The Deep NOS control panel overlay
Would I have walked up to a machine with this overlay proudly displayed, or just run away screaming? While sharks and explosions are enough to attract most pre-teen boys, I think even back in the 80′s I would have realized this was just plain awful. Quarters were precious back then and you had to choose your games wisely!
The Deep is an obscure game from the late 80′s that appears to have submarines, ships, missiles and sharks in its theme. It is tough to tell if this game is just a variation of the classic sub vs. ship game, or if sharks and other obstacles are actually included. Little information is available about it. If I had my MAME setup running, I could try it out, I suppose. The game was manufactured by Wood Place, Inc. and the US version was licensed by Profit Vending of Glendale, CA. They must have purchased just the circuit boards because the artwork produced by Profit Vending is in sharp contrast to the polished art on the Japanese flyer. (Thanks to TAFA for the flyer image)
If I had to guess I’d say that Profit Vending was simply producing conversion kits. They would buy the game from the Japanese manufacturer and then repackage it with their own bad artwork. The poor quality of the overlay puts it in the same class as many of the bootlegs I’ve come across and I can’t imagine that helped sales. If anyone has any more information, cabinet or game images, drop me a line. Or if you fire it up in MAME, let me know if there are sharks involved, thanks.
Tags: Artwork, control panel overlays, cpo, NOS, The Deep