Check out this almost $8000 ultimate II system

[pcdoctor]

Way overpriced!
I'm interested to see if anyone bids on it.
At this price you could almost have three systems from Dream Authentics.
Even Hanaho and Slikstik don't charge this much and they are well known!



http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=13716&item=6107352478&rd=1
(Link fixed by Moderator)

[Sylentwulf]

Awww, cmon. It's over TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS OFF THE RETAIL PRICE!

Of course, what retail price, who knows. Ask him if he paid $9,995 for it, heh. Or report him for copyrioght infringement on the donkey kong picture, lol.

[spystyle]

I love how every multi-thousand dollar franken cab selling on Ebay always has a game pictured that runs fine on a 486 :)

[Tahnok]

Or report him for copyrioght infringement on the donkey kong picture

...Or the Ms Pac-Man running on the screen.

It is a nice machine. But hardly worth what is being asked for it. And I just noticed that there is no coin door. I would have thought that will all the other features that a coin door would be standard.

[Magnet_Eye]

Just plug it in, flick on the power switch, and a customized games menu appears on screen. Simply scroll through the games list with the joystick, select your game, push the start button, and start playing your favorite game! You may pause or exit the current game at any time and return to the games list with the push of a button.

and apparently is comes loaded with MAME,  and someones Front End. This guy should be shut down!

[pcdoctor]

Strange thing that I noticed is that it doesn't state what kind of pc is inside.

[pocketbikez]

the cab shape is identical to snaakes mamecast...

http://www.freewebs.com/snaaake/intro.html

anyone know who was the originator of that cab design? i see a lot like these lately.

[Pilot143]

Heres the way my mind works... lets all get together, build exact copies of his (w/o legal violations etc) and sell it for 1/2 of his price!  we'll still make a killing!

PS- for $400 less he has a 2 player version (with the same pic)

[pcdoctor]

I think the Ultimate II cabinet is from www.mameroom.com but I think Dream Authentics is the originator.
Don't quote me on this though.

http://www.cybertechdesign.net/mameroom/uaIIkit_info.asp

http://www.dreamauthentics.com/index_ultraquad.htm

[telengard]

Has anyone *ever* bought one of these?  That has to be the biggest ripoff I've ever seen.    

[Generic Eric]

Ya'll don't recognize this yet?

Someone posted, one or two threads about this in the artwork subforum...don't remember the user name though...

It looks like Helios is the builder/seller, well at least of the Marquee.  I posted the results of my search for "time machine" from the artwork sub forum below.

I wonder if there is a chance that Madman and helios are the same person...

Madman has 48 posts... Last post in May of this year

http://www.arcadecontrols.org/yabbse/index.php?board=13;action=display;threadid=18305;start=msg145395#msg145395

Of course i will pay!  
Anyone up for it?

I need a marquee and sideart designed

[Nannuu]

I remember when he made that.  Nice job.

You can also get it here for only $7495.
http://www.americansupersports.com/Time_Machine.html
And as a bonus you can pay a small fee of $975 for a one player DDR pad option.  What a steal.

If you are going to pay that much for a cabinet I really really really expect the trackball plate to be recessed below the laminate.

[independentthread]

This sort of thing happens all the time on e-bay.  People steal an idea that not everyone has heard of  or can do and try to sell it for a$$loads of cash as a new and great idea.  I suppose if it comes with enough roms, then yes, it might cost that much because you'll normally have to pay the companies who made them a hefty sum in order to sell illegal copies of their games...My biggest problem is this quote in the ad:

"Plays Over 8000 Arcade Games: Only the Time Machine is capable of playing so many games and is completely expandable. By far the most complete video game system available anywhere!"

I have a GeForce 4 video card and a 1400 mhz Duron in mine, which is enough to play quite a few computer games on top of all the arcade roms out there...not to mention that if I wanted to, there are plenty of other systems with plenty of other roms out there...So beings how I'm running Windows 98, which allows for a full install of Dos...I'm pretty sure that my system could probably run more than the stated 8000 games.

[SideShow Rob]

My God....some people have no shame, do they!!??

Lets see where the money has gone...

Mameroom Ultimate Arcade II Cabinet = $390.00
WG D9200 27" monitor                      = $485.00
Act-Lab PC LightGun                           = $40.00
SlikStick Quad control panel                = $695.00

Thats $1610. Lets say a more than generous $200 for the artwork, $100 for the Creative Lab speakers, $40 for the powerstrip...thats

[pcdoctor]

It doesn't even say what kind of cpu, windows version etc.
Too scary for me.
I'd like to see one of you guys find this company in FL (somone who lives in FL) and approach the guy in person.
After that, show him some other much lesser systems via hardcopy or the net.
I'd bet he'd poo poo or do do.

