Poll: Videogame Prototype hoarders: is it wrong?

[Jazoni89]

I have got a huge interest in game development especially when it comes to game prototypes. When a game is in development especially if it's a long time things do get cut from the game when it is released. Their's the pre-alpha, alpha and beta stages of development and each signifies a stage in development and its various changes.

Now when it comes to finding these prototypes some do slip out of the net and end up in people's hands. Some share their prototypes they find such as Drx on the hidden palace website who gave the sonic community a early alpha prototype of sonic 2. Then their's some people who don't such as GoroMacida of youtube who got his hands on a extremely rare and very valuable copy of Resident evil 1.5 and made a Youtube video gloating about his ownership of the prototype and showing him playing it.

If you are totally oblivious to what I am talking about. Resident evil 1.5 is the 70% completed original vision of Resident evil 2 before Shinji Mikami scrapped the whole game to start anew which then became the Resident evil 2 we all know.


So my question is do you think it's wrong to hoard these valuable prototypes for yourself when you could easily make a Rom/Iso image on the net for people to enjoy. Do you believe in finders keepers and do you think it defeats the point of owning it what would you do? let me know what you think Escapist's.

 

[the_pleasure_is_mine]

Generally I think if you aren't supposed to give it out you shouldn't at all...

But importantly you shouldn't gloat about it, I get into various beta programs all the time but I don't make youtube videos gloating, show some courtesy.

But if you somehow come across a prototype that's basically a demo and you are allowed to share it then by all means you should do.

 

[EllEzDee]

If it were me, i'd keep em for another 20 years, then when we're all playing fully 3d video games while we're on the bus via a small microchip in our brains; probably on CoD 68, still waiting for EP3, i can pull these out and sell them for muchos deniros.

 

[Sixcess]

I'd like to think that if I somehow got hold of something like that I'd try and get it out on the net for other fans to enjoy, mainly because the only people who are really going to be interested in a half finished game would be the serious, dedicated fans in the first place.

I can say that because I know that if I got my hands on a playable copy of even part of Fear Effect 3 it would be the highlight of my gaming year decade.

 

[EHKOS]

I would totally get a ROM out. This is something to be enjoyed by the most hardcore diehard fans. I actually think the developers should release these things, or even in a Collectors Edition.

 

[omega 616]

Still not 100% sure what your talking about but, if you think of it like a collectors thing then it would be wise not reproduce it a million times.

Think, in 50 or 60 years owning the only or one of a few copies of a game it would be worth a fair penny to the right person.

Imagine if one of the great painters had painted or otherwise mass produced there work, it would decimate it's value, it would go from rare/one of a kind to common and common is never expensive.

 

[Jazoni89]

Still not 100% sure what your talking about but, if you think of it like a collectors thing then it would be wise not reproduce it a million times.

Think, in 50 or 60 years owning the only or one of a few copies of a game it would be worth a fair penny to the right person.

Imagine if one of the great painters had painted or otherwise mass produced there work, it would decimate it's value, it would go from rare/one of a kind to common and common is never expensive.

If you not entirely sure what I am talking about allow me to explain.

When a game is being made, developers save and they keep an archive record of their work on a dev kit on a Eeprom (which is a internal Rom that can't be erased). These are measured in milestones such as pre-alpha (engine tests), alpha (early game testing) and beta (nearly finished and being tested for bugs). When a game is at a certain milestone the developers might want to use a version from the Eeprom archive and make it as a rom/Iso (a Iso is a disc based rom) so they can play it on a debug system (which is a special system developers use to test the game to look for bugs).

Example of a debug console (this is the playstation one)

Example of a Prototype Rom (this is a N64 dev cartridge of the unreleased N64 game mini racers)

Sometimes especially if you have underground connections or if you are in a videogame auction of a company who is in bankruptcy selling off its assets you can get a hold of one of these. Depending on the game (especially if it is unreleased or in early alpha) these can fetch a whole lot of money sometimes going into the thousands. Some people choose to make the roms available for others to download on the net while others don't. The reasons why prototypes of released (let alone unreleased games) games are so sought after is because of major differences in gameplay and look (and it also shows how the game progressed itself to what it is now) which you can see in this video of Ocarina of time in its pre-alpha stage on its original development platform the 64dd.


Some prototypes are made to only be played on the debug version of the console and not on the retail versions. So the debug versions of the consoles are sort after aswell, but even more harder to get than the games.

Many wanted prototype roms have never seen the light of day on the internet either because the developers have tucked them away somewhere or their are people refusing to make the game as a download to be played on a emulator. Prototypes give a good insight of what could of been and I for one wish that people should share them so that the hardcore gaming community can enjoy them.

