9536 and 9538 refers to "Week 36 of 1995" and "Week 38 of 1995"
I'm not exactly sure how weeks are counted when it comes to PCBs whether they start from Sunday, Monday, and whether they count the first 7 days of the year as the first week, or the end of the first Saturday (or sunday) as the first week even if that week is only 1 day.
But it seems the current theory about your copy of this game is that these might have maybe been released before the retail launch, so if the games that are more common have later date codes on the chips then it would lend validity to this being an early release.
9536 and 9538 refers to "Week 36 of 1995" and "Week 38 of 1995"
I'm not exactly sure how weeks are counted when it comes to PCBs whether they start from Sunday, Monday, and whether they count the first 7 days of the year as the first week, or the end of the first Saturday (or sunday) as the first week even if that week is only 1 day.
But it seems the current theory about your copy of this game is that these might have maybe been released before the retail launch, so if the games that are more common have later date codes on the chips then it would lend validity to this being an early release.
Also, there's a big ol' 3 on the grey cart in the center right area. While there's a 4 on the black cart...that's probably just a blank PCB number. When they print these PCBs they don't just make one at a time, but rather they come in a giant sheet of them. Think back to when you used to build little toy cars or figurines...they came on a big plastic sheet that you had to cut out by hand before assembly.
The "D" after the 9538 chip on the black cart is also off center...that can be a common alignment issue during production. But it implies it was printed at a different time but still during the same week.
The other chip though is one week off, and has "7a" instead of "5a" not sure what that means but it's a different chip for sure.
I owned this as a grey cart back-in-the-day (bought new).
Didn't realize there was a black cartridge as I thought those were reserved for the GBC-compatible releases.
KI came out in 1994 when Super Gameboy was still the big deal, and is about 4 years before GBC black cartridges came into existence.
I doubt somebody would bother to counterfeit a KI board.
But I don't doubt somebody would recase the original GB game in a black catridge to make it look more like the SNES release. (also in a black cartridge)
I owned this as a grey cart back-in-the-day (bought new).
Didn't realize there was a black cartridge as I thought those were reserved for the GBC-compatible releases.
KI came out in 1994 when Super Gameboy was still the big deal, and is about 4 years before GBC black cartridges came into existence.
I doubt somebody would bother to counterfeit a KI board.
But I don't doubt somebody would recase the original GB game in a black catridge to make it look more like the SNES release. (also in a black cartridge)
and if it was recased the sticker would show more damage then what is present.
Also, there's a big ol' 3 on the grey cart in the center right area. While there's a 4 on the black cart...that's probably just a blank PCB number. When they print these PCBs they don't just make one at a time, but rather they come in a giant sheet of them. Think back to when you used to build little toy cars or figurines...they came on a big plastic sheet that you had to cut out by hand before assembly.
The "D" after the 9538 chip on the black cart is also off center...that can be a common alignment issue during production. But it implies it was printed at a different time but still during the same week.
The other chip though is one week off, and has "7a" instead of "5a" not sure what that means but it's a different chip for sure.
i have more KI but have to dig them up. will post when i find them.
I owned this as a grey cart back-in-the-day (bought new).
Didn't realize there was a black cartridge as I thought those were reserved for the GBC-compatible releases.
KI came out in 1994 when Super Gameboy was still the big deal, and is about 4 years before GBC black cartridges came into existence.
I doubt somebody would bother to counterfeit a KI board.
But I don't doubt somebody would recase the original GB game in a black catridge to make it look more like the SNES release. (also in a black cartridge)
and if it was recased the sticker would show more damage then what is present.
Did any black cartridges exist before the GBC was released in 1998?
Were any other GB games that didn't have a GBC compatibility made in a black cartridge?
Were they even making KI cartridges in 1998?
I think there is a really strong chance this is re cased.
a recase for $9 that is what i paid for it in 2015-2016
some more food for thought
Developer(s)
Rare, Double Helix Games, Microsoft Studios, Iron Galaxy Studios
Publisher(s)
Midway Games (1994–1996)
Nintendo (1994–1996)
at anytime could one or more have requested a proto of packageing?
the crazy thing is i don't have a GBC to test this might have to try in GC
another bite to think about the Playtronic. little known about the games released but we do know that tetris was in a yellow cart and that Platronics used USA code for the labels and games. is this maybe one of them.
Odd black case games: Robopon, unlicensed bible games.. can't think of any others.
If it came out prior to other black cases games, I could see this being a thing. But if it came out after Nintendo started using black cases to mean gb/gbc dual compatibility, then I'd say it's fake. After they established that convention I don't think they'd make an exception - it would cause too much confusion
another bite to think about the Playtronic. little known about the games released but we do know that tetris was in a yellow cart and that Platronics used USA code for the labels and games. is this maybe one of them.
For GB games, Brazilian Playtronic games didn't show a product code at all, here's a Playtronic Killer Instinct:
Odd black case games: Robopon, unlicensed bible games.. can't think of any others.
