Do I have a prototype?

[abartabart]

Bought a few loose NES games yesterday. A few didn't have labels, one of which is Wario Woods. It seems to run the same as the retail only there is a small fixed number in the right side of the screen while you play. Nothing I have yet to do gets the number to change so not sure what it is.

The cart looks like it never had a label on it to begin with(no residue) but it could also be that it's damaged.

[BeaglePuss]

The surest way to tell would be to open the cart and take a picture of the PCB.

Edit: I would open ALL of the carts that are missing labels just to be on the safe side. Who knows, you may have stumbled across a goldmine.

[abartabart]

One of the non labels is Baseball and the other doesn't work. I don't have any means of opening them. I doubt they are anything rare, I bought them here in the middle of Kentucky at a flea market.

[Dangerboy]

I bought two N64 prototypes at a flea market. Trust me - you never know where stuff ends up. Anyway to take a pic of the screen?

[BeaglePuss]

I bought two N64 prototypes at a flea market. Trust me - you never know where stuff ends up. Anyway to take a pic of the screen?
This.

There have been plenty of protos found at fleas over the years, so it wouldn't be a shocker. I would spend the $4 to get an NES bit off eBay just in case.

[TheDomesticInstitution]

I don't have any means of opening them.


$4.95 Shipped Buy it Now on Ebay. (http://cgi.ebay.com/4-5MM-3-8MM-for-SEGA-N64-SNES-SECURITY-GAMEBIT-TOOL_W0QQitemZ280446582654QQcmdZViewItemQQptZVideo _Games_Accessories?hash=item414beb3f7e)

This includes both sizes of the bits, so you can open Sega and other Nintendo consoles/games.

[BeaglePuss]

Any update here?

I would love to see pics of the carts or any screen caps at the very least. Again, you never know what you might have.

[Orpent]

I have some first party Nintendo protos (not NES) that show a fixed number on the screen.

Orpent

[BeaglePuss]

I have some first party Nintendo protos (not NES) that show a fixed number on the screen.

Orpent
Do you have any screen caps? I wouldn't mind seeing pics to get a better idea of what you mean.

[Shadow Kisuragi]

The fixed number on screen is probably the build/revision number. It's a common debugging technique for identifying builds.

[BeaglePuss]

The fixed number on screen is probably the build/revision number. It's a common debugging technique for identifying builds.
I don't know if i'd use the word common. I have 60 or so NES prototypes and not one has the fixed number feature.

[TheRedEye]

I don't know if i'd use the word common. I have 60 or so NES prototypes and not one has the fixed number feature.

I would imagine the majority of yours were burned for the media, not for debugging. Also I don't imagine that it's very common for NES games, it seems too difficult of a feature to add in with such limited hardware. All of the build numbers I've seen on NES games were just on the title screen.

[BeaglePuss]

I would imagine the majority of yours were burned for the media, not for debugging. Also I don't imagine that it's very common for NES games, it seems to difficult of a feature to add in with such limited hardware. All of the build numbers I've seen on NES games were just on the title screen.
Majority? Most likely. With that said, a good deal are WIPs without a doubt and certainly weren't ready for the media (judging by the stage of development). None of these have a number or marking that I can detect.

I would imagine that it's FAR more common for CD based media because so many were produced, but I only really have NES stuff to go by.

I haven't seen any numbers added on the title screen of an NES prototype, but I wouldn't mind seeing what a screen cap of one looks like. Does anyone have one? Was it more common for first party titles to carry such a moniker, or is that just a coincidence?

[Shadow Kisuragi]

Majority? Most likely. With that said, a good deal are WIPs without a doubt and certainly weren't ready for the media (judging by the stage of development). None of these have a number or marking that I can detect.

I would imagine that it's FAR more common for CD based media because so many were produced, but I only really have NES stuff to go by.

I haven't seen any numbers added on the title screen of an NES prototype, but I wouldn't mind seeing what a screen cap of one looks like. Does anyone have one? Was it more common for first party titles to carry such a moniker, or is that just a coincidence?

It is indeed far more common on media that is one-time use. That is why most NES prototypes have the date/build on the actual hardware - reusable hardware.

It would also make sense that this would not be common practice on earlier software (including NES) due to memory usage. Corners were cut for any available memory, including removal of the " O " character (replaced by " 0 " character) in order to free up a few KB.

[dc28ac19]

i found mario bros lab loaner proto in a box of atari 2600 games where can i find its value dont know if it works dont have a 2600 to try it

[abartabart]

Sorry for going silent but I was contacted by someone that bought the cart off me and asked I remain silent on it then just sort of forgot about this place.