Been years since I've popped by here.  Hope everyone is well.

Long story short, I did an attic raid the other day of an industry vet and in there were several prototypes.  Two of them in particular were interesting, as they were for games that I believe were unreleased and for that matter aren't dumped, either.

Four copies of Akira for the Nintendo Game Boy and a copy of Mallrats for the Sega Genesis.  As pictured (the pic with my fingers in the shot were to protect the uncovered windows on the chips right after I tested them).

As of right now, I haven't played either of them for more than a couple minutes.... time hasn't allowed for a deeper look.  That said, I'm in uncharted waters here, too.  I've never obtained unreleased prototypes before and don't know what my next step should be.

They are NOT up for grabs nor will be in the foreseeable future, so please don't ask me for sale or trade.  My interest in them right now is preservation and providing information to the community, as none seems to exist for either.

So that said... what are my next steps here?  I don't want to mail them off to anyone, but know nothing about how to copy the ROMs or anything else. What do people typically do when they encounter stuff like this? 

That's fantastic.

You can find someone nearby, or someone willing to travel to you, to dump them for you. Make sure the person has a good reputation though, so you don't end up with copies floating around before you're ready. Shipping them off isn't such a bad option though. I've had a couple protos shipped to me and returned without issue.

Frank at the Lost Levels should be able to help.

http://www.lostlevels.org/...

Cool! You can safely back them up with a Retrode (and the GB ones with a Retrode + GB plugin). Since they are prototypes, though, it is hard to guarantee that they'll dump correctly. I've had generally good success backing up my protos with a Retrode, especially Genesis ones.

Using a Retrode for GB stuff seems a bit spotty in terms of creating a usable backup.

Well, shipping is uncomfortable not only for trusting the receipients but also the shipping process in general.  I've had enough stuff lost or damaged over the years to be weary.

But someone local perhaps, yeah.  Right now, I'd prefer them to be dumped but NOT to be distributed right away.

 

I'd love to see what sort of game they made out of Akira. How far along was it?

As noted, I've only played briefly so far.  That said, all four of the Game Boy protos in the photo are Akira... so there are possibly differences between them.  One is dated specifically, as shown.
 

Is Mallrats based off the movie? I can't remember when the movie came out so I don't know if the timelines match up.

Awesome stuff! I'm a huge Kevin Smith fan I would love to hear about the Mallrats game. If you're stuck finding someone to help you I'll lend you my retrod with the proper adapter.

That's me. Bring them to Portland Retro Gaming Expo, I have a table in the museum specifically for archiving things.
 

Mall rats   great movie.

Would love to see the games in action! Akira looks promising!

I usually use my Bung GB Xchanger to dump GB/C. Don't see why it would be an issue for a prototype unless it had some funny mapper hardware.

Sweet finds! Interested to see whats on Mall Rats.

Found this on MallRats:

http://viewaskew.com/newboard/mes...

Another huge Kevin Smith fan, I'd love to play that!

Super curious about Mallrats. I've always loved that movie.

I know you don't want to ship them, but you might want to ask one of the Nolan brothers if they can do it. I can't and am not speaking on there behalf, but I believe they offered many times to dump prototypes for people and not distribute the roms. With them also being pretty much the biggest experts in prototypes video games, with the history and knowledge of preserving , and understanding you reasons for not wanting it released yet would be your best bet.I don't know if they are doing physical releases any more but they might be able to help with that as well if that is something you want to do. Again can't speak for them just trying to help.

That being said I'd love see more of Mallrats. Love that movie.

Assemblergames.com is a great site and has an active dumping community. Try Borman on there he seems to deal with alot of prototypes

I'd be happy to dump the game, email the rom, delete it, and ship back the proto if you want, though I certainly understand the hesitation. I promise you I'm a good person I guess  .
I'd also be willing to sign a contract of some sort if it would make you feel better.

I was similarly terrified when I did it here with my Shining Force II proto, but Armagaeddon Potato did just that for me and was a great dude overall!

Add me to the Mallrats enthusiasts  

If you're not going to Portland, I will literally fly to you and dump them at the location of your choosing if you're going to let people download the ROMs right after. This is a serious offer.

I'll be in Portland... I was one of the first guests announced for the show, in fact.

 

Its always awesome to uncover long lost protos! Congrats on the extremely rare piece of history!

Cool! If you don't get them dumped by then, I'll be able to do them right in front of you.

Wow, I'd love to try out the Mallrats game! Hell, Kevin Smith probably would love to see it too!