Gun.Smoke (Prototype)
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| Download Gun.Smoke (Prototype) (info) |
A prototype of Gun.Smoke for the NES.
Notes
- Different copyright screen, licensed to Romstar. Original publisher?
Analysis: Frank Cifaldi
Object Analysis:
Object is an NES cartridge with no label on the front, and a handwritten label on the back identifying the game's title. The word "Vinisky," presumably a surname, is also written, though we were unable to identify who this might be referring to.
The circuit board inside bares part number HVC-UNROM-03, a part typically not used for prototyping but, rather, in the manufacturing of retail games for the Family Computer system (the Japanese equivalent of the NES). The board is connected to another board, NES-JOINT-01, a known Nintendo part for converting Family Computer games to work on the NES. The EPROM containing the game data has been modified with soldered wiring, something often necessary to use rewritable EPROMs on non-prototyping boards. A label on the EPROM identifies the game's publisher, Capcom.
Data Analysis:
(Hash info is for the combined headerless ROM)
CRC-32: 1CCE929A
SHA-1: 78FA52AF71F8139B7CCE66F9786DD36402A3157A
SHA-256: AFDBCDF0565877FD8A103C4E11539772F6A1D368B8DBBE8EAD860A034EBF231E
MD-5: 0A49E622DD64CDDF231177478351176F
The data differs from the retail version of the game, and is not a match for any known data on the internet. A quick gameplay demonstration shows a copyright date of 1986, versus 1988 in the retial game, and the publisher credited to Romstar, as opposed to Capcom. As even the Japanese version of the game was not released until early 1988, the copyright date is likely in error, or in reference to the original arcade release. Past the copyright information, no differences were observed via gameplay.
Provenance Notes:
According to the submitter, this item was purchased from the McLaren Auction Services "Vintage Nintendo Online-Only Auction," which ran from March 25 to April 1, 2022. McLaren claims that these items came from Steve McKay, former "General Manager of the Mexico Division" at Nintendo. Approximately 97 items from this auction were submitted to WATA at once. Given that the auction listings are not archived on McLaren's website, I was unable to verify each individual item as having come from the auction. However, I did view this auction when it was live, and can attest that the scope of this collection is in line with my memory of what was available.
Conclusion:
Given the authentic parts used, the provenance, and the unique data available across the lot of items submitted, I have no reason to doubt the authenticity of this item.
Origin
