New Leaf Entertainment "for" Genesis?

[RCM]

I just picked up this lot of 106 Genny titles (all cart only, most in ok shape) and 13 32X titles (again, all cart only) including Spider-Man Web of Fire. In addition to that, I got a Genny Model 1, Genny model 2 and 32X (with hookups). You'll be seeing a lot of this on the sales forum soon enough!

Anyway, one of the games had a later Genesis logo (red stripe on the side) with "New Leaf Entertainment" on the front. Paul Truitt from Game Core found this article, but didn't know much about it: http://articles.latimes.com/1994-06-01/business/fi-64544_1_video-game-industry. GameReviewGod remembers an article in EGM regarding this, which I do not.

Can anyone shed some extra light on this "game"? Are these things rare? I tested the cart and fond that it has The Jungle Book ripped in.

Thanks

Update: It looks like New Leaf Entertainment was killed in the mid-90s: http://books.google.com/books?id=Qv3gy101wnAC&pg=PA308&lpg=PA308&dq=New+Leaf+Entertainment+-+blockbuster&source=bl&ots=Ye9Mhl6LQ9&sig=3T6FpyaTvttb1QdfNu7OaUfk9Nw&hl=en&ei=2nneSoLwEMO2lAeQwY1D&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9&ved=0CB8Q6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=New%20Leaf%20Entertainment%20-%20blockbuster&f=false

[Baloo]

Looks like it was some kind of test service that never got off the ground.

Got a picture of the cart?

[RCM]

I can take pics, sure. How the hell do I post 'em on DP?

[mindlesspunk77]

I will give you 50 bucks sight unseen cause I love you rob.

[Kitsune Sniper]

I can take pics, sure. How the hell do I post 'em on DP?

Step 1: Take pictures
Step 2: Copy pictures to hard drive
Step 3: Go to Tinypic.com, upload picture to site
Step 4: Copy link the site gives you after the upload is finished
Step 5: Paste it into a new reply.

[RCM]

http://i36.tinypic.com/2ypnb4n.jpg

http://i35.tinypic.com/28vve44.jpg

http://i35.tinypic.com/fovmg.jpg

http://i38.tinypic.com/2elf982.jpg

[Ryaan1234]

I just picked up this lot of 106 Genny titles (all cart only, most in ok shape) and 13 32X titles (again, all cart only) including Spider-Man Web of Fire. In addition to that, I got a Genny Model 1, Genny model 2 and 32X (with hookups). You'll be seeing a lot of this on the sales forum soon enough!



Please tell me you talked them down from $250. (http://newyork.craigslist.org/jsy/vgm/1427107729.html) because even though you got this nifty New Leaf cartridge, that's a lot to pay for some Genesis games.

[RCM]

Please tell me you talked them down from $250. (http://newyork.craigslist.org/jsy/vgm/1427107729.html) Because even though you got this nifty New Leaf cartridge, that's a lot to pay for some Genesis games.

I did talk him down a bit, but I didn't think it was "a lot" considering Web of Fire was included. I paid a very low fee per item and was just looking to snag a couple games to play and make my money back on the rest. And from the way it looks, I'll certainly do that.

[Ryaan1234]

I did talk him down a bit, but I didn't think it was "a lot" considering Web of Fire was included. I paid a very low fee per item and was just looking to snag a couple games to play and make my money back on the rest. And from the way it looks, I'll certainly make it back.
I didn't see Web of Fire. That makes the lot a better deal. I'm not exactly a Genesis collector so $250 seemed a bit steep for me, but I can definitely see the resale possibilities.

[RCM]

I didn't see Web of Fire. That makes the lot a better deal. I'm not exactly a Genesis collector so $250 seemed a bit steep for me, but I can definitely see the resale possibilities.

I'm not really a collector either, which is why I was ok with the lot being cart-only. He had a huge "Genesis 32X" cart case I'd never seen before either (which he gave me). I feel pretty good about the deal. I mean, my collector friends find better deals all the time, but I was excited to see Web of Fire, and this New Leaf thing has made it even more interesting.

[darkslime]

Cool find!

And I would take that deal because web of fire is included.

[MASTERWEEDO]

so that "New Leaf" cart is like those "Game Factory" carts?

[RCM]

so that "New Leaf" cart is like those "Game Factory" carts?

Good call. Maybe this was a prototype of that failed program: http://assemblergames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23318

[Steve W]

But in that LA Times article it said you could flash a cartridge within 30 seconds, and yet the Game Factory which Blockbuster had in its stores took half an hour. Could it be that NewLeaf Entertainment was sold off by Blockbuster/IBM to another company who put it into practice as Game Factory?

[MarioMania]

How can you flash the Cart now with a new game??

[Baloo]

Is there anything on the cart?

[RCM]

How can you flash the Cart now with a new game??

I certainly can't, and imagine the hardware to do so is long gone. I'm waiting for my confirmation from Assembler to post some info on their site.

[RCM]

Is there anything on the cart?

Yes, The Jungle Book.

[swlovinist]

Yes, The Jungle Book.

