NES Cartridge Design Variants

[Dain]

Ok, I sent this to a friend who's also been trying to figure the 3 vs. 5 mystery:

Here's essentially what I've come up with as far as the 3 vs. 5 variations:

I am very convinced that ALL games released on or before December 1987 will eventually show up with a 5 screw version. This only leaves a handful of games that haven't been verified:

1. Gotcha! (Nov. 87)
2. Jaws (Nov. 87)
3. Karate Kid (Nov. 87)
4. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! (Oct. 87)
5. Side Pocket (June 87)
6. Stadium Events (Sept. 87) -- Might takes years to prove
7. Star Force (Nov. 87)
8. Tiger-Heli (Sept. 87)
9. Mega Man 1 (Dec. 87)

Now, the last two are said to exist (Tiger-Heil and Mega Man), but I haven't seen them yet (pics, anyone?). Also, there is rumor that Karnov exists, but I think that's highly unlikely. Most agree that Stadium Events doesn't exist with 5 scews -- I think that's likely incorrect, but it may take a lifetime to prove :D

Just as interesting, the following games are ones that I haven't been able to find a USA 3 screw version of (note, this excludes Canada and Europe, which have 3 screw versions of Gyromite, and a few others -- I'm talking strictly of US-release versions):

1.) Chubby Cherub (extremely unlikely)
2.) Clu Clu Land (possible)
3.) Donkey Kong (possible)
4.) Donkey Kong Jr. (possible)
5.) Donkey Kong Jr. Math (extremely unlikely)
6.) Gyromite (extremely unlikely)
7.) MUSCLE (extremely unlikely)
8.) Soccer (likely)
9.) Sqoon (extremely unlikely)
10.) Stack-Up (extremely unlikely)
11.) Stinger (extremely unlikely)

I think it's possible, maybe even likely, that Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., Clu Clu Land and Soccer exist in 3 screw form, but I haven't seen them yet. The supposed MUSCLE in 3 screw form -- I'd bet my left kidney that's wrong. The ones I have listed as "Extremely Unlikely" are ones that I'd darn near pay to see proof of! The ones listed as "Possible" are exactly that -- but I still haven't seen proof yet.

Anyway, that's what I've got for now. That makes 80 confirmed 5 screw games (81 if you count the only non-US released 5 screw game, Devil World) out of a likely 90. I would really like for someone to prove me right or wrong on the above.

-Dain

[Dr. Morbis]

I think it's possible, maybe even likely, that Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., Clu Clu Land and Soccer exist in 3 screw form, but I haven't seen them yet.
Assuming they discontinued DK and DKjr before DK Classics was released, I would think that 3-screw variants of these two would be unlikely.

[nationgamesdepot]

I think the main problem is that not many people collect these, and lots of people don't even really know there is a difference. I am going to start hardcore searching for the variants that still haven't been found. I will let you all know if I find anything.
~~NGD

[Dain]

NGD,

Thanks -- much appreciated. I've got a few medium-scale sellers that I've grown friendships with that have the list of games still incognito. They said they'd let me know if they find any of them (missing 5 screw or 3 screw versions).

I agree that it's too bad that most don't collect these, but judging by the response on this thread, there are more collectors than I originally would have expected.

Anyway, I'll be back with more info when/if I have it.

-Dain

[Jumpman Jr.]

Anybody else see 1943 with two label variations?
One with a black seal, and one with a white seal.
I beleive I have a black one, anybody have a white one?

[Dain]

Anybody else see 1943 with two label variations?
One with a black seal, and one with a white seal.
I beleive I have a black one, anybody have a white one?

Yeah, 1943 came with two versions, one with the newer seal of quality (the white oval with gold trim) and the older seal (the black and gold round version).

You can pretty much find all games released before 1988 and re-released after 1988 with two or more seal versions.

-Dain

[Qixmaster]

alright, here is one... anyone else ever see an upside down yoshi label? i just sold my complete copy on dp, but it is most definately the only one i have ever seen.