I really hope no one bids/buy the cabinets that he's selling.
I'm going to keep a watch on this one.
Anyone who buys it and finds out that he or she can save $6000 will have to be admited to the hospital.

[pcdoctor]

So are you saying that Helios is the creator of the "Time Machine" marquee?
!@#$ - That's downright dirty!

[Generic Eric]

So are you saying that Helios is the creator of the "Time Machine" marquee?
!@#$ - That's downright dirty!

Well, um ya.  But who is dirty?

The funny thing is that I have seen the price increase over time.  I think that it started out at $4995 and has went up to $8XXX over time.  

I guess its one of those deals, if it doesn't sell cheap, mark it way up....who knows?

[OSCAR]

http://www.ironicreations.com is the manufacturer of these cabs, but I think they only sell through distributors.  Perhaps the distributors are adding a significant markup to the sell price, I have no idea?  But I do know that Ironicreations sells a *lot* of these cabs.

[Generic Eric]

Perhaps the distributors are adding a significant markup to the sell price, I have no idea?  But I do know that Ironicreations sells a *lot* of these cabs.

8 large is one heck of a mark up eh?
I am in the wrong buisness

[8bit]

I wonder if anyone has purchased one.  

[menace]

If someone spends that kind of coin without doing research they DESERVE to be ripped off.  A google search can turn up all sorts of info in a matter of moments--I think he's just hoping there is one sucker out there--cause at that price--that's all you need

[sfetaz]

While its still a rip off, no one has noticed its free shipping.  Still overpriced though.

[Danny R]

Not only did they probably steal "The Time Machine" marquee, but notice in the picture how they chopped off the top and bottom, ruining a really good piece of artwork.

[pcdoctor]

The company that selling it is dirty.
Just a figure of speech (I guess)
I'd probably faint if I created a marquee and saw it being sold on ebay on an $8000 cabinet.

So are you saying that Helios is the creator of the "Time Machine" marquee?
!@#$ - That's downright dirty!

Well, um ya.  But who is dirty?

The funny thing is that I have seen the price increase over time.  I think that it started out at $4995 and has went up to $8XXX over time.  

I guess its one of those deals, if it doesn't sell cheap, mark it way up....who knows?

[Gildersneeze]

Perhaps the distributors are adding a significant markup to the sell price, I have no idea?  But I do know that Ironicreations sells a *lot* of these cabs.

8 large is one heck of a mark up eh?
I am in the wrong buisness

Yeah, really.  I was considering, if my cabinet goes smoothly and gets decent response from friends, building them as a side job for a VERY SMALL markup (and of course, with no ROMs on the harddrive).  If people are willing to pay this much, I could likely retire after a decent year of sales!  

[patrickl]

I never understood how people/companies could sell cabs like that for more than $2500 or maybe $3000 (i'd say it's value is at most $2000 so add $1000 markup and more than that is just crazy) But then there are several companies selling cabs like this for up to $5000. Who on earth buys stuff like that? Of course this one (at $8000) is even more ludicrous, but I think all the prices of the prefab cabs are way outrageous too.

If you don't have the time to build one yourself, take the project arcade book to a carpenter and let them put together the cab. Put a computer in it and you're all set.

[FractalWalk]

I never understood how people/companies could sell cabs like that for more than $2500 or maybe $3000

I'm not saying that $8,000 is a fair price, but I think you guys are discounting the cost of investment (e.g. labor, tools, capital outlays etc.) way too much. I can't see how anybody could sell a cabinet like that for less than $3-4k and hope to make any money as an ongoing business.

[Sylentwulf]

I never understood how people/companies could sell cabs like that for more than $2500 or maybe $3000

I'm not saying that $8,000 is a fair price, but I think you guys are discounting the cost of investment (e.g. labor, tools, capital outlays etc.) way too much. I can't see how anybody could sell a cabinet like that for less than $3-4k and hope to make any money as an ongoing business.

Because people DO sell them for less than $3-$4K and make a decent amount of money at it in an ongoing business.

[BLACK KNIGHT]

That is psychotically overpriced.  I can't imagine people would buy something like that.  It's totally ridiculous!!

[pcdoctor]

Hey guys at $8000 per cabinet.
I'd be willing to take a class to learn woodworking and start making my own Ms. Pacman cabinets.

