One Bidder Pays $25,000 for Unverified 1998 Pokemon Red Prototype

A single bidder has placed a $25,000 offer on a prototype version of Pokemon Red for the Nintendo Game Boy.

The listing appeared at the Goldin auction site, where the item is described as a development board from 1998. Retro Dodo first identified the cartridge and called it incredibly rare. The game, released in 1998, helped launch a franchise that has since sold more than 31 million copies in the United States.

Specialists at PSA authenticated the physical object but could not read the entire data storage. They successfully accessed the first 32 kilobytes of the file. PSA labeled this partial read technically unique. The authenticators stated that the readable data is completely identical to the U.S. retail version. They expressed confidence that the unreadable sections match the standard release, though they did not guarantee the full contents.

The report identified two specific errors in the header data. One value at offset 0x014C is set to 55 instead of 00. This mistake changes the checksum at offset 0x014D to CB instead of 20. Neither error impacts how the game plays. The cartridge features a sticker reading DMB-MBC-16M-FLASH and the part number DMG-(F)KGDB-01. The label suggests the device uses 16 megabits of flash memory and a memory bank controller.

The Goldin listing calls the board previously undocumented. However, the Rare Gaming Dump wiki lists the same part number on a 2000 development cartridge. That older entry uses a slightly different sticker reading DMG-MBC3-16M-FLASH. Images show the physical designs are nearly identical. The current prototype is physically longer than a standard Game Boy cartridge.

A reader comment on the original report suggests this specific unit is a master copy that powers on and plays normally. The commenter claimed the item originated from a Nintendo employee who kept demo cartridges instead of destroying them in 2015. These details have not been verified by the auction house or the authenticators. The auction remains open for several more days. The current bidder may win the piece at the current price, or other buyers may raise the final cost.