[DEV - DONE] Nintendo World Championships 1990 Competition Cartridge NES - PERFECT REPRO

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Xrider
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[DEV - DONE] Nintendo World Championships 1990 Competition Cartridge NES - PERFECT REPRO

Post by Xrider »

Hello,

In love with my first console, the Nintendo NES , I decided to buy back the Nintendo NES games I had when I was a child (thank you dad & mom).
Thanks to this passion, I also discovered a lot of unknown titles

And I came across an article mentioning the existence of very very rare & expensive NES cartridge. The Holy Grail as on the call on the net.

This cartridge is a cartridge not marketed, but produced by nintendo which was used in the world championship "Nintendo" in 1990.

It is physically distinguished from other cartridges thanks to its switches at the top left of the cartridge.

Passionate about electronics and retro video games, I decided to learn more about this so mysterious cartridge, and here is what I quickly learned:

- This cartridge combines 3 games organized for the championship:
- Super Mario Bros
  • Rad Racer
  • Tetris
  • The upper switches are used to adjust the playing time during which the player must achieve a maximum of points before the time-out, adjustable from 5mins up to 9mins and 41.2 seconds, set to 6mins and 15s for the 1990 championship .
  • There were gray versions for the World Championship event in 1990, and 26 gold versions were produced to be won in a "Nintendo Power magazine" contest.
  • All the consoles were connected via the P2 controller port to give the start of the competition simultaneously (you have to press the "START" button on the P2 to launch the game on the intro screen).
  • The original Rom is made to work at 60Hz (NTSC), there are graphical bugs on Rad Racer with a 50hz (PAL) console.
  • This game cartridge is today one of the most expensive in the world :(
Not having the means to buy myself the Holy Grail, I decided to make a "PERFECT" copy of the original thanks to the rom available on the internet.
And by looking even further, we discover that:
  • Nintendo created a mapper only for this console = Mapper 105
  • It is the most complicated cartridge developed by Nintendo
  • This is the heaviest cartridge produced by Nintendo (given the number of components, no wonder ...)
  • Nintendo made openwork the shell (carcass) of the cartridges by hand
In short, with all that I had something to start to achieve my Holy Grail ...
AND after several hundred hours of work, testing, failure and perseverance I managed to have a 100% functional prototype, which embeds exactly the same components as the original version (recovered in several Nintendo NES US cartridges) .
The printed circuit and the exact copy of the original

Image Image

For comparison of my copies VS the original:

Original :
Image Image Image


Perfect Repro :
Image Image Image

I recapitulate :
  • All essential components are from the year 1990, identical to the original version.
  • Unpatched game, 100% identical to the original version (dedicated 60hz system).
  • The Shell is of Nintendo origin (gray carcass of the cartridge).
  • Cartridge compatible with a Nes Front Loader NTSC US / Canada 60hz console (In 50hz slow motion + graphic bug in Rad Racer, bug strictly identical to the original)

I produced 5 copies:
  • A final prototype version
  • A GOLD version
  • Three Gray versions
EDIT :
One available on ebay, start at 1 euros
https://www.ebay.fr/itm/Nintendo-World- ... 3875393288

I will keep the proto, the gold version as well as a gray version, the last two will be sold soon

Some period video and reference link on this historical cartridge:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXC20eO8QiU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtKVg71xaxw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmeYbma9eu4

Link :)
http://www.edition-limited.net/t8025-dossier-nintendo-world-championships-90-gold-et-grey
https://nintendo.fandom.com/wiki/Nintendo_World_Championships_1990_(Game_Pak)
https://blog.pricecharting.com/2009/06/how-i-got-nintendo-world-championships.html
Last edited by Xrider on Mon Feb 01, 2021 3:46 pm, edited 2 times in total.
LocalH
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Re: [DEV - DONE] Nintendo World Championships 1990 Competition Cartridge NES - PERFECT REPRO

Post by LocalH »

So, is there any hint anywhere in or on the cart itself, that it is indeed a repro? I don't know if I'm cool with what is essentially a perfect counterfeit being actively sold. You may not be passing it off as legitimate, but someone who buys one from you could potentially do so.

