2 odd looking NES carts - "Wacky Races" and "Search for Dr. Livingstone"

[VG_Maniac]

I just got these 2 strange looking carts in my possession. They came with a bunch of other NES games I bought. One is supposed to be "Wacky Races", and the other one is "Search for Dr. Livingston"...but you can see in the pictures that they are obviously not normal versions of the games. I have absolutely no idea what I've got here. Could someone please tell me what they are and what they are worth? I tried to test them in my NES, but they won't even fit in it because of how the chips stick out of the opening in the carts. My personal guess is that are some kind of early versions of the games that were meant to be played by testers...but I really have no idea.




Stanley: The Search for Dr. Livingston






Wacky Races

[scaryice]

Awesome find. Those are prototypes. How did you get them? Locally?

Here's a pic of another Wacky Races proto, looks the same as yours without the sticker:

http://www.nintendoage.com/forum/mes...threadid=33830

[mrmark0673]

Awesome find. Those are prototypes. How did you get them? Locally?

Here's a pic of another Wacky Races proto, looks the same as yours without the sticker:

http://www.nintendoage.com/forum/mes...threadid=33830

The ones you linked to look fake, I never trusted those guys...

Anyway, another pair of protos shows up in Washington State. No surprises there, seems to be the hub in the US where people find them.

If you're selling, I'm buying.

[theclaw]

Protos show up in Washington State, but not Infinite Space DS or a PAL Megadrive 1... Dang this redefines my view on rarity. haha

[Gameguy]

For Search for Dr. Livingston it appears that one of the windows is exposed, try to keep it out of the light or cover it up in some way. Assuming that it still works.

[VG_Maniac]

The ones you linked to look fake, I never trusted those guys...

Anyway, another pair of protos shows up in Washington State. No surprises there, seems to be the hub in the US where people find them.

If you're selling, I'm buying.

I got them in a game lot off of Ebay, although the seller was also from Washington State. Here is the auction:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/230718561711...84.m1439.l2649

I don't collect these kind of things, so I am going to sell them. Any idea what they are worth?

For Search for Dr. Livingston it appears that one of the windows is exposed, try to keep it out of the light or cover it up in some way. Assuming that it still works.

I've kept both games in dust sleeves except when I took the photos....but who knows what the previous owner did with them.

[Ryaan1234]

I don't collect these kind of things, so I am going to sell them. Any idea what they are worth?

Well, apparently the last prototype Wacky Races sold for $171.06, with a retail box and manual. Yours is probably worth $150, in my opinion. Stanley is probably worth $100-125 since it's not quite as desirable as Wacky Races.

[Balloon Fight]

Well, apparently the last prototype Wacky Races sold for $171.06, with a retail box and manual. Yours is probably worth $150, in my opinion. Stanley is probably worth $100-125 since it's not quite as desirable as Wacky Races.

The box and manual for the Wacky Races is worth quite a bit on it's own as the manual is one of the hardest to find in the library. Probably sold a tiny bit low for having a box/manual with it. Great find!

[Sunnyvale]

That... seller... was...

from my town!!!

I missed them protos where, I wonder...

[VG_Maniac]

I tried to test both games again, and this time I moved the carts around as I inserted them into the NES and was finally able to get them in. Both games seem to be working just fine.

[Dreammary]

Well, that is fantastic luck as one of the prototypes paid for the entire lot basically, so you got a bunch of freebies!

[mrmark0673]

Well, apparently the last prototype Wacky Races sold for $171.06, with a retail box and manual. Yours is probably worth $150, in my opinion.

I think you're really underestimating the value of the box and manual.

This manual sold for $59 shipped:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Wacky-Races-...item27c15e451e

And this CIB with rental stickers and damage to the cart and box sold for $150 shipped with just 5 page views:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Wacky-Races-...item5ae4379066

Anyway, the rarity of the title for a proto doesn't always influence the end price. A lot of it has to do with whether a prototype collector already owns a copy of the game. A perfect example of this is these two auctions:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NES-Prototyp...item45ff67e14f

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NES-Prototyp...item45ff677411

Ran for their full course, clearly advertised, and from a solid seller. Why didn't they sell for $100 a piece? Well, for one, Matt and I already own copies of each (actually owned two copies of Bad News Baseball in the past). If we didn't already have them, they would have sold for their start price the first time they were listed.

This is why the past sales of identical protos don't often influence what a new copy would command. Panic Restaurant is in very high demand right now, and past protos of it have sold for $200 and $300. I can all but guarantee that another wouldn't sell in that range because not only do Matt and I already own a copy, but so does Dreamtr. There just aren't enough buyers out there to keep the price in that area.

On the whole, protos of licensed and released NTSC NES games typically sell between $75-$175 at open auction. A bit more for more desirable titles, and a bit more in private sales. I've paid more, and I've paid less, but that's a solid ballpark for those wondering.

Unlicensed protos of released games often sell for less because it's harder to determine the authenticity of the cart. Color Dreams was basically a basement operation where half of their carts used EPROMs to begin with, so it's harder to say what is pre-production and what is not. I'd put them closer to $50-$125 at both open auction and private sales.