Congrats on that find. What an awsome exclusive item to add to a sega collection.

[Paet]

Can you post a pic of that 32X case?

By the way, that is a good deal (mostly due to Spidy), even if you didn't talk him down much!

[gamesboro]

I think you got a hell of a deal, that cart has GOT to be rare as hell. Hold onto it.

[RCM]

Can you post a pic of that 32X case?

By the way, that is a good deal (mostly due to Spidy), even if you didn't talk him down much!

Here are pics of Spidey and the 32X case. Unfortunately, I couldn't much info on this case either.

http://i36.tinypic.com/1qln2a.jpg

http://i33.tinypic.com/24cfv9c.jpg

http://i33.tinypic.com/2q82ah2.jpg

http://i37.tinypic.com/29o0qjs.jpg

[PapaStu]

I bet that the 32X case is just one of those rental cases that spring up fairly regularly. At one point i'd bet there was foam there to keep the unit in place for rental from BB or the like.

[vintagegamecrazy]

That cart has to be ultra rare! We need that listed in the DB now too:angel:

Great find man, hold onto that thing!

[cooky560]

Cool find dude!

[RCM]

I bet that the 32X case is just one of those rental cases that spring up fairly regularly. At one point i'd bet there was foam there to keep the unit in place for rental from BB or the like.

Did Blockbuster actually rent 32X systems? It (the case) seems perfect for Genesis and 32X carts, not hardware.

@vintagegamecrazy

I'm going to take some high res photos of the cart for the collecting community, but likely won't end up holding onto it. I don't really collect, so a "super rare" cart with The Jungle Book ripped in doesn't do it for me.

[Shadow Kisuragi]

Blockbuster rented 32X systems and games at one point, along with the Genesis in the same case I believe. It looks like there are indents for both in the case, and I remember rental cases like that at my local Blockbuster.

[mindlesspunk77]

Rob it is a rental case with the foam ripped out for sure. It looks just like my Virtual Boy case I have and Saturn case I used to have. Still a cool piece for carry on luggage maybe? =)

[Retailgeek]

Hey... I can tell you what New Leaf was.

Back in the early 90's Blockbuster wanted to put databases of music in the stores and make CD's on demand for customers. The music labels didn't really want to sell their music that way (this was many years before iTunes), and so Blockbuster did a proof of concept for Sega video games. The company that developed the solution was called New Leaf Entertainment, and I used to work for them.

The idea was that stores could just carry one cartridge, and we'd burn whatever game you wanted to rent on it for the 3 days, then you returned the cartridge we could burn a different title on it for the next customer. We actually had to reverse engineer the cartridges (Sega didn't agree to work with us until after we developed a proof of concept demo). The cartridge you found was from our test market in Columbia, South Carolina where the system was deployed in 10 stores. (By the way, someone owes some serious late fees for that cartridge, lol).

The in-store burner was expensive in 1992, but it just took a couple mins to burn a title. The problem with the system was that every new big title that came out back then would have some new feature in it (more memory, etc...) that previous titles didn't have. So as soon as you made a standard blank cartridge, it was incompatible with the hottest most in demand titles. Then of course the whole world went to optical media. And Blockbuster gave up trying to get content owners to let is distribute it's content digitally.

Back in the day we made a promotional video with Dennis Miller, which you can see here (http://retailgeek.com/2010/08/03/future-of-retail-as-seen-in-1992/):

Thanks for reminding me of the good times. It's cool that the cartridge still works!

[portnoyd]

I think the real question is do you have any more of these carts or the in-store burner.

Well, that and is New Leaf = Game Factory?

[sfchakan]

Found this via Google (http://books.google.com/books?id=sgsEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA63&lpg=PA63&dq=new+leaf+entertainment+blockbuster&source=bl&ots=F5SRGdk_uE&sig=-iCceoBHAq6N_j1LdrNrmWUVycU&hl=en&ei=ezqITNbBHISBlAe42IzoDw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CBoQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=new%20leaf%20entertainment%20blockbuster&f=false).

Evidently Game Factory is the name of the game cart machine. Music Hall is the name of the music CD machine. New Leaf was the company created by IBM and Blockbuster. According to this Billboard article, at least.

RetailGeek also posted a little more information on his blog in the comments section here (http://retailgeek.com/2010/08/03/future-of-retail-as-seen-in-1992/).

[TheClash603]

I never heard of these burnable carts before, and I definitely think it sounds pretty damn cool.

Economically, it doesn't seem to make sense. I imagine the machine to write onto the carts was very expensive at the time, and I bet Blockbuster got great rates on rental games.

Regardless, I'd love to get my hands on one!

[sfchakan]

Compiled a bunch of information here (http://segafans.com/newleaf-entertainment/), along with new stuff from RetailGeek. Definitely sounds like it a was a cool idea. Too bad it never took off.

[Schiggidyd]

Compiled a bunch of information here (http://segafans.com/newleaf-entertainment/), along with new stuff from RetailGeek. Definitely sounds like it a was a cool idea. Too bad it never took off.

