DefaultGen | 5,396 Posted July 2, 2020 Share Posted July 2, 2020 (edited) I don't think box date codes are remotely documented anywhere (unless some super smart person wants to fill me in @0xDEAFC0DE @ThePhleo @K.Thrower) ? I'm trying to see how many dates there are for Ninja Gaiden so I can get them all. These codes are faintly printed on the inner cardboard flap of the box. I have 90724 and 90906. Please let me know if you have any others. More info on this is here. List of dates so far: 90130, 90222, 90317, 90426, 90622, 90724, 90906, 90928, 91027, 00319 Edited July 15, 2021 by DefaultGen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloves | 11,759 Administrator · Posted July 2, 2020 Share Posted July 2, 2020 91027 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePhleo | 2,184 Posted July 2, 2020 Share Posted July 2, 2020 Believe it or not, I don’t have any Ninja Gaiden boxes! I’ve been picking up only super cheap, super crappy boxes....and bulk manual lots. Im only at the start of what seems to be a very long journey. Also, don’t call me smart. That’s just offensive to people who are actually smart. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DefaultGen | 5,396 Posted July 2, 2020 Author Share Posted July 2, 2020 25 minutes ago, ThePhleo said: Also, don’t call me smart. That’s just offensive to people who are actually smart. Hoarder/genius. It's the same thing in this hobby. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0xDEAFC0DE | 1,277 Posted July 2, 2020 Share Posted July 2, 2020 I don't keep track of variants for non-zelda stuff. Your best bet is to hope for more people to post other codes here or trawl ebay for pictures (which you might need to actually ask the seller as it won't be pictured good enough in most all listings). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DefaultGen | 5,396 Posted July 2, 2020 Author Share Posted July 2, 2020 (edited) 12 minutes ago, 0xDEAFC0DE said: I don't keep track of variants for non-zelda stuff. Your best bet is to hope for more people to post other codes here or trawl ebay for pictures (which you might need to actually ask the seller as it won't be pictured good enough in most all listings). Yeah I know, I don't want to bother a bunch of sellers with games I don't intend to buy though. I've been poking around collector friends to get what I can. Here's two more: 90130, 90317. Seems like there's going to be a ton of these codes for popular games. NG was getting a new code every couple months or so at least. Fun stuff, can't wait until I start caring about codes on chips and stuff. This is all your fault by the way. You could've just told me they were funny little numbers and I'd be happy with my one nice copy of NG but you had to go all Alan Turing and break the enigma for me. Edited July 2, 2020 by DefaultGen 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePhleo | 2,184 Posted July 2, 2020 Share Posted July 2, 2020 8 minutes ago, DefaultGen said: Yeah I know, I don't want to bother a bunch of sellers with games I don't intend to buy though. I've been poking around collector friends to get what I can. Here's two more: 90130, 90317. Seems like there's going to be a ton of these codes for popular games. NG was getting a new code every couple months or so at least. Fun stuff, can't wait until I start caring about codes on chips and stuff. This is all your fault by the way. You could've just told me they were funny little numbers and I'd be happy with my one nice copy of NG but you had to go all Alan Turing and break the enigma for me. Pandora's Box was opened. I have a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell 5-digit date codes. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
austin532 | 467 Posted July 2, 2020 Share Posted July 2, 2020 I can't imagine there being more than 5 different date code boxes. Then again, this was a popular game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy_Bogomil | 815 Posted July 2, 2020 Share Posted July 2, 2020 WATA reading this thread... 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DefaultGen | 5,396 Posted July 2, 2020 Author Share Posted July 2, 2020 1 minute ago, Andy_Bogomil said: WATA reading this thread... Lol, I only know about these codes because of a @K.Thrower Wata post on Facebook about SMB3 Left Bros variants where he said no one really cares about them. But that made me care, so jokes on you Kenneth! It looks like [most/all?] games from about 1989 onwards have them. But you can't see them if your game is sealed. Sealed games are obsolete. All hail flap variants. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
austin532 | 467 Posted July 2, 2020 Share Posted July 2, 2020 11 minutes ago, DefaultGen said: But you can't see them if your game is sealed. Sealed games are obsolete. All hail flap variants. This is why I have no problem opening sealed games. Around October 1988 is when the date codes started appearing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BortLicensePlate | 652 Graphics Team · Posted July 2, 2020 Share Posted July 2, 2020 Looks like 90222 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DefaultGen | 5,396 Posted July 2, 2020 Author Share Posted July 2, 2020 13 minutes ago, austin532 said: This is why I have no problem opening sealed games. Around October 1988 is when the date codes started appearing. Thanks for the info! Oohh, info feel good. It's that N*nt**d*age feeling in my bones! I apologize for not @'ing you as a smart person in my original post, instead @'ing that pretender ThePhleo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
