ColecoVision ZAXXON Cartridge For Test or Prototype?

[coleco_master]

Well,

I just need to know if this is really a Prototype or test cart, I received it today after almost a month waiting...

I might have paid a litle too much for it. I would like to have some comment please.

 

Here's the pictures... it's a 1982 PCB but it said 1981 on the chips. I just test it and it looks like the final release!

[coleco_master]

There is an auction on Ebay right now with a ZAXXON proto (well this is what he said) but it doesn't look the same.

 

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 190687637379

[NIAD]

Decyphering whether a game cart/pcb is a prototype, pre-production final test version or production version is EXTREMELY hard and can become quite time consuming for the tester. The two easiest means of verification are to play test it and look for differences compared to a known release version:

 

missing or different title screen

no skill level select

missing or different graphics, sound effects, music or gameplay (the tester really has to know the game in this case)

 

or to dump it and perform a file compare for differences in the rom code.

 

I would venture a guess that the Zaxxon game that you have is a final test version before it went into production. It is surprising that the stickers on the Eproms aren't fully covering the circular window to properly protect the chip from light. Also, just because Eproms were used on it doesn't mean that it's a prototype seeing as there have been many instances of Eproms being used for production run/resale carts... not only for the CV, but other systems as well.

 

The two auctions currently up on eBay were probably acquired from former Coleco employees and I personally think they are not prototypes, but final release versions. The socketed PCBs (hard to tell with the supplied pics, but they do look like sockets), however, are very nice to have as they make swapping out chips a snap... obviously. Seems like a lot of former Coleco employees obtained or took PCB boards with sockets and loose Eproms/Proms that allowed them to easily swap out chips on the PCB when they wanted to play a different game.

 

I sent J-F a number of these socketed PCBs and loose chips that I obtained from a former Coleco employee last year and you might want to ask him if you could take a look at them to compare with what you have and what is up for auction on eBay currently.

 

Personally, the only prototype that I would be interested in is of a game that was never finished and released. Prototypes of finished and released games just aren't my thing as it's so hard to verify if indeed it is a prototype and can become a very expensive endeavor in both time and money. There are a few exceptions, like the Forune Builder proto that sold on eBay a couple months ago as it had numerous differences in the title screen and gameplay, but usually it's just a roll of the dice.

[NIAD]

Another good tip is to pay attention to who might be bidding on these eBay auctions... if you are familiar with the abbreviated eBay usernames and to a lesser extent the bidders feedback score.

[coleco_master]

Thank you for your opinion NIAD !

[opcode]

Can you post a picture showing the solder side of the board? Because it looks just like a production board to me. Coleco shipped many games in EPROM format. I actually have several Zaxxons like that.

Now if the soldering was done by hand, than that would be a different story.