I think I've found a Neverhood proto. Thoughts?

[mrmark0673]

Couldn't find much info on this CD I just purchased, I've never been much of a PC guy:







The seller claimed:

"Super rare Golden Release on Microsoft Company CD-R. This was an original company copy prior to sale to public and was not for resale. It was given to me by a former Microsoft employee, who was one of the first few hundred in the door and was a multi-millionaire when she retired. She gamve this to me to try out before it ever went out."

Anyone have any more info on this sort of pressing? Again, I just don't know enough about PC stuff to determine the origin.

I normally shy away from this stuff, but The Neverhood is amazing and I just had to gamble on this one.

Thanks!

[Bojay1997]

Couldn't find much info on this CD I just purchased, I've never been much of a PC guy:







The seller claimed:

"Super rare Golden Release on Microsoft Company CD-R. This was an original company copy prior to sale to public and was not for resale. It was given to me by a former Microsoft employee, who was one of the first few hundred in the door and was a multi-millionaire when she retired. She gamve this to me to try out before it ever went out."

Anyone have any more info on this sort of pressing? Again, I just don't know enough about PC stuff to determine the origin.

I normally shy away from this stuff, but The Neverhood is amazing and I just had to gamble on this one.

Thanks!

Well, at least the disc itself seems consistent with the fact that release copies of the box for the Neverhood have Microsoft authenticity hologram stickers on them. Having said that, Microsoft was only the distributor in the US, not the publisher which was Dreamworks. In any event, unless it has different content which a golden copy probably would not, I can't imagine it going for significant money. I have tons of similar discs for lots of 90s PC games and I'm not aware of much of a collector's market for them. Companies tended to press tons of these for everything from testing to press distribution to OEM partner sales pitches. This one might draw some interest because the game has a cult following and goes for good money mint and sealed, but again part of the attraction is the game box and disc artwork and this is just a CD-R with a printed sticker attached.

[mrmark0673]

I have tons of similar discs for lots of 90s PC games and I'm not aware of much of a collector's market for them. Companies tended to press tons of these for everything from testing to press distribution to OEM partner sales pitches.

Didn't know they were produced in such large numbers. Considering they were made so numerously, I can't seem to find a picture of a single example online of other similar burns. I'd love to see other pre-production discs released by Microsoft, any chance you could snap a picture of some of the many that you own?

Thanks for the info as well, nice to know that it does indeed appear to be a pre-production copy of The Neverhood.

[Kitsune Sniper]

"Golden"?

It's probably a final version sent out to testers. Hence the "golden" thing, games are called "gold" when they're about to go to print.

I suggest making an iso and comparing the files on it to the normal release. It shouldn't be that hard to compare the files. IF there's any differences between this disc and the retail version (as unlikely as that seems) it might be worth a lot to a collector. Unfortunately, eBay AND Microsoft will take this down as soon as they see the "Not for resale" thing...

[mrmark0673]

"Golden"?

It's probably a final version sent out to testers. Hence the "golden" thing, games are called "gold" when they're about to go to print.

Yeah, the whole Golden label threw me for a loop a bit. Trying to dig up pics of other Microsoft "golden" CD-r's has left me empty handed.

I'll see if I can dig up a retail copy on the cheap, I haven't owned a copy for close to a decade. Not too concerned about the EBay thing, I'm not looking to sell this one. Besides, the only prototype auctions that seem to ever get pulled are mine and Dream's, so I tend to deal privately when I sell

[Kitsune Sniper]

Yeah, the whole Golden label threw me for a loop a bit. Trying to dig up pics of other Microsoft "golden" CD-r's has left me empty handed.

I'll see if I can dig up a retail copy on the cheap, I haven't owned a copy for close to a decade. Not too concerned about the EBay thing, I'm not looking to sell this one. Besides, the only prototype auctions that seem to ever get pulled are mine and Dream's, so I tend to deal privately when I sell

Be evil... find an ISO rip. It isn't that difficult. :P