118th and 119th NWC carts discovered

[rbudrick]

Hey folks,

A lot of you read my threads on former Nintendo Game Play Counsellor Ben Smith, where a 117th cart was revealed. I was meaning to post this sooner (after some scans), but in light of the recent "Vancouver" NWC cart auction, I figured I'd post now and put up pics later tonight...at least if I make the thread first it'll force me to get off my lazy ass tonight and actually post the pics, LOL

So, here's the story. I got in touch with an anonymous collector. He truly doesn't want anyone to know who he is, but I can assure you he was not a finalist and he is the original owner of the cart (which he got around 1990). He was willing to sell me his cart, and I am happy to say it is in MINT condition (no peeling label or actiplaque going on).

Some of you may not know this, but the technicians at the NWC (no, he was not one of the technicians, nor am I even saying he worked at the NWC) carried around a red box full of NWC carts, which they would swap out of the systems as they set up each "kiosk," for lack of a better word. This is info I gathered from Ben Smith in further speaking with him. Each cart in the box was placed in a bag identical to the bags commercial NES games came in when you opened the box. I was psyched to find out I have the original bag on mine, not that it is provable....it's very cool, but unprovable, unfortunately. :) Yay! I own the 118th cart. 8-) Mmmm, history, droooll... lol!

Now, Ben Smith emailed again recently and he was quite happy to inform me he found another NWC cart (he is not selling...at least not currently) in a box of things he was rummaging through during a recent move. He thought he had a 2nd cart, but he wasn't quite sure. He actually almost threw the box of junk out! :eek 2: :eek 2: Luckily, he did not, and history is preserved. :)

I'll post pics of my cart tonight and I'm waiting on Ben for a pic of his...he's just gotta get his scanner up and running, and he's been super-busy lately.

In light of my recent discoveries, I would imagine (and hope) that NWC carts would go DOWN in price...but we'll wait and see how that "Vancouver" auction goes (they reek of bull, those damn bidders...but we'll see). Or, I suppose it could have the opposite effect and start a bidding frenzies everywhere.

I'm seriously wondering if that Vancouver cart is the 120th cart, being so close to Redmond (2.5 hour drive or so), but who knows. He found it in a shop for next to nothing, lucky dog.

I'll have another very cool Ben Smith thread soon (gotta get a bunch of pics together). :-)

Here's to finding hundreds more NWC carts!

-Rob

[anagrama]

So, with at least 119 known to exist (and probably more still unknown), can we expect to see this marked down to an R9 anytime soon?

[rbudrick]

Well....with only 3 confirmed extras discovered, I bet it's hard to say at this point. Hmmm...DP's call, I guess.

I'll keep researching if you guys can keep throwing me leads. Hopefully more will turn up. Oh, and send me any pics of NWC carts you folks may have for archiving (or any NWC-related info). NWC owners, care to volunteer me pics of your carts and your stories behind them? I would very, very much appreciate it, as it would be incredibly useful to collectors to have an archive of these and who owns them...it would also protect your investment by preventing future fraud...that is, future faked NWC carts, as unlikely as that may seem. I have a lot of info on the NWC now, and it has become a full-fledged side-hobby to collecting...researching the NWC, that is. Anything you can throw my way would be awesome. I'd like to help preserve the history of the event before it is gone or forgotten. Hell, maybe if I get enough info I can do a book someday on the event.

-Rob

[BrokenFlight]

Forgive my ignorance, but what's an NWC cartridge?

[anagrama]

Forgive my ignorance, but what's an NWC cartridge?

Do a search.

[K3V]

Forgive my ignorance, but what's an NWC cartridge?

Do a search.

You could have just said "Nintendo World Championship."

It's the same number of words, just a few more letters. Not too hard.

[snes_collector]

I'm confused, does the cart say on it what number you have?

[poloplayr]

yes, in a southern accent.

[Jumpman Jr.]

Forgive my ignorance, but what's an NWC cartridge?

Do a search.

You could have just said "Nintendo World Championship."

It's the same number of words, just a few more letters. Not too hard.

