Holy autism... yeah distributing ROM images of beta games is still illegal, heck even making backup ROMs is technically illegal as far as Nintendo is concerned. I don't know where you get this sense of entitlement from Omochao... lots of people seem to think internet access is a license to not have to pay for anything ever.
I'll see about asking one of the folks over at hcs64.com, maybe someone could take a look at it. It's possible that someone's already checked and found nothing, but it's worth a shot.Something I’ve been wondering as well. Has anybody looked?
Ahh, sounds promising. Good luck with thatHowever, I have talked to a few programming-savvy friends in town who said they might be able to examine the code, and I would in that case share any and all findings.
Omachao: How about you give me the money then for it? I'm not giving away shit for free. I am supposed to spend my time researching how to dump stuff so the "community" can get shit for free? Oh sure, let me CLEAR my schedule for that. If you haven't spent any money getting these and dumping them for free, then GTFO because if I already did the legwork acquiring them, I'm not giving them away for nothing. I've never dumped anything physically, or distributed anything on the web, so I definitely don't think it is the community's "right" to get this for nothing. People like you never cease to amaze me. I horde because I don't share. I offer willingly to sell said proto, and you expect it for free. Like Borman said, you should just give away EVERYTHING you own then because it belongs to the community.
LuxKiller: I'm not even close to being rich. If I was selling protos all the time, then maybe.
And as for these belonging to Nintendo, the intellectual property rights, yes, but the physical cart itself, that's a negative. If that was the case, they would OWN the rights to very physical retail cart as well. Once something is liquidated/changes hands/etc, it's very difficult for them to prove they own the physical cart itself....heck, I've bought and been given things from all sorts of companies, not just press stuff.
Last edited by DreamTR; 02-14-2009 at 12:41 PM.
It really is too bad that some rom kiddies have ruined a great thread about a prototype of a game. You guys should be appreciative that van_halen has taken the time to do the research on the differences between this prototype and the final version. Really, as long as this info is out there, does it really matter if the rom is released? The rom itself is a novelty, and only interests a select few people. I've actually had a lot of people give me prototype roms because they don't have the time or interest to do this research themselves, but I have also posted pictures from people like DreamTR, and I am just as appreciative. The prototype here belongs to van_halen, and he can do whatever he likes, including hitting it with a hammer and destroying it for all its buttery goodness. However, he has chosen to display screenshots, videos and music that differ from the original, and I think that is just wonderful.
<Evan_G> i keep my games in an inaccessable crate where i can't play them
A lot of the Nintendo proto carts usually do belong to nintendo. Nintendo usually gave them out with the expectation they'd get them back. They never officially transfered owership through sale or gift. They usually wouldn't be considered stolen, but you'd probably be legally required to give them back to Nintendo if they pressed the matter in court.
--Zero
I'd actually have to agree with this. It's great he's posting screenshots and videos. I think that's the info that's needed.
I mean, do you want the ROM because you believe it is a significantly different gaming experience, or do you want it just because you don't already have it, and have been told you cant have it?
That is the conclusion I've come to. If someone posted it, in reality I'd probably download it, play once or twice for curiosity then forget it.
I can imagine how 99% of all protos, test, review carts and so on never got back the owner because of people liking money a lot. I mean at some point in the chain, usually at the very beginning, there must be ONE guy getting those for free and cashing in pure lazy profit without even searching the protos.
Sorry about that DreamTR, just thought that because you seem to be everywhere a proto is. Did you not get some protos for free in the past? Never? I'm not sure who is to blame here, I don't care the ROM being public or guarded by rottweilers because I find the game unplayable and unwatchable in the first place, but I'm sure some proto owners have dirty hands. Why should someone pay for a proto when the seller or someone before may have gotten it for free? Because I seem to understand that's how a lot of people got protos - for free.
Wow. I thought my begging and bitching was bad. Way to push the bar.
Last edited by van_halen; 02-15-2009 at 05:51 PM.
LuxKiller: I hate to break it to ya, but I started working for a magazine in 1997, so that's way after NES/SNES games were into the place. I also was not the main contact there, so I was not exactly the one getting protos/samples in the mail either. I can tell you 95% of my cartridge protos I purchased from contacts/sources. I just happened to find the right people to contact. I have very, very little interest in disk protos, and as soon as those came to me (and only in the past few years) I get rid of them because I have no interest in them.
Now, I can't say I did NOT get a few protos for free, but does that obligate me to research/dump/release the things for people? No, it does not. Just because someone gets an inheritance does not mean they are obligated to donate the money to charity either.
Obviously you had the wrong idea about me, thinking I'm rich off free protos, ..but yes, van_halen is right, I have a lot of good contacts, I keep them confidential for obvious reasons, and if you notice, I rarely sell cart protos....I've got around 1,200 of the things because I like the history behind em. Not collecting em for others, that's for sure...
Programming Ace: Nintendo HAS sold protos before. Old ROM carts. They may or may not be paying attention when they do it, I have no idea, but the company has done it before.
I definitely thought something else, so sorry if I sounded like targeting you - I wasn't.
Mario Kart is a crappy game IMO anyway, not a big loss if the proto stays in the home of the owner.
Actually, Mario Kart is a great game, and it is not a good thing if we can't it away from those disgusting HOARDERS. Oh, and the proto does NOT belong to van-helen even if he did buy it, it belongs to the community, so he can NOT do whatever it wants as it is rightfully OURS.
Get fucked Omochao, seriously. At this point you're either a huge aspie or a troll, one or the other. ROMs are not public domain in the slightest, the fact they're freely available on the internet is a privelege not a right. I don't know what you hope to achieve by getting in a hissy fit because it clearly isn't working here anyway. Be grateful for what van_halen and others are willing to share; don't bite the hand that feeds you.
I do like Super Mario Kart myself, and as aforementioned I'm particularly interested in the music. For me, that's the sole appeal of the ROM being dumped - I'm not worried about having a copy myself, I have no real desire to play a broken version of SMK :P but it would mean the music's in the best quality possible. Line-out recordings are absolutely better than nothing, but SPCs would be godly. Videos and screengrabs from an emulator would be better too actually, though I don't think high quality vids and screenshots are that important. I'm yet to ask anyone about the possibility of the unused music being hidden in the final game, but when I get the opportunity I will do.