Is this a proto NES Cartridge?

[Oniudra]

I found this at my local Game Crazy, It would seem to be a previous rental, but why would a rental store have a cartridge with a generic label and the address to Sammys company? Has anyone seen something like this before?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/oniudra/protovice.jpg

[bazariah]

open that bad boy up and look at the board for obvious signs of being a proto

excellent find either way

[Fighter17]

http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/games/U-027/gs/U-027-S-07140-A.jpg
(photo from RF Generation)

It could be a proto, but does anyone else who own this game can look at the back of their cartridge (to see if there's a Sammy logo and their address)?

[InsaneDavid]

I don't have a copy but the back is going to have the standard Nintendo "DON'T CLEAN IT WITH.. etc." label on the back as Nintendo did the manufacture of ALL licensed NES games (read up on their licensing policies during the NES days, it's interesting stuff) back then.

I don't know why there would be a company address label on the back of a prototype cartridge but it could always be a review cartridge that was sent out to publications or for a trade show. As was said, open it up and look for big chips with little windows in them or that have little paper stickers atop them. You see those and it's a prototype. Either way, it's not a release cartridge. :)

[christhegamer]

Play the game and see if there's any changes from the final

[Bratwurst]

Play the game and see if there's any changes from the final

A more efficient way of going about that is getting the cartridge dumped and comparing the checksum against the released ROM.

[Speedy_NES]

I don't have a copy but the back is going to have the standard Nintendo "DON'T CLEAN IT WITH.. etc." label on the back as Nintendo did the manufacture of ALL licensed NES games (read up on their licensing policies during the NES days, it's interesting stuff) back then.
Just out of curiousity, do you know if Nintendo also manufactured the titles with other companies' logos engraved on the back (some Acclaim, Virgin, Hi-Tech, and possibly other games had this)? I've always wondered whether those were manufactured by Nintendo themselves or the respective companies whose logos are engraved there.

[NintenDk]

That has to be a prototype, and I've seen places like alpha video they eventually sold all their NES games or had them on display to be sold so they probably came across the Prototype and just stuck it with the rest being sold.

Also to above this post... where is there any engraving and what examples of engraving are you talking about. I've never heard of anything like that, please tell.

[Speedy_NES]

Also to above this post... where is there any engraving and what examples of engraving are you talking about. I've never heard of anything like that, please tell.

Here are a few examples:

Acclaim:

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y203/Speedy_NES/Acclaimcartridge-withoutbattery.jpg

Hi-Tech:

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y203/Speedy_NES/Hi-TechExpressionscartridge-without.jpg

Virgin:

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y203/Speedy_NES/VirginGamescartridge-withbattery-pa.jpg

Original Nintendo:

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y203/Speedy_NES/NintendoCartridge-withbattery-packe.jpg


The back parts of the cartridges with those other company logos on them, seem to have also been made from a slightly different material or color (slightly darker). Looking at those engravings again, I guess it's safe to assume that these were not made by Nintendo.

[NintenDk]

awesome thanks!

[InsaneDavid]

I don't have a copy but the back is going to have the standard Nintendo "DON'T CLEAN IT WITH.. etc." label on the back as Nintendo did the manufacture of ALL licensed NES games (read up on their licensing policies during the NES days, it's interesting stuff) back then.
Just out of curiousity, do you know if Nintendo also manufactured the titles with other companies' logos engraved on the back (some Acclaim, Virgin, Hi-Tech, and possibly other games had this)? I've always wondered whether those were manufactured by Nintendo themselves or the respective companies whose logos are engraved there.

I believe the games that have those rear shell differences (notice there's still a Nintendo "DON'T CLEAN IT!..." sticker on all of them) were manufactured later into the NES life cycle after some of the strict licensing lawsuits had passed out of Nintendo's favor.

Truncating links is also your friend. :)

[MichaeltheGreat]

As it's been said before, you aren't going to know until you open it up. If there is a tkeprom board in there with eproms on it then you have a proto. It looks like you don't have security screws, so go find a flathead screwdriver that will fit! Post some pictures of the board please!