[patrickl]

If you get that much money for a cab, why bother learning woodworking. I got a quote for $500 for getting my cab built. If I wasn't doing this for a hobby I'd sure take them up on that quote (or at least get more quotes to find something cheaper).

[Gildersneeze]

If you get that much money for a cab, why bother learning woodworking. I got a quote for $500 for getting my cab built. If I wasn't doing this for a hobby I'd sure take them up on that quote (or at least get more quotes to find something cheaper).

Is that $500 with the hardware and paint, or just the wood?  Because that's one hell of a markup too.  Three sheets of 3/4" MDF is about $50 - $75 depending on where you get it, and you can usually find a friend or a friend's parents (or your own parents!) with most of the tools you need.  The cabinet itself is about a weekend's worth of work, and the control panel is about three days (for a solo act without a full woodshop/paintshop).

Considering the woodshop would already have all the tools necessary (and if they're charging that much for just an arcade cabinet, those tools are paid for, easy), figuring about $5.00 for screws and glue, and the discount they probably get on the materials, even adding stuff like hinges and marquee mounts you're only looking at around $125 at WORST for supplies (their cost).  That's leaving $375 for labor.  Divided by about five working days, you'd be tossing in an extra $75 per day to have the cab built.

I realize what your point was, this was more for my own figures, but jeez, $500 seems like a real rip-off for what would mostly be a lot of straight cuts with a jigsaw/circular saw and a bit of screwin' and gluin'.

[SNAAAKE]

madman is not the same as the ebay guy,I did another different looking "time machine" marquee for him.As for this cabinet,his control panel looks retarded.Its just plain black and its FLAT
Its supposed to be SLANTED cuz that effects a lot for fighting games.Its really hard to play on a flat panel.If I were to pay 8 Gs for a cab then I would atleast want a nice panel or something.

Maybe I sould start building a LOT BETTER looking cabs and sell for 4 Gs a piece(I can build 1 every month and thats over $2000 profit right there).

[etumor]

There's a guy locally that I met over on the Dragon's Lair Project.  He wanted to know how you convert a DL to a Daphne cab.  It turned out he works a couple of blocks from me, so I started talking to him on the phone.

About a week later, he finds this "Time Machine" cabinet on eBay for $5000, and calls me to ask my opinion.  I spoke with him at length, both on the phone and via email, telling him that it was horribly over-priced, and definitely illegal.  He ended up talking to the guy that was selling it on the phone, and the guy was a real smooth talker, and talked him into buying it, over my objections.  Fed him a real line about how this cabinet was so much better than any other MAME cab, and how they had "solved" the problems that most MAME cabs have.  It was total BS.

The thing is, this same guy bought a Dragon's Lair for $3000 -- horribly overpriced, and worse still, I'm 90% sure it's a reproduction, not an original.  He's got a bunch of other games, and he paid unbelievable amounts for all of them.  In my dealings with him, I've learned that he barely knows how to turn on a computer, so he doesn't care how much he has to pay for something, as long as he doesn't have to work on it himself.  So apparently he doesn't mind paying through the nose for one of these -- mostly because he doesn't know any better.

What follows is an email from the guy selling these "Time Machine" cabinets.  The ebay auction is slightly ambigious about whether or not he actually includes the roms.  His emails (I have several from him listing every rom he includes) leave no doubt that he is breaking the law.

