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GKnight
11-08-2009, 07:23 PM
Hi, are carts with "lab loaner" or "for review only" stickers generally a form of protype or beta?
portnoyd
11-08-2009, 07:52 PM
Lab loaners generally refer to Atari prototypes (2600 and 5200). It seems to be Atari's default style for any development title. They can be very early builds or completely different than a retail version, or they can be the final version.

For review only are intended for media preview and, uh, review. They are usually complete and can be no different than the retail release.

Hope that clear it up!
GKnight
11-09-2009, 07:18 PM
Lab loaners generally refer to Atari prototypes (2600 and 5200). It seems to be Atari's default style for any development title. They can be very early builds or completely different than a retail version, or they can be the final version.

For review only are intended for media preview and, uh, review. They are usually complete and can be no different than the retail release.

Hope that clear it up!



Ok, thanks for the help. I thought I had seen "lab loaner" written on some Genesis carts I had though it turns out I was mistaken. For the preview copies, is there any way to tell if it is actually not the final version without playing through the whole game?
Wickeycolumbus
11-10-2009, 06:22 PM
For the preview copies, is there any way to tell if it is actually not the final version without playing through the whole game?

Yes, dump the cart and compare the ROM with that of the released version with a hex editor.
PapaStu
11-10-2009, 06:34 PM
The only surefire way is to dump the rom and compare it to the released rom.
GKnight
11-11-2009, 04:16 PM
The only surefire way is to dump the rom and compare it to the released rom.


Ok, what are the basic things I would need to do that and where would I go to get them?

Thanks for the help.
Wickeycolumbus
11-11-2009, 04:44 PM
Ok, what are the basic things I would need to do that and where would I go to get them?

Thanks for the help.

It depends, what kind of games are you looking to dump?
GKnight
11-11-2009, 08:25 PM
It depends, what kind of games are you looking to dump?

Mostly Genesis and Jaguar right now.