Ease up. (Not the second guy).
It was a cartidge used to play a contest that Nintendo held called "Nintendo World Championships." They were never sold publicly but, after the competition finished, Nintendo gave out the carts to lucky Nintendo Power contest winners. Some are in a gold cart (I think only given out to contest winners) and some are in a grey cart; which I think they used for the contest.
I think thats right.


I'm confused, does the cart say on it what number you have?

I don't think it does. I beleive the grey ones do, but the gold ones don't. The gold ones have a tiny label about an inch in area (from what I can see from pictures) that says "NWC."

correct me if I'm wrong on any of this.

Also, I can't imagine owning a copy of this. Amazing find you got. Owning a game is one thing, but this is a piece of history. How much did you pay for it?

[portnoyd]

I found a guy a loooong time ago, who had worked as an engineer on the NWC show, and he took a grey home with him. Believe me, I tried to get it, but he lost it on one of the 3 times he had moved since the show and then. Dunno if you want to confirm #120 off that info.

And wouldn't there be at least 330 of them in existence? Or is this ones that could possibly be in non-NOA hands?

dave

[Zing]

I'm not quite sure how 3 recently discovered carts that will most likely never leave the current owner's hands will lower the value of other publicly available carts.

[rbudrick]

http://img364.imageshack.us/img364/3622/273nwccartrobbudrick6lg.th.jpg (http://img364.imageshack.us/my.php?image=273nwccartrobbudrick6lg.jpg)

Ok here's my cart. :-) I had to thumbnail this one because it's huge when you see the full size...too big for the forums, as it messes up the screen and hogs DP's bandwidth.

http://img54.imageshack.us/img54/473/gold10ty.jpg

For reference, here is a pic of a gold cart (random one). I reckon these will solely be indentifiable via tiny noticeable markings on them, which I one day intend to make careful note of, once i get enough pics. I know one dude owns a few of them :eek 2: There is a thread somewhere with him posting....I should try to track him down.

As for them leaving the collector's hands, I know mine won't but the various auctions I've seen over the years are proof enough that they do indeed leave collectors' hands often enough.

Oh, and the 330 proves nothing, really. There is no direct proof that these numbers are not random or that they indiicate a sequence of any kind....yet. I am tryiing to gather evidence to prove it one way or the other. Until then, the numbers are merely unique identifiers (only because I haven't seen a number repeated, lol, but even that's an assumption). I believe I once saw a cart with a 0895 on it once, but I could be quite wrong.

Portnoyd, if you have this guy's contact info, or any additional info that I may be able to use to find him, I'll get you really drunk should we happen to be around beer at the same time someday. Free drinks for Portnoyd!! LOL

-Rob

[Dr. Morbis]

I believe I once saw a cart with a 0895 on it once, but I could be quite wrong.

I remember that discussion, but I'm pretty sure it was 0095.

Anyway, I think it's more important to catalogue known surviving NWC carts. To say the "119th has been found" makes it sound like there are 118 others already accounted for in collectors hands, which I'm sure is not the case. It would be nice if there was an ownership list similar to the cubicolor list that was in th earlier DP guides.

The numbers on the gray carts tells us how many were manufactured. It looks like there were 300+ made, if they started at 0001. Has anyone seen one below 0009, or one in the high 300's?

[Leo_A]

I never understood the fascination so many members of DP have with this game.

I don't see it at other classic gaming forums, including those with lots of NES fans.

[rbudrick]

Well, they are pieces of history, Leo. If we aren't to preserve it, then who?

Sure, the other 116 are not accounted for, but we know now at least 119 were made. That is just as important...it's just another piece of "The Great NWC Cart Mystery," as I like to call it. :)

-Rob

[anagrama]

I'm not quite sure how 3 recently discovered carts that will most likely never leave the current owner's hands will lower the value of other publicly available carts.

No-one is suggesting it will. However, rarity and value are two seperate things, and the DP database FAQ states:



R10 Not only is this the centerpiece of a collection, but a ten also means you could be holding a one-of-a-kind (certainly no more than a dozen or so) there- kind of like owning a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle , or Issue #1 of DC's Action Comics.


119 is certainly more than a dozen. Therefore, the NWC should not be R10.

