Two Bits Ms. Pac-man Control Panel Overlay Artwork Inaccurate
Everyone should know that when you buy artwork for your Pac-man / Ms. Pac-man from Two-Bits you are buying crap. But I still see questions, comments and discussion on arcade game forums from new collectors who aren’t sure if they should buy a bezel, control panel overlay, or the vinyl Ms. Pac-man sticker artwork or not to restore their own machines.
I’m here to show you why you shouldn’t buy the control panel overlay. You’ll be shocked at the terrible inaccuracy of the Ms. Pac-man artwork from Two-Bits. Oh yeah, and I have a scan of the Ms. Pac-man control panel overlay for you if you are interested in downloading it to vectorize and print yourself.
Side by side Ms. Pac-man cpanel overlay comparison
Take a look at this image of the control panel overlay, click it for a larger view to really see all of the detail.
This is a scan of a Ms. Pac-man control panel supplied by Kevin, who also sent me scans of his Ms. Pac-man arcade cabinet to provide to my readers for free. Kevin bought three overlays from Two-Bits and was horrified at how inconsistent the artwork was in the new overlays compared to the original arcade machine. Everything is wrong! The main orange black and yellow lines are thicker, there is a loss of detail in Ms. Pac-man’s eyes, the shapes of her eyes are wrong, the blue is too thin and doesn’t follow the body contours of Ms. Pac-man, the lines on the hands and arms of Ms. Pac-man are too thick, and I could go on forever. What a terrible product.
Then, like some of us have experienced, Kevin called Two-Bits to talk to them about their product and ask for a refund on the overlay. Kevin relayed his experience;
I ordered 3 control panel overlays from Two-Bits that were supposed to be NOS and I don’t think they are. I called Two-Bits and he did offer a refund but not before the guy yelled at me and hung up! Wow, what a jerk.
Two-Bits will sell you bad quality arcade products
I know some other collectors have had the same or similar experience with the owner Bob Sokol or an employee of Two-Bits using harsh language, yelling at customers, or even worse. Two-Bits has a long history of treating customers poorly, not returning emails and other inquiries and offering an inferior product in color, artwork and overall material. I wish more collectors would trust my advice, and other arcade collector’s advice when we say stay away from Two-Bits!
There are other sources to find artwork for your Ms. Pac-man game. I would never mention them in a blog post, but if you contact me I might be able to give you some hints. You have to make some phone calls, leaving a digital trail will only result in a fat sweaty lawsuit.
Two-Bits has the exclusive license to Namco arcade games including the Pac-man family. That means you won’t find Pac-man artwork advertisd anywhere else. But Two-Bits’s complacency is kind of similar to Microsoft’s but on crack. It took Firefox for Microsoft to start to fix Internet Explorer 6. Maybe we can do the same here. Don’t buy from Two-Bits!
Let’s let other arcade collectors know
The best way for the general public to know about Two-Bits terrible product and reputation is if some of your share your experiences here. Sometimes it can be hard for people to read a forum post, and forums have a credibility problem. But hopefully here, new collectors will learn that buying Pac-man, Ms. Pac-man and Galage artwork from Two-Bits is a awful idea.
Download a scan of the Ms. Pac-man Control Panel
Kevin also provided us with artwork again in his quest for a Ms. Pac-man control panel. He is still looking to buy a true NOS Ms. Pac-man cpanel, so if you have one for sale do get in touch me with me using the contact link above.
You can download the Ms. Pac-man control panel scan (200DPI) for free at MediaFire.com.
For more information on available artwork and cabinet stenciling, visit the Ms. Pac-man arcade game page.
Information Update
I had some inquiries into the copyright that was on the left side of the Two-Bits scan. I was able to get the left side scan of the Ms. Pac-man overlay, here is a smaller image of that artwork;
As well as the actual copyright on this Two-Bits reproduction.
Here is a photo submission from another collector who has a Two-Bits control panel overlay. This reproduction doesn’t even have the blue shadowing on Ms. Pac-man, among other issues. So there are more than one version of the crappy Two-Bits reproductions floating around!
