This was a recent post on RGP by our fiends in Australia:

WPC ASIC CHIP

I have 160 only spare left over from the MM boards
$50US each
Email me with the qty you need
I doubt these will be able to be made again as it was a huge cost
Part No is 5410-12426-01
Wayne Gillard
The Pinball Factory
http://www.pinball.com

Does this make anyone think he is ever going to produce MM or anything else? Is he not taking deposits, as he is supposed to be remaking CC? What is he going to put in that CPU board? Sounds like there will be a lot of people screaming   in the near future.

This would be a good voting forum.

Look he is asking for 50% down and getting it. Do you think there is 50% margin in a machine?? Not on your life. So if he produces he loses.

Taking a 50% deposit on pre-order anything production is criminal in itself.

Prototype or one off yes. Production no.

Besides sounds like a wild card. If I am right the ASIC has nothing to do with it being an MM. It is basically a processor used by many devices. "MM" and "ASIC" sounds like he is trying to add credibility to the MM story.

Funny AFM, SS and MM etc. all use part no. 5410-12426-01. But Wayne definately had to point out it was an MM chip. Too bad no one will buy the Brooklyn Bridge anymore.

Quoted from necro_nemesis

Look he is asking for 50% down and getting it. Do you think there is 50% margin in a machine?? Not on your life. So if he produces he loses.

Taking a 50% deposit on pre-order anything production is criminal in itself.

Besides sounds like a wild card. If I am right the ASIC has nothing to do with it being an MM. It is basically a processor used by many devices. "MM" and "ASIC" sounds like he is trying to add credibility to the MM story.

Funny AFM, SS and MM etc. all use part no. 5410-12426-01. But Wayne definately had to point out it was an MM chip. Too bad no one will buy the Brooklyn Bridge anymore.

Here we go..  Another conspiracy theorist  

You just don't get the whole point of the deposit.  It's obviously not so he can have all the money required to produce the machines...  It's mostly to ensure he's got a firm commitment from buyers.  How many times have we seen situations where someone says they'll produce a 'widget' if there's enough interest.  EVERYBODY wants one.  Production goes ahead and now everybody's got a good excuse why they don't have any money now.

It makes perfect business sense in a NICHE market such as this to ask for a deposit before investing tons of money.

The ASIC chip is a custom WPC-95 chip.  He probably wanted to:
a. site his source so people don't think he was keeping parts from the market. (Wayne gets accused of pretty much everything - probably including the Kennedy assassination)
b. give credibility to his MM remake project.

Do I think he'll come through???  I think he will eventually - just like the Big Bang Bar remake - well behind schedule.  Do I care??  Not in the least little bit..  Maybe he'll end selling the parts so people can build their own?  He does seem to have the parts required to build them.

Just like the Big Bang Bar situation it's funny how this whole thing worries people with high priced originals.  I can see it now..  MY MM is ORIGINAL not a remake   If I could afford it I'd rather have a NEW remake than a used original for the same price.  Whether people like it or not this will eventually (5+ years) affect the price of all MMs new or old.  Only time will tell anyway.

Mike

Quoted from MrMikeman

It's mostly to ensure he's got a firm commitment from buyers.

Hmmm. Firm commitment from buyers has equated to empty promises from Wayne. I can help but read back articles and internet threads of release dates gone by from over a year ago.

If he is the business man he says he is, then there should be no excuses from him. After setting up the deposit system and collecting 100% of what he set out to collect, he did not come up short here, he got what he set out to get.

He has no excuse for being this delayed when people are laying half down on the machine.

None.

He couldn't make his first release date of MM so are you going to put money on CC? Fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice....

Quoted from necro_nemesis

Prototype or one off yes. Production no.

Funny AFM, SS and MM etc. all use part no. 5410-12426-01. But Wayne definately had to point out it was an MM chip. Too bad no one will buy the Brooklyn Bridge anymore.

Wayne isn't asking for 50% down for the ASIC. Your name will be added to the list and *very soon* i'll be able to,errr,, people can pay for them through his website.. I think Wayne is trying to get get a gauge on how many extra chips he can sell to minimize his costs in repro-ing the AV board.  

Wayne maybe many things but he is the only one that can ensure WPC-95 games live
longer and for that, we should all wish him luck.

$50 is a steal for a chip that can render any WPC-95 title to worthlessness. Try any WPC title without sound or the dmd.  Wayne is selling it for the same price Williams was selling them at. Black Market value is radically higher (and payable only in trade of NOS parts)..

This is not an instance to attack Wayne.

It just natural sales tactic to drop the phrase MM at every chance

Well Wayne does not have the licensing forever (thank god). So the clock is ticking. If he doesn't produce what he has taken deposits for by the time the license runs out. Then what happens?

I mean supposedly he has invested all these guys money into partial production of these machines at this juncture.

I don't know what the end date is but he got some questionable rights to manufacture on 12 Oct 2005.

Keep sending him money and watching the doomsday clock fellas.

The chips have been around for about $175 U.S. from what I have seen. Maybe they are made from hoop pine this time.