Sega Genesis CIB Contents Spreadsheet

[supergamboy | 61]

Over at SegaAge I ran a thread focused on confirming as much information as possible on Sega Genesis games and the contents of CIB games.  A lot of it was pulled from my own collection and from years of watching eBay auctions.  Over time, I've pulled in lots of great info from other members and the project has continued to evolve and improve:

Here is the spreadsheet:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1IKheEp9_Ww1YFwj_1MvMF_1Vw8Ed6nksmDy9-BfA9nQ/edit?usp=sharing

In its current form, there is still a lot of data I'm transitioning over to the new format, which will allow for greater use of filtering.  For example, at a minimum you'd be able to sort release by Canadian to see all Canadian releases (or Sega Classics, or Mega Hit, or VG Classics).  For any games that originally came packaged with no inserts, the plan is to write "No inserts" in the Insert 1 column (column I), which would also allow for filtering on that criteria.  Posters and reg cards have their own columns. 

Columns O, P, and Q are eventually intended to allow for more thorough input on data to account for games with lots of print runs.  Column R "Box Sort" would let you sort by games that are Clamshell Only, Cardboard Only, or Both.  But that will take a long time for me to go back through and fill out.

Anyway, I wanted to get the link shared over here.  I'm always soliciting new information and if you open up a game from sealed, please share as well!

[supergamboy | 61]

Here's one last sealed game I had opened up but not yet shared on SegaAge.  The spreadsheet is now updated with this information of a verified sealed copy of Fantastic Dizzy.  In addition, since I'd already hosted the images on Imgur, each insert in the spreadsheet has a hyperlink to an image of the insert.

 

Spoiler

 

Edited November 18, 2019 by supergamboy

[RoyalT | 161]

Glad you made it over here man!  There was such a wealth of information over there and it would be great to have it migrated here.

[billybob884 | 63]

Glad to see this thread back up!

So I had a few open items before segaage ended, was there ever a verdict on whether to track the clamshell variants for Desert Strike and Jungle Strike?

 

Also, sticker variants for Jack Nicklaus Power Challenge Golf and Hardball III

Edited November 16, 2019 by billybob884
grammar fix

[supergamboy | 61]

In the spreadsheet, I aim to track all non-one off print variants, so yes, I'll definitely add Desert Strike.

Thoughts on which is the 1st print? Do you think they started with less copyright text and added more? Or that they started with a lot and then cut it down? I'll check eBay listings later to try and find full CIBs of each. Maybe one will be marked Rev A.

I'll add the sticker variants as well, at least for now. Stickers appear to be on the box (so under the seal) but it would be good to see separate sealed copies both with and without seal (my mind is foggy). Again with these, thoughts on which is 1st print? I would suppose no sticker and then they added a sticker?

[supergamboy | 61]

Looking at the two Desert Strikes a little more, it looks like one is assembled in Taiwan and then the other in Puerto Rico.

The earliest EA games were all Taiwan, so I would consider the Taiwan release the first release and the Puerto Rico one the second release.

And I believe it's the thick case one that's the Taiwan one, right? Which all kind of makes sense for the first release, then reduce plastic to cut costs for the second release.

(As an aside, I think the thin case EA games are the 1st release for those respective games, but I realize that would go partially against my above plastic comment)

[ViKiNg | 276]

Yes! The best SA collecting thread is alive! Thank you, Supergamboy! 

[supergamboy | 61]

Now that I've started a new thread here on VGS, I've been taking a little bit of time to clean up the spreadsheet and finalize its conversion to its current format.  As I go through it, I'm making some mental notes on things I'll need to add/revise.

Does anyone have a copy of Coach K Basketball with inserts? My spreadsheet is blank for that title and I'm not immediately seeing anything among eBay listings.

 

 

[supergamboy | 61]

In my spreadsheet I have it listed that there are 3 releases of Fatal Rewind.  That may be incorrect.

I only see one release on eBay, which is the thin case release, Made in Taiwan.

Does anyone have a non-thin case release of Fatal Rewind?

[billybob884 | 63]

On 11/16/2019 at 8:03 AM, supergamboy said:

In the spreadsheet, I aim to track all non-one off print variants, so yes, I'll definitely add Desert Strike.