[FullCircle]

The fact that there are no security screws and foil label would indicate it is definitely not a release cart, and as such, you should contact someone asap to get that dumped!

[Oniudra]

Well its obvious (aside from the fact i took a horrible photo) it does indeed have a tkeprom board inside. Its a proto cart! Im really skeptical about dumping it, I would like to have it retain its value. I would like to test it out, but I know proto carts only last so long, and I would hate to know how much it has left to go.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/oniudra/myproto.jpg

[InsaneDavid]

Put a heavy sticker over the little windows on those IC's, keep it alive as long as possible.

I'll save everyone from my "It belongs in a museum!" talk about why protos and dev carts should be dumped and released, sure you can search out the countless threads where I've brought that up for my take.

[Oniudra]

Should I give a test run a go, because I have the original VPD, just to see if there is any major differences between the two?

[ProgrammingAce]

It's not really play time that kills eproms, it's just age (and capacitance, but that's a deeper issue). It would actually be better for the game if you were to play it once in a while. Either way, i'd recomend dumping it just for yourself that way when the eprom does die you can reflash it. I won't touch on the subject of releasing it to the public.

[InsaneDavid]

Should I give a test run a go, because I have the original VPD, just to see if there is any major differences between the two?

Might as well if you're not going to dump it.

[Oniudra]

Funny as this might sound, but I could not get the cart working, it was quite glitchy. I cleaned it very well, and im even testing it on my toploader. Could this be a cause of the cart, or im just being ignorant?

[FullCircle]

Oh no! It may be toast already!

[ProgrammingAce]

Mmmmm.... bit rot....

I would definately have it dumped at this point, if only to see if any of the data is recoverable. A UV erasable eprom has a lifespan of aprox. 20 years. That means that more and more undiscovered NES prototypes are dying each year, never to be recovered. If you're luckey, it's just the header for the rom that's degraded. Dump the rom, recalculate the header, reflash the cart. Most likely, however, it's a goner.

[InsaneDavid]

Mmmmm.... bit rot....

I would definitely have it dumped at this point, if only to see if any of the data is recoverable. A UV erasable eprom has a lifespan of aprox. 20 years. That means that more and more undiscovered NES prototypes are dying each year, never to be recovered. If you're luckey, it's just the header for the rom that's degraded. Dump the rom, recalculate the header, reflash the cart. Most likely, however, it's a goner.

And that my friend is why concerning protos, to quote Dr. Jones, "it belongs in a museum!" In other words dumped and freely distributed.

*shuts up*

[Oniudra]

Its the only way i suppose to save it for sure at least. MichaeltheGreat has been nice enough to ask personally to do the dump job for me, I will keep everyone informed of development with the proto.

[jajaja]

Well its obvious (aside from the fact i took a horrible photo) it does indeed have a tkeprom board inside. Its a proto cart! Im really skeptical about dumping it, I would like to have it retain its value. I would like to test it out, but I know proto carts only last so long, and I would hate to know how much it has left to go.


That cart looks like a demo cart. I have a simular one. Think it was used in stores so people could play. Check if it is any diffrent from the retail. Since this game is already released and dumped (retail) it wont lose any value if you dump it. Afaik only unreleased games usualy loose alot of value if they are dumped. But you do as you wish of course, its your property. Let us know if you can find anything diffrent in the game from the retail. Nevertheless, a great find! :)

[rbudrick]

Definitely make sure the cart and connector are SUPER clean or test it on several systems that are. It may not have bit rotted after all. It was a late release NES game, so that makes it even less likely.

Either way, you should get it dumped for your own purposes so you have a backup. It's not really a very valuable proto (the game was released), as far as protos go, so even if you did dump it, its value isn't going to dip if the rom were released (it's not like people are lining up to play VICE, especiallyt if it is the same as the released version). It's probably worth around $200-$300, unless it is extremely different than the original.

-Rob