Do you care about the number of pins of a cart?
I have been collecting for a year and a half or so now and I have about 225 carts... I will trade duplicates but not if it is a variant (like the 5 screw or 3 screw or different labels such as King of Kings).... Since they are different I want to have one of each.
Well with games like SMB2 they have different numbers of pins (some have the pins all the way across and some have a break in the middle). My wife thinks that nuts to care about (but then again she use to say the same thing about the number of screws on the cart). Anyone else care about those in their collection?
Also is there by chance a list of games that have pin variants like SMB2?
Well with games like SMB2 they have different numbers of pins (some have the pins all the way across and some have a break in the middle). My wife thinks that nuts to care about (but then again she use to say the same thing about the number of screws on the cart). Anyone else care about those in their collection?
Also is there by chance a list of games that have pin variants like SMB2?
Comments
I checked some of my SMB 2 carts and found something interesting. The carts that have a split in the pin have a Nintendo Seal on the label and the non-split carts do not.
I also have 5 copies of SMB 3 and I only have one with the code NES-UM-USA, the rest are NES-UM-USA-1
Can you tell if it is a proto without having to open it up?
No. Usually protos have weird homemade labels and such, but anyone can make one either way. The boards are the only way to tell whether or not it is, unless you pop it in the system and the gameplay is different/the screen states that its a proto (test version xxx, etc.)
I also found one copy of SMB 3 that has "Bros." positioned on the left instead on being in the middle.
As far as the embossed number on the back, nobody knows for sure. There used to be a general consensus that it represented production plants, but there just weren't as many as would account for all of the numbers. More likely it's some sort of QC batch number, or perhaps it corresponds to an assembly line code. The only carts without an embossed/printed number are test carts, which were likely hand-assembled.
Facts about the cart-
No code on front label
3 Flathead screws on back
Same sized chip as other Excitebike carts
Also look out for the words "Made in Japan" which started to spring up in early 1986 best we can tell. The oldest games will have a round seal, five screws, neither a code nor "Made in Japan" and a back label with the word "Nintendo" right-justified at the bottom.
It's also rumored that the VERY oldest games have the famicom converter inside, which hasn't yet been disproven.
I have a five screw Zanac cart...
The number of pins only really matters to the repro guys, as far as I know. Certain pinouts for SMB2 are required as donors for certain more complex repro carts.
Well with games like SMB2 they have different numbers of pins (some have the pins all the way across and some have a break in the middle).
Good eye. I noticed this as a kid as well. The older games (pre 1990 or maybe late 1989) have pins all the way across and the games (post 1990 or 1989) have the gap in the middle. I don't know the exact cutoff point, but I'm pretty sure that all carts made after Mario 3 will have the gap in the middle for sure. I know I've seen Mega Man 2 carts with both variants.
Interestingly enough, I've discovered that the carts with the pin gap do not get nearly as warm as the ones w/ out. For example, if you played one of the older games with pin full for like 3 hours, the cart will be much warmer than a game with pin gap that's played for the same amount of time. It makes sense to me since, the games with the pin gap have around 10 less pins that's transfering a signal from the game pak to the console and vice versa.
I think Nintendo did this to save money. Removing the 10 pins saves them money in the same way that removing the 2 extra screws does (5 screw to 3 screw).
Interestingly enough, I've discovered that the carts with the pin gap do not get nearly as warm as the ones w/ out. For example, if you played one of the older games with pin full for like 3 hours, the cart will be much warmer than a game with pin gap that's played for the same amount of time. It makes sense to me since, the games with the pin gap have around 10 less pins that's transfering a signal from the game pak to the console and vice versa.
That's not the reason. The extra pins in the middle of the connector go through to the expansion port on the underside of the NES, which nothing was ever made to hook up to. They're not connected to anything on the cart circuit board either, so there are no signals on those pins.
Early NES games (which includes many/most "fully pinned" carts) used an earlier version of the lockout (security) chip which uses more power. That's why they get warmer. If you open up a warm-running cart, you should see a 3193 or 3193A lockout chip. Later carts have a 6113/6113B/6113B1 chip which runs cooler.
I have variations of Super Mario Bros./ Duck Hunt, one has a white stripe with the code on the left, and the other has no stripe with the code on the right.
I also found one copy of SMB 3 that has "Bros." positioned on the left instead on being in the middle.
This version of Mario 3 is not just a label variant there are quite a few in game changes as well. Actually this is the first version, the more common version with "Bros." on the right is the version that was changed. If you do some research you should be able to dig up more info on it though.
Im not finding any information about this variation. What are some of the "game changes" in my version?
I honestly don't remember if these are the only differences or not but I don't remember any others so it might be. I had a hard time finding anything on it as well but this page shows what i'm talking about.
http://themushroomkingdom.net/games/smb3