I could buy 7-8 nes repros for $199 from thenesdump. Or you could buy the same shitty Cheetahman game thats always been around with 2 extra shitty unfinished levels. hmmmmm..

[goatdan]

Then it would be ideal to mention it and I believe most people would want to seeing as how it would be a better selling point "NEW OFFICIAL RELEASE" is all it takes to sell a shit ton of these. Unfortunately they are reproductions that are not licensed and cost an insane amount of money, I could buy 7-8 nes repros for $199 from thenesdump. Or you could buy the same shitty Cheetahman game thats always been around with 2 extra shitty unfinished levels. hmmmmm..

Yeah, exactly -- if you're legit, you run that up the flagpole to get people to think this isn't just a random proto release, but a real legit release. You might even get someone to dump $500 on it then.

Either the people running this are stupid, or it is unlicensed. Or both, I guess.

[Gameguy]

Don't confuse Beggar Prince and Wukong with homebrew titles, they're just translations of existing titles. Very different from what Team Watermelon did with Pier Solar and Al Bailey did with Sodoku.
It's true they're not exactly homebrew games from scratch, but they feel more like homebrew/indie releases than anything else. They translated the text themselves and fixed the game code up(fixed bugs) so they aren't just re-releasing games as is, and the games are being sold the same way as homebrew releases with distribution methods and limited production runs. It seems different than most unlicensed companies that made games back when the systems were current.



In any case this new site could be legit. Right at the bottom it seems to indicate that the site is owned by Active Enterprises. As far as I know the company didn't actually go bankrupt back then, they just stopped making games.


CHEETAHMENGAMES.COM // COPYRIGHT (C) ACTIVE ENTERPRISES, LLC 2010,2011

[mrmark0673]

Parodius: My bad, PM replied.


It's true they're not exactly homebrew games from scratch, but they feel more like homebrew/indie releases than anything else. They translated the text themselves and fixed the game code up(fixed bugs) so they aren't just re-releasing games as is, and the games are being sold the same way as homebrew releases with distribution methods and limited production runs. It seems different than most unlicensed companies that made games back when the systems were current.

Comparing a 6+ year long homebrew project like Pier Solar to what what Super Fighter Team has done with Beggar Prince and Wukong is silly. Those SFT games, although licensed/translated/altered, are regionalized reproductions. What they do and what say, RetroUSB does, varies only by their ability to obtain a license for the product they sell.

Anyway, on topic, if this is simply a found proto and the person producing the game has no rights to the actual product, the price tag is even ,ore ridiculous than I first thought.

[djshok]

LoL $500 for a repro of a crappy game that no one really wants to play. Those guys need to rethink their marketing strategy. Even in a collector's market where people pay outrageous prices for rare items, this is stupid. It's a F-ing repro, it really shouldn't cost more than $30. Especially for the NES, maybe with a nice manual and box I could see it going for $60. But $500, that's just trollin'. If this actually goes through they'll probably sell one or 2 copies to some poor schmuck and that'll be the end of it.

But seriously, what an asinine idea this is. It honestly doesn't look like it's even legit to be honest. Probably just someone being a dumbass on the internet again because they have too much time on their hands.

[XYXZYZ]

"RUMOR HAS IS THAT GIRLS GET NAKED FOR ONE OF THE INCREDIBLE CHEETAHMEN T-SHIRTS..."

-VINCE

....Fo real-realz?

[treismac]

"RUMOR HAS IS THAT GIRLS GET NAKED FOR ONE OF THE INCREDIBLE CHEETAHMEN T-SHIRTS..."

-VINCE



....Fo real-realz?

If this shirt did indeed have such magical powers, $500 would not be too steep of a price, providing you didn't have to actually play the video game to make the shirt work.

[goatdan]

In any case this new site could be legit. Right at the bottom it seems to indicate that the site is owned by Active Enterprises. As far as I know the company didn't actually go bankrupt back then, they just stopped making games.

If it is legit, again, why don't they trumpet that fact like crazy? I think this would be way more interesting if they had the actual next Cheetahmen comic, or whatever. It's still a stupid price, but it doesn't sound at all legit to me.

