Ultracade is an arcade machine/multicade, first launched in 2001 by Hyperware Technologies. It featured 86 built-in games, alongside additional "packs" of more games that could be purchased separately. The Ultracade brand was later sold to Global VR, who produced a sequel machine titled Global Arcade Classics.
Most (if not all) games included on/released for the Ultracade were unlicensed and unauthorized. However, Hyperware Technologies boldly claimed that all games were officially licensed, leading to the machine being widely distributed. Very shady and illegal practices were done to make it appear legitimate, including making fake press releases claiming the games were licensed, addressing payments to the no-longer-existent Toaplan Ltd., falsely filing the trademark for the MAME emulator, and even registering the intellectual property rights for Mr. Do! without Aruze Corporation's approval.
Their bootlegging was first exposed by Namco in 2003, and led to a lawsuit in 2009. The person in charge of Ultracade (before it was sold to Global VR), David Foley, pleaded guilty in 2013.[1]
List of pirated games and companies affected[]
| Company | Games stolen | Additional information |
|---|---|---|
| Aruze Corporation (formerly Universal) | Cosmic Avenger, Do Run Run, Jumping Jack, Kick Rider, Lady Bug, Mr. Do!, Mr. Do!'s Castle, Mr. Do!'s Wild Ride, Nova 2001, Snap Jack, Space Panic, Super Pierot, Yankee Do | A press release falsely claimed the games were licensed; Aruze's name is suspiciously absent from it, being referred to as Universal instead. Ultracade unjustly registered trademarks and intellectual property rights to Mr. Do!, which they were able to do because Aruze accidentally registered them as "Mister Do". After Aruze was informed of this, Ultracade's IP rights contract was quickly terminated. |
| G-Mode (formerly Data East) | Karate Champ, Side Pocket, Street Hoop. Super Doubles Tennis, Lucky Poker | |
| Jaleco | 64th Street, Astyanax, Avenging Spirit, Cybattler, EDF, P-47, Rod Land, Saint Dragon | A press release falsely claimed the games were licensed. |
| MAME (emulator) | N/A | Ultracade registered the trademark for MAME without the original authors' permission. David Foley made the very ironic claim that this was done in hopes of preventing piracy.[2] |
| Namco | Dig Dug, Galaga, Galaxian, Mappy, Ms. Pac-Man, Pac-Man, Xevious | Included in a pack titled "Pac-Family Classics". Ultracade claimed that the games were "legally" acquired via the Microsoft Return of Arcade CD, which would still be highly illegal anyway. |
| Nintendo | Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., Donkey Kong 3 | Included in a pack titled "King Pack for AL". The original Donkey Kong was also available as a single-game pack. |
| SNK Playmore Corp. | Super Champion Baseball, Super Dodge Ball | |
| Taito | ? | Ultracade likely had some form of official license from Taito. Despite this, it is cited that some of their games were used without permission. As such, it is unknown which games were unauthorized. |
| Tecmo (formerly Tehkan) | Bomb Jack, Bomb Jack Twin, Grid Iron Fight, Pinball Action, Saboten Bombers, Tehkan World Cup | |
| Toaplan | Hellfire, Outzone, Snow Bros., Snow Bros. 2, Truxton 2, Zero Wing | David Foley ordered a co-worker to send checks and wire transfers to "Toaplan Ltd.", despite that they went bankrupt in 1994. |