Certainly, impressive work in matching the small details, no doubt. Just don't want someone ending up taking one of these to Pawn Stars or some shit lol
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Xrider
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Re: [DEV - DONE] Nintendo World Championships 1990 Competition Cartridge NES - PERFECT REPRO

Post by Xrider »

LocalH wrote: Sat Jan 30, 2021 10:35 pm So, is there any hint anywhere in or on the cart itself, that it is indeed a repro? I don't know if I'm cool with what is essentially a perfect counterfeit being actively sold. You may not be passing it off as legitimate, but someone who buys one from you could potentially do so.

Certainly, impressive work in matching the small details, no doubt. Just don't want someone ending up taking one of these to Pawn Stars or some shit lol
I modified the website which lists the original cartridges and added an important comment about my creation:
"In 2021, Xrider (french engineer) made 5 perfects replicas of the cartridge with genuine components inside for her collection. One gold and 4 grey revision. The cartridge numbers are : 0284, 0342, 0310 & 228 (the 228 is her prototype)."

https://nintendo.fandom.com/wiki/Nintendo_World_Championships_1990_(Game_Pak)

But of course I made a "secret mistake" on PCB. I will say what it is when it has been sold :)
FrankWDoom
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Re: [DEV - DONE] Nintendo World Championships 1990 Competition Cartridge NES - PERFECT REPRO

Post by FrankWDoom »

counterfeiting collectibles worth tens of thousands of dollars is a pretty dumb thing to do
cuedave
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Re: [DEV - DONE] Nintendo World Championships 1990 Competition Cartridge NES - PERFECT REPRO

Post by cuedave »

Hello Xrider,

You did a very good job ! :beer:
I saw a video this morning ( le jeux c est serieux ) which the guy present your cartridge as a present for his birthday.
Some datecode on the components are not identical (some are from 99 instead of 89) :mrgreen: :arrow: https://nescartdb.com/profile/view/4627
Do you think to share your work for the other passionates ?

Hello from Tarascon 13. 8-)

@++
Last edited by cuedave on Wed Feb 10, 2021 1:48 am, edited 1 time in total.
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dink
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Re: [DEV - DONE] Nintendo World Championships 1990 Competition Cartridge NES - PERFECT REPRO

Post by dink »

Nice work :) :beer:
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DRW
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Re: [DEV - DONE] Nintendo World Championships 1990 Competition Cartridge NES - PERFECT REPRO

Post by DRW »

I wholeheartedly disapprove of this.

This thing is 100 % a counterfeit product. It doesn't matter what the eBay auction says. The cartridge itself has no indication that it's a reproduction. So, it's a fake product trying to come off as genuine.
My game "City Trouble":
Gameplay video: https://youtu.be/Eee0yurkIW4
Download (ROM, manual, artworks): http://www.denny-r-walter.de/city.html
Pokun
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Re: [DEV - DONE] Nintendo World Championships 1990 Competition Cartridge NES - PERFECT REPRO

Post by Pokun »

I agree, it's good that it at least has a "secret mistake" and that it's done openly on a public forum, but faking expensive items is still a very shady business no matter the intention.
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Xrider
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Re: [DEV - DONE] Nintendo World Championships 1990 Competition Cartridge NES - PERFECT REPRO

Post by Xrider »

DRW wrote: Fri Mar 05, 2021 5:30 pm I wholeheartedly disapprove of this.

This thing is 100 % a counterfeit product. It doesn't matter what the eBay auction says. The cartridge itself has no indication that it's a reproduction. So, it's a fake product trying to come off as genuine.
Hello

What would you have done if you had my knowledge of electronics and wanted a perfect copy for your collection staff ?

If there were 5 it is only that I wanted 2 for my personal collection (Gold and gray). So there were 5 functional boards manufactured (we always plan to develop more, it avoids going back to the cash register if we make damage.)

Why ebay? I decided to sell a copy to members of a forum, but they fought for the copy. I decided to put the last one on ebay because I refused to create another copy. I never imagined that the final price would have reached this price.
I am not attracted to money, otherwise there would be several units for sale now.

I am deeply above seeing the turn of things ... But I understand your point of view.

