The great "Prototype trade-off" thread!

PM your address and I'll send you mine. Only for SNES and Genesis though, don't have any of the other modules or whatever it needed to do other systems like N64.

 

The only people who say stuff like this are those that are too cheap to purchase something they want.

Anything that gets released in ROM form plummets in value. The physical cartridge or original disc isn't nearly as valuable if everyone and their mother has the data.

This isn't just conjecture. It is proven fact with prior releases.

For example, no one is going to pay thousands (the previous going rate before it was dumped) for an original Prop Arena GD-R these days.

 

100% true for unreleased games, but I don't think there is any truth to this for games that were released. Possible exception: prototype of a really popular game that has actual, interesting differences. Other than that, I don't think value is affected at all.

 

Cotton on the Mega Drive is a popular game that does have many differences compared to this beta. Hey, this beta is so cool that I'd actually buy it if the price was right!

 

I'd possibly sell it if it weren't for the fact I merely bought the ROM off of a private collector. No cartridge here, unfortunately.

I do still have my Toejam & Earl 2 proto cart if someone wants to make an offer on that, though.

 

Things are going slowly, but luckily I somehow managed to pull of another trade.

Prototypes #3 & #4: XOP(early and late) for Dreamcast









We have here two builds of the unreleased homebrew title XOP, which going by some Google searches was planned to eventually be released under the title Dal Force. The first build is very early with only four levels, while the second is more later in development with more developed graphics and levels. From what I gather this was in development hell forever and just vanished. A real treat for anyone that was looking forward to it, needless to say.

Thanks Mr./Mrs. Donator!

 

The problem that I see is a bit of disparity for the early adopters.

You have a prototype. Person A has a prototype. You exchange prototypes. Now you both have 2.

Person B has a prototype. You give him your 2, he gives you one. You both have 3 prototypes. Person A, who donated first, has 2.

Person C would then end up with 4, as would you. Now person B has 3, and person A still only has 2.

It could just be the way you worded it, but that's how I see what you said. Unless you're going to keep track of everyone, what they got and keep going back to them, of course. By the time you have 20 people on board, say, that will be quite a task, though! I guess a way around that would be some sort of private file dump area, but then you run the risk of someone getting access who shouldn't.

I don't know why people always have to moan whenever anyone mentions that they have a prototype. It really is quite simple:

• A game was made by a developer(s).
• NOBODY has the right to own, see, play, distribute, copy or otherwise interact with the game... other than the developer(s) and/or publishers. They hold the copyright.
• No, copyright won't have expired after a system is dead.
• No, copyright won't have expired when a developer folds. The rights to the games can be sold - and probably will be.
• If you do purchase a prototype game, you'd probably be better off keeping it to yourself, as there could be legal implications if you sell it. In a lot of cases, the person who originally obtained it from the developer probably had no right to sell the media.
• Whilst value is quite subjective, especially with prototypes that you shouldn't really be selling anyway, yes having digital (or physical) copies out there that are playable is going to affect the value of physical media.
• If someone does decide to release a prototype, think yourself damn lucky IF they choose to release it to you. They're putting their neck on the line for you.

You can bet that those people demanding copies of games a) wouldn't be prepared to put down money for a prototype (if you are, why not buy one and join in?) and b) like Borman said, would leave Bramsworth holding the baby if the copyright holder came knocking.

As I've said before, I'm not really into the idea of people buying prototypes for profit. It's rare that they will actually take a hit - they want their money back, if not a profit. There was a time when genuine situations occasionally presented themselves whereby ex-devs sold a long-awaited unreleased game for a crazy amount, and a community decided to have a whip-round to secure the game. Nowadays, its more likely collectors trying to flog a half-rate early build of a mediocre released game. Whilst that's their choice, just as people shouldn't believe they have a right to play these games for free, these people shouldn't expect that a community will be interested every time a game comes up. So... maybe swapping between collectors is a good way to go?