|
Post by mpanayiotakis on Oct 24, 2009 0:53:53 GMT 2
Ok, I'm taking Aris' email as a reason to discuss this (I hope you're ok with this Aris, I think it's worth discussing in here).. Well, Aris sent me a link of a spitball sparky auction with this image in it: It seems that underneath the metal cover the supercolor games are white. The same white colour we've seen on the white versions of the supercolor games. Understandably, someone may ask whether the white versions are simply regular versions that lost the silver coating over the years in some way or another.. Since I own a white spitball sparky in its original box I can say a couple of things on the subject. First of all, the first owner of this game said to me that he bought it like this at a fleamarket. We can probably assume then that the white sparky was indeed white when it left the production line. The white colour is uniform and there's no residue of metal coating anywhere. I don't think there's any way to produce that effect by simply removing the metal coating - it's just impossible. There are no marks anywhere that might indicate that such a process took place either. Now, I don't know why Nintendo released some supercolor games in this condition. I've heard lots of assumptions over the years: error in the manufacturing process, special edition released for some countries, promotional item, early samples, etc. I haven't been able to verify any of these stories so if you know something that might shed light to this release, please do so! :smile: Michael
|
|
|
Post by Aris on Oct 24, 2009 5:02:47 GMT 2
Ok, I'm taking Aris' email as a reason to discuss this (I hope you're ok with this Aris, I think it's worth discussing in here).. Well, Aris sent me a link of a spitball sparky auction with this image in it: It seems that underneath the metal cover the supercolor games are white. The same white colour we've seen on the white versions of the supercolor games. Understandably, someone may ask whether the white versions are simply regular versions that lost the silver coating over the years in some way or another.. Since I own a white spitball sparky in its original box I can say a couple of things on the subject. First of all, the first owner of this game said to me that he bought it like this at a fleamarket. We can probably assume then that the white sparky was indeed white when it left the production line. The white colour is uniform and there's no residue of metal coating anywhere. I don't think there's any way to produce that effect by simply removing the metal coating - it's just impossible. There are no marks anywhere that might indicate that such a process took place either. Now, I don't know why Nintendo released some supercolor games in this condition. I've heard lots of assumptions over the years: error in the manufacturing process, special edition released for some countries, promotional item, early samples, etc. I haven't been able to verify any of these stories so if you know something that might shed light to this release, please do so! [img src=" briefcase.pathfinder.gr/download/michpan/25980/308757/0/smile.gif"] [/IMG] Michael[/quote] Yeah, no problemo at all Mike! As a matter of fact, if you hadn't posted it, I would have! So, you just beat me to it!! ;D I thought it was interesting to find that pic, and the only conclusion I could come to is that the "white" version of these games just didn't get coated with the silver finish that the majority of them did. Now, of course, the million dollar question is: Why? Was it intentional? Was it an accident?? What I think we do know for sure, and I concur with you on this one Mike, is that the "white" versions are not white due to anything the owners of the games may have done to them. They're white because that's how they were made and that's how they left the factories that made them! As you pointed out, the "White" version exists for both Spitball Sparky and Crab Grab, so, it's not like there was a faulty "silver coating machine" on one game's line versus the other's. I guess that would mean that the "white" versions were intentional, and were probably made that way to have a couple of unique versions within each line of Supercolour games. Maybe they made a white one per every 10,000 games produced or something like that??? Do we know what the serial numbers are on all of the "white" versions that we know exist? It's probably a long shot, but, perhaps that may tell us something about their production??? Hmmm.... To my knowledge, there are 6 known to exist: 1) Mike Panayiotakis has a boxed Spitball Sparky. 2) Paul has a boxed Crab Grab. 3) Paul also has a loose Spitball Sparky (the one that Taki once owned, then Mike won it off Taki, then Paul won it off Mike. 4) Paul also had a loose Crab Grab that he sold earlier this year to "gameandwatchfreak" 5) Andy Cole has (not sure if he still has it) a Spitball Sparky 6) Northfrost (Norwegian collector) won a Spitball Sparky earlier this year. 7) Wasn't there a rumour that Taki had another white Spitball Sparky? Anyway, most of these guys are on the forum, so, we should be able to easily get the serials from them, and see if we can find some sort of pattern or explanation to their frequency of production. Mike, Andy and Paul, what are the serial numbers on your white Supercolour games? AC
|
|
|
Post by mpanayiotakis on Oct 24, 2009 13:35:04 GMT 2
I think Paul has sold his loose white sparky Aris.. Anyway, the serial on my game is S1387599. I hope we can gather a few serial numbers so that we can at least rule out the "random release" assumption! :smile:
Michael
|
|
|
Post by andycole on Oct 26, 2009 12:53:32 GMT 2
I still have my game and the serial number is S1387548. Wow! Remarkably close to Mike's serial! My silver games was S1059071. the higher number on the white version would cast doubt on the possibility that these were early versions.
Perhaps if we could gather one or two more numbers, and they were all close together, it would tell us something else. Maybe only that they weren't a special every 10,000 or so!
