Nintendo 64 demo carts

[wufners]

Does anyone know much about this things?

I've run into a couple recently and am not familiar with 'em at all.

Mario Tennis and Perfect dark have the exact same label as their retail counterparts, but have a small "not for resale" message inluded (not a sicker, but printed.) On the back is a big white sticker (over the normal N64 grey one) that states quite plainly "Propery of Nintendo." It's slipping my mind right now what the rest of the sticker said (or if they even mentioned demo.)

There's also a gold Ocariana cart that does NOT have the "not for resale" message on front, but does have the "Property of Nintendo" sticker on back (half of it anyway, someone tried to peel it off and destroyed some of it.)

I haven't gotten around to hooking up a N64 yet, but I assume these are full versions that were sent out to retailers, but included the slight front label variant and the big back sticker. Does that sound right? Or maybe these aren't even demos and I'm reading too much into it? If so, then what's up with 'em?

I don't even really know what I'm hoping to find out here, I just didn't find anything about N64 demos after almost 5 full minutes of searching Google, eBay, and DP and was curious if anyone else had any interesting insights here.

I'm pretty sure the original owner of these carts was a retail store that then tried to sell them, rather than return them to Nintendo. In addition to the Zelda sticker being torn up, the other two games had small stickers very carefull covering up the "not for resale" on front, and a giant stickers on back covering up the "Property of Nintendo" sticker. Tricky, tricky, Mr. Resale Store!

[Gamereviewgod]

Sounds like carts for kiosks.

[wufners]

Sounds like carts for kiosks.
Yeah, that's what I was thinking. I always call those carts demos--is that not correct? Are they technically different? Me so ignorant on matters like this. :embarrassed:

[opitekk]

i curruently own 4 Not For Resale Carts. Like ya said they where in the instore Demo Kiosks.

[Mr.FoodMonster]

Sounds like carts for kiosks.
Yeah, that's what I was thinking. I always call those carts demos--is that not correct? Are they technically different? Me so ignorant on matters like this. :embarrassed:
I guess you're looking for what to call them, they are commonly just called 'Not For Resale' carts, or Kiosk carts, because thats what they were used for. I'm not sure how the game differs, but I think some of them have a time limit, and some of them only have certain things playable, but I'm not certain on that.

[JLukas]

Most of the demo/kiosk carts are just a label variation, with "Not For Sale" on the cart sticker. The actual game itself is the same as the retail version.

There's only a few demo carts where the gameplay is different (time limits, etc.) Here's the ones I know of:

Donkey Kong 64
Turok 2
Zelda MM (grey cart) - not sure about this one

[joshnickerson]

For the most part, the carts themselves did not have a time limit, rather the display N64 had a built in reset (along with a high pitched Mario voice thanking you for playing)

There are two variants of Majora's Mask NFR... the gold version is the full game, while the grey version allows you to choose from several different locations.

Excitebike has a "Demo Version" splash screen, as well as some unlockables disabled.

[dreamcaster]

The only 'Not For Resale' cart I have is Pokemon Stadium 2. From what I can tell, the game itself is exactly the same as the retail version. The cartridge is also in the half gold/half silver colour scheme.

I also have a USA Pokemon Snap cartridge which is nothing special except for a sticker on the back stating:


For use in
Nintendo 64 NTSC Interactive Only

This game remains the property of
Nintendo Australia Pty Ltd

NOT FOR RESALE

Here in Australia, our demo kiosks were NTSC-USA machines, presumably so they could show off games early due to often delayed PAL releases.

[opitekk]

yeah that snap demo isnt anything special, it has to say not for resale on the front... I went back and counted my Kiosk carts and i currently have.

Pokemon Snap
Marip Party 2
Mario Party 3
Starfox 64
Banjo-Tooie

Thats so intresting they used NTSC instead of PAL just to demo. Thanks for the information. Awesome.

[dgordon86]

Back in the day I remember seeing a Japanese Yoshi's story 'not for resale' cart at a toy r' us kiosk. It was before the game ever hit our shores.

Really wanted it, to say the least.

[opitekk]

your located in the US? if so thats so strange to see a jap game on display.

[wufners]

I popped the suckers in a console last night.

As far as I can tell, all three are exact copies of the full version.

Only Perfect Dark had what may have been a tiny change. Upon booting up, before the rotating "N" logo appears, a matrix breifly pops up displaying some info on the game (such as NTSC, version #, etc.)

