Black Super Mario Bros Cart?

[Bernkastel]

So I tried to find any info I could on this but all I could find was someone mentioning it could be a  Comic Bon Bon prize cartridge of Mario 1. Does anyone else have any other info on this cart?

[HummerTeam1001]

Most (probably all) non-yellow SMB1 cartridges are bootlegs, I'm pretty sure.

[Bernkastel]

Most (probably all) non-yellow SMB1 cartridges are bootlegs, I'm pretty sure.

the front and back labels are 100% real I can say that for sure. it is 1:1 the same print, quality, feel, look as the yellow cart.

[HummerTeam1001]

Well some older bootlegs had some good-quality plastic comparable to official carts, but if the labels are exactly the same then I dunno.

[L___E___T]

 



Hello, one thing I noticed is that the label is misaligned, but there hasn't been a black SMB cart other than the Famicom Box cartridges, I'm afraid.  So it'll unlikely be a rare item.

Can you post some more close up pics?  It's most likely a very well done repro / bootleg, but let's take a closer look for you.  Is the label a reflective silver, or more of a flat grey?

[P]

If we could see the insides it might be easy to tell.

[Bernkastel]

Hello, one thing I noticed is that the label is misaligned, but there hasn't been a black SMB cart other than the Famicom Box cartridges, I'm afraid.  So it'll unlikely be a rare item.

Can you post some more close up pics?  It's most likely a very well done repro / bootleg, but let's take a closer look for you.  Is the label a reflective silver, or more of a flat grey?

I had a hard time trying to the one without flash but here are some more
Post Merge: October 25, 2016, 02:28:24 am

If we could see the insides it might be easy to tell.

I dont have a good track record for opening famicom unfortunately. would weighing it help at all?
Post Merge: October 25, 2016, 02:38:12 am
This is just like the one I have http://megalodon.jp/2011-0531-1233-49/page12.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/p240437425

[BonBon]

Yep

[fcgamer]

It would help if you told us a bit about how / where you obtained the cartridge, etc. 

While the link you provided does suggest that there could be a legit, rare black SMB cartridge (this had come up before on FW), the fact is that there are also very good bootlegs out there of a variety of games, made back in the day.  And since SMB was quite a popular game, there were dozens upon dozens of bootlegs of this game, in a variety of shell types, sizes, and colors, including black.  So for me personally, I would never touch a game like this, unless there were evidence (i.e pics of the innards) that would say one way or another, this is the real deal.  Even pics of the back are not good enough, I've seen labels of similar nature on bootlegs before.

Likewise, weighing the game wouldn't help, I am afraid.  The old bootlegs also used real chips!

[MasterDisk]

I've been reading stuff about black SMB cartridges for quite a while. One was auctionned on YAJ few years ago, another was seen in some photo with like 50 others usual SMB cartridges, etc. Possibly a pirate or simply Nintendo ran out of orange shell for a tiny batch.

[L___E___T]

 



The pictures suggest it is just as good quality as a legitimate cart.  It looks very good condition though which is slightly unusual, if a bit suspect.

Don't crack open the shell, it wouldn't cement it being legitimate on its own because one could just swap a real SMB PCB in.

But there was no 'official' account of there being a prize edition black cart or anything like that, so assuming it's not a bootleg or a repro (going from quality) then it could be a factory reject or something along those lines.

The asking value of you were wondering would be close to whatever the recent YHJ auction ended at I guess, maybe a bit lower as this isn't the only one seen now.  Without any explanation of where these came from or any circumstances behind them they have to be treated with suspicion but there's not exactly proof it's a dud cart.

It's possible to fake something like this, but even then (if even fake) it'd be a damn good fake.

As with anything unexplained though its value is subjective and essentially worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it.

Can we ask where you got it?  As a new member of course it does raise a few suspicions from people, and more questions than answers at the end of it.

[P]

I have a CIB copy of SMB that looks like it just came out of the factory yesterday, so it may just have been stored in a good environment.

Likewise, weighing the game wouldn't help, I am afraid. The old bootlegs also used real chips!

Yeah and there are official copies with gloptops making it even harder.

[Bernkastel]

The pictures suggest it is just as good quality as a legitimate cart.  It looks very good condition though which is slightly unusual, if a bit suspect.

Don't crack open the shell, it wouldn't cement it being legitimate on its own because one could just swap a real SMB PCB in.

But there was no 'official' account of there being a prize edition black cart or anything like that, so assuming it's not a bootleg or a repro (going from quality) then it could be a factory reject or something along those lines.

The asking value of you were wondering would be close to whatever the recent YHJ auction ended at I guess, maybe a bit lower as this isn't the only one seen now.  Without any explanation of where these came from or any circumstances behind them they have to be treated with suspicion but there's not exactly proof it's a dud cart.

It's possible to fake something like this, but even then (if even fake) it'd be a damn good fake.

As with anything unexplained though its value is subjective and essentially worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it.

Can we ask where you got it?  As a new member of course it does raise a few suspicions from people, and more questions than answers at the end of it.

very long time lurker here and this was the first reason I ever had to actually ask something. anyways, I got it from a friend, about 5 years ago, who always ordered large lots from japan. they would order lots of 200 famicom or super famicom games at a time and had some friends in japan who would make lots for him. I got it in one of the many lots I had bought from him and it was the only game that was wrapped in its own plastic cover that wasn't for a store (other games wrapped in plastic were hangers for a store selling the games, this one was different and was more of a protective wrap) I didnt know enough at the time to know it was weird but I recently found it again and knew it wasnt normal