If they are all close together then it would appear that they were all produced on the same day. But I find it very hard to believe that they were a mistake. Both the paint machine and the quality control would have to fail for these to leave the factory as a mistake.
p.s. The guy who I trade mine off also had one more, but I don't know if that's one of the 6/7 we already know of.
Andy.
|
|
|
Post by runepune on Oct 26, 2009 13:58:00 GMT 2
The serial on the white one that the Norwegian collector northfrost has is S1386333. Looks like the serials are pretty close then.
|
|
|
Post by mpanayiotakis on Oct 26, 2009 19:02:19 GMT 2
Ok, according to the serial numbers of regular sparkys it seems that the white ones were probably released after the known editions of the regular releases! Did Nintendo release a special white version as an effort to sell the last batches of games? Or could it have been a promotional item of some sort?
The serials also indicate that more than 1000 white sparkys were made.. Where are they then? If all of them were sold in shops I'm sure we would have seen more of them.. I'd need a serial from a white crab grab to draw some more conclusions..
Michael
|
|
|
Post by Aris on Oct 26, 2009 19:40:18 GMT 2
The serial on the white one that the Norwegian collector northfrost has is S1386333. Looks like the serials are pretty close then. Oh, thanks Runepune! Are you Northfrost? I was thinking Northfrost's and gameandwatchfreak's would be the most difficult ones to find out!!! Just did some research.... The white SS Mike got from Taki, then sold to Paul has serial number S1386042. I was not able to see the serial numbers on Paul's boxed white CG or the loose white CG he sold to gameandwatchfreak. Does anyone know who this guy is? If you do, can you contact them and ask for the serial number? (or if you're a member here, can you tell us what the serial number is?) In the meantime, I have sent a msg. to Paul to find out what his serial numbers are. So, to recap, the serial numbers we have so far are as follows: S1387599 - Mike's boxed white Spitball Sparky S1387548 - Andy's loose white Spitball Sparky S1386333 - Northfrost's loose white Spitball Sparky S1386042 - Paul's loose white Spitball Sparky (that used to be Mike's and Taki's) I have two (non-white) Spitball Sparky games and two (non-white) Crab grab games, and my serials are as follows: S1379784 - Spitball Sparky S1288262 - Spitball Sparky S1216439 - Crab Grab S1270683 - Crab Grab At this point, we only know the serial numbers for White SS games. And based on the limited data we have, if these were made in batch runs, or just one batch run, it would appear that the batch run started some time after serial number S1379784 and went to at least S1387599. Now, this would be just an assumption, and we can probably tweak this a bit as we get some responses from other collectors here as to what the serial numbers are on their Supercolour games, but, for now, a somewhat logical guess would be that they started at S1380000 and possible ended at S1390000, which would mean a production of 10000 units. Again, this is, for the most part, purely speculative. We have no way of knowing for sure, but, based on the data we have so far, we can make, somewhat educated, guesses. If it's not too much trouble to ask, can any other collectors on this forum who have Supercolour games (Spitball Sparky and/or Crab Grab) provide us (or just ME) with your serial numbers please? This would be a huge help in trying to narrow down a range, and could also confirm if the production of white supercolour games were done in straight batches (consecutive string) or if they were randomly done within a range of numbers.I've also sent a question to gameandwatchfreak through ebay, so, hopefully he doesn't think I'm a weirdo and actually provides me with the serial number, if he even still has the game! This is pretty exciting!!! It's like trying to find out the past during the future!!! ;D ;D ;D I think I'll put together a spreadsheet with four headings along the top: Spitball Sparky - White Spitball Sparky - Crab Grab - White Crab Grab, and put the data in as we get it and/or as I find out new numbers through research. AC out PS Hey look! This may be the only picture we have of Michael Jackson actually holding a Spitball Sparky game!!! cgi.ebay.ca/Nintendo-Game-WAtch-Spitball-Sparky-Complete_W0QQitemZ320429675005And another SS where it's white underneath the silver coating: cgi.ebay.ca/SPITBALL-SPARKY-Nintendo-GAME-WATCH-G-W_W0QQitemZ110450091543
|
|
|
Post by swedengame on Oct 26, 2009 20:01:55 GMT 2
ROTFL!! ;D ;D This was hysterically funny Aris!! LMAO!! ;D ;D (or maybe I'm just a bit tired now, and it wasn't so funny.. ) Sorry I can´t help out on this, currently I don´t own any super color.
|
|
|
Post by bobo74 on Oct 26, 2009 21:01:54 GMT 2
Hi guys! Intresting thread! My SS serialnr.1232363 CG serialnr. 1121063 Keep up the investigation!
Björn
|
|
|
Post by runepune on Oct 26, 2009 21:59:34 GMT 2
Hi Aris.
No, I'm not Northfrost, but we're both from Norway and I like to keep tracks on the local competition. ;D
Serials for the 2 games I have: SS : S1044857 CG : S1120892
I would be surprised if there were produced as many as 10 000 of these. If you think of all the Special Super Marios that have popped up on Ebay and the few white SS and CG's we have seen it would suggest a lower number. I know the yellow case game is, well, special and maybe more collectible but so is a white SS or CG too.
|
|
|
Post by flagman02 on Oct 26, 2009 22:06:47 GMT 2
Hi chaps,nice to get involved in this thread!