[portnoyd]

Portnoyd, if you have this guy's contact info, or any additional info that I may be able to use to find him, I'll get you really drunk should we happen to be around beer at the same time someday. Free drinks for Portnoyd!! LOL

*dusts off his copy of Eudora*

Well, shit, apparently, last year, the 11 and under winner for Phoenix emailed me saying he likes my site. He said he got a small cup-shaped trophy and a plaQue (har har), both of which he couldn't find at the time. He sent me a cart scan, which was #166.

Here's the engineer email:

From: That Guy
To: 'Dave Warmington' <schwillz@sexmagnet.com>
Subject: RE: About the NWC you worked on...
Date: Fri, 15 Jun 2001 07:15:00 -0700

Sorry it took so long to reply.

I HAD on of the competition cartridges but I've moved 4 time in the last 6 years and only God know where it might be.

-----Original Message-----
From: Dave Warmington [mailto:schwillz@sexmagnet.com]
Sent: Sunday, June 10, 2001 4:59 AM
To: That Guy
Subject: About the NWC you worked on...

Hey,

You wouldn't happen to have one of the carts that was used in the competition? Just curious... figured it be worth a shot to ask..

[anagrama]

He said he got a small cup-shaped trophy and a plague

Jesus! You'd have thought they would treat the winners a bit better than that! LOL

[portnoyd]

And oh yeah, it's still an R10, because they were never sold. That sets it apart from a R9. And I don't buy the random numbering at all, we'll agree to disagree, but I stand by that there are 330 carts, at least.

[Speedy_NES]

And oh yeah, it's still an R10, because they were never sold. That sets it apart from a R9. And I don't buy the random numbering at all, we'll agree to disagree, but I stand by that there are 330 carts, at least.

343:

http://www.rfgeneration.com/cgi-bin/getinfo.pl?ID=U-027-S-04590-A&

:)

-Speedy

[anagrama]

And oh yeah, it's still an R10, because they were never sold. That sets it apart from a R9.

EDIT: I've just been thinking about this one a bit more, and I don't really follow that logic - even if all 119 (or whatever) copies known to have escaped Ninty's grasp had been sold in stores rather than being given away, it wouldn't make them any easier or harder to find today.

Sure, the NWC is a special case when compared to most extreme rarities, but that's only because of the history of them and how well know it's origins are.

Fact is, according to the database FAQ, these should not be R10. Ergo, either the FAQ or the rarity value should be changed.

[rbudrick]

Yes, the database/DP guide does have to be updated in light of these recent discoveries....it gives clear mention to the 116 number.

Thanks for the info, Portnoyd...too bad his email address isn't there....just says "that guy." :-) Eudora didn't store that? Bummer. EDIT: Got your PM, Portnoyd...thanks for testing to see if they work first!

And for the record, I don't buy the random numbering either, but I can't prove it, so I stick to my guns. 8-) It does seem apparent that the 90 finalists did not get sequential carts.

-Rob

[Captain Wrong]

I never understood the fascination so many members of DP have with this game.

I don't see it at other classic gaming forums, including those with lots of NES fans.

Well, this is a collecting oriented site and having something like this is a pretty cool piece to have in one's collection. I also wonder, and I'm just talking out of my ass here, if it has to do with the demographic here being more of the right age to remember the NWC when it was happening and attach that kind of nostalgia to it?

I don't know. I'm not a NES collector though. :)

[Leo_A]

Perhaps, places like AtariAge have a older member base primariliy interested in the pres NES era, so perhaps that partly explains why I don't see it much outside of this board with all the NES stuff here, collecting current generation games, long box PSX games, etc.

[MrJeffy]

...don't see it much outside of this board...
That's a fair statement, and it might be because most of the NES (or other, for that matter) collectors here aren't collecting and playing to be "retro". A majority of people here do it because they lived it and haven't really ever been away from it.

Thus, having lived through the periods when going to the store to get a new NES was "the norm", to see this ultra-rare pak discussed/traded/sold is quite exciting.

