Is this a prototype of Chess for the Atari 400?

[toddst]

The other day, I was going through some of my old games and I found a copy of Chess that had no real label, although it is in a Parker Brothers case. Instead of a label, it has a small rectangular sticker. The type on the sticker reads:

ATARI-400
CHESS
8K RLS.1

Below are pictures. Sorry that the pictures look horrible, they were taken with my camera phone. I don't have an Atari computer to test this out on. Do you think that this a prototype or is it just some label that someone put on? I do not remember where I found this cart.

http://www.eatanddestroy.com/images/chess.jpg

http://www.eatanddestroy.com/images/chess2.jpg

Thanks,
Todd

http://www.eatanddestroy.com

[ianoid]

Hard to know if it's actually different from the release, as Parker sent out alot of carts with these labels for pre-release publicity or testing.

The short answer is, yes, it is a Chess prototype for a released game. I recommend having someone dump it to examine it for differences from the released version.

[toddst]

Do you know someone who can do this since I don't think that I know anyone who can do it around Boston?

And, I hate to ask this, but since I am getting rid of the few Atari computer games that I do have, I am wondering if it would be worth more than a few dollars or is it impossible to tell since I would have to find out if it is different than the released rom?


Thanks,

Todd

[boatofcar]

My advice would be to post this on the Atari 8 bit forum over at Atari Age. I'm sure some people can help you there.

(not knocking DP!)

[AlanD]

or in the Prototype section here where you would have received the exact same answer as from Tempest at AtariAge.

I have owned several of them that look like that from Parker Bros and every single one with that release number was the final release. Not definitive without actually reading the chip but I'd put my money that way.

If I was not going to sea (US Navy) for a few weeks, I would be glad to dump it for you and confirm that. If you can wait until after 14Feb to send I'll still be glad to do it. Take care,
Alan

[toddst]

Thanks for the info. I'll email you if I have not been able to dump it by then. I'm going to take some screenshots of it later this week.

And, for some reason, I completely forgot about the prototype forum on DP...

Best of luck while at sea.

-Todd