Anyone can write copyright at the bottom of a page. The question is, is it *really* copyright by that company? Again, if it was me, I'd paste it all over the known world that, "After seeing this abandoned game get so much attention, we have decided to release the follow up that never saw the light of day!"

It isn't presented at *all* like that. Really makes me wonder.

[jb143]

If it is legit, again, why don't they trumpet that fact like crazy?

That can go both ways. Anyone can type that into a website as well. I would think repeatedly pointing out "yup, we own the rights, honest" would be even more suspicious.

But anyways, a who is domain search just returns this...


Registrant:
ACTIVE ENTERPRISES LLC

Registered through: GoDaddy.com, LLC (http://www.godaddy.com)
Domain Name: CHEETAHMENGAMES.COM

Domain servers in listed order:
NS1.MDNSSERVICE.COM
NS2.MDNSSERVICE.COM
NS3.MDNSSERVICE.COM
Not much to go on. There is usually more info than that.

[Gameguy]

I sent an email to the guy and am waiting to hear back, if I don't hear back I'll assume it's not legit.

[rbudrick]

Looks like they bought Bunnyboy's NES game shells.

I wonder if he dumped the proto for them. I know, Bunny, you're probably sworn to secrecy. ;)

-Rob

[Gameguy]

I sent an email to the guy and am waiting to hear back, if I don't hear back I'll assume it's not legit.
I never heard back from the guy so I'll assume it's either not legit or their customer service is non-existent, or a combination of both. Either way it's not the type of site anyone should risk hundreds of dollars on.

[Snapple]

Maybe instead of a scam, it's just a joke.

[rbudrick]

Maybe instead of a scam, it's just a joke.

Hmm, for a joke, the paypal links to take your money are real enough.

-Rob

[Snapple]

I think there was a Calvin & Hobbes strip where Calvin tried to sell a glass of lemonade for $100. And Suzie told him nobody would buy it at that price. And Calvin was like, "I only need to sell one."

[Lilfut]

I am suspicious that no one has dumped this yet.

I have emailed the guy about other stuff (mainly related to a book I'm doing on the history of unlicensed gaming) and gotten a response, so I'm pretty sure he's at least semi-legit.

[Gameguy]

I have emailed the guy about other stuff (mainly related to a book I'm doing on the history of unlicensed gaming) and gotten a response, so I'm pretty sure he's at least semi-legit.
I never got a response from this guy at all so he doesn't have the rights to these games, he's just selling repros for way too much money. I said in my email that I was asking because a bunch of people on a forum were curious before purchasing, if he ignored my email it has to be because it's not legit and he doesn't want to admit it.

[Lilfut]

I have emailed him as part of the thread we had already done. I simply asked for some in-game shots of Action Gamer, since if it's real I might purchase it for research purposes on my book. I really want to believe this is real.

[Jorpho]

I never got a response from this guy at all so he doesn't have the rights to these games, he's just selling repros for way too much money. I said in my email that I was asking because a bunch of people on a forum were curious before purchasing, if he ignored my email it has to be because it's not legit and he doesn't want to admit it.That's jumping to conclusions a bit, isn't it? Maybe he never read your message, or planned to get around to replying and never did, or didn't care for your tone, or feels that the answer is already obvious from the website, or has already answered so many other similar messages that he didn't feel like replying to another one, or misunderstood your query, or who knows what other reasons.

"Has to be"? Nuts to that. If people are jumping to conclusions so easily in online transactions these days, I ought to stay clear of them entirely.

[Lilfut]

This is why I feel my email will be more useful. This is part of a thread we've had for some time, and I made certain to be as polite as possible.

[Gameguy]

That's jumping to conclusions a bit, isn't it? Maybe he never read your message, or planned to get around to replying and never did, or didn't care for your tone, or feels that the answer is already obvious from the website, or has already answered so many other similar messages that he didn't feel like replying to another one, or misunderstood your query, or who knows what other reasons.