BTW; My gray NWC pak is #0168. Traded a FF CD soundtrack for it, straight swap.
ò¿ó http://www.videogamefever.com/atariage_forum/smiling_to_nintendo-2.gif

[captain nintendo]

...don't see it much outside of this board...
That's a fair statement, and it might be because most of the NES (or other, for that matter) collectors here aren't collecting and playing to be "retro". A majority of people here do it because they lived it and haven't really ever been away from it.

Thus, having lived through the periods when going to the store to get a new NES was "the norm", to see this ultra-rare pak discussed/traded/sold is quite exciting.

BTW; My gray NWC pak is #0168. Traded a FF CD soundtrack for it, straight swap.
ò¿ó http://www.videogamefever.com/atariage_forum/smiling_to_nintendo-2.gif


Pictures ?

[MrJeffy]

Pictures will be up tomorrow. There's only one for now, and it's a bad one which isn't worth posting. I struggled myself to make out the number, so when I get home, I'll re-take some good photos.

ò¿ó http://www.videogamefever.com/atariage_forum/smiling_to_nintendo-2.gif

[MrJeffy]

Here's the pic. There's no distinguishing markings on the back, thus no pic. The end was peeling when I got it in '95, but there's been no noticable plaque increase since then.

ò¿ó http://www.videogamefever.com/atariage_forum/smiling_to_nintendo-2.gif

http://www.videogamefever.com/forum_images/NWC-Gray_Pak-0168-small.jpg

[rbudrick]

Thanks, MrJeffy!

PM sent about contact info of original seller...I'm hoping to attempt to trace this cart to it's source. Wow, what a long trek this will be if I can find the source of each known cart (and find the 90 finalists).

Does anyone know if Nintendo Power or anywhere else published a list of these 90 folks? Did they print the 26 Gold cart winners?

-Rob

[SoulBlazer]

I know for a fact Nintendo Power published the nams and hometowns of the 25 gold cart winners. Not sure about the gray carts. How did the gray carts get released anyway? It was the 25 gold carts that were given away in the contest, right?

[rbudrick]

Well, the 90 greys were given to the finalists in a meeting. Originally, they weren't going to give them out, but some of the finalists complained. This is from an Interview I did with Adam Misosky:

EDIT:forgot the link the the full interview:

http://www.planetnintendo.com/thewarpzone/misosky.html


Rob: One of the docs mentioned you got an NWC cartridge. What ever became of it? Do you still have it?

Adam: I sold the cart to some collector in NY for about 1500 5 years ago to help pay for college..

Rob: When you received it, how did it come packaged? What was included with it?

Adam: The cart? They just handed them out in this big meeting we had. Some big shot from Nintendo had a meeting with all of us, and they didn't want to give out the cartridges, but everyone complained so much that they decided to let each finalist have one.


A picture of the actual cart Adam had won

Rob: So originally they said they were going to give you all one, and then they tried to pull out of it (was it part of your written agreement, or was it just part of the original rules of the NWC that all contestants signed up for)? Do you remember much about how everyone started to raise hell about it, or what Nintendo’s reasoning for not wanting to give them out?

Adam: No no. A bunch of the finalists (and their parents) wanted to have a copy of the cart. And Nintendo said no. It wasn't in the agreement or anything. There was no signed contract that I remember. But we all just said we wanted to have the cart, and finally they said yes. That's all. I'm not sure why they didn't want to give us all a copy of the game.

I heard it may have been Thor Auckerlund himself that complained (perhaps to Howard Phillips) that they were doing a contest in NP for 26 carts, so it just seemd fair the 90 finalists got one. Howard I believe gave the final OK on this. I wish I could remember my source on this.......damn. I'd like to back that up, but it could be bull.

25 golds were given to the 2nd place NP contest winner and 1 more was given as a grand prize in addition to a NOA tour.

-Rob

[Lothars]

Hey Just wondering do you guys know if it was in a specific Nintendo Power issue that listed all the winners of the Gold NWC carts?

I would like to help to find them with you guys if we can.

it's all good though.

[y-bot]

I'm pretty sure someone (possibly as member of this message board) contacted all the winners years ago and bought several of them. I'm sure I read about it somewhere a couple of years ago.
y-bot

[SoulBlazer]

I'm SURE I saw a listing of the winners of all 26 Gold Carts in a Nintendo Power. Figure the issue would have been sometime in 1990 or 1991, so someone with a collection of those years can check.