> Thanks for your email and for your interest in The
> Time Machine. I will email you the gamelists I have in
> text form. I have not updated the lists for awhile, so
> the machine actually has many more games than you will
> see on these lists. But the lists do comprise several
> thousand titles, I'm sure you will be more than
> satisfied. The control panel on our machine is
> detachable and ships already detached. The cabinet is
> then only 28" wide and will easily fit through a door
> or hallway.
>
> The Time Machine comes with nearly every coin-op
> arcade game ever manufactured. From 1976 Computer
> Space(the first video game), all your favorite 80's
> classics(Pac-Man, Galaga, Asteroids,...), modern day
> gun games(Area 51, Lethal Enforcers,...), fighting
> games(Mortal Kombat, Tekken,...), even the latest
> driving games and Golden Tee Golf!
>
> The Time Machine also has all the popular laserdisc
> games from the 80's such as Dragon's Lair and Space
> Ace. And if that is not enough, it also plays home
> console games. It currently includes all the games
> ever manufactured for the Nintendo(NES), Super
> Nintendo System, the Sega Genesis System, the Nintendo
> 64, SegaCD, with more to come soon. The machine is
> easily upgraded with new games and systems.  We will
> soon be adding all the games ever released for the
> Atari 2600, Playstation and Xbox and other home
> systems.
>
> As an optional upgrade, we offer the Stepmania Dance
> Pads. The Time Machine has seamlessly integrated this
> technology to allow you to play Dance Dance
> Revolution, Pump It Up, and other dancing games. We
> use the same commercial grade, all steel dancepads
> used on the original machines. But with the original
> machines, you'd spend over $10,000 for about 40 songs.
> The Time Machine includes every version of every game,
> over 1200 songs.  Cost to add the one player system is
> $500. Or, upgrade to the two player system for $950.
>
> You can pause any game at any time, and you can even
> create a custom "favorites" list of your top games.
> If you are seriously considering a purchase, you are
> going to think of more questions. So our best course
> of action would be to talk on the phone.  You should
> know that we are close to signing an agreement with a
> large corporation who will become the exclusive
> distributor for our machines. Unfortunately, they
> intend to sell each unit for $7,995. So if you are in
> a position to make a purchase, you will want to call
> right away as the machine will not be available at the
> $4,795 price much longe.  You are welcome to call me
> any day of the week from 10am-10pm, or get me your
> number and I will call you.
>
> Regards,
> Andrew Culpovich
> High Score Amusements
> Tel. 207-712-3959

I personally am pretty disgusted by this, but they're actually selling these things, so that gives you some idea of how easy it is to rip people off.

-Jeff "etumor"

[independentthread]

Whoever makes these things should go into politics.  I know the people who run the city I live in a crooks, so why not this guy too?  But think about it people, there is a reason why this guy is selling them for so much.  He's covering his future legal expenses should he ever get caught for selling roms from every system available.
And as far as the comment about free shipping...if I were to pay upside of 6000 bucks more than the system was worth, you better show up at my door and............
Nah, I won't finish that statement.  But I think you know where I was going with it.

[menace]

has anyone suggested to the original creator of the marquee that this is here (if it is in fact not him selling)  he could get it pulled very easily...  I hate a scammer...

[Truecade]

I agree that what this person is doing is wrong, BUT...

If he didn't include and ROMs....
If he created all his own artwork....
And if he was upfront and honent with his advertising (like what kind of computer is in it)....

... then I don't see anything wrong with asking $8000 for a cabinet.   If there is no pirated software (ROMS, artwork, etc) and the item discreption is honest, then all the more power to someone who can sell a MAME cabinet for $8K.  

I would love to be able to sell my own no-ROM, original artwork, P4 computer, UAII cabinet for over $4K, let alone $8K.  

[Jakedakat]

Wow! It blows me away that someone would attempt to sell a cabinet for that much. I have no problem with people selling pre made mame cabinets, I mean I even thought of it myself a few years ago. But to try and sell one that is 2 or 3 times the price of the competitions is pretty funny. It isnt suprising that there are no bids on it. I like how there is a financing option through PayPal I am sort of suprised how Ebay hasn't pulled this auction, since it sort of hints that roms will be included with it. Oh well I just had to comment on it.

Rob

[danny_galaga]

any commodity is worth what someone will pay for it. if i sell an ounce of gold for $1, its worth one dollar. but more than likely i will sell it for the market value, which is a tad higher. market values are precedents, if people arent willing to pay the current value they hold back. eventually the seller brings the price down to suit. thus the price of gold, pork bellies or any commodity goes up and down with what the market feels it is worth.
if someone pays $7895 for this machine. that is what it is worth. like commodities though, it is more likely that prospective buyers will hold out for something a bit cheaper. if this seller doesnt meet the market concensus, then his machine is worth $0.
i notice at this time however that no one has bid on it. that is, he is priced outside the market. in other words, its too bloody expensive!

[patrickl]

If you get that much money for a cab, why bother learning woodworking. I got a quote for $500 for getting my cab built. If I wasn't doing this for a hobby I'd sure take them up on that quote (or at least get more quotes to find something cheaper).

Is that $500 with the hardware and paint, or just the wood?  Because that's one hell of a markup too.  Three sheets of 3/4" MDF is about $50 - $75 depending on where you get it

Actually that was for furniture grade wood (I think that was about $120), but the biggest chunk of the cash is because the carpenter wants payment for the time he spends building the cab.

I'm amazed you think $75 is a reasonable price for a days work of a carpenter. How would you feel if you were paid $75 a day? I'm afraid $75 is more like the hourly rate for a carpenter.