-Josh

[captain nintendo]

alright, here is one... anyone else ever see an upside down yoshi label? i just sold my complete copy on dp, but it is most definitely the only one i have ever seen.

-Josh

I have seen an upside down SMB label.(long ago) Somebody wasnt paying attention while doing quality checks LOL

[Dain]

Nope, haven't seen that before -- perhaps you should've held onto it like the upside down airplane stamp that's worth millions now! :-)

I'd imagine it was a fluke in the manufacturing process, but if there's one.... there's likely others, somewhere out yonder.

-Dain

[bunnyboy]

More for the 5v3 screw list: I just got my first two test cartridges and the joystick test cart (copright 1990) is 3 screw, port test cart (copyright 1992) is 5 screw. Has anyone checked to see if there are different versions of the software on the carts?

[nationgamesdepot]

I know for sure there is 2 versions of the control deck test cart, and 2 of the NTF2 test cart.

Also, the powerpad test cart is 5 screw to.
~~NGD

[CollectEmAll]

Anybody else see 1943 with two label variations?
One with a black seal, and one with a white seal.
I beleive I have a black one, anybody have a white one?

Yeah, 1943 came with two versions, one with the newer seal of quality (the white oval with gold trim) and the older seal (the black and gold round version).

You can pretty much find all games released before 1988 and re-released after 1988 with two or more seal versions.

-Dain


I can do you one better! I have the old black sealed 1943, the gold one with the TM symbol, and the gold one with the (R) trademark symbol. That's another way I'm figuring out which vairations are out there. If I have a game with the (R) symbol, but that was clearly first released during the time Nintendo was using just TM, I know there is another version out there.

[Bronty-2]

[quote=Jumpman Jr.]

You can pretty much find all games released before 1988 and re-released after 1988 with two or more seal versions.

-Dain

What he said. March 1989 to be more precise.

[CollectEmAll]

[quote=Jumpman Jr.]

You can pretty much find all games released before 1988 and re-released after 1988 with two or more seal versions.

-Dain

What he said. March 1989 to be more precise.

Weird.. I'm holding a Track and Field II with the old seal. My release list says it was released in 89-06. Is the list wrong or should things upto Jun of 1989 have old seals too?

[nationgamesdepot]

Weird.. I'm holding a Track and Field II with the old seal. My release list says it was released in 89-06. Is the list wrong or should things upto Jun of 1989 have old seals too?


My list has the game being released in FEB of 89.
~~NGD

[CollectEmAll]

Weird.. I'm holding a Track and Field II with the old seal. My release list says it was released in 89-06. Is the list wrong or should things upto Jun of 1989 have old seals too?


My list has the game being released in FEB of 89.
~~NGD

What list is that? I bought your $3 list from ebay and that info is not listed :(

[CollectEmAll]

Another tidbit.. A Friend found 'Home Alone' RevA and 'Track and Field II' RevA last night. I'd sure like some other collectors to try and get a better listing of these. Bugs me that I might be playing a game with a bug in it that Nintendo already fixed!

Does anyone know the 'exact' month Nintendo went from showing TM under the new seal to (R)? I've been finding lots of games with both kinds of labels.

[nationgamesdepot]

I have been working on a new list list in excel that has a shit ton more info. I am going through my collection and adding ID#, rarity, price, and tons of new variants, unrealeased games and whatever else random tidbit's of info I can think of.

I am not sure about the TM thing, I will see if I can find anything out.
~~NGD

[CollectEmAll]

I have been working on a new list list in excel that has a shit ton more info. I am going through my collection and adding ID#, rarity, price, and tons of new variants, unrealeased games and whatever else random tidbit's of info I can think of.

I am not sure about the TM thing, I will see if I can find anything out.
~~NGD

Do previous list buyers get an update e-mailed to them?