If it came out prior to other black cases games, I could see this being a thing. But if it came out after Nintendo started using black cases to mean gb/gbc dual compatibility, then I'd say it's fake. After they established that convention I don't think they'd make an exception - it would cause too much confusion
Did any of those black cartridges look EXACTLY like the case Nintendo used for GBC cross compatible games?
I just think it seems incredibly unlikely that a game that debuted in 1994/1995 well before GBC ever got a GBC style cartridge.
In the event that it did, it seems like there would be other "super Gameboy" games from 1995 that eventually had a black case.
I think it is WAY more likely that someone recased it to look like console versions of the game.
Robopon was a black cart but it was extra long kind of like some gba prototypes. NIV bible was an unlicensed cart nothing like a standard gb cart.
Just to be clear, and maybe Robopon is a Japanese-only game, there were no black cartridge Japanese exclusive games? I know they had a lot more colored carts than we ever got in the states and likely Europe. If the black carts existed there is a chance that this was made with a black case. If there were no know black-cased games at that time, any where, then I'd definitely start to lean toward this being a relabel.
I mean, I guess it theoretically could be a manufacturing prototype, but since you guys pointed out the date engravings on the chip (I didn't know about that until reading this thread) then it seems like this was likely made right around the time the game should have been made. I doubt Nintendo would have prototyped a black cartridge case at that time, if they didn't have them already in manufacturing. In earlier discussions on our GB Variants thread, I mentioned it could be a production proto but I was to lazy to see when this game was made and I was thinking the GBC/GB hybrids might have been in production.
I'll add that what personally complicates this to me is that the edges of the label aren't perfect, so I think that could be a sign of a potential label swap but the placement of the label looks perfect and would make me assume it was done mechanically.
The label is very well centered. If it is a label swap, the owner took the time to place it near perfectly centered, which would be very hard to do by hand.
I've considered doing something like this with Link's Awakening and making a gold plated Zelda cart and I'd probably actually create some form of guide/template to re-set the label. My thoughts being, if I'm going to take the time to gold plate a game, I might as well make sure the label is centered perfectly. Regardless, if this was a re-shell and label-swap job, bravo to the guy who did this. They did a great job but sure didn't take care of the cart very well.
Comments
Somebody open up their Killer Instinct carts and look for dates later than 9536/9538
Dates? i thought that was the CHIP id for manuficture? the back of the cart is shows
I'm not exactly sure how weeks are counted when it comes to PCBs whether they start from Sunday, Monday, and whether they count the first 7 days of the year as the first week, or the end of the first Saturday (or sunday) as the first week even if that week is only 1 day.
But it seems the current theory about your copy of this game is that these might have maybe been released before the retail launch, so if the games that are more common have later date codes on the chips then it would lend validity to this being an early release.
9536 and 9538 refers to "Week 36 of 1995" and "Week 38 of 1995"
I'm not exactly sure how weeks are counted when it comes to PCBs whether they start from Sunday, Monday, and whether they count the first 7 days of the year as the first week, or the end of the first Saturday (or sunday) as the first week even if that week is only 1 day.
But it seems the current theory about your copy of this game is that these might have maybe been released before the retail launch, so if the games that are more common have later date codes on the chips then it would lend validity to this being an early release.
Thanks ill look at the other KI in the mean time.
Grey is:
DMG-
BEAN(K)
-02
Black is:
DMG
-BEAN
-02
The font is also slightly different.
Also, there's a big ol' 3 on the grey cart in the center right area. While there's a 4 on the black cart...that's probably just a blank PCB number. When they print these PCBs they don't just make one at a time, but rather they come in a giant sheet of them. Think back to when you used to build little toy cars or figurines...they came on a big plastic sheet that you had to cut out by hand before assembly.
The "D" after the 9538 chip on the black cart is also off center...that can be a common alignment issue during production. But it implies it was printed at a different time but still during the same week.
The other chip though is one week off, and has "7a" instead of "5a" not sure what that means but it's a different chip for sure.
https://imgur.com/7gVhOxK
Didn't realize there was a black cartridge as I thought those were reserved for the GBC-compatible releases.
KI came out in 1994 when Super Gameboy was still the big deal, and is about 4 years before GBC black cartridges came into existence.
I doubt somebody would bother to counterfeit a KI board.
But I don't doubt somebody would recase the original GB game in a black catridge to make it look more like the SNES release. (also in a black cartridge)
Originally posted by: arch_8ngel
KI came out in 1994 when Super Gameboy was still the big deal, and is about 4 years before GBC black cartridges came into existence.
It was November 1995 actually.
Either way, the only colored Game Boy games back then were the Donkey Kong Land series.
I owned this as a grey cart back-in-the-day (bought new).
Didn't realize there was a black cartridge as I thought those were reserved for the GBC-compatible releases.
KI came out in 1994 when Super Gameboy was still the big deal, and is about 4 years before GBC black cartridges came into existence.
I doubt somebody would bother to counterfeit a KI board.
