Requesting further information on the ultra-rare Tetris Gameboy game

rlhrlh
in Collector's Corner
It's pretty common knowledge that Tetris is probably one of the most common games of all time, probably only rivaled to Super Mario Bros.  Well, I just learned that somehow, Nintendo created a very rare variation of the rom with different music and a slightly different scoring system.  You can hear a sample of the different music here, on YouTube:







From what minimal information I can find, it seems that this variation was only released in the US and Japan and there are probably less than 10 people out there known to own a copy.  The video I posted is 5 years old, but I'd like more details.  How did this variation originate and does anyone here know of someone who owns a copy?



To be honest, other than prototypes (which don't count)  I think this could be the rarest gameboy game in existance.  Quite ironic, considering that this game is also as common as it gets in the standard form.



Thanks for any further details.  I'd love to own this but I doubt I'll ever see a copy, much less get a chance to purchase one.

Comments

  • ShaneShane
    Interesting stuff man. Definitely new to me.
  • GuntzGuntz
    Don't trust hyperbole on matters like this. Unless Nintendo did a recall, there will be a lot more than 10 copies of Tetris version 1.0. Although it's hard to get concrete numbers on print runs, a little industry knowledge says there always had to be a significant minimum order with cartridge games. This is because Mask ROMs are only cheap to produce in mass quantities. There could very well be 1,000 or 10,000 Tetris version 1.0 cartridges out there. For now, nobody knows for sure, but it's not wise to assume it's extremely rare just because nobody has ever noticed before. It's a pretty minor detail that would have only affected early sales of Game Boy systems bundled with Tetris. The original Tetris for GB sold for many years, most of which are version 1.1.



    The Cutting Room Floor has a nice page covering Tetris version 1.0.



    https://tcrf.net/Tetris_(Game_Boy)



    I heard about this from TCRF, also when I was looking for Game Boy ROMs to put on my GB Smart Card. I went with Version 1.1 because of the better Song A. Because it's such a small game (32KB), it makes great filler when you have limited storage space. I still like Dr. Mario, Yoshi's Cookie and Panel De Pon a lot more than Tetris though.
  • rlhrlh
    Originally posted by: Guntz



    Don't trust hyperbole on matters like this. Unless Nintendo did a recall, there will be a lot more than 10 copies of Tetris version 1.0. Although it's hard to get concrete numbers on print runs, a little industry knowledge says there always had to be a significant minimum order with cartridge games. This is because Mask ROMs are only cheap to produce in mass quantities. There could very well be 1,000 or 10,000 Tetris version 1.0 cartridges out there. For now, nobody knows for sure, but it's not wise to assume it's extremely rare just because nobody has ever noticed before. It's a pretty minor detail that would have only affected early sales of Game Boy systems bundled with Tetris. The original Tetris for GB sold for many years, most of which are version 1.1.



    The Cutting Room Floor has a nice page covering Tetris version 1.0.



    https://tcrf.net/Tetris_%28Game_B...



    I heard about this from TCRF, also when I was looking for Game Boy ROMs to put on my GB Smart Card. I went with Version 1.1 because of the better Song A. Because it's such a small game (32KB), it makes great filler when you have limited storage space. I still like Dr. Mario, Yoshi's Cookie and Panel De Pon a lot more than Tetris though.



    Well, there you go.  I was unaware of "The Cutting Room Floor" and I'll need to check out what that place even is.  So, assuming the info is correct, it's not as rare as it seems and was NOT released in the US.  Maybe that's the reason why the very-few sources that I found thought it was so rare.  25,000 copies isn't a lot, but it's also not so small that it makes it impossible to find.

     
  • GuntzGuntz
    Thing is, yes version 1.0 is what the Japanese had first for quite a while, but it's entirely possible a few us copies got that rom too. I forgot that Tetris didn't need a translation, so Japanese and USA copies share the same rom, usually version 1.1. The distribution between Jpn and USA could reduce the possible USA numbers, but as few as 10 copies would be in the realm of a factory error, which Tetris version 1.0 wasn't. There's probably a thousand or two, just depends on the early game boy system sales and whenever Nintendo updated the rom worldwide.
  • BouncekDeLemosBouncekDeLemos
    Originally posted by: rlh

     
    Originally posted by: Guntz



    Don't trust hyperbole on matters like this. Unless Nintendo did a recall, there will be a lot more than 10 copies of Tetris version 1.0. Although it's hard to get concrete numbers on print runs, a little industry knowledge says there always had to be a significant minimum order with cartridge games. This is because Mask ROMs are only cheap to produce in mass quantities. There could very well be 1,000 or 10,000 Tetris version 1.0 cartridges out there. For now, nobody knows for sure, but it's not wise to assume it's extremely rare just because nobody has ever noticed before. It's a pretty minor detail that would have only affected early sales of Game Boy systems bundled with Tetris. The original Tetris for GB sold for many years, most of which are version 1.1.



    The Cutting Room Floor has a nice page covering Tetris version 1.0.



    https://tcrf.net/Tetris_%28Game_Boy%29



    I heard about this from TCRF, also when I was looking for Game Boy ROMs to put on my GB Smart Card. I went with Version 1.1 because of the better Song A. Because it's such a small game (32KB), it makes great filler when you have limited storage space. I still like Dr. Mario, Yoshi's Cookie and Panel De Pon a lot more than Tetris though.



    Well, there you go.  I was unaware of "The Cutting Room Floor" and I'll need to check out what that place even is.  So, assuming the info is correct, it's not as rare as it seems and was NOT released in the US.  Maybe that's the reason why the very-few sources that I found thought it was so rare.  25,000 copies isn't a lot, but it's also not so small that it makes it impossible to find.

     

    An awesome site. lol One of my favorite ones I spend hours in besides here.  



    It's basically a site that documents stuff people've found hidden in roms that were left out for what ever reason. 



    Stuff like the 1.0 version of Tetris, which is something I didn't know of 'till now.



     
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