Update – May 30th, 2008
It wasn’t until tonight that I started to realize how much coverage had taken place already for the extremely sub standard quality of the Two-Bits (Score) Ms. Pac-man control panel reproductions that apparently Namco cares very little about. If you look through the arcade collecting forums at Klov, you will find a number of topics on Two-Bits Bob Sokol’s customer service decline from 2000 when he first picked up the license. There are plenty of comparison photos showing the differences between the reproduction Ms. Pac-man artwork and the original / ‘NOS’ control panel overlays.
Here is some additional reading about the Ms. Pac-man Two-Bit artwork quality;
- Two-Bits Ms. Pac-man control panel overlay artwork differences
- More information on the Two-Bits Ms. Pac-man control panel overlay reproductions
- Disrespectful customer service at Two-Bits Score
I try to post only original arcade content (as far as I know) on Rotheblog. I was bummed to see that Kevin’s image of the comparison had already been posted in the Klov forums. I had no idea. But, I figured, the idea is to target the new arcade game collector who is just starting out and wants the best quality reproduction parts and artwork for purchase possible.
Arguments on Two-Bits behalf
There are a couple of people on the forums that argue that a well to do individual who has a million dollar home doesn’t care whether Two-Bits artwork is correct or not. They just want their favorite game, and they want it now. I agree completely. The artwork topic has been covered, Namco won’t change, they don’t care about the little collector.
However, it is important for the uneducated audience to be informed about the Ms. Pac-man artwork that they are buying. I don’t live on the forums, I missed some of the above posts. I think it is important to have an exhaustive Ms. Pac-man artwork comparison so to make it easier, I am including some more photos from the threads listed above of the Two-Bits Ms. Pac-man artwork, and hopefully you can made the best decision possible. Arcade forums aren’t always written with rich, dense keyword content in mind. It can be hard to find information about any arcade artwork with a general Google search. But when this information is posted on blogs, the knowledge is more accessible to the general public, which is a great thing.
Other Ms. Pac-man Overlay Images
Close up of Two-Bits reproduction artwork showing terribly incorrect line thicknesses, shapes, etc. etc.
An original Ms. Pac-man control panel – This saw a lot of action in the arcades
NOS (New Old Stock) Ms. Pac-man control panel overlay artwork – Just like the above control panel but brand new artwork
Another shot of the poor quality of Two-Bits overlay reproductions for Ms. Pac-man arcade games.
Here are some similar arcade posts
- Ms. Pac-man overlays, bezels and Two-Bits – Oh My!
- Two Bits Ms. Pac-man Bezels
- Request for photos of Two-Bits Pac-man artwork
- Ms. Pac-man bezel differences
- Ms. Pac-man Marquee Reproduction Versions
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Comments
@Brian:
Very true. I knew that operators are the largest portion of Two-Bits market. People have hoped for years that things would change, maybe a younger operator even, that would do some research into the future resale of their arcade machines and could find some of this information about the Pac-man artwork who could then stop buying Two-Bits product and have some influence on other operators.
Thank you for covering this. I’ve been pointing this out for a very long time. I discovered the problem after purchasing my upright Ms.Pac and comparing against the TwoBits bootleg CPO I have. It is the same exact inconsistencies as with the cocktail CPOS.
Then, some months back I was lucky enough to acquire a small cache of 4 original mint. Ms. Pac CPO’s from an big time operator in our area.
But perhaps it’s the attitude from TwoBits that is the most galling. He actually had the nerve to claim to Frizzle that my NOS version were the bootlegs…LMAO…even after he was sent a scan of an original tattered version verified with the NOS CPO’s I had.
Wow, this is the first I’ve heard about this. That repro is horrible! And they were selling these as NOS?! Thanks for covering this, hopefully people won’t get burned.
@Donnie:
Do you have images of the Ms. Pac-man cabaret mini control panel overlays that we could add to this post?
That was you that got that set of four Ms. Pac-man overlays? I remember seeing the post on BYOAC…can you add that link into this post?
I think contacting and trying to do any business with 2 bits is a dead end. The best thing to do is to spread the word and get to the top of results in major search engines with the terms – Namoc, 2 Bits, Two Bits, artwork, reproductions, etc. Getting a link from Stumble Upon helps, a lot more people saw this article as a result and awareness was spread.
@Edwin:
I have never been a fan of portraying Ms. Pac-man as a sexy, sultry character, and therefore the control panel overlay is my least favorite piece of artwork. But hands down, you have to admit that the side artwork on the cabinet is iconic and is a decent composition of artwork for an arcade game.