"Has to be"? Nuts to that. If people are jumping to conclusions so easily in online transactions these days, I ought to stay clear of them entirely.
It's been almost a month since I've sent an email, if a business can't reply back in that time I wouldn't trust a $500 purchase with them. Best case scenario is that they're just inept or incompetent, I still wouldn't do business with a company like that. I was very polite with my wording so that shouldn't have rubbed anyone the wrong way, I used the response form from their website so if it didn't go through it's still their fault. Do they not expect people to ask any questions before purchasing a $500 item that just appeared recently out of nowhere with very little background information?

In any case I just read the link provided in the other Cheetahmen thread here and it pretty much answered any questions about this. Some guy was thinking about buying a bunch of Action 52 carts back in the 90's, he met with this Vince guy from Active Enterprises who gave him this prototype as a sample when asked for it. This guy never bought any copies of Action 52 but held onto the prototype, now he's selling copies of this prototype without any permission from whoever owns the rights to it. If he did this right after receiving the prototype in the early 90's it would be pure piracy, should anyone who's been given a review copy of a game be able to make repros of it for hundreds of dollars?

[Jorpho]

Best case scenario is that they're just inept or incompetent, I still wouldn't do business with a company like that. I was very polite with my wording so that shouldn't have rubbed anyone the wrong way, I used the response form from their website so if it didn't go through it's still their fault.There, that's much more reasonable than it "has to be because it's not legit". Hanlon's Razor (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanlon's_razor): Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.


Some guy was thinking about buying a bunch of Action 52 carts back in the 90's, he met with this Vince guy from Active Enterprises who gave him this prototype as a sample when asked for it. This guy never bought any copies of Action 52 but held onto the prototype, now he's selling copies of this prototype without any permission from whoever owns the rights to it.Dude! That's a reasonable theory, but you can't just plunk down on some solid conclusion regarding whether this is in fact the same guy and the same prototype or whether he has or has not had any communication with whoever owns the rights to it.

[Lilfut]

Okay, I got a reply. First, my email.

So I was asking around some forums for info about the project, and it was brought up that the cart might be a fake. I want to think otherwise, but, just to be sure, do you think you could show some in-game shots of Action Gamer, to prove there's something real there?
Incidentally, if this proof surfaces, I might consider buying the cart for research purposes.
Then, his reply...

Did you read any of the links I included in my earlier replies to you that DETAIL the whole story? Please read the articles, then if there are questions, it might be more appropriate to ask

There are in game shots on the game box that show on the various photo's on the website……………. and on the three articles published on the VideoGameMuseum blog

The cart might be a fake??? ……a fake what?

HOW ABOUT YOU? WHAT ARE YOUR BONAFIDES? …..as an author
Note that there was also some odd use of bold, underline, italics, and redtext, but I don't feel like going to the trouble of formatting all that.
I'm honestly not sure how to proceed from here.

[Gameguy]

Dude! That's a reasonable theory, but you can't just plunk down on some solid conclusion regarding whether this is in fact the same guy and the same prototype or whether he has or has not had any communication with whoever owns the rights to it.
According to Lilfut's post this guy selling the repros has mentioned to refer to the various articles on the same site that I was refering to, why would he do this if it was a different guy with a different prototype? Are there any more doubts whether this is the same guy or prototype? The links detail the whole story as him just walking off with a copy of the game that was meant to be a sample/review copy as he was interested in buying Action 52.


Okay, I got a reply. First, my email.

Then, his reply...

Note that there was also some odd use of bold, underline, italics, and redtext, but I don't feel like going to the trouble of formatting all that.
I'm honestly not sure how to proceed from here.
Just spread the word to various forums so nobody would bother buying this bootleg crap, it's like he thinks we should be grateful to pay $500 for a piece of shit game that he's bootlegging without permission. You could write back and explain that instead of fake you meant made without obtaining permission from the rights holders, ask if he got the proper rights to redistribute the game. At least make it official by asking. If anyone does buy this game, I hope it gets dumped so other people could repro it instead.

[MachineGex]

........You could write back and explain that instead of fake you meant made without obtaining permission from the rights holders, ask if he got the proper rights to redistribute the game. At least make it official by asking.......