I have a spitball sparky and its N0 is:1293262
Unfortunately i dont yet have CG.
|
|
|
Post by mpanayiotakis on Oct 27, 2009 0:43:17 GMT 2
So, it seems that the white versions of the supercolor games were released near the end of their production as all serials are higher than the ones on regular games. I don't think that 10,000 of them were made, mainly because we haven't seen so many circulating around. If the white ones were sold in shops, they would probably be more common in Ebay auctions than what we've observed. Unless they were made as a prize or something and most winners are keeping them close but still 10,000 seems to be an extreme number for a prize or promotional item.
Michael
|
|
|
Post by Aris on Oct 27, 2009 3:25:27 GMT 2
Runepune and Mike, Yes, you guys are probably right. Indeed, very few have been spotted so far (less than 10 of both combined!) so, yeah, if 10000 or more were produced, one would think we should have seen more by now. (good comparison with the Super Mario Bros. Special, Runepune! ). I doubt very much that more than 10000 were made, so, the 1380000 to 1390000 would be at the high end of a "guessed" production run. Based on our info. so far, I'm also guessing, that, if they did produce these in a "batch run", that they would have started them at nice round even number like 1380000. So again, based on the data we have so far, if they did start producing them in a run at a nice round even number, the earliest would be 1380000 because I have a 1379784, and it's NOT white. Other possibilities would, of course, be 1381000, 1382000, 1383000, 1384000, 1385000 & 1386000. I'm also assuming they would have produced a nice round even number of units too. (Like 500, 1000, 2500, 5000, etc.... up to a max of say 10000). If these were produced in a straight run batch, I think the least we can assume were made, would be about 2000. And that's based on Northfrost's serial of S1386042, (this is the lowest serial we have so far, so, the batch probably would have started at S1386000) and Mike's serial of S1387599 (this is the highest serial we have so far, and the batch would have ended at 1388000). There are a few things that will render everything we've hypothesized, so far, about the white SS (and eventually, the white CG) games useless: 1) If Nintendo DIDN'T produce these in a "straight run batch", and actually produced them randomly. 2) If Nintendo's starting point of producing these white versions of SS & CG games did not start at a nice round even number. 3) If Nintendo did not produce a nice round even number of these games, and actually produced something like 1367 of them. 4) If we find proof of white SS or CG games that fall out of our current assumed "white version only" ranges. 5) If we find proof of "regular" (non-white) SS or CG games that fall within our current assumed "white version only" ranges. Björn, Flagman2, Runepune, Mike and Andy, thanks for providing your serials. The more we get/find, the better equipped we should be to solve this mystery! (If it's solvable at all that is!!!) Ulf, glad you found my linked auction funny. You probably would have laughed even more if I had posted the msg. that was really going through my head when I saw that Michael jackson-like glove "handling" that SS game. But alas, he's not among the living anymore, so, I thought I better not speak ill of the dead! AC PS I have 10 "regular" SS serials so far (one of which is an NOA version) 4 "white" SS serials and 5 "regular" CG serials. This is based on what I was able to find on ebay, and the responses here. Please keep your serials coming! Don't be shy!! Every serial we get counts, and you never know, your serial may be an important link in our "White Spitball Sparky.. how come?" quest! ;D
|
|
|
Post by ash888 on Oct 27, 2009 6:49:22 GMT 2
Right now I have 2 regular Spitball Sparkys:
S1315939 S1042989
|
|
|
Post by andycole on Oct 27, 2009 11:49:36 GMT 2
Aris, you're forgetting a very easy way of getting all the serials we need: Pat's database.
I have a copy of his serials database on my computer in spreadsheet form, although it is probably about a year old, but I can give you 130 Spitball Sparky serials and 57 Crab Grab serials if you like!
If you don't need them all, the range is as follows: SS: S1003307 - S1394647 CG: S1118538 - S1385005 Plus a strange Crab Grab serial of 03109653 which I assume is a transplanted or fake sticker.
I'm very happy to be discussing this subject again as it intrigues me, although I fear we are going to just go around in circles like we usually do. Then again, with your terrier-like tenacity and powers of investigation, perhaps we'll get a little further than usual!
From what I've seen of the numbers in the database, of all games, not just these 2, there are large gaps and crossovers between games so serial numbers don't necessarily tie in exactly with production numbers. I would say that the numbers produced are going to be much lower than the 10,000 suggested, more like the current 1557 gap between the highest and lowest known number. Just my 2p's worth.
edit: Oh, and you don't need to find an auction with a peeling supercolour game to find out that they were white underneath - just look inside the battery compartment!
another edit: Spitball S1385005 and S1394967are both silver according to the database, so that limits the white range to less than 9962 if you believe that they were produced in sequential numbers, and the current evidence is a range of 1557.
Andy
|
|