That's interesting about the gray carts, never knew that.

I wish we had more information on contests PERIOD from this time period. I'd love to know who won the Final Fantasy contest, for example, the trip for you and some friends to a 'treasure island' for a quest. Or what happened to the trip to Translavania contest that was seen on Castlevania III.

[The_4th_Survivor]

...don't see it much outside of this board...
That's a fair statement, and it might be because most of the NES (or other, for that matter) collectors here aren't collecting and playing to be "retro". A majority of people here do it because they lived it and haven't really ever been away from it.

Thus, having lived through the periods when going to the store to get a new NES was "the norm", to see this ultra-rare pak discussed/traded/sold is quite exciting.

BTW; My gray NWC pak is #0168. Traded a FF CD soundtrack for it, straight swap.
ò¿ó http://www.videogamefever.com/atariage_forum/smiling_to_nintendo-2.gif

If I may ask, how long ago did you trade your NWC cart for that FF CD soundtrack?

Also, Is the FF CD soundtrack that rare? @_@

[MrJeffy]

Hopefully someone can track down the issue of NP with finalists. I do remember that NP did interviews with some of them (possibly all), including a photo, location and brief profile. I have the issue at home, but being at work doesn't help much now. If someone hasn't found the info by this evening, I'll see what I can find.

PowerFest '94 didn't receive any "publicly" printed coverage. There was a special insert for subscribers that detailed PF '94, but the newsstand issues didn't have the insert.

As far as info on the competition itself, you can go here (http://www.videogamefever.com/events/powerfest/events_powrfest.html) to read about my personal experiences and look at some really crappy images. There is a list of all of the competitors (http://www.videogamefever.com/events/powerfest/events_powrfest_standings.html) as well.

They guy that traded the game pak to me said he received the pak after playing it during his prelim round. He may have meant he got it in the meeting afterwards, but he made no mention of the gold paks.

ò¿ó http://www.videogamefever.com/atariage_forum/smiling_to_nintendo-2.gif

[MrJeffy]

If I may ask, how long ago did you trade your NWC cart for that FF CD soundtrack?
Also, Is the FF CD soundtrack that rare? @_@
It was the FF II (FF IV from Japan) soundtrack which wasn't out in the U.S. as far as I knew. It was early 1995 when the trade was made. The FFIV soundtrack was ordered from Amazon and then I just forwarded it to him when it arrived. A couple of weeks later, the game pak came in the mail. It cost me about $70 total after shipping and everything. And I may have my FF's f'ed up, but it was a 2 disc set FF soundtrack with Japanese writing and a white sleeve.

ò¿ó http://www.videogamefever.com/atariage_forum/smiling_to_nintendo-2.gif

[rbudrick]

If what MrJeffy says is accurate and this guy was not one of the 90 finalists, yet they gave him a cart anyway (wtf!?! LOL ), this would be cart #120..... :hmm: :hmm:

-Rob

[MrJeffy]

He was one of the 90 finalists. He told me about watching Thor play and how he had remembered all of the Tetris pieces and their order so he could make Tetrises like crazy. :roll:

'Beavis" said they gave him his pak after he played. Whether that meant right then or later, I don't know. I had always assumed that he meant that he played, they recorded the score, they yanked the pak and gave it to him. :hmm:

ò¿ó http://www.videogamefever.com/atariage_forum/smiling_to_xbox.gif

[rbudrick]

Oh, Ok...sorry for misunderstaning. :-)

Ben Smith recently told me Thor was rediculously good at Tetris...he could drop the pieces so fast and perfectly, it made Ben look like a newb...he said it was just amazing watching him play.

-Rob

[MrJeffy]

What was the numbering sequence for the gray paks? The topic says you've found 118 and 119, but mine is numbered 0168. Did the numbering start at 0100?

Calculating from the dip switches on the front, the possible available timings are 5m-0s, 5m-18.7s, 5m-37.5s, 6m-15s, and 7m-30s. What was the timing used for the finals during PF '90?