I've never played Perfect Dark before, so for all I know this DOES appear on the final retail cart, but I'm guess not.

[NintenDk]

Anyone have DIDDY KONG RACING know if its somehow different?

I have two Excite bikes that were for Kiosks both with the not for resale on the front and both carts play different, one has the demo intro that you mentioned and the other is different. My Perfect dark is not the full game and niether is my Jet Force Gemini and I know there are more.

In fact there are lots that are different but I'm thinking a that the few people who have these either don't realize and own just the kiosk version or they didn't play the game enough to find out. I had a guy sell me a Zelda game and tell me that he played through the game from start to finish only to find out for myself that 3 or 4 hours in there is a built in barrier to a key item needed to progress in the game. That was the Minish cap meaning there are three versions of that, The one I spoke of, the one that has the 3 level select stage, and possibly a full version.


I popped the suckers in a console last night.

As far as I can tell, all three are exact copies of the full version.

Only Perfect Dark had what may have been a tiny change. Upon booting up, before the rotating "N" logo appears, a matrix breifly pops up displaying some info on the game (such as NTSC, version #, etc.)

I've never played Perfect Dark before, so for all I know this DOES appear on the final retail cart, but I'm guess not.


For the most part, the carts themselves did not have a time limit, rather the display N64 had a built in reset (along with a high pitched Mario voice thanking you for playing)

There are two variants of Majora's Mask NFR... the gold version is the full game, while the grey version allows you to choose from several different locations.

Excitebike has a "Demo Version" splash screen, as well as some unlockables disabled.

see above to gauge and contrast :-P :cheers:

[joshnickerson]

Anyone have DIDDY KONG RACING know if its somehow different?

Yeah, I found it last year in the bin at Gamestop. Nothing different from my copy, except the guy who had it last saved me the trouble of unlocking Drumstick. :D



I had a guy sell me a Zelda game and tell me that he played through the game from start to finish only to find out for myself that 3 or 4 hours in there is a built in barrier to a key item needed to progress in the game. That was the Minish cap meaning there are three versions of that, The one I spoke of, the one that has the 3 level select stage, and possibly a full version.

Yep, an' I have all three... just recently acquired the "Demo" one, interesting story that I'll post in Finds sometime this week. :-D
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b235/joshnickerson/P7240047.jpg
I am SUCH a bastard...

[opitekk]

i wish i was lucky enough to find DKR Kiosk Cart

[Leo_A]

Perfect Dark normally does that. Not sure why it displays that information for but retail copies do the same thing.

[PentiumMMX]

Anyone have DIDDY KONG RACING know if its somehow different?

Yeah, I found it last year in the bin at Gamestop. Nothing different from my copy, except the guy who had it last saved me the trouble of unlocking Drumstick. :D

I think I remember a difference between the FRV (Full Retail Version) of Diddy Kong Racing and the NFR (Not For Resale) version.

If I remember right, in the lobby for Sherbert Island, there wasn't a island in the middle of it with T.T. walking around. It was a small pond with T.T. walking around the rind of land close to the level entrances.

I stull remembner back in 1997, playing the demo of DKR...I now feel old!

[NintenDk]

Anyone have DIDDY KONG RACING know if its somehow different?

Yeah, I found it last year in the bin at Gamestop. Nothing different from my copy, except the guy who had it last saved me the trouble of unlocking Drumstick. :D

That is cool you found it there, so far I only found some GBA and one GBC there and SNES when they had SNES. Diddy Kong Racing is the only one left for me. I have gradually collected the ones listed here with an * next to it:

#01 Diddy Kong Racing
#02 1080 Snowboarding *
#03 Mario Kart *
#04 Star Fox *
#05 Perfect Dark *
#06 Mario 64 *
#07 Zelda Ocarina of Time *
#08 Zelda Majora's Mask (Gray)*
#09 Pokemon Snap *
#10 Donkey Kong 64 (Gray) *
#11 Banjo Kazooie *
#12 Star Wars Rogue Squadron *
#13 Turok 2 Seeds of Evil *
#14 Zelda Majora's Mask (Gold) *
#15 Excitebike *
#16 Mario Party 2 *
#17 Jet Force Gemini *
#18 Star Wars Episode I Racer *
#19 Pokemon Stadium 2 *
#20 Banjo Tooie *
#21 Mario Tennis *
#22 Mario Party 3 *
#23 Pokemon Stadium *
#24 Donkey Kong 64 (Yellow cart, Final Retail Label) *
#25 Mario Party 1 (Final Retail Label) *

It must have been very close to the final release (date) that those two -"Mario party 1 and DK64 yellow"- were sent out that they probably had Retail shells ready to go with less complications than to reset up the machine that puts the labels on the shell for not for resale labels. So those two have plain labels but I consider those in my near complete set for actual good reasons rather than their only just having nintendo's property itself (The property of: label) on the back.