But I don't doubt somebody would recase the original GB game in a black catridge to make it look more like the SNES release. (also in a black cartridge)
and if it was recased the sticker would show more damage then what is present.
The board is only barely different...
Grey is:
DMG-
BEAN(K)
-02
Black is:
DMG
-BEAN
-02
The font is also slightly different.
Also, there's a big ol' 3 on the grey cart in the center right area. While there's a 4 on the black cart...that's probably just a blank PCB number. When they print these PCBs they don't just make one at a time, but rather they come in a giant sheet of them. Think back to when you used to build little toy cars or figurines...they came on a big plastic sheet that you had to cut out by hand before assembly.
The "D" after the 9538 chip on the black cart is also off center...that can be a common alignment issue during production. But it implies it was printed at a different time but still during the same week.
The other chip though is one week off, and has "7a" instead of "5a" not sure what that means but it's a different chip for sure.
i have more KI but have to dig them up. will post when i find them.
and if it was recased the sticker would show more damage then what is present.
It is *very* possible to recase a label without damage to the label as long as you have the patience and willpower to destroy the case itself.
That being said, I doubt someone would go to the actual trouble needed to do so.
I owned this as a grey cart back-in-the-day (bought new).
Didn't realize there was a black cartridge as I thought those were reserved for the GBC-compatible releases.
KI came out in 1994 when Super Gameboy was still the big deal, and is about 4 years before GBC black cartridges came into existence.
I doubt somebody would bother to counterfeit a KI board.
But I don't doubt somebody would recase the original GB game in a black catridge to make it look more like the SNES release. (also in a black cartridge)
and if it was recased the sticker would show more damage then what is present.
Did any black cartridges exist before the GBC was released in 1998?
Were any other GB games that didn't have a GBC compatibility made in a black cartridge?
Were they even making KI cartridges in 1998?
I think there is a really strong chance this is re cased.
https://datomatic.no-intro.org/sources media/Nintendo - Game Boy/20111103_092220_0635_pcb_front.jpg
I think it was released in 1998 in PAL regions.
some more food for thought
Nintendo (1994–1996)
at anytime could one or more have requested a proto of packageing?
the crazy thing is i don't have a GBC to test this might have to try in GC
another bite to think about the Playtronic. little known about the games released but we do know that tetris was in a yellow cart and that Platronics used USA code for the labels and games. is this maybe one of them.
If it came out prior to other black cases games, I could see this being a thing. But if it came out after Nintendo started using black cases to mean gb/gbc dual compatibility, then I'd say it's fake. After they established that convention I don't think they'd make an exception - it would cause too much confusion
another bite to think about the Playtronic. little known about the games released but we do know that tetris was in a yellow cart and that Platronics used USA code for the labels and games. is this maybe one of them.
For GB games, Brazilian Playtronic games didn't show a product code at all, here's a Playtronic Killer Instinct:
Odd black case games: Robopon, unlicensed bible games.. can't think of any others.
If it came out prior to other black cases games, I could see this being a thing. But if it came out after Nintendo started using black cases to mean gb/gbc dual compatibility, then I'd say it's fake. After they established that convention I don't think they'd make an exception - it would cause too much confusion
Did any of those black cartridges look EXACTLY like the case Nintendo used for GBC cross compatible games?
I just think it seems incredibly unlikely that a game that debuted in 1994/1995 well before GBC ever got a GBC style cartridge.
In the event that it did, it seems like there would be other "super Gameboy" games from 1995 that eventually had a black case.
I think it is WAY more likely that someone recased it to look like console versions of the game.
Robopon was a black cart but it was extra long kind of like some gba prototypes. NIV bible was an unlicensed cart nothing like a standard gb cart.
Just to be clear, and maybe Robopon is a Japanese-only game, there were no black cartridge Japanese exclusive games? I know they had a lot more colored carts than we ever got in the states and likely Europe. If the black carts existed there is a chance that this was made with a black case. If there were no know black-cased games at that time, any where, then I'd definitely start to lean toward this being a relabel.
I mean, I guess it theoretically could be a manufacturing prototype, but since you guys pointed out the date engravings on the chip (I didn't know about that until reading this thread) then it seems like this was likely made right around the time the game should have been made. I doubt Nintendo would have prototyped a black cartridge case at that time, if they didn't have them already in manufacturing. In earlier discussions on our GB Variants thread, I mentioned it could be a production proto but I was to lazy to see when this game was made and I was thinking the GBC/GB hybrids might have been in production.
The label is very well centered. If it is a label swap, the owner took the time to place it near perfectly centered, which would be very hard to do by hand.
I've considered doing something like this with Link's Awakening and making a gold plated Zelda cart and I'd probably actually create some form of guide/template to re-set the label. My thoughts being, if I'm going to take the time to gold plate a game, I might as well make sure the label is centered perfectly. Regardless, if this was a re-shell and label-swap job, bravo to the guy who did this. They did a great job but sure didn't take care of the cart very well.