@Jeff:
The 4 CPOs I got were upright cab CPO’s. I don’t have cabaret CPOs.
Here is the thread about my NOS find:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=77250.msg805119#msg805119
Just a thought, has anyone attempted to contact Namco about this? It might be hard to get them excited about the accuracy of the reproductions, but they might be a little more interested to know that their official licensee is unprofessional and abusive to customers. If they get enough complaints, they might be willing to grant a license to someone who is interested in doing a better job.
@Dave M:
I would assume that an arcade game collector contacted Two-Bits at one time or another about their customer service, but I don’t know how many people work there in their Texas location. I get the impression it may be 1-2 other people that work at Two-Bits, but right now all I hear about are replies from the owner, Bob Sokol, and he is less than receptive to commentary on his product, giving refunds, and basically tells people ‘tough luck’.
He cares little, and still makes a lot of money. That’s fine, everyone gets theirs eventually.
@Donnie:
Thanks for adding that link. Anyone interested in some more examples of original, quality, Ms. Pac-man control panel overlays check this link out for some beautiful, rare NOS Ms. Pac-man artwork.
Sorry, I mis-read. You had mentioned inconsistencies in the Ms. Pac-man cocktail CPO’s as well. Do you have comparisons of those as well?
@GG:
I thought that this post about the control panel inaccuracies might reach a few new people. There have been quite a few topics / threads in the main arcade game collecting forums about the Ms. Pac-man reproductions, but that information can be hard to find in the search engines.
I updated the post with links to those threads about the Ms. Pac-man reproductions, as well as additional photos from those forums posts, so read up more if you are interested.
Hey, check this out:
http://forums.klov.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=823291&page=0&fpart=1&vc=1
Looks like they fixed the issues!!!
I had seen a more ‘correct’ version of the Two Bits overlay actually last month, but I wasn’t convinced that they weren’t still selling off the old stock of the tremendously incorrect artwork.
The fact still remains, you take the risk to buy any of their Pac-man products because, if you aren’t happy, it is guaranteed you won’t get a refund.
And Namco gear is usually the high caliber stuff for us as operators, that panel overlay may as well have been made in a Chinese factory for $2.
High caliber? Do operators care about accuracy of artwork? I was under the understanding that anything to help a machine make a profit, even if the artwork looks remotely similar like this Ms. Pac-man.
It sure does have that Chinese feel, in that it feels like an imitation but it isn't nearly the same…
OKAY! IF WE SHOULDN'T BUY FROM TWO BITS, . . . . . then WHO?
WHO SHOULD WE BUY PARTS FROM????
Where can I get a new quality control panel overlay without breaking
the bank?!!
thanks
There is nothing wrong with the Two Bits CPO. I have one and it’s perfect. Don’t believe this, it’s not 100% true – the info is old. I bought a repro from someone else and it was garbage.
I have heard that Two Bits did correct later runs of their Ms. Pac-man CPO artwork.
Fact remains, that Two Bits is a company that is concerned only with money and not quality of product. We have shown through multiple artwork items for Ms. Pac-man that their artwork is inaccurate, and therefore lower quality. This casts doubt on the quality of every piece of artwork they produce for Pac-man related games, Galaga, and any of their other licensed properties.
The links in the post are invalid (I assume they broke when the KLOV forums were upgraded). Can anyone post a website or contact info for twobits? A google search didn't turn up much.
Those links to those threads talking about Two Bits and their 'quick buck' products are now changed to the new 'arcade-museum' url.
Hey Jeff, thanks for fixing the links – much better and provides some good reading.
I'm trying to get my head around the whole saga at this point, as I need to find a good, clean and "new" looking Ms. Pac CPO and marquee. I picked up a Ms. Pac a few weeks ago and mine are "less than good".
Thanks,
Whitney
Purchase 2 overlays for class of 1981 Both cracked after about a month. Tried to get help no such luck.
@swdvader: Sounds about right. Once you buy from Two Bits, you are on your own. They could care less about how their product holds up or the customer.
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May 28, 2008
Sucks to have to accept, but twobits really doesn’t care about collectors as they are only a teeny fraction of their market. it’s the operators and retailers that are his bread and butter and we ALL know most people that fall into those two groups tend to not give a damn about originality 🙂 What sucks is that namco won’t let anyone do better!