[dougman999]

black box variations huh?

just so you know, their are more then just two variations for those suckers.
Others that i know have 5 screwd versions are
Athena
Legend of Kage
Alpha Mission
Kid Icurus
Metroid
Rad Racer
Sky Kid
Athletic World (yes, good luck finding the five screw one, it's extremely hard to find)
Stadium Events

And i am sure there are a slew of other games i left of.

-Josh

I have a 5 screw Athletic World. I think I bought it at a game crazy sometime last year.

[nationgamesdepot]

Do previous list buyers get an update e-mailed to them?

This is the first time that I have really made drastic changes to it. If you want a copy of the new list, send me a pm with your email address and I will live it in my inbox so I remember to send it when I final get it done. I am over 3/4 the way done, but it just takes forever to do this shit.
~~NGD

[CollectEmAll]

Do previous list buyers get an update e-mailed to them?

This is the first time that I have really made drastic changes to it. If you want a copy of the new list, send me a pm with your email address and I will live it in my inbox so I remember to send it when I final get it done. I am over 3/4 the way done, but it just takes forever to do this shit.
~~NGD

Sure.. I too have a huge database of variants, but is is very hard to follow unless you are me, because it is formatted for a tiny palm pilot screen.

[CollectEmAll]

Does anyone have a list of the 5 screw games that never got released with the new white seal? I've found almost all of the originals in the 3 screw format, but some of them are only using the old black seal.

A few I can't find a "10 yard fight", "3d worldrunner" and "Alpha mission".

[MichaeltheGreat]

You know, I have my own theory about Stadium Events. I think that the orginal 5 screw Athletic World with the Family/Fun/Fitness is the five screw varient for Stadium Events that so many seem to think must exist.

My understanding is that the original production of Athletic world was the packin for the Bandi Family/Fun/Fitness pad. Stadium events was the stand alone release. Since they're practically the same game, why'd they get released at different times? I think the production was later and they rushed the release date to get a closer release time.

Remember it is production time and not release time that determines which games were 5 screw and which were not. Even if 5 screw games were released after Stadium events, they could have been produced before Stadium Events. They may have sat on some 5 screw carts to release them in the Holiday season.

I don't really know anything and these are just my thoughts. Feel free to tell me I'm wrong if you have any further info.

[CollectEmAll]

I was flipping through a friend's collection. He has a Dragon Warrior III RevB, Can anyone put their hands on Rev0 or RevA for proof? I'm assuming all games started with a nonA version, but I just can't seem to find some of them (like DK and DKJR and Pro Wrestling)

[CollectEmAll]

I'll try and revive this topic a little :)

I need to find a 5 Screw MegaMan and a 3 screw Soccer, then i'll have all variations that I know of.

Also trying to find a World Games with the oval seal with ENGLISH text. Every one i've seen is SPANISH.

I'd also like to confirm the existance of a V6 for Bible Adventures.

Otherwise, I think I actually own (1444 unique now!) or can quickly get everything else 'known'.

[dougman999]

I was flipping through a friend's collection. He has a Dragon Warrior III RevB, Can anyone put their hands on Rev0 or RevA for proof? I'm assuming all games started with a nonA version, but I just can't seem to find some of them (like DK and DKJR and Pro Wrestling)

I'm holding in my hands a Rev-A Dragon Warrior III. The back label has the number 12 on it.

[starsoldier1]

i looked at my collection here and I have both 3 and 5 screw variants for these NES games:

3D World Runner
Athena
Baseball
Burgertime
Deadly Towers
Donkey Kong 3
Duck Hunt
Gyromite
Hogan's Alley
Karate Champ
Kid Icarus
Kung Fu
Mach Rider
Mighty Bomb Jack
Pro Wrestling
Raid on Burgeling Bay
Ring King
Rush N Attack
Section Z
Slamon
Super Mario Bros.
Top Gun
Track and Field
Winter Games
Wizards and Warriors
Wrecking Crew

Hope this helps.