But I assure you there will be no more produced. My goal was to have two perfect reproductions, and I succeeded

Regards,

Xrider
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Goose2k
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Re: [DEV - DONE] Nintendo World Championships 1990 Competition Cartridge NES - PERFECT REPRO

Post by Goose2k »

I don't think you could have been any more upfront then you were with it being a repro. There is no victim here. Don't sweat it. I think it's very cool to see.
Pokun
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Re: [DEV - DONE] Nintendo World Championships 1990 Competition Cartridge NES - PERFECT REPRO

Post by Pokun »

Unauthorized copies of paintings, sculptures and other artwork where the copyright is still in effect are usually considered very bad and is highly illegal in most countries. I don't see why video games would be any different as it's also art. Collectors can be very sensitive to this kind of thing as it's easy to get burned when buying an expensive game that is often faked.

That said I have made repros of manuals and Famicom Disk System obis among other things for private use in the past. I always make sure to write "reproduction" or something somewhere on the product (besides the paper and printing quality makes it obvious that it's a repro). I'm not above making repros as long as it's obvious enough that it's fake. I totally understand if you want a working cart for your collection that works like the original cart with the DIP switches and all, but only if it's obviously a repro.
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Re: [DEV - DONE] Nintendo World Championships 1990 Competition Cartridge NES - PERFECT REPRO

Post by tepples »

I seem to remember retroUSB's NWC repro putting "Reproduction Cartridge" on the label where one might expect "Competition Cartridge".
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DRW
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Re: [DEV - DONE] Nintendo World Championships 1990 Competition Cartridge NES - PERFECT REPRO

Post by DRW »

Xrider wrote: Sat Mar 06, 2021 10:45 am What would you have done if you had my knowledge of electronics and wanted a perfect copy for your collection staff ?
I would have created it for myself. In no way would I have put these things out into the wild. Especially wouldn't I have sold them on eBay. And if I did, I would have ingrained a big, fat "reproduction" on every detachable part: Shell and board. And scratched into the plastic, not just as a glued-on label.

I mean, you sold this thing for 1500 Euros. Do you really think someone is willing to pay such an amount if he just wants a fan-made reproduction, even a perfect one? No. They probably invested so much money because they want to sell it as a genuine copy. Because usually, the whole purpose of reproductions is to not pay ridiculous amounts for games.

Xrider wrote: Sat Mar 06, 2021 10:45 am Why ebay? I decided to sell a copy to members of a forum, but they fought for the copy.
You shouldn't have sold this to anybody, not even a single copy. It is a counterfeit product, dammit! Even giving it away as presents would have been wrong because you cannot control what the other guy does with it.

Xrider wrote: Sat Mar 06, 2021 10:45 am But I assure you there will be no more produced. My goal was to have two perfect reproductions, and I succeeded
What a crappy justification: You wanted to have two perfect reproductions, so why did you create and sell more than that? You produced more boards for spare parts? Yeah, and you took the time to create shells and labels for these spare parts.

Also: Not producing any more doesn't undo your first move. I don't care that you don't make it a steady business. Selling this one cartridge was already enough for my point to stand.

Goose2k wrote: Sat Mar 06, 2021 10:50 am I don't think you could have been any more upfront then you were with it being a repro. There is no victim here.
Are you really that naive?

"Oh look, some random buyer from eBay now owns a perfect, near indistinguishable fake copy of a cartridge that goes for several thousands of dollars and is the most-desired NES-related thing ever. But don't worry, it's not possible to scam people with the fake copy. Because the seller wrote on a forum and in the eBay auction that it's a reproduction."

Yeah, and whoever sees the cartridge instantly gets a screenshot of the original auction transplanted into his brain, or what?


Reproductions in itself are fine to me, even if they still break copyright rules. But yeah, if the big companies don't provide you with that stuff, I'm not against the idea of taking things into your own hands. This is not a moral sermon on behalf of the rights of companies. I'm focused on the fans:

There's a world of a difference between cartridges like the one at RetroUSB with its semi-transparent purple shell, the dip switches in a different location, the mock seal and, as tepples said, the big, fat reproduction label front and center:
www.retrousb.com/product_info.php?products_id=62

And the counterfeit piece that this guy here was producing and that, for some strange reason, got sold for a whopping 1561 EUR.
Because the bidders were simply so eager to have such a fine "reproduction" for their personal collection, right? They totally didn't pay so much money because they saw this thing as a potential monerary investment, did they?
My game "City Trouble":
Gameplay video: https://youtu.be/Eee0yurkIW4
Download (ROM, manual, artworks): http://www.denny-r-walter.de/city.html
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