I know this is probably unlikely, but has a prototype ever been found in a regular game cart? 

im saying yes

I know that unlicensed games have been found that way...the only two I can think of off the top of my head are Trolls in Crazyland and either Bible Adventures or Spiritual Warfare.

Could you clarify a bit?  Like has a prototype of one game been found in what appears to otherwise be a retail cartridge of another game?  I guess the answer to that would more or less be yes, though usually the cases are either heavily modified or have a sticker showing the difference.

If the question is, has a proto ever turned up in a retail case bearing it's own resemblance, I guess that would be a yes too.

Wally Bear and the No! Gang has a proto found in what appears to be a retail AGCI case:  http://www.nintendoage.com/index....

Chiller has been found in a "Share Data" version that should be viewed as a proto in my opinion:  http://www.nintendoage.com/index....

I'm sure there are others, though I can't think of any right now.

It isn't unheard of to find EPROMs in retails carts, but that doesn't necessarily make them protos.  I have found 4 retails games with EPROMs on them in the past few months, but they are clearly factory fixes and not protos.

I hope this helps, not sure if this is what you were looking for.

Problem is proto = first or earliest.

Production labels and game art are usually the last things to finalize, since the program itself must be approved for release, and it's tough to do that until you can test market a proto. Also for cash flow reasons, it's smart to move those costs off to the end of the process while you have the review copies out at magazines, after the game's finalized.

I think that's what you are wondering -- if you have a copy of some game with a full retail label, looks normal but you pop it in and it seems to be a proto...

I think that was question as well.  If that's the question, I can say that I have never heard of such a prototype existing.

Yes, that is what I meant.  Like if someone bought some regular games from say a lot on Ebay, then opened them to clean it and inside they found a prototype board.

I was just cleaning some games up that I bought and though how cool it would be for someone to find a proto inside. Thanks for the info everyone!

My Defender prototype for the Atari 2600 has a production label pasted over Atari's "Loaner Cartridge" Label:

Limbofunk has a Caveman Games prototype in a Tiger Heli cart.  The cart has a sticker with a large label over it.  Link:
http://www.nintendoage.com/forum/...

And as Mark mentioned, we have a number of prototypes that are hacked-up production carts.

I have never seen a true prototype have a production case like yours.  Pretty cool actually.  It must have been created just before (if not just after) the game was released for review purposes.

Unlicensed prototypes have been found this way, but I don't know of any licensed games...

There are also these:

http://www.atariage.com/forums/to...

Roklan generally reused production carts for their 2600 prototypes (they have official Atari EPROM boards inside).

Isn't there a Skate or Die prototype that was found in a gold Zelda case?

I wouldn't be suprised if there was.  Several NES prototypes have been found in Zelda cases (Earth Bound and Sim City for example).

I have a Blues Brothers proto in a gold Link's Adventure cart.

Data East did a lot of stuff like this, grabbing whatever games were lying around and sacrificing them. That Skate or Die 2 you refer to is mine, and was found in a gold Zelda II case that was ripped to shreds..

I consider both of these more than regular prototype games. Both have retail labels and might be considered prototype from a test run standpoint but they are far from a standard prototype. I'd gladly pay $1000 for either one of these games with a retail label and case. I consider them rarer than Stadium Events.

^ just out of curiosity, did these ever have their own case (assuming you mean box). if not, than how were these retail? Just uneducated on the two, that's all.

I don't mean box. I mean the plastic case and sticker are the same as what would have been released had the games seen a wide release. They differ from the Hellraiser stickers in that these sticker were found on carts much like a retail cart. Wally Bear was found at a used game store.  

Had either of these titles seen a wide release the few example carts we have today would be indistingishable from those released. Same case and same sticker. Perhaps even the same board and chips. That is more of a test run than a prototype vessel for pre-release code. I don't know how others see things but to me those 2 games are limited test runs not prototypes and I'd pay accordingly.

The dump that Port released of the Wally bear AGCI cart is very different from the (final?) version that we saw as a release.  not sure if that changes your view at all, but just thought I'd throw that out there.

Not really sure of the story behind them entirely, but no retail packaging makes it unlikely to be a retail release.  What you're describing ("plastic case and sticker are the same as what would have been released had the games seen a wide release") seems to be exactly what the OP was looking for in regards to info.

As far as the fact that Wally was found at a used game store, so have countless protos.  When I use the term prototype, I include all games and data that were used prior to a full blown release.

Wait wait wait wait wait.

A Sim City prototype was found?

Well Port's copy was in a AGCI case, yet it was not the copy with the label...I am not sure how the copy with the label varies from the retail.

I own a Spiritual Warfare prototype with changes, with a retail label and box. Game is definitely prototype though,because it has some different areas and an area select.

I also have a Robodemons cart, that may or may not be a prototype (rom chips are different #s than the database), and since the cart NEVER had a back label, this is either a prototype or a final assembled copy, before these were mass produced, but either way has a normal retail front label.

iirc, it's undumped unreleased in the hands of a current Nintendo employee, and will stay that way until he's left the company. There is like one, maybe two still shots floating around, that's it.

Is there anything about Nintendo that you guys don't know?! I'm amazed, not only by the responses, but the depth of knowledge in them. And that's why I love Nintendo AGE so much! Hopefully some day I can find my own proto at a used game or thrift store.

Port has a prototype. He doesn't have a labeled cart.

CMII was never "released" is that a prototype?