Yeah, I agree. If you are an author, using the correct terminology is important in order for people to take you serious.

[Ryaan1234]

Did you read any of the links I included in my earlier replies to you that DETAIL the whole story? Please read the articles, then if there are questions, it might be more appropriate to ask

There are in game shots on the game box that show on the various photo's on the website……………. and on the three articles published on the VideoGameMuseum blog

The cart might be a fake??? ……a fake what?

HOW ABOUT YOU? WHAT ARE YOUR BONAFIDES? …..as an author
In a sudden and dramatic twist it is revealed that Paul Christoforo is the owner of cheetahmengames.com LOL

Anyway, I thought Active Enterprises gave up the copyright/trademark/whatever for Cheetahmen when they went out of business. If they didn't then who does own those rights today? Maybe Digital Press's resident copyright lawyer, Bojay, can give us a hand in figuring this out.

[Jorpho]

Okay, I got a reply. First, my email.

Then, his reply...His claims that he replied to you before give some credence to the notion that his communication may be somewhat lacking. Or did he actually reply to you before?

[GLP]

This is Greg Pabich, owner of CHEETAHMENGAMES.COM.

CHEETAHMEN:THE CREATION is a never before released game, developed by Mario G. at Active Enterprises back in the early 90's. It was designed to be the 52nd game on the Action 52 cart and was called "Action Gamer"(CHEETAHMEN 1). Shortly after Mario finished it, Vince Perri decided he wanted to develop a franchise like "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" complete with Saturday morning cartoons, Action figures T-Shirts and more, so he had the game developers do a new Cheetahman 1 game that had more characters, villains and an expanded storyline, a comic book, etc, etc.
It then replaced the previously deleloped "Action Gamer" version of CHEETAHMEN 1 on the cart . All copies of the "Action Gamer" were lost except I had a sole surviving copy that Vince had given me when I visited him in Florida.

The story continued with the later discovery of CHEETAHMEN II in a Florida warehouse. All bought for a $1; now sells routinely on Ebay for $1,500 each.

I have since acquired various trademarks, copyrights, memorabilia , hired Mario etc, etc to produce a host of Action 52 and CHEETAHMEN items allowing me to release the LOST CHEETAHMEN 1 (ACTION GAMER) game I had stored away for the last 20 years. In no way was this game release ever intended to be anything more than a COLLECTOR Edition/release. The original Action 52 and later CHEETAHMEN II are not being bought today at $200-$400 and $1,500 respectively because ANYONE thinks they are going to be GREAT games- THEY ARE ONLY COLLECTOR CARTS NO MORE, NO LESS and they allow you to be a part of one of the strangest stories in the NES game world. Same exact story for CHEETAHMEN: THE CREATION ( to date 93 sets and 77 individual games have been purchased by collectors and people who just love the whole CHEETAHMEN story as I do.......) and did you see the GREAT T-shirts? A young lady in France, who loves the CHEETAHMEN painted the artwork, It turned out so well that I am having her do more art for a complete line of just T-shirts as people have been clamoring to buy more T-shirts than the limited number I had made to accompany the collector sets ( I won't sell the collector set T-shirt versions seperately)

And for those rabid posters on the Forum who think I am stealing their allowance money, not one of them knows enough about business to realize that this was a $200,000 project before the FIRST cart rolled off the production line. Then there is the continuing advertising campaign, costs for attending game shows, store sales commissions, PayPal charges and Google support..... so it is unlikely that I am going to pay for my mansion from those unseemly profits!!

A GOOD SOURCE OF INFO IS:

http://www.videogamemuseum.com/2010/...t-vince-perri/

http://www.videogamemuseum.com/2010/...ototype-carts/

http://www.videogamemuseum.com/2010/...the-action-52/

http://www.videogamemuseum.com/2011/...etahmen-fever/

ALSO

I am going to post much more info over the course of the next several months on the cheetahmengames.com website.

Enjoy the story as it unfolds!!

