Quote Originally Posted by Greg2600 View Post
At one time, I do believe that a prototype that wasn't released on-line did have a higher value. However, at this point and time, is that still the case?
It's a bit different with prototype console games than arcade games. With a basic cartridge that you just want to play the game with, you could just make your own repro cart to play the game and there's not too much difference in practical experience in playing it. I could see not wanting to pay too much to own a prototype that's already widely available to play elsewhere, there's an appeal to owning something not available anywhere else so some people would pay more for it.

With an arcade game where the legit copies are full cabinets with custom controls, the main value is with the entire cabinet rather than with the game code. To even own an arcade game you need to have enough room to store it, and if you only have space for a select few cabinets, is this the game you'd want to dedicate space for? There's a much more limited group of collectors who would want to buy arcade prototypes compared to console prototypes, I doubt that this being leaked would really affect the demand or value too much as the people who wanted it previously would probably still want it now. Unless the game really sucks to play and now potential buyers know it sucks.