CGC® recently certified an interesting prototype of an unreleased product for the Nintendo Entertainment System: a MaxiVision 30-in-1 cartridge! The cartridge was authenticated as a NG ("no grade") Prototype to signify its unique status as the only known example of its kind.
This piece of gaming history had a long and complicated development process that eventually led to its cancellation and re-rerelease as the MaxiVision 15-in-1 (or Maxi 15). Read on to learn more or check out the video below.
In 1985, Nintendo patented a special technology to control which games were playable on the Nintendo Entertainment System. This technology was employed through a lock-out chip in the NES console’s inner workings, which, when connected to a NES cartridge, would determine the game’s authenticity. If the lock-out chip detected a Nintendo key chip in the cartridge, the game would work normally. If not, the game would flash on and off at the start screen until the console was turned off.
Nintendo faced severe backlash from other game publishers — such as Tengen and RetroZone — which resulted in countermeasures and lawsuits. Additionally, other video game publishers attempted to devise methods to circumvent Nintendo’s market control by utilizing the anti-trust laws of the 1990s.
One of these companies was American Video Entertainment (AVE), which was founded in 1990. AVE developed more than 15 unlicensed games for the NES between 1990 and 1992 and even made plans to publish games for the Sega Genesis. However, as NES sales began to decline and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System entered the market, AVE realized that their attempts to release games on the NES wasn’t bearing any fruit. In a last-ditch effort to realize some profits, AVE reached out to fellow third-party developers Color Dreams and American Game Cartridges to develop a multicart containing no less than 30 games.
AVE’s MaxiVision 30-in-1 cartridge was supposed to contain 30 unlicensed games — 15 from AVE and 15 from Color Dreams. Altogether, the cartridge would serve as a compilation of most of AVE’s unlicensed game library, along with many of Color Dreams’ titles.
To reach as many audiences as possible before the MaxiVision 30-in-1’s release (since it was extremely difficult to sell unlicensed Nintendo games in stores), AVE filmed an infomercial featuring Hulk Hogan and several other popular wrestlers playing the game. The MaxiVision Power Video Challenge aired only once and didn’t result in many sales — possibly because of the cartridge’s massive $149.99 price tag.
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The final nail in the coffin came right at the end of the MaxiVision 30-in-1’s development period. Color Dreams suddenly pulled out of the project, leaving AVE with only half of the titles they had promised in the infomercial. As a result, AVE had to cut the number of available games on the multicart to only 15 and renamed the final product to the MaxiVision 15-in-1, or the Maxi 15. On the upside, reducing the number of games on the cartridge lowered the memory requirements, which also lowered production cost (and subsequently, the price tag).
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The cartridge authenticated by CGC is a prototype of the unreleased MaxiVision 30-in-1 cartridge. The CGC-graded cartridge has gold plating — a feature unique to this prototype example — similar to that used on The Legend of Zelda cartridges. These gold cartridges can be seen in the infomercial, where they are shown off by host Michael Elson and developer Richard Frick. The Maxi 15, meanwhile, uses the standard black NES cartridge shell.
It is unknown how many examples of these prototype MaxiVision 30-in-1 cartridges still exist in circulation. This is the only-known certified example of its kind.
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