Anyway, Stanley has been paid for, someone grab that Wacky Races

[Ryaan1234]

I think you're really underestimating the value of the box and manual.

This manual sold for $59 shipped:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Wacky-Races-...item27c15e451e

And this CIB with rental stickers and damage to the cart and box sold for $150 shipped with just 5 page views:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Wacky-Races-...item5ae4379066

There's a reason why I said "in my opinion": because, to me the games are worth $150 and $125. Also, I think that you are overestimating the value of a box/manual for Wacky Races. It's a combination of both the recent ridonkulous prices uncommon and rare NES games are bringing boxed (on eBay), which I can only surmise is related to NintendoAge*, AND the recent Christmas season. Wait a while and you'll find that once this CIB-a-palooza drops off a bit that the value of a Wacky Races box/manual is not worth anywhere near that much.

I don't have any comments on the unsold NES protos on eBay. From the sounds of it, you and your brother each have copies of those already. They seem to be very common examples.

If I may be so bold as to say, past sales of protos absolutely do effect the sale price of another proto. They give the seller a place to start in terms of an asking price. I think that past sales of anything effects the sale price of something similar in this way.

*Not trying to bad-talk NA. I'm just referring to the fact that NES collecting has become very popular as of late.

[Baloo]

I thought this was the "What's It Worth" forum, not the "Lowball the OP for whatever valuable shit they just found" forum?

[mrmark0673]

There's a reason why I said "in my opinion": because, to me the games are worth $150 and $125. Also, I think that you are overestimating the value of a box/manual for Wacky Races. It's a combination of both the recent ridonkulous prices uncommon and rare NES games are bringing boxed (on eBay), which I can only surmise is related to NintendoAge, AND the recent Christmas season. Wait a while and you'll find that once this CIB-a-palooza drops off a bit that the value of a Wacky Races box/manual is not worth anywhere near that much.

I don't have any comments on the unsold NES protos on eBay. From th sounds of it, you and your brother each have copies of those already. They seem to be very common examples.

If I may be so bold as to say, past sales of protos absolutely do effect the sale price of another proto. They give the seller a place to start in terms of a starting price. I think that past sales of anything effects the sale price of something similar in this way.

Overestimating the value of the box and manual by showing the exclusive sales of both on eBay recently? That's some pretty stupid shit right there. NA has been around for over 5 years, but you can blame that for the "recent" prices if you'd like.

I have the second largest NES proto collection around, so if there is an NES proto on eBay, there is about a 1 in 5 chance I already own already own a copy. I anyone is under the assumption that those two didn't sell because they're common Protoss, you can chalk up that assumption to not knowing shit about Protos.

Like I said, past sales of prototypes are important, but past sales of near identical Protos is less relevant than you lead the owner to believe.

[ProgrammingAce]

Like I said, past sales of prototypes are important, but past sales of near identical Protos is less relevant than you lead the owner to believe.

This makes no sense to me, care to elaborate?

[mrmark0673]

I thought this was the "What's It Worth" forum, not the "Lowball the OP for whatever valuable shit they just found" forum?

My estimates ranges for the games surpassed any previous estimates on the high end, so who are you talking about? I paid $125 shipped for Stanley, so who is low balling?

[mrmark0673]

This makes no sense to me, care to elaborate?

In the sense to use them as a benchmark, as they put one more proto collector out of the running. Case in point, I would certainly have paid 150-175 for Wacky Races if I didn't already buy the last copy for sale. I'd be fucking shocked to see someone caugh up 175 for it now, but I'd love to be proven wrong.

There are maybe 5 people who historically buy Protos for NES games. When more of those people get their hands on copies, the going rate and demand has decreased in turn? I did my best to illustrate my point with the two Protos that ended recently.

[ProgrammingAce]

In the sense to use them as a benchmark, as they put one less proto collector out of the running. Case in point, I would certainly have paid 150-175 for Wacky Races if I didn't already buy the last copy for sale. I'd be fucking shocked to see someone caugh up 175 for it now, but I'd love to be proven wrong.

I dunno, i think there are enough crazy NES collectors out there that it's fair to say "The last one sold for $X, i want $X too".

At the very least, it's fair to start the price there, and lower it later if nobody interested. The market is so volatile that some nimrod might hit the "Buy It Now" button on Ebay if it were posted for $500.

It's a lot easier to lower the price of a desirable item then it is to raise it after it's been sold.

There are maybe 5 people who historically buy Protos for NES games.

I disagree with that estimation, there are far more then 5 people who collect prototype games. Lost Levels and Assembler's site both have hundreds of members who may be interested in such a thing for various reasons.

[mrmark0673]

I dunno, i think there are enough crazy NES collectors out there that it's fair to say "The last one sold for $X, i want $X too".

At the very least, it's fair to start the price there, and lower it later if nobody interested. The market is so volatile that some nimrod might hit the "Buy It Now" button on Ebay if it were posted for $500.

It's a lot easier to lower the price of a desirable item then it is to raise it after it's been sold.

Absolutely, I have the same mentality anytime I sell a rare or one off item. Very good points on all accounts.