See next in my DK64 press kit there is a letter that recognizes at least that a "fully playable" kiosk cart will be sent to the the store to be displayed "before" the release date of the game (November 22, 1999). And Mario Party 1 makes sense because there is Kiosk games for part 2 and 3. Additionally I have seen it more than one time as with the yellow DK64 (so its not happening by accident). Click after opening to see full size image.
http://img113.imageshack.us/img113/8507/dscf2625js4.th.jpg (http://img113.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscf2625js4.jpg)http://img53.imageshack.us/img53/8661/dscf2621qr9.th.jpg (http://img53.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscf2621qr9.jpg)






I had a guy sell me a Zelda game and tell me that he played through the game from start to finish only to find out for myself that 3 or 4 hours in there is a built in barrier to a key item needed to progress in the game. That was the Minish cap meaning there are three versions of that, The one I spoke of, the one that has the 3 level select stage, and possibly a full version.

Yep, an' I have all three... just recently acquired the "Demo" one, interesting story that I'll post in Finds sometime this week. :-D
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b235/joshnickerson/P7240047.jpg
I am SUCH a bastard...
Really nice seeing them all in with the holder like that :D On my not for resale game without the "demo" it doesn't ever let me get to the cave with the shrub who sells the jar to get the plant to grow in order to go up the mountain.

I'm interested to know if someone has Jet Force Gemini and has played to the end of the game. I encountered an impassable barrier shortly into the game and I asked someone on ebay who had the same thing happen to him.

[dreamcaster]

Perfect Dark normally does that. Not sure why it displays that information for but retail copies do the same thing.
Same deal with the PAL retail versions. It has a screen saying "PAL Version" and a version number.

[opitekk]

NintenDK - it looks like you might need to add to more to your collection...

Star Wars - SOTE (found a page of demo carts on the net a few months back but is now gone....)
WWF Warzone (Someone here had one...icarwings55? or somethign like that)

[Kuros]

Issues like the Minish Cap is why I made the topic about GBA demo carts.

Kinda messed up that GS/EB sell these as full games when some aren't.

[NintenDk]

If I get Diddy Kong Racing it wil be a huge milestone actually.

opitekk go check where I posted the images of the letter from my press kit.


NintenDK - it looks like you might need to add to more to your collection...


The only reasons I have #24 and #25 respectively is because they have proof or a reason, in my opinion legitimization, of being out prerelease seen in stores.

icarwings had a Warzone game but it only had a Nintendo's property on back, no reason or story, or even another intance that its been heard of (so it could be one of those unique accidents).

[opitekk]

still what about StarWars SOTE?

[NintenDk]

Who knows? Check pms opitekk, basically which ones are confirmed to be known at this point. If something "does" pop up then its a nice suprise.

One of those mysteries you know. "Was" there a picture? Could turn out being like Wufner's Ocarina of time. You never know, I remember playing Mario Kart on the SNES at a kiosk but I can't say for sure what kind of label it had or if it was before or after the release even though I saw it with my own eyes, you never know.

[dj898]

if you guys referring the demo cart as development cart they usually at least twice tall with holes at the back where you can swap out EPP(?) ROM chips...

[NintenDk]

For use in
Nintendo 64 NTSC Interactive Only

This game remains the property of
Nintendo Australia Pty Ltd

NOT FOR RESALE

Here in Australia, our demo kiosks were NTSC-USA machines, presumably so they could show off games early due to often delayed PAL releases.


That is interesting I hadn't heard that before either.




Thats so intresting they used NTSC instead of PAL just to demo. Thanks for the information. Awesome.

Turok 2 does a PAL prerelease (sneak preview) version that looks the same as the NTSC white label except the serial code I think, was in some countries in Europe but it seems no other games were though.

PILOTWINGS 64 Has anyone seen this one before? Some wrestler named Charlie here mentioned it long ago saying little else but didn't describe it or have picture. That would be fascinating to see.

[opitekk]

if you guys referring the demo cart as development cart they usually at least twice tall with holes at the back where you can swap out EPP(?) ROM chips...

