I smell an ezine story. I hope so, very interesting stuff.

one last post and I am done for the day RE: Action 52 PROTOTYPE
I opened the BLUE PCB version up as Mike suggested.
This is what i found:

THE PCB
*The PCB has EPROMS and no production PROMS that are labeled "ACTION 52? as all other production carts do
* It does not utilize capacitors as do the other versions
* The board has a white hand lettered "MADE IN AMERICA" across the top of the board just below the pins
* The board is a deep BLUE color
THE CART
* Both pieces(top and bottom) come from different molds than the production carts. The arrow and the word "TOP" are missing on the front; all reference to "ACTIVE ENTERPRISES, PAT PENDING AND MADE IN U.S.A" are missing from the reverse.
* The side flanges on the top piece are FLAT instead of curved
* The cart is designed to accomodate three metal screws to allow access to the PCB
* The cart utilizes the BLUE label instead of the clear decal label
I took some good photos of the cart and the PCB which I will share with you tonight.

PROBABLE PRODUCTION SEQUENCE:

• PROTOTYPE BLUE PCB BLUE LABEL
• EARLY PRODUCTION BLACK PCB BLUE LABEL
• EARLY PRODUCTION BLACK PCB CLEAR DECAL LABEL
• PRODUCTION (REV A) GREEN PCB BLUE LABEL
• PRODUCTION (REV A) GREEN PCB CLEAR DECAL LABEL
• PRODUCTION ( REV B) GREEN PCB CLEAR DECAL LABEL
NO WARNING LABEL ON REVERSE TWO ORANGE CAPACITORS.
MANY PINS REMOVED

• CHEETAHMEN ll (REV O) GREEN PCB CLEAR DECAL LABEL
NO WARNING LABEL ON REVERSE MOST HAD GOLD CHEETAHMEN
LABELS TWO ORANGE CAPACITORS EXACTLY THE SAME PINS
HAVE BEEN REMOVED

NOTE: THE CARTS USED ON REV B AND CHEETAHMEN ll ARE VIRTUALLY IDENTICAL IN THEIR DIFFERENCES FROM THE OTHER STANDARD PRODUCTION VERSIONS. IT IS OBVIOUS THAT CHEETAHMEN ll CARTS WERE PRODUCED FROM INVENTORY THAT ORIGINALLY WAS USED TO PRODUCE REV B GIVING RISE TO THE QUESTION OF WHO WAS PRODUCING THE GAME THEN? I WOULD OFFER THAT IT WAS THE SAME COMPANY THAT ULTIMATELY HAD THE CHEETAHMEN IN STORAGE

ONE LAST POST B/4 I SEND PICTURES. AS I WAS PUTTING ALL SIX CARTS TOGETHER FOR A GROUP PHOTO, I ALSO DISCOVERED THAT THE PROTOTYPE. IS 3/4" SHORTER THAN ALL THE OTHER CARTS. AT THE BASE, THERE ARE THREE RIDGES INSTEAD OF FOUR IN THE PRODUCTION CARTS

Greg sent me quite a number of new photos.  I've put them up in an updated blog post:  "What's Rarer: A Prototype Action 52 Cart or a Person Who's Met Vince Perri?"

I received a new RETRO DUO today and played the BLUE cart for the very first time.

WOW! MEGA SURPRISES

I will report on the news shortly.

I cant wait for the news!

Sounds like another who can really appreciate a RARE bad game, WELL DONE.........

Seriously, I cant wait! Hopefully their will be some differences between the beta and the final game

see Mark's great article for in depth info on Action 52 and Cheetahmen. Tons of new photos
www.videogamemuseum.com...

I meant to say his NEW (TOday) article

Thanks Greg, here's the direct URL: The Evolution of the Action 52

Good read. I'm looking forward to seeing what this "Action Gamer" is all about. Thanks for the update!

Cool stuff, thanks for sharing

Which came first the Action 52 or the 52-in-1 Pirate Cart?


I for one am in opposition to the conclusions drawn by the author of the article, and prefer to think that Active had the menu first, and sold it out to the pirate companies. I could be wrong about this conclusion, but here is why I think that it is a possibility.

A long time ago I had spoken with someone connected with Active Enterprises for about ten minutes on the phone. Unfortunately, they did not have all afternoon to talk, and after ten minutes, the conversation ended. I tried to establish another communication but it never happened. During our brief conversation, however, I was told that Active Enterprises had designed the menu for American Video Entertainment's "Maxi 15" cartridge. I know nothing about coding, so this could have been some falsity being spoken in the name of pride, but it does not seem too unreasonable to me that Active could have made a menu, sold it out to pirate outfits, modified it for their own release, and then changed it even more for the Maxi cart.

Clever idea.  Here are another couple scenarios: 

1) Perhaps Active Enterprises created both games. 

or

2) Maybe Nintendo made the menu and sold it to both the pirates and to Active Enterprises.

So many possibilities!

Just because I do not necessarily agree with your article's conclusions does not give you the right to be a dick.  Sarcasm is not very becoming of you, me thinks.

just because you have an opinion doesn't mean you have to respond like a dick. my god... don't get so bent out of shape over nothing man.

We can all have our own opinions, and I have no problem with that. Regarding something that happened about 20 years ago or so, it is hard to say what the truth of the matter is on the above game cartridge, we will probably never know the truth for sure. I do have a problem with the writer of the article responding to my theories in a sarcastic/condenscending manner, especially when I had spoken with one of the Active guys myself! Now whether the man I spoke with was being honest, I couldn't tell you, and whether you guys believe that I spoke with anyone from that company or not, is really your call (though considering all of the other interviews I conducted with people, I am sure this really won't be much of an issue). That being said, if the author of the article is gonna act like a dick when I provide a bit of input, based on a conversation I had, then I feel fully justified to call him out on it, even if it is acting like a dick in return. Sorry, but it's a two way street.

Dear dear...I didn't mean to offend. 

I thought your "interview" was a hypothetical scenario.  Thus, I gave two joking responses in order to run with the ball and have some fun.   

Just to be clear, you're saying that's an actual conversation that you had with Active Enterprises?

Part of a conversation, yes. I talked with one of the guys for about ten minutes or so.

Nice! Out of curiosity, did anything else of interest come up in the conversation? Also, with all the drama/speculation regarding Active Enterprises' personalities, how did they strike you?

Well I found the whole adventure to be a little strange at the time, as they only wanted to talk on the telephone as opposed to email. I received the phonecall after they had asked me for my number in an email, when they had told me that they preferred that it would not be through email. Unfortunately they were at work or something and really couldn't stay on the line after a bit, so then they said they would call me back later but it never happened.

I was also told that the Cheetahmen action figures were manufactured (though I would assume they went unreleased totally), and that we could expect to see a new project with the Cheetahmen in a few years, although not a game. They hinted at a TV show, but as it has been several years since I spoke with them, it seems as if this project never happened...just like the crazy projects in the past.

Doubtful... probably false information. Active Enterprises had no experience producing games (Action 52 proves it), so it wouldn't make much sense for other companies to hire them to program something as simple as a menu. AVE produced some decent/passable games on their own (compared to Action 52 standards anyway), so I wouldn't think they would need to deal with a borderline fly-by-night company like Active Enterprises. 

They should've destroyed the Action 52 cart as it is, and they should've practiced early with the prototype of it.