[InsaneDavid]

A GOOD SOURCE OF INFO IS:

http://www.videogamemuseum.com/2010/...t-vince-perri/

http://www.videogamemuseum.com/2010/...ototype-carts/

http://www.videogamemuseum.com/2010/...the-action-52/

http://www.videogamemuseum.com/2011/...etahmen-fever/

ALSO

I am going to post much more info over the course of the next several months on the cheetahmengames.com website.

Enjoy the story as it unfolds!!

Links that go nowhere are AWESOME.

[Zoe F]

These are the links he was looking for:

http://www.videogamemuseum.com/2010/06/17/whats-rarer-a-prototype-action-52-cart-or-a-person-who-met-vince-perri/

http://www.videogamemuseum.com/2010/06/03/nes-action-52-prototype-carts/

http://www.videogamemuseum.com/2010/06/24/the-evolution-of-the-action-52/

http://www.videogamemuseum.com/2011/10/21/cheetahmen-fever/

[Gameguy]

Links that go nowhere are AWESOME.
It's the same quality as the game he's selling and customer service his company provides, this man clearly knows how to run a business just like the Active Enterprises of old! At least it seems he owns the rights to the game, I guess it's not a bootleg after all. Maybe I should try to buy the rights to a game too, I'm thinking Awesome Possum is just waiting for a comeback. LOL

[GLP]

These are the links he was looking for:

http://www.videogamemuseum.com/2010/06/17/whats-rarer-a-prototype-action-52-cart-or-a-person-who-met-vince-perri/

http://www.videogamemuseum.com/2010/06/03/nes-action-52-prototype-carts/

http://www.videogamemuseum.com/2010/06/24/the-evolution-of-the-action-52/

http://www.videogamemuseum.com/2011/10/21/cheetahmen-fever/

THANKS, must have had a brain freeze when I hit the copy/paste
Greg

[The Shawn]

I must say that the fourth link is a very interesting read.

[GLP]

It's been almost a month since I've sent an email, if a business can't reply back in that time I wouldn't trust a $500 purchase with them. Best case scenario is that they're just inept or incompetent, I still wouldn't do business with a company like that. I was very polite with my wording so that shouldn't have rubbed anyone the wrong way, I used the response form from their website so if it didn't go through it's still their fault. Do they not expect people to ask any questions before purchasing a $500 item that just appeared recently out of nowhere with very little background information?

In any case I just read the link provided in the other Cheetahmen thread here and it pretty much answered any questions about this. Some guy was thinking about buying a bunch of Action 52 carts back in the 90's, he met with this Vince guy from Active Enterprises who gave him this prototype as a sample when asked for it. This guy never bought any copies of Action 52 but held onto the prototype, now he's selling copies of this prototype without any permission from whoever owns the rights to it. If he did this right after receiving the prototype in the early 90's it would be pure piracy, should anyone who's been given a review copy of a game be able to make repros of it for hundreds of dollars?

I won't bore you with the details, but as I am sure you must know there are indeed always bugs that have to be worked out in setting up new websites. You unfortunately became a victim of one as the service suddenly started routing SOME inquiries to my personal email instead of the messaging address we had been using. Combine that with your message arriving on the day I flew to Quebec for two weeks over Christmas and then receiving your followup under a different Name/Email address and there you go....lost in message hell. I had thought that the website had complete info, but if you have any additional questions after seeing my earlier posting on the Forum, I would be happy to answer them. I seldom am on Forums though, so email works best.

Thanks for your interest
Greg

[GLP]

His claims that he replied to you before give some credence to the notion that his communication may be somewhat lacking. Or did he actually reply to you before?

I had an multiple email correspondence with lilfut throughout the month of December, although I now see it might have been accomplished for other purposes than was stated in his exchanges with me......

[BeaglePuss]

this was a $200,000 project before the FIRST cart rolled off the production line.

If this statement is true, you must literally be the world's worst businessman.

[MachineGex]

I must say that the fourth link is a very interesting read.

I agree! The guy knows how to work hard, make money and run businesses. Not sure on this one, but he seems like an interesting fellow!