ò¿ó http://www.videogamefever.com/atariage_forum/smiling_to_xbox.gif

[rbudrick]

The paks are individually numbered, yes, but only 116 (until recently, when I pointed out the existence of 3 more) were proven to exist.. :-)

I mentioned earlier (and truly, this is one of the main parts of the great mystery concerning these carts), there is no pattern to the numbering sequence per the carts received by the finalists...the finalists seemed to get randomly numbered carts. Now, this does not by any means mean that when they were made, Nintendo didn't make them in an ordered sequence (0001, 0002, 0003, 0nnn...who knows, maybe they went over 1000, and got into the nnnn range, to use a little hypothetical numbering, lol).

The official game time for the competition was 6:19 or 6:21...I forget, but there's only one setting for that range either way (third switch up, others down?...or is it the other way around?)

-Rob

[hydr0x]

The paks are individually numbered, yes, but only 116 (until recently, when I pointed out the existence of 3 more) were proven to exist.. :-)

why does the one on ebay have #0330 ????

[The_4th_Survivor]

If I may ask, how long ago did you trade your NWC cart for that FF CD soundtrack?
Also, Is the FF CD soundtrack that rare? @_@
It was the FF II (FF IV from Japan) soundtrack which wasn't out in the U.S. as far as I knew. It was early 1995 when the trade was made. The FFIV soundtrack was ordered from Amazon and then I just forwarded it to him when it arrived. A couple of weeks later, the game pak came in the mail. It cost me about $70 total after shipping and everything. And I may have my FF's f'ed up, but it was a 2 disc set FF soundtrack with Japanese writing and a white sleeve.

ò¿ó http://www.videogamefever.com/atariage_forum/smiling_to_nintendo-2.gif


That's such a cool trade you made, MrJeffy.

I can actually envision how you were able to trade that FFII soundtrack to someone for an NWC gray cart:

In 1995, no one ever really thought that the NES or any other game systems at the time would ever become collectable.

Back in 1995, I was working at a local video game rental store and I watched the rise of the 'new generation' such as the Playstation as well as the fledgling systems like the Saturn and eventually the N64.

Awesome trade. man. Awesome trade.

[AFGiant]

This is the first thread, ever, that has made me want to take out some old issues of Nintendo Power. I got my friend's old collection from about issue 42 on up, despite my mom telling me to throw them out because they were taking up space and I couldn't think of a good reason to keep them. I wasn't a collector then, but I just couldn't throw them away. Yay me, I've got them now! And I might just bust out a randomly selected issue. Good luck, NWC hunters!

[WizDawg]

Here's what I found.

NP July/August 1990 issue is the gold carts contest.

NP Volume 18 is the list of winners from the July/August 1990 contest.

NP Volume 22 lists the winners with scores of the NWC on page 7.

I also have a Video Games & Computer Entertainment June 1990 magazine that has an article from the first leg of the NWC in Dallas.

[rbudrick]

why does the one on ebay have #0330 ????

Hydrox, you've gotta read the thread, bro! :) My post right above yours kinda summarizes.

Information has been pouring into my email box. Keep it coming, folks! We're getting there!

Can anyone scan those NP articles? Oh, and that VG&CE article would be wonderful, WizDawg, if you could.

-Rob

[rbudrick]

Ok, a little update. So far I have pics of about 25 NWC carts, and have confirmed the original owners of about 5.

Earlyworm sent me a list of the 90 finalists from informational doc from the final event...Now I've just got to track them down one at a time. Hopefully shouldn't be too hard. Hope they don't think I'm a stalker, LOL.

-Rob

[Dr. Morbis]

Ok, a little update. So far I have pics of about 25 NWC carts, and have confirmed the original owners of about 5.

Earlyworm sent me a list of the 90 finalists from informational doc from the final event...Now I've just got to track them down one at a time. Hopefully shouldn't be too hard. Hope they don't think I'm a stalker, LOL.

-Rob
Sorry if I missed it, but are you planning on archiving your photos/info anywhere publicly on the net or is this just a personal project?

[lendelin]

Here's what I found.

NP July/August 1990 issue is the gold carts contest.