Thoughts on which is the 1st print? Do you think they started with less copyright text and added more? Or that they started with a lot and then cut it down? I'll check eBay listings later to try and find full CIBs of each. Maybe one will be marked Rev A.

I'll add the sticker variants as well, at least for now. Stickers appear to be on the box (so under the seal) but it would be good to see separate sealed copies both with and without seal (my mind is foggy). Again with these, thoughts on which is 1st print? I would suppose no sticker and then they added a sticker?

I didn't see any revision marks on either Desert/Jungle Strike games, so it's tough to speculate on which was first run... My copies of Jack Nicklaus Power and Hardball III are packed away at the moment, I'll dig them up later to take better pics of all the pieces, but here are Desert Strike and Jungle Strike:

Spoiler

Jungle strike is a little weird; the rear of one cartridge says USA and the other says Puerto Rico, but both fronts say USA, so one back could be a replacement? I also only have one manual so I can't check there, the only definitive proof I have that they were two separate runs and nut just completely thrown together from spare parts is the subtle art differences (see my arrows, one has an extra tree "back to the future"-style ).

As for Coach K Basketball, I don't have any inserts in my copy aside from the manual, but it's used so that doesn't say much.

As for Fatal Rewind, I only have the thin-style case release. A quick search on ebay only seems to turn up this style, so maybe there actually isn't a think-style release?

[supergamboy | 61]

Regarding the Jungle Strike saying US on front and Puerto Rico on the back, I believe I noticed the same for Desert Strike. I think it's that the paper label itself was printed in the US but that it was assembled in Puerto Rico (though it's all semantics because PR is the US).

Knowing that early EA games (like John Madden Football) were Made in Taiwan, I'm confident that Taiwan are first prints and PR are second prints.

I'll look over all the pictures and other details when I'm at a computer (instead of phone).

Doing a little research on EA and according to Encyclopedia.com, EA established it's manufacturing facilities in PR in 1992. From some court docs: "EAPR (EA Puerto Rico was incorporated under Delaware law on May 15, 1992, as a subsidiary of EA, to manufacture video games and other software entertainment products.". As Desert Strike apparently came out in Feb 1992, the first print would have had to have been done in Taiwan.

Edited November 18, 2019 by supergamboy

[supergamboy | 61]

I've looked into Hardball III, and the version with the sticker is surely the first print.  That was for a time limited contest that would expire and no longer be valid, thus not being included in future releases.

As far as inserts, there may be different reg cards.  The first release may have a reg card marked VID-XXXX (I can't read the numbers).  But within the reg card appears to be a separate contest form.

The non-sticker release includes a regcard with the tag H3SG (which is the info I previously had in my spreadsheet):

 

[supergamboy | 61]

I've reduced Fatal Rewind to just having one release and I have done the same for Immortal. 

Both are now just the thin EA clamshell release

[EDIT] I have now also reduced Shadow of the Beast to only having one release (thin EA case only)

Edited November 19, 2019 by supergamboy

[supergamboy | 61]

Some Lotus Turbo Challenge discoveries:

I already had in my spreadsheet that there were two main versions (one with a "Head to Head Racing" logo and one without):

 

I've now identified that there are 3 carts; however, there may be a wrinkle.

On the fronts of carts, you'll see three different origin texts:

1) Made in the USA (back says Assembled in the USA) - This release corresponds with the release with no logo.  It is by far the most common release.

2) Assembled in the USA (back says Assembled in the USA) - This release corresponds with the "Head to Head Racing" logo

3) Made in Taiwan (back says Made in Taiwan, I think - couldn't get good pic) - no information on CIB

I couldn't find a single CIB that had the Made in Taiwan cart.  Out of curiosity, I went to eBay.co.uk and I did find lots of Made in Taiwan CIBs, and even though all the carts say Genesis on the front label, that's what the UK got.  The UK got the Made in Taiwan cart and one of the US carts (either Made or Assembled, I can't remember).

Until we can find better information on if a US-released CIB ever had the Made in Taiwan cart, I am going to leave my list as having two releases, which I've now marked with better detail.

