woot! can't wait to see what you guys find next

Yeah really, this thread never disappoints. Nice pickup, I've seen "prototype" mock-up boxes and proto carts, but never a manual.

^proto box & manual, and prototype cartridge RIght there for ya Jonas.

also, i'm not so sure it's a proto manual - Mark and/or Matt would have to confirm, from just the picture it looks like a B&W copy of the Godzilla 2 manual. Although it was probably sent with the proto for review purposes, i'm not sure how one might classify it...

Oh yeah I did see your thread, forgot about it. I forgot a prototype manual could be as simple as stapled printouts.

the manual I have does have some unique differences that are not in the released manual from Vice Project Doom. There are additional details in the mock manaul (extra character descriptions, additional enemy descriptions) and some information that isn't there that is in the original manual.

Alright, so this one is worth discussing...

My boy Qix pointed out an auction to Matt and I:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/300629655...

No info aside from the fact that it looked like it says "Fuck You Land" on the front and is clearly a proto. Fast forward a few days, and we've got a very odd Clu Clu Land proto on our hands:







So here is what we've got so far:

- The chips are mask ROMs and they are machine soldered.
- The CIC chip used is the 6113, not the 3193 or 3195. I need to look deeper, but I don't believe this is the chip the released version used in any revision.
- The PRG chip is from a brand only used on the PAL version, but this is certainly an NTSC proto.

So, it's a first party NES proto, and those don't show up very often. The characters above the NES at the bottom are identical to characters on my Robot Block Famicom proto, though I don't know anything about Japanese. Anyone want to translate some of this for us?

Anyway, huge thanks again to Josh. He's a true friend and I can't even begin to say how thankful I am to have him around.

Very nice! It'll be interesting to see what all the Japanese turns out to say if some one can translate it.

cool grabs on the godzilla 2 and clu clu land protos. both games had great music!

wow. that clu clu land proto is flipping sweet and a steal at that price.

Whoa, sweet find! I love Clu Clu Land, is the proto any different than the regular game?

Sweet! All I know is that on the very top end of the label it just says NES Cassette. I know I know, mind blown

Wow, that's a pretty cool cart. Is there a PAL version of clu clu program-wise? I only have 1 ROM for it in my file set. But maybe it's an early review copy? hatever it is it is really different. Sweet cart! Also, Clu Clu doesn't have Mask ROM's because they're under 32KB.

Right before it says IC, there is ?????? which means "project."
At the bottom where it says NES, ????? means "aging." (Or so I can remember)

Like Zeldaboy said, up on the top label it does say cassette. As for the the Kanji, I haven't a clue. I've been doing pretty bad in my Japanese class.

edit: the Kanji that is up towards the top where I said says "aging" I believe it may mean business,service, or use. I had to look that one up and it could have multiple meanings. After some more searching though, I think it may have something to do with the audio. Searching the katakana with that kanji, I came across a bunch of links to sites and videos with audio test cds. It may be a test cart to make sure the audio is fine? I'm not 100% sure, but that is what I got from my basic knowledge and a little researching. Hope this helps!

Well shit, the forums don't like Katakana apparently.

Up on top by IC it says "Purojekuto" - Project
Next to NES it says "eejingu" - aging

Totally OT, but in response to sgtlanky13, it says "purotekuto" - protect

Damn, I wasn't sure if that was a proto or not, nice grab. He actually had some cool stuff for sale, including the first ever auction for a variant Captain Novolin. Only have been private sales on that one up until that auction.

Congrats on the grab, you don't find protos for "cheap" everyday.

Nice, hot damn!

I'm willing to bet money it's a test cartridge made in Japan, for testing a NTSC system. As you can see here, on this GBA test cart the AGING is present, i'm not sure the meaning of it, but you can set the time you want it to run, so I think it tests out how well the system will run cycling for a long time.  I'll do some research and see if I can figure out what the AGING stands for. As far as I know these GBA test carts were only from Japan, but a few made it over to the states, I'm guessing to select service centers. In all that is a very unique cartridge, knowing that its region specific as well, great find!

Oops, you're right. For some reason when I first read it I thought the -te had a dakuten marker. My mistakw.

I was always under the impression that they could be:  http://wiki.nesdev.com/w/index.ph...

Are they just PROMs then?  They're certainly not UV EPROMs, that's really the point I was making.

zeldaboy, sgtlanky13, and many:  Thanks!  Certainly helps a bit for sure.

Penguin:  Now that is super cool.  I wonder if it just meant to keep the item internal?  You don't want test/service carts or protos getting into the hands of the public.  Be interested to find out more.

Not sure if it will help, but here is a picture of the Robot Block proto Matt and I have had for a while:



Anyone able to pull any similar terms from the three?  Quick fun fact about this Robot Block proto:  Since all copies of Stack Up have the famicom adapter inside, and the ROM is identical in JP and the US, I believe this is likely the closest thing made to a Stack Up proto.

damn fine find there guys.

Penguin your GBA cart there says in katakana (translated) Aging Cartridge (the first five symbols are the first word Ajingu Katoreji. My symbols may be off I'm rusty as it gets.) From what you're saying what it does with timer, the label is quite literal. It very likely is a tester for when someone complains on a repair or for another reason some piece of hardware fails after so long that they could clock it and check for consistency or something.

MrMark you got let's see what I can do with it...
First box: Family Computer Robot (is this a rob cart?)
Second box: Block Display(not sure on the last piece as it's kanji)
Third box: Display(kanji?) Cassette (can't do 2nd row 3 box, all kanji)
...can't do the bottom either, again, kanji

It appears you have a famicom robot(rob) display/test cart or something.

As has been said before, but for clarification: ? (you) means "task, use, service", so display and "aging" test cassettes would have that kanji present. The second row, second column reads "hibaihin" (???), and means "not for sale". The bottow row of the Robot Block test cassette, next to Nintendo, just says "Nintend? Kabushiki gaisha" (Nintendo Co., Ltd).

so then, is this is close as someone gets to a true black box prototype?