All I can say is, wow.
Yes indeed, this thread is back from the dead!
I am not hiding, I just get busy sometimes and am unable to read & reply to the hot topics on the forums of the websites that I frequent.
Regarding Tonk bringing up unfinished business between Vinh and myself.
Here are the FACTS for those who care to have them:
Vinh and I used to have a good relationship. We have known each other for about 10 years. We did many trades together over the years. We used to talk on the phone, sometimes for hours. We even met in person TWICE. Once in California and another time in Nevada. In the beginning, I was heavy into upgrading my MVS cartridge collection. I was after loose English labeled cartridges and loose authentic English mini marquee title cards. Vinh was heavy into MVS kit collecting. So, we would trade all the time. I would send him MVS boxes, MVS art packs, and in some cases my matching serial numbered carts & boxes in exchange for loose English carts and title cards. We helped one another out with these trades. It was great. He ended up with (as far as I know) the world's first COMPLETE CIB NEOGEO MVS KIT Collection. I still have the pics of it that he sent me saved on a disk to this very day. And I got an almost complete loose MVS English cart & title card collection. (I fell short by 3 or 4 carts & cards if I recall) So we had an excellent relationship! I considered him extremely trustworthy & honest. He had a wealth of information, he was a nice guy to talk to, he had a very strong work ethic, and he was funny too. A good sense of humor. Lastly, Vinh & I had a mutual friend; Chad Okada. So we had a great thing going for years.
One day, I sent Vinh 3 Capcom "kits" (I guess you could call it on consignment) for him to place for sale in his "arcade-shock" store on his web site. They were semi-complete kits, still in the box, with most of their contents. My memory is not so great, but I think it was a Naomi Dead or Alive 2, a Super Puzzle Fighter, and some other Capcom kit. Anyhow, it cost me $60 ($20 per kit box) just to ship them out to him. Weeks passed, months passed, and now years have passed. For whatever reason, Vinh disappeared! I had no idea why, and I was more patient than any normal person would be about it. I sent emails, I sent PM's, I even tried calling several times. He would not reply or return any of my attempts to contact him. I just wanted some kind of update? Some resolution? Anything! I was totally out the 3 kits, the shipping, everything. Just a total waste. I could easily have sold those bad boys for $200 a piece on ebay. (this was several years ago when these boards were worth way more money then they are now). So I was pissed. But time passed and I soon just gave up and figured I had to just forget about it.
Anyhow, that is what happened. Those are the facts! And hey, I CHALLENGE Vinh to say it isn't so?
Now, in a recent conversation I was having with TonK, Vinh came up in the conversation. And yes, I will not lie about this either, I told TonK about the above experience, and yes, I gave him permission to bring it up if he wished. Why you may ask? Well, why not?! Dude, I figured what the hell did I have to lose? The fucking guy has not replied to any and all attempts which I have made to contact him and resolve this issue for YEARS now! What did I have to lose by trying another approach? And the funny thing is, it has been YEARS and he has not replied to me (let alone acknowledged his wrongdoing and/or my attempts to contact him) but then suddenly he comes forward! What a coincidence?! TonK must have pushed a button that I didn't? Maybe this is why members here go to him for help when similar matters occur in our community?
Now, in regards to the last issue, and Vinh brought it up not me, (Ghostlop), I will leave that up to Vinh. If he wants me to, I will GLADLY tell the back story about that and in what capacity Vinh was involved. But that is TOTALLY up to him and him alone. He is the one who politely asked me to keep some of those details private, which I have done. In fact, I recently wrote yet another article about the game for a web site (which launched today btw and look for my announcement in another thread here) and surely enough, even for that article I did not discuss the "asian missile angle" as I have honored his request for "privacy" on this topic since 2003. So unless HE decides to come forward and tell the story, I will remain silent as I have always been. Why he brought it up is a mystery to me, perhaps as misdirection, or maybe out of anger or embarrassment over the real matter at hand. But if he does decide to talk about it, and he tells it wrong, you better fucking BELIEVE that I am gonna tear it up in here and CORRECT it to make sure the world hears the TRUTH and not his version. It's up to HIM. I won't make a move unless HE makes a move.
But guys, please don't get distracted. Especially if he or someone else tries to spin this another way now that I posted here about it. And that is that the bottom line for everyone here to consider is this: A guy who ripped me off, (privately), and has avoided me for years since, (privately), is now confronted, (publicly), and suddenly breaks his YEARS of silence to me (publicly) and lashes out towards me? WTF? Very bizarre behavior indeed.
