I've always had a fascination with vector graphics games, like Asteroids, Battlezone, and many others. Well, there was a company called Cinematronics that produced such classics as Armor Attack and Star Castle. They also produced such laser disc oddities as Dragon's Lair and Space Ace. One of the last vector graphics games Cinematronics produced was War Of The Worlds in 1981. Only ten were produced and those all went to distributors and sold at trade shows. If you want to learn more about Cinematronics, go to this most excellent site, History of Cinematronics, Inc.

On Monday, July 3rd, (I think), 2006, , I was browsing the posts at the videogame newsgroup, rec.games.video.arcade.collecting. Actually, it might have been rec.games.video.arcade.marketplace. There was a link to the Ebay auction for this game, so I checked it out. I bookmarked it, and on Wednesday, July 5th, 2006, the auction ended. The final bid was $3,500. I think this is to date the most expensive videogame ever? Prove me wrong if I am. email me.

Here's how the auction read:

Cinematronics War of the Worlds XY Arcade Game

Completely Working, Less Than 10 Ever Made

Description: You are bidding on one War of the Worlds vector arcade game by Cinematronics. This is an extremely rare game, according to the unofficial Cinematronics web page (http://zonn.com/Cinematronics/), less than 10 of these were made. This game has 100% original graphics, there are no reproduction graphics

Cabinet: The cabinet is in great shape. The original cabinet floor was warped and recently replaced. New t-nuts and nylon-insert leg levelers were installed. A new back door was also fabricated. The cabinet was painted and new t-molding installed. There are a few small nicks along the bottom and back edges, but nothing major, please study the pictures carefully. The coin door is in great shape, complete and working. Quarter coin mechs are installed and a cash box is included. Two keyed-alike locks are installed and 2 keys are included.

Graphics: All graphics are original, no reproduction pieces are present. The marquee, bezel, monitor gel and control panel are all original and in great shape. The marquee has one scratch that runs between the W and O in the word "Worlds" and a few small pinholes scattered throughout. The bezel and gel are near perfect. The control panel overlay is also nearly perfect, the buttons have some divets from cigarette burns, but are otherwise nice.

Electronics: All electronics are original. Game play is flawless. The boardset is an original set, not one recently converted. The monitor was serviced and has a beautiful, bright, crisp picture. There is some Star Castle phosphur burn on the monitor, but it is not visible with the gel in place and in no way impedes game play. The sound is also great, nice and clear with no background hiss. The power supply was extensively rebuilt including replacing the original flaky circuit breakers with new panel mount fuses. A new power cord was installed.

Provenance: This game was purchase by me from an employee of Cleveland Coin in Cleveland Ohio about 7 or 8 years ago. It is believed, but unconfirmed, that this was a prototype sent there for evaluation. Due to the nature of wear on the control panel (almost none) this game was probably not on location for long. The power supply needed servicing when I originally purchased it, but all other components were working perfectly.

Shipping was available, door to door only.

So, why bother listing this stuff at my site? Well, unfortunately, Ebay only keeps auctions in their database for only three months. I would like to see that situation rectified, but meanwhile, I'll keep cranking out the stories here, at Pingeek.com. Have a nice day! Josh (aka Pingeek)