I don’t think we’ve mentioned Mr. Boston since 2007 and our World’s Most Expensive Video Games article.
The Vectrex is a somewhat obscure system, especially outside of collector circles. It’s an 8-bit video game console that was developed by Western Technologies/Smith Engineering. it has an integrated monitor which displayed vector, as opposed to raster graphics. The monochrome screen uses overlays to give the illusion of color. At the time many of the most popular arcade games used vector displays, and the company was looking to set themselves apart from the pack by selling high-quality versions of games like Space Wars and Armor Attack.
As for the game, a liquor company known as Mr. Boston, gave out a limited number of customized cartridges of the game Clean Sweep. The box had a Mr. Boston sticker on it and the overlay was basically the regular Clean Sweep overlay with the Mr. Boston name and logo running up either side. The game itself had custom text, and the player controlled a top hat rather than a vacuum.
When I wrote about this in 2007, I noted that there were at least three known copies. The auction states that this is one of two complete copies known to exist and one of only three or four Mr. Boston carts in any condition. I quoted the value as $3000+ back then, and I’m not sure if that was based on a previous sale or general accepted collector value. It will definitely be interesting to see what sells for, and it certainly won’t be cheap.
Auction Here ($860 with a full six days to go)
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