NP Volume 18 is the list of winners from the July/August 1990 contest.

NP Volume 22 lists the winners with scores of the NWC on page 7.


I still had this information in my notes, and I second it.

Because MrJeffy asked about 'interviews' with the finalists, there aren't interviews in NP but short profiles of 9 of the 90 finalists with pics on two pages. These can be also found in the same issue which lists the 26 contest-winners of the gold NWC cartridge (vol. 18, profiles are on page 94/95, among them Thor Aackerlund; the list of contest-winners of the gold version of the cartridge is on page 99)

Volume 18 is therefore indeed an important one. Last but not least, in the same issue, on page 85, a guy is listed with the name Steve Wozniak with the high score for the Gameboy version of Tetris.

Volume 22, page 7, merely lists the three winners of the NWC in the three age groups with a very brief introduction. NP choose to downplay extremely the results of the Championships, and hid them in the mailbox-section in the lower right corner. Otherwise the big promotional tour was ignored by NP. The reason was the deal between Camerica and Thor Aackerlund which was a slap in the face for Nintendo.

[rbudrick]

Sorry if I missed it, but are you planning on archiving your photos/info anywhere publicly on the net or is this just a personal project?

Well, both, really. I definitely want to show the results to the world, no doubt about that. TMR runs the best known website on the NWC, and I might just send the info his way, as that would be simple enough. However, he is taking a lengthy break from the site for a while, so I have been debating making my own site...but it's up in the air right now. I guess I should wait until I have enough info (dont have enough yet).

I'm just kind of playing it by ear right now to see about the best way to do this.

BTW, VG&CE issues are near impossible to find (unfortunately...man, I loved that mag).

I might have a lead on a 120th cartridge. I'll keep you updated.

-Rob

[rbudrick]

Hey guys,

Just a little heads-up...the guy whose auction ended at $6100 got screwed,... no one paid up because so many people with carts emailed the high bidders with sales of their own.

Well....I guess it isn't a record after all.

-Rob

[drcurtis]

Hey guys,

Just a little heads-up...the guy whose auction ended at $6100 got screwed,... no one paid up because so many people with carts emailed the high bidders with sales of their own.

Well....I guess it isn't a record after all.

-Rob

I am the winner of the more recent $4200 auction and haven't received any e-mails like that. Yes, I know I spent way more than its typical value, but I couldn't resist the opportunity.

I plan to make a display of NWC items and display the cart in my office. I also hope to complete an NES collection someday as well.

Searching online, I only found pictures or direct references to 14 different numbered grey carts, ranging from 83 to 343. I saw in a post earlier on that there was an attempt to compile a list of all known existing cartridges with their numbers. Has anyone actually made any progress?

The numbers I have come across are:
83,87,95,136,166,168,215,240,262,273,280,283(mine) ,330,343.

Thanks and when I get a chance I'll post on the new member intro sticky.

[rbudrick]

Hi Doc,

Yeah, that persomn is me. I am trying to compile a list of the 90 finalists (got that now), The NP gold cart winners (will have soon), their original cart numbers of the owners, pics of every cart, and interviews with all the finalists and cart owners I can find. An overwhelming amount of info is pouring in. Thanks for your help! I will check that list against mine when I get home...looks like most of them, by memory.

BTW, anyone got TSR's real email addy? The one for his site here doesn't work:

http://www.atarihq.com/tsr/nes/nwc/nwc.html

I wanna track the origin of that cart.

-Rob

[drcurtis]

Hi Doc,

Yeah, that persomn is me. I am trying to compile a list of the 90 finalists (got that now), The NP gold cart winners (will have soon), their original cart numbers of the owners, pics of every cart, and interviews with all the finalists and cart owners I can find. An overwhelming amount of info is pouring in. Thanks for your help! I will check that list against mine when I get home...looks like most of them, by memory.

BTW, anyone got TSR's real email addy? The one for his site here doesn't work:

http://www.atarihq.com/tsr/nes/nwc/nwc.html

I wanna track the origin of that cart.

-Rob

Awesome! Let me know if you need any help.

