Wanted: Gyruss

[diabolik]

hey guys,

 

I'm looking into purchasing my first prototype cart. It's a Gyruss prototype for the Colecovision. I looked around a copy of Gyruss that I could buy to compare the two carts, but I can't seem to find it, a coleco rarity listing I found rates it an R3. Which I'm guessing would be the equivelent of about a 6 or 7 on the AtariAge rarity scale. So I don't knwo how much luck I'm going to have. I am already aware of the physical differences between the carts. But I am interested in finding any variations in the gameplay between the two copies

 

I guess I'm a little intimidated by making the purchase too, if any of you prototype gurus out there **couch cough** tempest **cough cough** could answer a couple more newbie questions, that'd be great.

 

I'm just windering what the odds of picking up a hoaxed prototype are? While alot of the Atari prototypes I've seen are the typical black lab label with a small sticker. Thisis just a normal black coleco cart with a white sticker and some hand written information...

[videotwit]

quote:

---

Originally posted by diabolik:

Thisis just a normal black coleco cart with a white sticker and some hand written information...

---

 

This can be either a good or bad thing (helpful, huh?). It's really easy to fake protos like this, but that doesn't mean that all hand-written labels are faked.

 

I'm far from being a master of prototypes (I only have 1), but I have done a substancial amount of trading in the past. From these trades I've learned a couple of things:

 

1) If it seems too good to be true, it probably is (your parents probably told you this a bunch of times already).

2) Trust your gut instinct. If something seems fishy, there's probably really something wrong with the deal.

3) Probably most important - if you are worried about the transaction, get references. Most good dealers / traders won't have any problem giving references, especially someone on the level of offering up prototypes. If they won't or can't - pass it up. There will always be other people to deal with.

 

If you are loaded with cash, a fake probably isn't a big deal. For most of us, however, it's a good idea to be a little cautious.

[Tempest]

I have to agree with Twit on this one. You've got to be careful when trading for high end items like prototypes from people you don't know. I haven't seen a fake prototype in awhile and usually they're of 2600 games but you still need to watchout.

 

I don't have much experence with Colecovision prototypes, but all the Parker Brothers protos I've seen have a small typed sticker about the size of a price tag on them (no label). They usually say something like:

 

Coleco

Gyruss

16K RLS. 1

 

 

I've never seen a handwritten PB proto, but that doesn't mean it's fake (just highly suspect). Can you get me a picture of it? If I can't tell I have friends that would know for sure.

 

Here's a scan of my Colecovison Popeye proto: http://www.msu.edu/user/reicher6/otherprot...popeyeproto.jpg

 

 

If you have more questiosn, feel free to e-mail me.

 

Tempest

reicher6@pilot.msu.edu

[diabolik]

Here's the information I have. Ihave one pic and a short description of the cart.

 

"This is not a standard Parker Brothers production cartridge as you can see, and the circuit board sticking out of the end is not the same color as a regular Parker Brothers one. It seems to work fine, but I do not know what the differences between it and a regular Gyruss are, nor do I know what the set of numbers in the lower right-hand corner of the hand-written label mean."

 

[diabolik]

My concern is that it's just a retail Gyruss chip board enclosed in a cleaned up case off some other game... The price is low in my eyes right now...

 

If I do happen to acquire the cart I don't think i'd have any problems with allowing someone else with more knowledge, the oppurtunity to inspect it...

[Albert]

Just my opinion, but the fact that it's not even in a Parker Brothers shell makes it highly suspect to me. You can also see the residue from another label underneath the handwritten label. Looking over my extensive Colecovision collection, that is a Spinnaker cartridge and the label residue is the same size as the labels Spinnaker used on their carts. These are also the same carts Sunrise, Epyx, and Sierra used for their Colecovision games (but their labels were much larger).

 

Since Parker Brothers didn't release any cartridges with this type of shell, I'd be pretty suspicious. Certainly Parker Brothers wouldn't have had to resort to scrounging competitors' retail carts to use for their prototypes. I wouldn't pay more than $5 for that particular cart.

 

..Al

 

[ 07-16-2001: Message edited by: Albert ]

[diabolik]

i got 7 on it before shipping and handling... Unless I find some evidence that it IS authentic i don't see myself bidding any higher. I'm hoping that someone out there will out bid me just to relieve me of it.

[Albert]

quote

i got 7 on it before shipping and handling...  Unless I find some evidence that it IS authentic i don't see myself bidding any higher. I'm hoping that someone out there will out bid me just to relieve me of it.  

 

I wouldn't worry too much, I'm sure it'll get much higher than $7 with 6 days left in the auction. Because there's such a mystique surrounding prototypes, many people go ga-ga at the mere mention of one. I wouldn't be surprised to see it go above $50.

 

..Al

[diabolik]

yeah I guess I sort of jumped on it a little fast. i started bidding without really considering the product.