 

[oplinger]

depends how old it is to me. If it's a scrapped copy or a beta version of an old classic, then by all means I'd share it with everyone possible because some people would be truly interested in the classic. If it was a game currently in production, and I got a copy of the beta release....I wouldn't say anything. It'd ruin it >_> and most people would just want it to say they've played it before anyone else...there's no real interest in it.

 

[omega 616]

Still not 100% sure what your talking about but, if you think of it like a collectors thing then it would be wise not reproduce it a million times.

Think, in 50 or 60 years owning the only or one of a few copies of a game it would be worth a fair penny to the right person.

Imagine if one of the great painters had painted or otherwise mass produced there work, it would decimate it's value, it would go from rare/one of a kind to common and common is never expensive.

If you not entirely sure what I am talking about allow me to explain.

When a game is being made, developers save and they keep an archive record of their work on a dev kit on a Eeprom (which is a internal Rom that can't be erased). These are measured in milestones such as pre-alpha (engine tests), alpha (early game testing) and beta (nearly finished and being tested for bugs). When a game is at a certain milestone the developers might want to use a version from the Eeprom archive and make it as a rom/Iso (a Iso is a disc based rom) so they can play it on a debug system (which is a special system developers use to test the game to look for bugs).

Example of a debug console (this is the playstation one)

Example of a Prototype Rom (this is a N64 dev cartridge of the unreleased N64 game mini racers)

Sometimes especially if you have underground connections or if you are in a videogame auction of a company who is in bankruptcy selling off its assets you can get a hold of one of these. Depending on the game (especially if it is unreleased or in early alpha) these can fetch a whole lot of money sometimes going into the thousands. Some people choose to make the roms available for others to download on the net while others don't. The reasons why prototypes of released (let alone unreleased games) games are so sought after is because of major differences in gameplay and look (and it also shows how the game progressed itself to what it is now) which you can see in this video of Ocarina of time in its pre-alpha stage on its original development platform the 64dd.


Some prototypes are made to only be played on the debug version of the console and not on the retail versions. So the debug versions of the consoles are sort after aswell, but even more harder to get than the games.

Many wanted prototype roms have never seen the light of day on the internet either because the developers have tucked them away somewhere or their are people refusing to make the game as a download to be played on a emulator. Prototypes give a good insight of what could of been and I for one wish that people should share them so that the hardcore gaming community can enjoy them.

Ok, so basically I was right.

If I had one of these things I wouldn't copy it a million times either. Mainly 'cos I have no money at the moment and getting a nice big wedge of cash would be nice, which would only be possible if it was rare or one of a kind.

 

[MRMIdAS2k]

there is no harm in dumping a proto, the original doesn't lose value, and the community gets to see what was planned, what might have been, and may get an insight as to what was wrong with the game, which the developer put right.

for instance, Resident Evil 1.5:

how many people want to play it? still, after all this time?
in it's current state, almost nobody will, whereas if it was released to the community, I daresay it would be translater into english, and re-released, giving non-native Japanese speakers more insight into it.

and what if the hoarder dies tomorrow?

will his parents, loved ones, friends know how important this CDR is?

will they even care how important it is?

or will they just chuck it, cos it's a really old game and it's worth fuck all, forever consigning it to the junk heap, denying all those people the chance to see what capcom was up to with their own eyes and control pads.

 

[Jazoni89]

there is no harm in dumping a proto, the original doesn't lose value, and the community gets to see what was planned, what might have been, and may get an insight as to what was wrong with the game, which the developer put right.

for instance, Resident Evil 1.5:

how many people want to play it? still, after all this time?
in it's current state, almost nobody will, whereas if it was released to the community, I daresay it would be translater into english, and re-released, giving non-native Japanese speakers more insight into it.

and what if the hoarder dies tomorrow?

will his parents, loved ones, friends know how important this CDR is?

will they even care how important it is?

or will they just chuck it, cos it's a really old game and it's worth fuck all, forever consigning it to the junk heap, denying all those people the chance to see what capcom was up to with their own eyes and control pads.

That is probably the fate of many a prototype unfortunely. Though saying that many prototypes are pretty worthless if they a close to the final product (such as pre released builds) but if you are in procession of a early prototype of a old classic and you are looking at some kind of holy grail and I think it should be released on the net in a earshot of you owning it.

When it comes to Resident evil 1.5 however I personally like the look of the prototype much more than the one we eventually got, maybe because of it having a darker tone and the police station looking like a actual police station. The only reason why it was cancelled was because Shinji Mikami thought it was too much like the first one which I disagree with. Well at least the laboratory sections where more or less intact.