[supergamboy | 61]

I've spent the last few days really cleaning up the spreadsheet.  My next step is going to be getting more of the drop downs filled out (like column Q for Box Sort, to allow people to pull up lists of games that are clamshell only, cardboard only, or both releases).  I've already filled in Column S for the Unlicensed games (but haven't yet filled in "Licensed" for all the others).

Aesthetic questions.  I plan to keep a format of alternating white and light gray lines (though I have help coming to redo it, since I've since added many rows, messing it up.)

1) Do you like the black borders around the cells? Right now they are only on the top 19 rows.  I added gray lines to rows 16 and 18 to show what those rows look like with and without the borders (see anything below there)

2) Column D (Notes) is mostly used to describe which variant of the game that row details.  Does that look better centered or right justified?

3) Are there any changes/tweaks you'd like to see? Are there parts that are ugly or not helpful?

Right now I am using a "gold" colored cell to mark inserts that I'm still researching or not fully sure on.  On occasion I've used red text to mark that I still need to improve the wording of that cell (ie getting the exact name of an insert)

There are still lots of inconsistencies in my naming conventions, which is something I'll be working toward more now that things are getting cleaned up.  

At this point, (I think) I'm ready for minor nit-picks.  I'm always down to discuss missing or incorrect data, but if you see that product codes are missing (like for EA reg cards) and you have the info please share it! Or if you see the same insert described differently in two places, let me know.  Likewise, I generally want to be consistent with my column use when detailing inserts.  For example for Mega Hit games, I want to put the Virtua Fighter 3 sweepstakes card in the Reg Card column and Mega Hit insert in the Insert 1 column.  If you see things like that that I can make consistent, please share

[supergamboy | 61]

I recently discovered (via a note on a WATA sealed game) that there is an interesting (minor!) variant for Aaahh Real Monsters.

On the front of the box, at the end of the title are exclamation marks, and some copies include two "!!" and others have three "!!!".

In my spreadsheet, I have it listed that this get has 3 different releases. I haven't yet gone through enough eBay listings to gather whether one of those 3 releases consistently only has two "!!" in the title, or whether this would be a 4th separate, release.

[billybob884 | 63]

So here's a few things I've found so far:

- For the first release Aaahh Real Monsters (slide box) you have a comment that "Acclaim" on the case is covered by a black sticker, I think this is meant to be on the clamshell variant

- Ghostbusters is missing the Canadian release variant

- You're missing the 2nd clamshell version of jungle strike (thick & regular)

Will keep you posted as I review.

[supergamboy | 61]

I've removed the note about the Acclaim sticker. I think that comment was attached to the wrong cell in the spreadsheet.  You're right that it matches up to the language in the Notes section for the clamshell release.

Ghostbusters Canadian release added

Jungle strike regular clamshell added (assuming that thick is the 1st release). I'll try to look up the two clamshell releases to see if they were made in different places or if there are other distinguishing features

[billybob884 | 63]

For Jungle Strike, if you look a few posts up, I posted images of my two copies of it, and there's a bunch of extra patent info on the back of one case. Carts otherwise looked identical, but they're used copies I got from who knows where, so more research definitely wouldn't hurt.

[billybob884 | 63]

Got a couple more corrections/suggestions

Lethal Enforcers - Listed as clamshell, should be big box/boxed loose with accessory (unless it had a separate clamshell release? I didn't think so)

Lotus Turbo Challenge - Which one is the original release?

Minnesota Fats: Pool Legend - listed as clamshell, should be slide box

Miracle Piano Teaching System - listed as clamshell, should be big box/boxed loose w/ accessory

For the four Wisdom Tree titles (Bible Adventure, Exodus, Joshua & the Battle of Jericho, Spiritual Warfare), it might be worth noting the styrofoam packing block they come with

Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 - should note that 1st release has a color manual

Ms. Pac-Man clamshell variant - notes that "Tengen" text is white on manual and cart, what about the case?

