Cosmic Company, a Warning.

[RabbitTroop]

Hi folks, I saw a huge influx in interest in Cosmic Machine Company here lately and I just wanted to offer a warning on my past dealings with them.

First let me say they have never ripped me off, items were always sent promptly and they always worked 100%. Now let me get on to the real issue. About half of the items I have bought from Cosmic over the years, I got at great deals, but they were bootleg games. I bought the following games from them recently

KOF 98 - Real with Real Marquee
Strikers 1945 - Real full kit
Ganryu - Real full kit
Magical Drop 3 - All boot chips, two EPROMS
Robo Army - All real but one EPROM
Neo Turf Master - All Boot Chips, two EPROMs
Pop N Bounce - Some real some EPROM

So as you can see, over 1/2 my order was bootleg games (these came at different times over the year, this was not one big order). Now, I may be super picky. I have opened up every game, put electrical tape over the magic windows, cleaned all the boards, and tested them over and over... these games work 100% and should continue to do so for a long time. However, I want the original SNK games, not some Hong Kong rip offs, so I am looking for replacements.

In closing, I just want to say if you deal with Cosmic Company, be careful. Usually the newest and coolest games (Metal Slug 3, KOF 2000, etc, etc) are real, but if you are looking for some older games you may wind up with some boots. And remember, you always get what you paid for, I know that now.

Later,

-Nick

 

[RyoGeo]

Hey, nruva, I know what you mean, but keep in mind, SNK DOES use and will continue to use EPROM's in their official releases. I myself have 2 copies of AoF. Both are from the same distributor. One that dealt EXCLUSIVELY with SNK for their inventory. One has an EPROM in it and one does not. Both of these games are TOTALLY legit. They simply were manufactured at different times and thus had different runs of chips.

EPROMs are used by SNK (and every other arcade board manufacturer) for many reasons. One of which is the ease at which new chips cab be cranked out should the need arise. AoF was pretty popular. Perhaps the cart with the EPROM in it was subject to a rush job. Or perhaps there was a revision on the code and EPROMs were used as a means to implement said update quickly.

In any case, don't freak if your game has an EPROM in it. As a matter of fact, my Japanese MOTW, MVS cart has EPROMs in and it is NOT a bootleg. It has the encryption chip in it, final code (with endings) and all.

Now, having said that, those carts that I do own (which are actually rather few) that have EPROMs in them will get replacements. Official or not, EPROMs DO loose their memory faster than PROMs and I want my games to "remember" just what the hell they are for a VERY long time.

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-RyoGeo

 

[GBITCH]

Please please come together now rasta, na fi slander cosmic, dem boy a do good deal.Mi buy all mi supplies a throo dem.Besides me a wanfi buss de Cosmic seller girl.

 

[Lord Illicious]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by GBITCH:
Please please come together now rasta, na fi slander cosmic, dem boy a do good deal.Mi buy all mi supplies a throo dem.Besides me a wanfi buss de Cosmic seller girl.

YO GBISH WAT YA NEO GEO RASCLA COSMIC LICKA DONE PON YA?
YA KNOE DA COMIC FEMALE?
DIMELO MI RUFFNECK.

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[GBITCH]

Origionally chanted by Lord Illicious:

"YO GBISH WAT YA NEO GEO RASCLA COSMIC LICKA DONE PON YA?YA KNOE DA COMIC FEMALE?
DIMELO MI RUFFNECK."

Ay mahn, mi hear de cosmic girl, she a built like dem buffolo.Queenie a her name, she be sendin me email an ting, an a say she wanfi meet up wit de GMAN.
Tel mi now dread you a country boy, mi tink you speak like a junglist man?Dat fi real?U smoke ganga?

 

[Lord Illicious]

Hellz no country sheep boy i is razeye. Im from da NY city wheaz dem bump massive ruff kut reggea and i blast dat shit all day in mi crib.

I quit puffin the chocolate godfathaz cuz mi lungz tis gettin old and slicka wit dat hash residue shit.

Di cosmic female i think is a asian bush an mi like licka da big bottom women.

Dem ill huge bottom divaz done get mi nuts ova some bangin ass war thumps obsessions.
Dem too wicked extasies - Jah Bless.

Cabbin Stabbin 2G - Top Dog

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[brentsg]

SNK uses EPROMs too. I have a MOTW that has EPROMs but is legit. The game has the endings, the encryption chip (whatever it's called), etc. The bootleg version is the beta b/c the real version isn't dumped.

Don't assume that EPROM MVS games aren't official.

Brent

 

[RabbitTroop]

OK, I need to elaborate. These boots (*except the Robo Army cart) are on generic green boards, no SNK logo's anywhere. All chips are unbranded (whether EP or not) and their are wires... So yes, I agree SNK may have used some EPROMs, but that is not the point here, the majority of these are blantly fake. The only exception is the Pop n Bounce, it is on a real SNK board and has about three EPs on each board, it may have been repaired. Sorry guys, I do not believe that the Magical Drop 3 or the Neo Turf Masters is even close to real, and I am leaning on the Pop n Bounce being a sacrificed World Hereos cart

So my warning stands, be careful!

-Nick

 

[chimpmeister]

Well I'll say I bought quite a bit of stuff from Cosmicco, and to date it has all been excellent stuff:

Metal Slug X (real with all artwork, but scraped off serial numbers)
Strikers 1945 Plus (real with all artwork, including serial numbers, looks new)
Ganryu (real with all artwork and SNs)
Nightmare in the Dark (real with all artwork, scraped SNs)

And several other items, including some excellent shooter PCBs. The important thing to remember about Cosmicco, is that you must first communicate with them and ask if what you are getting is full original cart w/artwork, or original minus artwork, or just not original at all. They haven't sent me one boot yet, but on the other hand I haven't ordered any really unusual carts. But if you clearly ask for what you want, they'll make sure you get the right stuff.

Oh and BTW Pop 'n Bounce is almost always a boot, there just aren't many originals of that one around.

 

[Saitoh]

Here is something Im wondering about, what is with the removing (scratching, etc.) of the serial numbers on MVS? I have a KoF 97 and 99 that both have been removed with a sharp knife, what gives?

 

[chimpmeister]

My theory about the removal of serial numbers is that it was done to prevent tracing of the carts. Intact serial numbers would allow SNK or a wholesaler/distributor to trace where the games came from; without the serial numbers, they can't be traced. So it could be because the seller ripped them off from somewhere (always a possibility!) or the seller doesn't want SNK or a distributor to be able to trace carts back to him/her.

Its very annoying really, I much prefer to have carts with intact SNs. Many of my MVS carts do have them intact, but some don't. I just like to see them to get an idea about the total run (# produced) of a particular game. For example, I did manage to get an intact Metal Slug X MVS cart (complete with all materials and box), and the SN is 40xxx. Obviously, they made a LOT of MSX MVS carts!!!