[CollectEmAll]

i looked at my collection here and I have both 3 and 5 screw variants for these NES games:

3D World Runner
Athena
Baseball
Burgertime
Deadly Towers
Donkey Kong 3
Duck Hunt
Gyromite
Hogan's Alley
Karate Champ
Kid Icarus
Kung Fu
Mach Rider
Mighty Bomb Jack
Pro Wrestling
Raid on Burgeling Bay
Ring King
Rush N Attack
Section Z
Slamon
Super Mario Bros.
Top Gun
Track and Field
Winter Games
Wizards and Warriors
Wrecking Crew

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the info. You are from Canada no? I'll bet your 3 screw Gyromite is the (-)CAN labelled version. In fact, it would be great to know which of those you listed are CAN labels (something else to collect later).

[Jumpman Jr.]

Thanks for the info. You are from Canada no? I'll bet your 3 screw Gyromite is the (-)CAN labelled version. In fact, it would be great to know which of those you listed are CAN labels (something else to collect later).[/quote]

Is there anything you want me to look for? I've got all the black box NES games, I could take a look at each of them and tell you if they're CAN labels and what screw variant they are.

[starsoldier1]

Thanks for the info. You are from Canada no? I'll bet your 3 screw Gyromite is the (-)CAN labelled version. In fact, it would be great to know which of those you listed are CAN labels (something else to collect later).

Is there anything you want me to look for? I've got all the black box NES games, I could take a look at each of them and tell you if they're CAN labels and what screw variant they are.[/quote]

Yup, I'm Canadian here too. Is that (-)Can listed on the back or the front of the cart?

[CollectEmAll]

Thanks for the info. You are from Canada no? I'll bet your 3 screw Gyromite is the (-)CAN labelled version. In fact, it would be great to know which of those you listed are CAN labels (something else to collect later).

Is there anything you want me to look for? I've got all the black box NES games, I could take a look at each of them and tell you if they're CAN labels and what screw variant they are.

Yup, I'm Canadian here too. Is that (-)Can listed on the back or the front of the cart?[/quote]

For the black box stuff, in the USA the originals did not have the NES-??-USA ID stuff on the front label. For those, the Canadian releases seem to have a simple CAN on the front of the label. Later Canadian games have the same format as USA (NES-??-CAN)

What i'm MOST looking for is someone who honest to god bought popeye and pro wrestling on their day of release. I've been through dozens of those (5 screw) and can't find the original V1.0. I think Nintendo must have bugfixed them before importing them. I actually imported the original JAP FC versions and they ARE V1.0 chips inside the housing.

BTW, the ONLY diff in pro wrestling is that V1.0 says 'A Winner is You' when you win, V1.1 says 'Winner is You' instead. Absolutely he same otherwise.

[starsoldier1]

I just checked my two Gyromite games and they are both Canadian.

the 3 screw has NES-GY-CAN
the 5 screw has just CAN

and both have English and French on the back.

[CollectEmAll]

I just checked my two Gyromite games and they are both Canadian.

the 3 screw has NES-GY-CAN
the 5 screw has just CAN

and both have English and French on the back.

WHEW.. was thinking i'd have to find a USA 3 screw gyromite :)

Was that you who just scooped up Stadium Events on egay?

[CollectEmAll]

I just checked my two Gyromite games and they are both Canadian.

the 3 screw has NES-GY-CAN
the 5 screw has just CAN

and both have English and French on the back.

WHEW.. was thinking i'd have to find a USA 3 screw gyromite :)

Was that you who just scooped up Stadium Events on egay?

[starsoldier1]

Heh heh, yup that was me! It was one of the last games I needed for my complete licensed NES collection. I hope I get the SE game next week.

[starsoldier1]

That asks another question: are the US versions rarer then the CAN ones or not? Just how collectable are these certain titles and are they listed on the rarity guide here? I'm pretty sure there is a bunch of CAN ones up there in the US as well and vice versa.