No, We Are not talking about those....Just the Kisok Carts my man.

[jbholio]

Sorry to bring this old post back... I'm also a collector of these "not for resale" games. I decided to scan my games so that people know what these demo carts looks like. I added the yellow DK64 and Super Smash Brothers to the site becuse they have the "property of Nintendo" sticker on the back. I recently bought a N64 system with games. Most of the games are marked "not for resale" but I have a question about 1080. My cart doesn't have the "not for resale" box on the label but I don't understand why it's in japanese. Would this mean that some demo of 1080 are in japanese because the english version wasn't ready at the time the game was supposed to be displayed in stores? Also, does anyone know why the N64 demo are a lot tougher to get then SNES or Game Boy carts? Here is a link to my page : http://www.er.uqam.ca/merlin/fd491499/nintendo/n64/

[dreamcaster]

Most of the games are marked "not for resale" but I have a question about 1080. My cart doesn't have the "not for resale" box on the label but I don't understand why it's in japanese. Would this mean that some demo of 1080 are in japanese because the english version wasn't ready at the time the game was supposed to be displayed in stores?
That's probably the most likely explanation. Also, what is the NUS- code on the cartridge?


Also, does anyone know why the N64 demo are a lot tougher to get then SNES or Game Boy carts?
Funny, I've never actually seen a SNES or GB 'Not For Resale' cartridge in the wild.

[jbholio]

That's probably the most likely explanation. Also, what is the NUS- code on the cartridge?


The number is NUS-NTEE-USA just like a normal 1080 cart. The back label is written in english and the shape of the case is to be used with a USA console. I'm really clueless as why it's in japanese. I've never played 1080 before but I don't think the USA release is in japanese.

[dreamcaster]

Maybe your copy is a freak 'dud', and Nintendo accidentally put the Japanese ROM inside a US cartridge during manufacturing?

You could ring Nintendo of America and ask them if they've heard of anything like this happening before. :|

[icarwngs55]

No idea how I missed this topic for so long! Anyway, I have alot of those N64 demos (as well as GB, VB, and SNES), most of mine coming from a guy I knew whose mom was a Nintendo rep. 3 carts I know of only were made with stickers on the back that said "PROPERTY OF NINTENDO," those were Donkey Kong Country (don't have that one), Mario party 1, and WWF warzone. I was told personally (information I obtained from his mom) that the games were, as previously stated, put in kiosks very close to release date therefore no special carts were made by nintendo. I was also informed that reps did not have access to the back stickers nor did retailers. Those carts with just stickers on the back or labeled on the cart along with a back sticker, had the stickers placed by nintendo themselves and Nintendo reps were to fill in the store name the cart was distributed to. One SNES cart is like this as well, which is Donkey Kong Country II.

Mike

[jbholio]

In the lot of N64 games I bought there was also WWF Warzone but there is no "property of Nintendo" sticker on the back. I noticed that the numbers on the barcode is different for each game. For exemple, my Super Smash Bros is 0 00000 41761 7 and my yellow DK is 0 00000 41445 6. What I hate about the sticker on the back is that it's hard to remove. So when people are trying to remove it, the back label is often torn or not there at all. 3 of my N64 demos don't have a back label and 2 others are torn. Icarwings, do you know who wrote the store name and # on the sticker? Was it Nintendo or the retail stores?

[icarwngs55]

Nintendo Reps or the stores themselves did. Incase it got lost, stolen, or sold (which it shouldn't have been).

[Link83]

I had a guy sell me a Zelda game and tell me that he played through the game from start to finish only to find out for myself that 3 or 4 hours in there is a built in barrier to a key item needed to progress in the game. That was the Minish cap meaning there are three versions of that, The one I spoke of, the one that has the 3 level select stage, and possibly a full version.

Yep, an' I have all three... just recently acquired the "Demo" one, interesting story that I'll post in Finds sometime this week. :-D
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b235/joshnickerson/P7240047.jpg
I am SUCH a bastard...[/quote]

Hope no-one minds me bringing back the thread

You say there are three 'not for resale' versions of Zelda The Minish Cap, and indeed I can see three copies in your picture - but are all three definitely 'not for resale' versions?

I only know of two - one has just 'not for resale' on the label, and the other has 'not for resale' and 'DEMO' on the label (both can be seen in your picture) but what is the third copy?

Is it the final retail version of Minish Cap? If it isnt how can you tell its a 'not for resale' version if theres nothing on the label to say it is?

Hope you dont mind me asking :)