 

looking at the label a few things strike me as odd.

 

1. The initials CV in the upper corner. I'm assuming they stand for "ColecoVision" If this is indeed a coleco prototype would the people reviewing the cart not be coleco employees, and would designating it as a coleco cart be necassary at all?

 

2. Would any coleco employee actually go through the effort of "fancying up" their writing to label a cart that was never meant to pass hands more than a few times, and was lkely only viewed by emplyees who really didn't give a crap what the label looked like in the first place?

 

3. The casing for the cart is obviously not authentic...

 

Of course it could be authentic, I have considered the fact that a collector could have purchased the chipboard and later placed it into an empty casing, and labelled it himself. You never know.

 

I'm asking the seller to provide a picture of the chipboard itself if it's at all possible...

 

i hope that will be able to clear things up a little...

[Tempest]

Seeing the chipboard itself would definetly help. I'd be really suspicious about this proto, something just doesn't look right about it. Of course I've seen some Atari protos that just had a piece of white tape with the name of the game on it (Stunt Cycle for instance) so just because it doesn't look like the standard PB proto doesn't mean it's fake. But the fact that it's not in a PB case does make it highly suspect...

 

The more I think about it, I've never seen a PB proto that says version (or v.) on it. All the ones I've seen either say WIP (Work in progress) or RLS (Release). Odd...

 

I just took a look at the auction, and the seller's name says Possum-Glory@usa.com. Is this really the old Possum-Glory (wasn't that Jerry G?) with a new name or someone trying to scam people with a familar sounding name? If it really is Possum-Glory then you can trust him as he's been around a long time and has gotten his hands on some really rare stuff. Anyone know for sure?

 

Tempest

 

[ 07-17-2001: Message edited by: Tempest ]

[videotwit]

quote:

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Originally posted by Tempest:

I just took a look at the auction, and the seller's name says Possum-Glory@usa.com. Is this really the old Possum-Glory (wasn't that Jerry G?) with a new name or someone trying to scam people with a familar sounding name? If it really is Possum-Glory then you can trust him as he's been around a long time and has gotten his hands on some really rare stuff. Anyone know for sure?

---

 

I don't know for sure if this really is JerryG, but Possum-Glory was definitely his old eBay handle. I'd ask the seller a few more questions - including his name - to try to figure this one out. If it really is Jerry Greiner, he is trustworthy.

 

His statement in the email to you saying "but I do not know what the differences between it and a regular Gyruss are" kind of throws me, however. Jerry knows his stuff as well as any other people in the classic gaming community, and I'd think he'd be able to figure this one out.

 

Anyhow, these are all just my paranoid first impressions. Take it for what it's worth. In any case, $7 probably isn't the end of the world.

[Albert]

If you go to this page,

 

eBay Member Search

 

you can request the Contact Information for possum-glory@usa.com. You can only do this if you're involved in a transaction with the user, so I can't do it (and I'm not about to bid on one of his auctions just for the pleasure of viewing his contact info!) However, you (diabolik) should be able to retrieve it.

 

If this guy is *not* Jerry G, then I think it's pretty sleazy that he's using Jerry G's old handle in an attempt to capitalize on his name. Especially if he's selling prototypes that aren't.

 

Interesting, I just noticed he also has an Atari 8-bit "Crossfire Prototype" cart up on eBay:

 

Crossfire Prototype

 

If you look at the label, it too has handwritten text. Not a big deal, until you realize that it also has a version number written as "V.1.04". This is the same style as was written with the Gyruss cart.

 

Here's the Gyruss auction:

 

Colecovision Gyruss Prototype

 

Hmmmmmmm, the handwriting for "V.1.04" (Crossfire) and "V.1.02a" looks mighty similar to me. Also looks like they were written with the same type of pen (if you look at Crossfire you'll see that Crossfire is written in blue ink, while "V.1.04" is written in black ink. Not as dark as on the Gyruss label, but perhaps the Crossfire label is glossy, vs. the adddress label used on the Gyruss cart). And what are the odds that the two prototypes (for two different systems, mind you) this guy has both have very similar version numbers, written in the same location on both labels?

 

Just my observations.

 

..Al

[diabolik]

Well, surprise surprise, it ISN't JerryG, but instead one James F. Redd. This is getting to sound extremely suspicious to me, it's been almost 3 days since my first email to him, and almos tone since I requested photos of the chipboards. Still no response.

 

This is one auction i don't see myself coming through on. I don't really care if I land myself with a negative rating.

[Tempest]

If it's only for $8 I'd go for it. You never know. I took a chance like this on my 7800 Karateka proto (no picture even) and it was legit.

 

Tempest

[diabolik]

I'm sort of a cheap ass, lol. I have about 20 dollars in other auctions in my name right now. i'm not overly anxious to go out and buy up the countryside. I'll see how things turn out...