austin532 | 467 Posted July 2, 2020 Share Posted July 2, 2020 I don't know about that. Most people probably consider me stupid for opening them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePhleo | 2,184 Posted July 2, 2020 Share Posted July 2, 2020 56 minutes ago, DefaultGen said: Thanks for the info! Oohh, info feel good. It's that N*nt**d*age feeling in my bones! I apologize for not @'ing you as a smart person in my original post, instead @'ing that pretender ThePhleo. That Phleo guy sounds like a real Class A jerk. I bet he is smol pp. 24 minutes ago, austin532 said: I don't know about that. Most people probably consider me stupid for opening them. Who needs the affection of a couple sealed dozen collectors when you can have the affection of like...6 people who care about flaps! But seriously, you’ve inspired me to open up my couple of my sealed games too. The Mouse Trap Hotel thing would have forever been a mystery had it not been for you, @Dr. Morbis and @DoctorEncore 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RH | 4,894 Posted July 3, 2020 Share Posted July 3, 2020 This is part of why I refuse to collect cardboard. Hunting down GB cartirdge variants is frustrating enough. I could never imagine getting into date codes. Granted, I have date codes etched in chips and of course there's the ROM impression on the labels, but I can't take it much further. Can... Can I? It could drive one mad! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloves | 11,759 Administrator · Posted July 3, 2020 Share Posted July 3, 2020 14 minutes ago, RH said: This is part of why I refuse to collect cardboard. Hunting down GB cartirdge variants is frustrating enough. I could never imagine getting into date codes. Granted, I have date codes etched in chips and of course there's the ROM impression on the labels, but I can't take it much further. Can... Can I? It could drive one mad! I mean... You could totally collect cardboard and not give a shit about micro variants lol. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePhleo | 2,184 Posted July 3, 2020 Share Posted July 3, 2020 47 minutes ago, Gloves said: I mean... You could totally collect cardboard and not give a shit about micro variants lol. Don’t get me started on the bottom flap codes....they range from 1 to 8 meaning you need 8 of every top flap variant to have a truly complete set. My theory on those is NES boxes were printed in sheets of 8 and the code just lets them identify which one is which in the print run. ... But I wonder how many chip date code combinations there are on every release of every game ever made. Hmm... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RH | 4,894 Posted July 3, 2020 Share Posted July 3, 2020 11 hours ago, ThePhleo said: Don’t get me started on the bottom flap codes....they range from 1 to 8 meaning you need 8 of every top flap variant to have a truly complete set. My theory on those is NES boxes were printed in sheets of 8 and the code just lets them identify which one is which in the print run. ... But I wonder how many chip date code combinations there are on every release of every game ever made. Hmm... That's an interesting and likely theory. I've known for decades that generally Nintendo has always wanted to engineer and manufacture durable goods. All of the QA marks show that they had processes in place to pay attention to detail. If your assumption is correct, by numbering placement on the sheet, that means that if they had found 3-5 boxes that had imperfections, they could then check and see those numbers (1-8) and if they matched, they could immediately know which section of the art file on the printer, or where to look on the cardboard cutter for some blemish. That would have been very, VERY thorough for the 80s, but doesn't sound unrealistic. Props to Nintendo. All of these markings and date stamps are specifically so they can track manufacturing defects and game errors as quickly as possible. They were extremely thorough in the 80s and 90s, apparantly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoctorEncore | 3,690 Posted July 3, 2020 Share Posted July 3, 2020 (edited) Long live cardboard! 90130 Edited July 3, 2020 by DoctorEncore 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a3quit4s | 4,091 Posted July 3, 2020 Share Posted July 3, 2020 Something seems off about my Gaiden box 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DefaultGen | 5,396 Posted July 4, 2020 Author Share Posted July 4, 2020 (edited) 7 hours ago, DoctorEncore said: Long live cardboard! 90130 That's the earliest date so far, and one of the only dates I've seen multiple times. Out of only a dozen or so people I got numbers from there are 8 different ones so far. Get ready to grade that F I R S T P R I N T. Or send it over to me. Edited July 4, 2020 by DefaultGen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DefaultGen | 5,396 Posted July 4, 2020 Author Share Posted July 4, 2020 23 hours ago, ThePhleo said: Don’t get me started on the bottom flap codes....they range from 1 to 8 meaning you need 8 of every top flap variant to have a truly complete set. My theory on those is NES boxes were printed in sheets of 8 and the code just lets them identify which one is which in the print run. ... But I wonder how many chip date code combinations there are on every release of every game ever made. Hmm... This is news to me. So you're telling me NES collecting never has to end? I can basically buy every copy of Ninja Gaiden I ever come across for the rest of my life and there's a decent chance it will be a new minor variant every time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePhleo | 2,184 Posted July 4, 2020 Share Posted July 4, 2020 (edited) 51 minutes ago, DefaultGen said: This is news to me. So you're telling me NES collecting never has to end? I can basically buy every copy of Ninja Gaiden I ever come across for the rest of my life and there's a decent chance it will be a new minor variant every time! If it has bottom flap codes, then theoretically every 5 digit flap code has 8 additional variants. So if there’s 5 flap codes then that’s 40 variants! (If my theory is correct) BUT WAIT THERES MORE! You have chip date variants, and cartridge shel variants! The variants never end! Edited July 4, 2020 by ThePhleo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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