Atari game questions

[chrisballer]

I have two Mario Bros. carts and a pole position II cart, but they are Holey Moley, Quadrun, and Bionic break through. They have an Atari warning label over the screw hole stating that warranty will be void if moved, and they are heavy. See pic.

Are these just some common copies made by someone? If so where (Best Electronics)?

If someone could school me on these I would really appreciate it.

Thank you,

Chris

[7th lutz]

I can tell you right now Holey Moley and Bionic break through are very hard to find because they are prototype 2600 games. That means they never were released in stores back in the 1980's for sure. Pole Position II was never released for the 2600, but it was a pack-in game for the Atari 7800.

I am almost sure Atari themselves had nothing to do with the 3 games that don't match up with their labels. The only thing that puzzles me is the Atari warning label because I never seen them on any of my over 160+ Atari 2600 & 7800 games I own. Outside that label, it is 100 percent sure that someone erased or replaced the 3 games that were on the label.

What you have appears to be someone found the roms of extremely rare or prototype games online and put the games on 2600 or 7800 built cartridge shells without bothering changing the label of the 3 games if there is no consideration of why that warning label is on the cartridge.

[chrisballer]

I can tell you right now Holey Moley and Bionic break through are very hard to find because they are prototype 2600 games. That means they never were released in stores back in the 1980's for sure. Pole Position II was never released for the 2600, but it was a pack-in game for the Atari 7800.

I am almost sure Atari themselves had nothing to do with the 3 games that don't match up with their labels. The only thing that puzzles me is the Atari warning label because I never seen them on any of my over 160+ Atari 2600 & 7800 games I own. Outside that label, it is 100 percent sure that someone erased or replaced the 3 games that were on the label.

What you have appears to be someone found the roms of extremely rare or prototype games online and put the games on 2600 or 7800 built cartridge shells without bothering changing the label of the 3 games if there is no consideration of why that warning label is on the cartridge.

Best Electronics isn't likely to have game cartridges that have different games than the label says and they should be ruled out.

The Mario Bros. cart that has Holey Moley on it has an end label that was made with a label maker That says Holey Moley. I do not know a lot about Atari games, and even less about how to make copies like this. I will continue to search google.

[Rickstilwell1]

Without opening it up, you also never know if someone found the bare board prototype and stuck it inside a common casing like Mario Bros. to protect the board from the elements.

[Stringfellow]

That looks like the same label on my Best Electronics 5200 joystick.

[chrisballer]

It's possible, but those Atari warning labels are definitely something that Brad (Best Electronics) did with the ones he sold. And if you open them up, chances are you'll find a "T" card with EPROMS with no labels on them.

So they are protos then, and not copies? It makes sense to me that they are from Best, because of that sticker. They are noticeably heavier than a normal cart. I put one of my original 2600 Mario Bros. on my shipping scale, and it was two ounces. These carts are closer to four ounces.

So if they are protos from Best I wonder just how many of them exist. Also, are they valuable?

[jammajup]

They are worth holding onto for sure,i have seen some pics of protos and other carts on other forums but i have not seen that sticker before.

[tom]

Best for sure
way back during the 90s Best protos looked like this:

[chrisballer]

They're copies that Best Electronics put together. Genuine Atari prototypes usually either have Loaner Lab or blank matte-type labels. If there's no case, the EPROMS usually have typed or handwritten labels on them.

Wouldn't it still be a genuine Atari Prototype then. If best bought all thier inventory and they had proto boards there that they put into a different case. A proto board is a proto board right? Best was not producing new boards, or were they?

[chrisballer]

Thanks for all the help Guys. I really do appreciate it.

Chris