Two 'One-Of-A-Kind' Lost Nintendo Games Just Surfaced On eBay
Two unreleased Nintendo games have appeared on eBay and they are likely one-of-kind items. Shared on Twitter by Frank Cifaldi, co-director and founder of the Video Game History Foundation, there are two games that were never released for the NES and had never been digitized, making them incredibly rare finds. While there are plenty of rare games from Nintendo's past, these unique items are special since there are likely no other copies of these games. Video game fans love seeing unreleased games, like footage of a canceled "Half-Life" game, and the Video Game History Foundation wants to digitize these items so people can experience them for the first time.
The first item is the game "Battlefields of Napoleon," which Cifaldi describes as a complete game. The images show that it even includes the artwork for the box. Technically, "Battlefields of Napoleon" did actually release, however it wasn't localized and released in the West. Instead, it was available in Japan as "Napoleon Senki." The game appears to be a very old attempt at a real-time strategy game. While the Japanese version exists, having an officially translated version of the game would be great for preservation purposes. The other game up for sale is a bit more mysterious.
An unreleased Rare game for the Nintendo Power Glove
The second item available for sale is a mysterious cartridge with some vague labeling. The sticker on it says "CES Sample" and has a please return to Rare if found message on it. The CES in question is likely the Consumer Electronic Show, where Nintendo and Rare may have been showing a prototype for the Power Glove. When asked by a current Rare employee if he had any information on the prototype, former Rare programmer Paul Byford was able to provide a bit of extra information. He said it was another game developed by Rare that utilized the Power Glove. You had to solve puzzles by making specific hand gestures with the Power Glove.
As with many rare and unreleased games, the Video Game History Foundation is attempting to purchase the games for the purpose of preservation. The price of rare video games has gotten out of hand in the past few years, with a copy of "Super Mario 64" going for $1.5 million. While these items won't get anywhere near that, Cifaldi has asked for donations to help the foundation purchase the games, to make sure they aren't lost to history.