Originally listed on eBay and now on GameGavel. From the auction:
This is the real deal, the extremely rare and once thought nonexistent prototypeof the Tengen Version of Tetris which states Licensed by Nintendo on the title screen.
If you are a serious collector and capable of winning this auction,you already know why this cartridge is so rare and so valuable.
Why is this cart so important to video game history?
This important piece of history was followed by one of the ugliest lawsuits in early video game history.
One where Tengen was forced to pull their superior version from the shelves just 4 weeks after release.
Only 100,000 units of the production version of Tengen Tetris were sold during that time period.
Less than a handful of these rare pre-lawsuit prototypes ever existed.
THIS IS A ONE OF A KIND ORIGINAL PROTOTYPE
It is possibly the latest build of Tengen Tetris before the legal action commenced.
The label reads “Tetris Property of TENGEN INC. #4 Prototype:”
The game is housed in a modified Duck Hunt Cartridge. The EPROMs are protected with a thick tape and the cartridge is glued together to prevent piracy and or duplication.
I will NOT attempt to open this cart for pictures of the board for fear it will destroy the prototype altogether. Don’t even ask.
