Asterix 2600 prototype found.

[Armageddon Potato]

So I found out one of my favorite local thrift stores was going out of business, and having a 50% everything sale. I was pretty saddened, and had to make a last visit. I was going to be late getting there though. They normally close at 5, but today they were open until 6. I manage to just make it about 20 minutes until closing, and they look like they have been picked apart pretty hard. I still find some good games, and as I'm checking out he tells me they have an atari 5200 in a box with a bunch of atari 2600 games with it. I put it towards the back of my mind at first, but right as I'm about to leave I ask to take a look, and as I look through it something at the very bottom catches my eye hard. I immediately ask how much, and I instantly take his 30$ price for everything in the box. As soon as I get in the car I reinspect what I saw, and it is indeed what I thought I saw!

 

 

I was a little worried about it's condition at first, but after a solid cleaning on the contacts I managed to get it working! It sits loosely in the atari, and you'd have to hold it steady to play it. So then I tried putting it in my romscanner, and it locks in firmly and plays perfectly! I checked atariprotos.com and it has the same date as the 2nd NTSC version listed(8-18-83), but after playing it I noticed it was in black and white(even with the color switch on) so I think this one is PAL. It appears to be the full version of the game, although I never made it to the Obelix round. I'll try playing it more when I get some free time tonight. Also I can see on the end label area there used to be a label there that said "Asterix" written by hand. Now I had some questions:

 

-Has this ever been dumped before?

-Why does it have the same date as the NTSC one if it's PAL?

-What is something like this worth?(Although I'm probably keeping it!)

-Anything else I should try on it, or anything else I should know about it?

 

I gotta add I have absolutely no idea how that game got in that box, as the box is literally just full of trashed atari 2600/5200 commons, and broken controllers(well that and a decent looking 4-port atari 5200 console w/ AC cord.)

 

I'm pretty stoked right now to say the least!

[pangasinan]

As far as its worth,if its PAL and the condition of the label and its not working properly,its worth $50-$70 maybe.

[nofrills100]

Pry it open and see if it has PAL on the inner labels.

There is a thread somewhere on here about opening these carts - squeeze the sides etc..

[Rom Hunter]

I'm not sure if Tempest has ever dumped the two NTSC proto's listed on his site.

 

He states that, apart from their format, they are identical to the released PAL version, but I'm not sure if he ever compared both proto ROMs to the released and rare NTSC version, to see if there are any differences.

 

Edited December 14, 2011 by Rom Hunter

[Armageddon Potato]

Pry it open and see if it has PAL on the inner labels.

There is a thread somewhere on here about opening these carts - squeeze the sides etc..

Hmmm, thanks for the suggestion. I will try that. It already has a mark on it from being previously opened so it wouldn't be hurting anything.

 

 

As far as its worth,if its PAL and the condition of the label and its not working properly,its worth $50-$70 maybe.

Just to note it works perfectly. I think it was just that atari I had it in.

 

I'll post a picture of the guts once I get it open!

 

Edit: Whoa we posted at the same time! I'd have no problem dumping it, but I don't know where to start. I actually have two other protos I wouldn't mind getting dumped either!

Edited December 14, 2011 by Armageddon Potato

[Rom Hunter]

Just to note it works perfectly. I think it was just that atari I had it in.

That makes more sense indeed.

 

Because of the same date on the label, it's most probably NTSC.

 

[Rom Hunter]

Edit: Whoa we posted at the same time! I'd have no problem dumping it, but I don't know where to start. I actually have two other protos I wouldn't mind getting dumped either!

I'm sure Tempest, Albert or CPUWIZ can dump them for you.

 

[Osbo]

Cool find!!!

[Armageddon Potato]

Pry it open and see if it has PAL on the inner labels.

There is a thread somewhere on here about opening these carts - squeeze the sides etc..

 

You know I managed to open a couple normal Atari 2600 games after some effort, but for the life of me I cannot put them back together. Also I cannot open Asterix as it seems it is sealed shut by glue or some kind of force, lol. I feel like I'm going to break it. Can anyone maybe make a walkthrough or something on how to open and close one of these? I'm completely stumped. I have 3 normal games sitting in pieces too. =(

 

I saw a video on yoututbe, but it doesn't show how to put it back together properly.

 

Edit: I just tried it in another atari I had(a 4 switch woody), and it shows up in color and works fine so I'm guessing it has to be NTSC for that to happen. In my heavy sixer however it appears in black and white for some reason.

Edited December 15, 2011 by Armageddon Potato

[ilovethevectrex]

wow amazing! i love prototypes, and i wonder how your thrift store (which unfortunately closed ) got that prototype! awesome find, i would love to get a prototype myself but i will probably never find one

[Andrew Davie]

wow amazing! i love prototypes, and i wonder how your thrift store (which unfortunately closed ) got that prototype! awesome find, i would love to get a prototype myself but i will probably never find one

 

I make my own ... you could try that!

[ilovethevectrex]

wow amazing! i love prototypes, and i wonder how your thrift store (which unfortunately closed ) got that prototype! awesome find, i would love to get a prototype myself but i will probably never find one

 

I make my own ... you could try that!

well i guess thats one way of getting a prototype

[Stan]

Incredible find, the stuff of legends. I prefer the Taz version of this game, but this is totally cool.

[IAMAMRA]

Awesome find! I love thrift stores/garage sales!