I got Intellivision prototypes maybe?

[ber53rker]

One is Super Cobra, but I can't tell what the other is.

I got them in a lot off of Craigslist tonight and haven't tried them yet.

If anyone has any information, please share. Thanks.

[+cmart604]

Looks like the second one is Tut.

[+-^CrossBow^-]

Those are definitely parker bros labels on those carts. But given they both say RLS 1 on them, that would mean they are final versions of the game and likely release copies that were given to reviewers back in the day. Still this does classify them as pre-release versions. And one of them being Tut is awesome given how rare and expensive that game is for the Inty to begin with!

 

I have two VCS carts like this only the labels on mine are really difficult to read these days due to age. But they look just like this.

[ber53rker]

Wow! I had no idea! I haven't really been collecting anything pre-NES so I appreciate the help. These were part of a bigger lot with a console and I figured "Sure, why not". Thanks for the info!

[Scooter83]

Nice finds

[Tempest]

Yep those are legit. They're the final versions though.

[Scooter83]

Tempest are final release versions considered prototypes or reviewer copies or just pre production copies when it's the final version prior to release.

[Tempest]

Tempest are final release versions considered prototypes or reviewer copies or just pre production copies when it's the final version prior to release.

 

All of the above? There's no one definition of what constitutes a prototype or not. Maybe it's time we set some definitions? Then again, other people may already have different definitions.

[+-^CrossBow^-]

 

All of the above? There's no one definition of what constitutes a prototype or not. Maybe it's time we set some definitions? Then again, other people may already have different definitions.

 

Not that I'm any expert, but I've always thought of it this way:

 

If the cart has the RLS or other ident marking it as a release version...then I would simply call them preproduction versions but not really prototypes since at this point the code of the game is unchanged from what is actually released.

If the cart has WIP or other ident marking it as a work in progress version, then I would think this is the true definition of a 'prototype' since it actually contains code that is different from what is eventually released.

 

As for review copies, I would think it pretty safe to say that back in the era of the 80's that most of the review copies likely looked like prototypes but had the same final rom revision as the actual release. So pre-production once again is how these should be labeled.

It makes sense when you think about it since RLS or pre-production/pre-release/review copies were done and sent out for promo use and review of the games but the actual done cartridges were still likely being mass produced and not quite ready yet. So again an eprom of the final and same game code would get burned and places onto a cart for reviewers to get their hands on the game and review it ahead of release.

 

The real question I think is which is more rare? Pre-production versions, or actual WIP versions? For me I would say that actual WIP versions are likely more rare. But it really depends on how many beta testers were involved as opposed to how many review copies might get made? If there really only like 3 or 4 people testing the games as they were developed then it would make since that likely only 3 or 4 actual copies of a particular WIP version ever exists because they would only make as many as they needed for the actual testers. We don't know how many reviewers or review copies for promo use might get made and sent out, but it was likely a higher number than the WIP versions for the testers.

 

Tempest-- your thoughts?

[Tempest]

WIP versions are by far rarer than review copies since they rarely escaped the company and were generally reused since EPROMs were expensive back then. There were also fewer made.

 

I too would say that a true 'prototype' is a WIP version of a game and a review copy is just the final code on an EPROM board. However these days most people use the term prototype to mean anything that is pre-production. I'm guilty of this myself.

[jhd]

To me, to qualify as a prototype, it needs to have some difference (preferably significant) from the final, released commercial version.

 

I think of it as a draft of a book, or even the sketches that an artist prepares before creating a masterwork -- in comparing the prototypes to the final version, once can see how the game has evolved.

 

This is most obvious where there are multiple versions available, at different stages of completion. The very best example is Cabbage Patch Kids with some 10 different versions available.