NBA Jam 1st release - might be nice to note that the case has "Fleer Cards" promo badge? I mean I guess it's implied by the rerelease noting it doesn't have the badge

[Hybrid | 424]

 

Not mine but worth adding

[supergamboy | 61]

On 12/4/2019 at 8:32 PM, billybob884 said:

Got a couple more corrections/suggestions

For the four Wisdom Tree titles (Bible Adventure, Exodus, Joshua & the Battle of Jericho, Spiritual Warfare), it might be worth noting the styrofoam packing block they come with

Ms. Pac-Man clamshell variant - notes that "Tengen" text is white on manual and cart, what about the case?

 

Thanks for the catches! A lot of stuff defaulted to Clamshell so when I went back through there were some I'd missed.

Can you share with me pictures of the Wisdom Tree styrofoam block.  That sounds right, but I sold my copies 2-3 years ago. Did all 4 games have one? In my spreadsheet I have it noted that Action 52 may have had a "Action Seal of Quality Assurance" cardboard insert, which I think was conceptually similar to a styrofoam block.  Is that something you've seen?

For Ms. Pac-Man, I believe all boxes have red Tengen text, its just a variant release that instead has Tengen in white on the manual and cart.  I added a note in the spreadsheet.

[supergamboy | 61]

That Bubsy II with no game title on the spine seems familiar.

In my spreadsheet, I have two releases listed, described as color manual and black and white manual. I only know about that variant because I owned both side by side and noticed the difference.  Looking on eBay, I can't find a single copy with the black and white manual that I used to have.  It is possible that no title on the spine was familiar to me because my copy with the b/w manual also had no title on the spine.

Although that isn't yours, do you have any more information on that picture? I do think there will be enough "no title" copies for it to be worth adding to the spreadsheet, but I'd like to rule out that it's not something effecting all b/w manual copies, for example.  I'd note the "no title" feature either way, just need to figure out if its part of the 2nd release or if its a separate 3rd release.

[billybob884 | 63]

23 hours ago, supergamboy said:

Can you share with me pictures of the Wisdom Tree styrofoam block.  That sounds right, but I sold my copies 2-3 years ago. Did all 4 games have one?

The only one I own right now is Exodus, but the cartridges/boxes look the same in pictures for the other three WT games, so its likely they came with them as well. I have a copy of Joshua on the way, so we'll see if it comes with one (it wasn't pictured, but the seller may have just not taken it out of the box). Here's Exodus:

It's worth noting that the styrofoam isn't quite enough to keep the cart from bounding around, so I also have a piece of bubblewrap tucked in at the top to fill the rest of the space.

 

23 hours ago, supergamboy said:

In my spreadsheet I have it noted that Action 52 may have had a "Action Seal of Quality Assurance" cardboard insert, which I think was conceptually similar to a styrofoam block.  Is that something you've seen?

I actually have this one on the way, so I'll let you know in a week or so.

 

23 hours ago, supergamboy said:

For Ms. Pac-Man, I believe all boxes have red Tengen text, its just a variant release that instead has Tengen in white on the manual and cart.  I added a note in the spreadsheet.

Gotcha, I'll have to check my copies.

 

Here's a few more things I noticed:

NFL '95 - listed as clamshell, should be slide box

Phantasy Star IV - listed as clamshell, should be slide box

Phantom 2040 - listed as clamshell, should be slide box

Raiden Trad - suggestion, clarify the notes to something like: Original release has green/purple border, rerelease has "Bignet" alternate cover (red border)

Revenge of Shinobi - your original Canadian variant list has this game listed, but notes its the "same as the US release", should this be included?

Revolution X - you previously had listed two separate NFR variants, do these exist?

Shining Force 2 - listed as clamshell, should be slide box

Edited December 9, 2019 by billybob884

[supergamboy | 61]

Ah yes, seeing your image of the styrofoam reminds me of my copies. I agree that presumably all 4 games had one.

For Action 52, all the copies I had were sealed and CIB copies were harder to find. Maybe only 1 copy had that cardboard insert I saw, but I don't remember many good condition CIBs where it could be expected that they'd still have everything from the factory.

The Revolution X NFRs do not exist. It's Ranger X that has them - I just mentally mixed up the names at one point. 

Revenge of Shinobi is "same as US" visually, if you were just looking at the front, but yeah it's a different release. So if it's missing from the spreadsheet, I'll get it added.

Traveling now, but I'll update some of the other items once I have access to a computer in about a week.