[kentuckyfried]

I would like to know approximaitely how many carts there would be total if you were to try to collect every single NES cart with every variation ever made. I'm thinking around 1,500 or around there. Because alot of the NES library was made in 1990 or after, and those carts only had 1 release (the white oval), so the majority of the games only have 1 release. Does anyone want to comment on this?

On contrer my fellow nerd.

I have found some wacky ass variations on releases after 1990. Yoshi with an upside down label, different warning label variations on bases loaded 2... i could keep going but i would rather not bore people.

now if you were to collect every single NES cart with every variation i would say there would be well over 5,000 carts (like Dr. Morbis said) and that it would be damn near impossible (and the number is just a guess). Now if you were only collecting NTSC north american releases then the number would be significantly lower, otherwise you have to think about all of those european countries with different cart/box art, south america (namely brazil) and australia. It seems impossible for one person to acheive such a feat in a lifetime.

Are you including the Canadian releases? That would be another buttload of games to add to the total of variants.

[dangevin]

I'm pretty sure this fits under this topic: I've noticed in addition to the 3/5-screw variants, that there are different warning labels on the back of my NES carts. Some have a copyright date, some don't. Some have more lines of warning, some are very brief. I'm of course talking about my doubles of the same game. Are these variants unto themselves, or is it really arbitrary (well, moreso than some of the hairsplitting that goes into the plastic cartridge variations!)

edit: additionally, I was checking warning labels on my Tengen games, and some have a different identifier line on the bottom. After the "Patent Pending, Made in the USA" line some say "Manufactured by Tengen", while others do not have this line. I observed this on various games, most notably on Gauntlet of which I have two copies, one with and one without the "Manufactured..." line.

Finally, I tried to match up warning labels with different revisions, or variants (5/3 reg screw/3 safe screw/3 oval) and saw no pattern other than a chronological relation...of course later variants often had later (more wordy!) warning labels and 5-screws have the earliest warning labels with no copyright date.

So what I'm asking is...do people care at ALL? I guess if we care about flat-heads and black circle vs white oval and so-forth, this would matter as well? This could of course potentially DOUBLE the number of variants of each cartridge.

Thoughts? :)

-Dan

[GarrettCRW]

What i'm MOST looking for is someone who honest to god bought popeye and pro wrestling on their day of release. I've been through dozens of those (5 screw) and can't find the original V1.0. I think Nintendo must have bugfixed them before importing them. I actually imported the original JAP FC versions and they ARE V1.0 chips inside the housing.

BTW, the ONLY diff in pro wrestling is that V1.0 says 'A Winner is You' when you win, V1.1 says 'Winner is You' instead. Absolutely he same otherwise.

You do know that Pro Wrestling was never released as a cartridge in Japan, right?

[CollectEmAll]

You do know that Pro Wrestling was never released as a cartridge in Japan, right?

I must have seen an FDS to cart conversion then. There are definitely two different 'winners' screens. I must find a screenshot again of them

[BIGMIKE]

stumbled onto this and it got me to lurking around my stuff.
only variant i can find are my Roger Clemens MVP Baseball
labels, both are 3 screwed.....yippee

[CollectEmAll]

You do know that Pro Wrestling was never released as a cartridge in Japan, right?
I FINALLY found a USA non-revA 1.0 Pro Wrestling, so it does exist! Also found an ORANGE labelled PINBALL in the same batch of carts (normally PINBALL is in purple on front label). I'm told this is from the batch of carts made for test marketing purposes.. If anyone can tell me more about it, I'd love to know!

[RugalSizzler]

Well I just looked threw my pile. I have mostly

four games that haves 5 screws with regular screws and the perfect circle label
ifinity amount of games that have 3 screws and security bolt
one games that haves 3 screws with a regular screw
one game wih the gold paper cover and security bolt.
one game with the gold label on back and haves 3 screws with a regular screw
one game that haves a gold label on back and 3 screws and security bolt

Personally I could give a darg about revisions with most of the games. It makes no diffrence.