[rbudrick]

That cart that didn't sell a $6100 is going up again tonight at 10pm eastern, per an email I got from the seller. If anyone plans on messing with his auction this time, don't. ;) Ready your mouses, bidders. :-)

Dr. C, thanks! Just keep me posted if you run across any new pics or info. Did you have any other NWC items or did you get to attend the event?

EDIT: Doc, can you send me that 262 pic? It appears I don't have it. Any idea where it came from? Im at rbudrick at hotmail dot com. :-)

Talk soon, folks

-Rob

[drcurtis]

I was a high school senior in 1990, and an avid gamer, but for some reason I don't recall this taking place at the time (even though I live fairly close to Indianapolis, one of the sites, and was a Nintendo Power subscriber). I don't have any of the other items from the NWC, although if I come across something I'm liable to get it.

I was planning on making a display with printouts from the various descriptions and interviews online as well as a printout of the program.

The guy I bought the cart from got it from his uncle in 6th grade, as well as some protos and other insider things some of which he has up for auction right now. He says that he was one lucky kid growing up, and I have to agree.

[rbudrick]

Well, that 120th cart didn't pan out...it turned out to be a gold.

Anyway, even better, I just found out minutes ago I may have a lead on an NOA employee that had "a few" of the grays. I'll keep you posted.

EDIT: Turns out it's not an NOA employee, but he had something to do with the show...hopefully I'll know more soon.

-Rob

[tarheelsnipe]

If anybody's interested, i posted some of the NWC pics on my little website (thanks Speedy_NES!). I couldn't find a central spot on the net for all of the pics, so i made this one until one of the high-traffic sites decides to add it.

Here is the link to the photo album ...

http://www.nesgeeks.com/forums/album_cat.php?cat_id=1

if anyone wants to contribute more pics, PM me and i'll send you my email, or register and post them yourself.

[DreamTR]

I know where the Mario cart is now with the screwy label; ) It was in my hands at one time.

[rbudrick]

I'm not sure there's anything NES-related that wasn't in your hands at some point, DreamTR! ;) LOL

-Rob

[Ninja Blacksox]

This seems like a great idea.

Good luck to all those involved!

-A Boy

[TRM]

Sorry if I missed it, but are you planning on archiving your photos/info anywhere publicly on the net or is this just a personal project?

Well, both, really. I definitely want to show the results to the world, no doubt about that. TMR runs the best known website on the NWC, and I might just send the info his way, as that would be simple enough. However, he is taking a lengthy break from the site for a while, so I have been debating making my own site...but it's up in the air right now. I guess I should wait until I have enough info (dont have enough yet).

I'm just kind of playing it by ear right now to see about the best way to do this.

BTW, VG&CE issues are near impossible to find (unfortunately...man, I loved that mag).

I might have a lead on a 120th cartridge. I'll keep you updated.

-Rob

Haha, I will gladly put it on my site if you wish, Sir Rob. :)

[uptheirons1982]

Hey guys,

Just a little heads-up...the guy whose auction ended at $6100 got screwed,... no one paid up because so many people with carts emailed the high bidders with sales of their own.

Well....I guess it isn't a record after all.

-Rob

I am the winner of the more recent $4200 auction and haven't received any e-mails like that. Yes, I know I spent way more than its typical value, but I couldn't resist the opportunity.

I plan to make a display of NWC items and display the cart in my office. I also hope to complete an NES collection someday as well.

Searching online, I only found pictures or direct references to 14 different numbered grey carts, ranging from 83 to 343. I saw in a post earlier on that there was an attempt to compile a list of all known existing cartridges with their numbers. Has anyone actually made any progress?

The numbers I have come across are:
83,87,95,136,166,168,215,240,262,273,280,283(mine) ,330,343.

Thanks and when I get a chance I'll post on the new member intro sticky.

bought another copy from the guy who got screwed on the $6,100, won it for $2,705. mine is 330. i've also never seen a copy higher than 343. wonder if that makes mine 2nd last?

[rbudrick]

Dunno...According to Steve Grossman, one of the executive producers and "creator" of the show, he think around 500 were made, but possibly up to 1000...defnitely less than 1000, he was sure of.

-Rob