Hello Guys, first of all I would like to thank you for this amazing website!
I know this website since 2006.
I found a lot of informations here and more (I also have a flashboy).

Like every fanatic of this amazing system the “Virtual Boy”, I was very impress to see that some guys here found prototypes (that’s why a buy a Flashboy).

I also try to find more informations about all the unreleased games/demo on various websites & books.

I have the chance to live in France, here we have various book (a lot details) about Nintendo and Gunpei Yokoi:
http://www.editionspixnlove.com/Tous-nos-ouvrages/Gunpei-Yokoi-Vie-Philosophie-du-Dieu-des-jouets-Nintendo/flypage.tpl.html

http://www.editionspixnlove.com/Tous-nos-ouvrages/Pack-Decouverte-L-Histoire-de-Nintendo/flypage.tpl.html

We also have some radios about retrogaming (listen this one if you understand french):
http://www.gameblog.fr/podcast_67_podcast-n-64-histoire-de-nintendo-les-origines

All of this, just to tell you one thing…

NINTENDO in 2004 threw all the old archives (proto’s, Gunpei toys etc). No one was allowed to search on the bins of the company. Even if one guy saved 2 or 3 Gunpei toys. We don’t know why they didn’t make a museum (some say’s Nintendo prefer to always look at the future). This information “confidential” was verified by various persons: employees, Florent Gorges (who write many books about Nintendo, have study archives and interviewed many old Nintendo employees, neighborhood residents of the old Nintendo Kyoto office etc..

Now after many years, I stopped to believe that some nintendo virtual boy proto’s are in the nature…

Well, concerning Dragon Hopper, I speculate that Nintendo Power kept the Dragon Hopper prototype cartridge, which they used when writing the Dragon Hopper preview that appears in Nintendo Power Issue 86, in their office the whole time until the office closed in 2007. Then, when the office closed, that prototype cartridge probably fell into the hands of some private collector who has been keeping it top secret for all these years. Thus, I don’t think Nintendo has any control over what happens to that cartridge.

Lets hope your right Ben. There must be other prototypes out in the wild, that’s how we get to play the greats like bound high and faceball.
Just try and think the glass is half full and not half empty. We will get another lost gem someday.

thanks for your replies 😉
Your supposition seems realistic, but do you know some cases where nintendo proto’s was keept by journalists?

A company like Nintendo, don’t request a return of their proto’s? I hope not.

I seen some proto’s of Zelda famicom on ebay.
I wonder if this come’s from an old employee or from a journalist…

I don’t see the glass half empty, but just think when Nintendo threw a lot of gems in 2004 (including Virtual Boy things…).

Nintendo have some shame of the Virtual Boy, let’s see if they dare to put on the eshop of the 3ds some Virtual Boy games.

Time will tell…

keneda wrote:

…

A company like Nintendo, don’t request a return of their proto’s? I hope not.

…

Well, in the case of Nintendo Power, Nintendo Power had such a close relationship with Nintendo that if something was stored at the Nintendo Power office, it was as good as being stored at Nintendo’s office, I believe. Plus, the prototype carts were rather cheap things to Nintendo, so there would have been no financial reason for Nintendo to demand them back.

But the reason why I gave my previous information about Dragon Hopper is because I am highly confident that Nintendo Power kept original EPROM carts of Virtual Boy games that they received in 1995 in their office until the office closed in 2007, and the reason why is because I am highly confident that I have two of those EPROM carts in my possession, as I described here:

http://www.planetvb.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?post_id=21144#forumpost21144

So my reasoning is: if those two EPROM carts were kept at Nintendo Power’s office until 2007 and then simply let go, why wouldn’t other Virtual Boy EPROM carts, such as ones containing Dragon Hopper and Zero Racers, have been there as well and been let go as well? If that is the case, then the collector from whom I received my carts probably wasn’t so lucky as to receive the other ones, since I am highly confident that the collector from whom I received my two carts has never had Dragon Hopper or Zero Racers in his possession at any time, but I guess he will probably always remain on my suspect list, to be honest.

It makes sense!
I suppose someone have already try to find all the guys who worked on the magazine Nintendo Power at this time.
Maybe with the crisis, we will find this gems? ^^

You guys give me some hope (Dragon Hopper!)

Out of this topic: i’m a newbie on developpement, but do you think it’s will be difficult to made a Zero Racers with the engine of Red Alarm? This 2 games seems very similar on the screenshoots, seems more easy than some homebrew I seen here!

I’ve always been under the impression that Nintendo has been quite good about keeping care of their “legacy”, Yokoi or not. Various game journalists have joked about Nintendo having a “vault” with things like the english copies of Earthbound 0 and Mother 3 — I realize it’s a joke, but it also stems from a wide belief that Nintendo *does* take care of their legacy.

Nintendo throwing out old stuff would be akin to Disney doing the same… I find it hard to believe, but if those sources are truly knowledgeable, then that’s unfortunate in the extreme.

I’m confident that there are a few more protos out there that we’ll never see… but I do believe they’re out there.

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jrronimo wrote:
I’m confident that there are a few more protos out there that we’ll never see… but I do believe they’re out there.

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