Thanks for the mention! I was glad to help spread some information about this exceedingly rare item!
It's still sitting safely in a custom case, in my drawer, with all my other hard-to-find games.

I'm considering asking the National Video Game Museum if they would like to display it on-loan, but I'm nervous about ownership or theft (not from the owners, from people).

[Niku-Sama]

i'd just sit on it like an egg

I wonder if Nintendo stole this idea for the SF memory cassette used in japan

[SparTonberry]

Weren't Famicom pirates doing something similar in the '80s? (a sort of pirate cart that shows up occasionally on ebay, usually mistaken as a prototype, notable for having EEPROM windows and a switch on it)
I think I've even seen an article on the device used to copy the games (though I assume it would only work on NROM games, which is basically just the first generation of FC games)

[dra600n]

I certainly can't, and imagine the hardware to do so is long gone. I'm waiting for my confirmation from Assembler to post some info on their site.

I have a custom programmer for my flash carts, I wonder if this is compatible with it. Do you have the means to open it up and show us the front and back of the PCB?

[Schiggidyd]

I have a custom programmer for my flash carts, I wonder if this is compatible with it. Do you have the means to open it up and show us the front and back of the PCB?

My copies board is right here, the important side of it anyway.
http://segascream.com/newleaf-entertainment/

[Edmond Dantes]

What's so great about Web of Fire? I remember seeing a review in Gamepro that said that game was average at best (reviewer seemed to be a fanboy as he lamented that there's almost no really good Spidey games).

[celerystalker]

What's so great about Web of Fire? I remember seeing a review in Gamepro that said that game was average at best (reviewer seemed to be a fanboy as he lamented that there's almost no really good Spidey games).

It's not that it's good so much as it is the most expensive US 32X release.

[SparTonberry]

Expensive as it was a very late release (1996, as 16-bit was slowing down let alone for a flop add-on like the 32X).

[dra600n]

My copies board is right here, the important side of it anyway.
http://segascream.com/newleaf-entertainment/

Thanks :)
It looks like it supports 2 MB roms. Unsure if the programming software I have supports those chips, but I don't think I'd be able to do anything with one of those based on the mapper/chip setup if I had access to one without redesigning an adapter for it.

[AdamAnt316]

My copies board is right here, the important side of it anyway.
http://segascream.com/newleaf-entertainment/

Very cool! Looks like it uses a big coin cell on the board, possibly to store the game info on the chip(s). Might not be a bad idea to replace it at some point in order to avoid losing its contents, though that might affect its value to some collectors. :?
-Adam

[Gameguy]

Very cool! Looks like it uses a big coin cell on the board, possibly to store the game info on the chip(s). Might not be a bad idea to replace it at some point in order to avoid losing its contents, though that might affect its value to some collectors. :?
-Adam
It could just be to support save features, I assume the carts would need to support all games including RPGs.

[AdamAnt316]

It could just be to support save features, I assume the carts would need to support all games including RPGs.

Could very well be. Depends on the sort of chip they used to store the game data, I guess. If it's some sort of (E)EPROM, there's probably nothing to worry about. If it's SRAM, though, it'd lose its data when the battery went dead. Of course, given the fact that over 20 years has passed since that cart was made, it'd likely be flat by now, but I'm pretty sure I've seen NES carts like Legend of Zelda which still manage to hold saved games, so who knows. Just thought I'd throw it out there, in any case...
-Adam

[SparTonberry]

Thanks :)
It looks like it supports 2 MB roms. Unsure if the programming software I have supports those chips, but I don't think I'd be able to do anything with one of those based on the mapper/chip setup if I had access to one without redesigning an adapter for it.

Luckily 2 MB covers like 95% of the Genesis library. (I remember looking through the Genesis ROM set, and I recall less than 20 games over that.)
Although I'm guessing in this cart's development, 95% wouldn't have been enough, they'd want full support (I don't know if they'd excuse one-offs like Virtua Racing).

[dra600n]

Luckily 2 MB covers like 95% of the Genesis library. (I remember looking through the Genesis ROM set, and I recall less than 20 games over that.)
Although I'm guessing in this cart's development, 95% wouldn't have been enough, they'd want full support (I don't know if they'd excuse one-offs like Virtua Racing).

Oh definitely. I can only think of 4 or 5 games off the top of my head that used mappers over 2mb (toy story, phantasy star 4, I think quarterback club though that may be a 2mb mapper, and one of the basketball games).

I think it would've been more than enough at the time, though I think the write time killed it. Didn't someone mention that it took 15 or 25 minutes to put it together? If it wasn't a 30 second flash, I can't imagine many customers would want to wait for more than a few minutes.

Still such a fascinating concept of the time

[Gameguy]

I think it would've been more than enough at the time, though I think the write time killed it. Didn't someone mention that it took 15 or 25 minutes to put it together? If it wasn't a 30 second flash, I can't imagine many customers would want to wait for more than a few minutes.
The write time for the cartridge was fast, it was only the CD burning that was slow. As they were getting the carts ready for market new games were coming out that were larger than the cart could handle, namely Maximum Carnage. It's all described in the article you quoted the link to earlier.