{
  "id": 16173727,
  "title": "Extremely rare and 'previously undocumented' Pokémon Red prototype cartridge surfaces at auction, starting at $25,000",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/23/extremely-rare-and-previously-undocumented-pokemon-red-prototype",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-10-23T09:40:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Tom's Hardware",
    "slug": "tom-s-hardware",
    "url": "https://www.tomshardware.com/video-games/nintendo/extremely-rare-and-previously-undocumented-pokemon-red-prototype-cartridge-surfaces-at-auction-starting-at-usd25-000-nintendo-game-boy-dev-board-from-1998-features-32kb-of-readable-memory-fully-identical-to-the-final-game-release"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A recently discovered, prototype copy of Pokémon Red for the Nintendo Game Boy is up for auction with a starting bid of $25,000. This rare cartridge, spotted by Retro Dodo, features 32KB of readable data, making it incredibly scarce. The cartridge, authenticated by specialists at PSA, has been confirmed to have data identical to the U.S. release of the game, aside from two changes in the ROM's header data. The prototype's sticker reads DMB-MBC-16M-FLASH, indicating its use of a previously undocumented development board. Pokémon Red, released in 1998, played a pivotal role in launching the global Pokémon franchise, with combined sales of Red, Green, and Blue surpassing 31 million copies.",
  "summary": "A rare prototype cartridge of Pokémon Red for the Nintendo Game Boy is on sale, with one $25,000 bid so far.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}