Goldin Auctions Early Pokémon Red Prototype at High Bid

Goldin has listed a rare prototype of Pokémon Red for the Nintendo Game Boy. The item dates back to the game's 1998 release. As of today, the auction shows a single bid of $25,000. The listing was first identified by Retro Dodo. That group described the item as incredibly rare.

Specialists at PSA authenticated the cartridge. They could not perform a complete data read. However, they successfully read the first 32KB of the contents. PSA labeled this result as technically unique. The report states that the readable game data is completely identical to the U.S. retail version. PSA expressed confidence that the unreadable remainder matches the standard release as well.

The PSA report notes two differences in the ROM's header data. Neither difference affects how the game plays. One change occurs at offset 0x014C. This denotes the Mask ROM version. It is incorrectly set to 55 when it should be 00. This change alters offset 0x014D, a calculated header checksum. That value reads CB rather than 20.

The physical cartridge carries a specific sticker. It reads DMB-MBC-16M-FLASH. The part number is DMG-(F)KGDB-01. The report suggests DMB likely refers to Dot Matrix Game. That was the Game Boy's original internal codename. MBC probably stands for Memory Bank Controller. That custom chip allowed games to exceed the console's 32KB ROM limit. The 16M likely indicates 16 megabits of flash-writable memory. Retro Dodo also noted the cartridge is longer than a standard Game Boy unit.

The auction describes the board as previously undocumented. Yet the part number has appeared before. The Rare Gaming Dump wiki lists the same number for a 2000 development cartridge. That earlier item also used a 16-megabit Sharp flash chip labeled U1 FLASH MEMORY. Close-up images in the Goldin listing show an almost identical design. The wiki entry displays a slightly different sticker reading DMG-MBC3-16M-FLASH.

Pokémon Red launched alongside Green and Blue in the 1990s. These titles helped start the global Pokémon franchise. Red and Blue combined reportedly sold more than 31 million copies. This history adds to the appeal of any early development hardware.

Several days remain before the auction closes. The current $25,000 bidder may win the piece. However, the final price could climb higher before bidding ends. Collectors continue to monitor the listing for new offers.

A commenter on the original report offered context on how such items reach the market. They said a Nintendo Age user named Pal rocks sold a batch of demo cartridges in 2015. Those came from a Nintendo employee who kept them instead of destroying them. The commenter also said this copy appears to be a master copy. It can be powered on and played normally. Those claims come from a reader comment and have not been verified.