Rare Pokémon Red Prototype Cartridge Hits Auction at $25,000

A rare prototype cartridge of Pokémon Red for the original Game Boy is up for auction at Goldin, with a single bid of $25,000 placed so far. Retro Dodo first spotted the listing, which describes the cartridge as running on a “previously undocumented” development board.

What makes this cartridge special

Grading company PSA authenticated the cartridge. It couldn’t read all of its data, but it did read the first 32KB, which it calls a “technically unique” result. According to PSA, that data is “completely identical” to the US retail release of Pokémon Red, and it’s confident the rest would match if it could be read.

There are two small differences in the ROM header that don’t affect the game: the byte that marks the Mask ROM version is set to 55 instead of 00, which in turn changes the header checksum from 20 to CB.

A development board, not a retail cartridge

The cartridge is longer than a standard Game Boy cartridge, Retro Dodo notes, and it carries a sticker reading DMB-MBC-16M-FLASH with the part number DMG-(F)KGDB-01. Tom’s Hardware explains that DMG likely refers to Dot Matrix Game, the Game Boy’s internal codename; MBC likely means Memory Bank Controller, the chip that let games go beyond the Game Boy’s 32KB ROM limit; and 16M likely refers to 16 megabits of rewritable flash memory.

“Previously undocumented” may be a slight stretch: the Rare Gaming Dump wiki lists the same part number for a development cartridge from 2000 with a similar 16-megabit Sharp flash chip, though with a slightly different sticker.

Why collectors care

Pokémon Red, released alongside Blue and Green, helped launch the Pokémon franchise in the 1990s, and Red and Blue together are reported to have sold more than 31 million copies. Prototypes like this one are rare windows into how the games were made, and there are several days left in the auction, so the final price could end up well above $25,000. It’s the latest in a string of pricey retro gaming finds, after rare GameCube variants selling for thousands earlier this week.

The bottom line

A PSA-authenticated Pokémon Red prototype on a development board is up for auction starting at $25,000. Its readable data matches the retail game, but its rarity is what collectors are paying for, and the bidding isn’t over yet.

Sources: Tom’s Hardware, Retro Dodo