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See the original image at downloadsquad.com —

Mindblowing:Gamer to release 100's of SEGA prototypes!!!

downloadsquad.com — DRX, a member of the Sonic Retro Forums, has done something unprecedented in the gaming community. After years of research and detective work, he has gotten his hands on a treasure trove of materials from the golden age of SEGA, including hundreds of prototypes, documentation, and possibly other things as well....

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  • soot, on 02/18/2008, -7/+27Bless you my son
  • Tyorant, on 02/18/2008, -2/+80I sense a lot of wasted hours coming up...
  • mrboratsagdiev, on 02/18/2008, -16/+53Releasing 100s at once is certainly unprecedented, but I and others in the 'hardcore' gaming community have released dozens into the wild over time, based on deals we've made with ex-industry workers and other collectors. I still have a bunch of Japanese Sega Mega CD prototypes on official Sega CD-R to release when I have time, as a matter of fact.

    That said, I can't wait to find out what kind of goodies will be released (and expeditiously added to my own collection).
    • thedrx, on 02/18/2008, -6/+50can you contact me? thedrx@gmail.com
      • mrboratsagdiev, on 02/18/2008, -2/+21DRX! Awesome to see you around here. Yeah, give me a day or so and I'll let you in on what I have left. I just need to dig it all out from storage. I know I have at least four of them hangin' around, possibly more.

        Glad to hear of your trove, btw. Looks like a few of the commenters took it completely wrong thinking I was somehow squashing your big day. (The point was, there are a lot of prototype releasers out there!)
        • thedrx, on 02/18/2008, -2/+18Cool, just don't forget about me =)
          • mrboratsagdiev, on 02/18/2008, -2/+15Email already sent, mate!
          • dumpyhumpy, on 02/18/2008, -4/+38why is everybody digging your private conversation in a thread?
          • quomen, on 02/18/2008, -2/+22Hi, let me introduce myself. My name is quomen.
          • TheCoreh, on 02/18/2008, -1/+16They're digging because it is DRX, the one releasing the ROMs in the first place.
            BTW, thanks man!
          • Nitesmoke, on 02/19/2008, -0/+5Group hug.
      • AntzNZ, on 02/18/2008, -6/+6Ha, you're going to get a lot of emails.
      • scbysnx, on 02/18/2008, -3/+11baaaaaad idea
    • CravenTwain, on 02/18/2008, -1/+14Well, here's a big fat pat on the pack for releasing stuff when you can be bothered... Meanwhile, let's praise the folks who *do* have the time.
    • Rodalli, on 02/18/2008, -4/+6This comment suffers from "been there, done that" syndrome.
  • FeartheKnighted, on 02/18/2008, -5/+151cue the classic: "Saaaay-gaah"
    • SuperVepr308, on 02/18/2008, -1/+9I loved when the commercials ended with that. I couldn't help but join in:)
      • BobbyMC, on 07/21/2008, -0/+10The commercials didn't end with that. They ended with the guy SCREAMING Sega, at far too fast a rate to ever predict.
        • monkeyvoodoo, on 02/19/2008, -0/+6Ah yes, I often found myself trying to predict the speed at which the guy would scream "SEGA!"...
    • undershirt, on 02/18/2008, -0/+12Mmm, that's the sound of a happy childhood.
      • Amadeus2490, on 02/19/2008, -0/+2That's the first sound I ever heard when I played my first video game. I liked it.
  • clydesanchez32, on 02/18/2008, -11/+0The Sega 32X...NO WAY!!!
  • TheNorris, on 02/18/2008, -1/+43Great... now THAT part of my life is gonna start all over again
  • banido, on 02/18/2008, -17/+11Sonic boom, Sonic boom, Sonic boom...
    • Kragnerac, on 02/18/2008, -2/+6Toot, toot, Sonic Warrior - Toot, toot, Sonic Warrior
      • appleseed1234, on 02/18/2008, -6/+5Dammit, I don't know which one to choose.

        I digg both.
  • jmyname, on 02/18/2008, -22/+1Hey I'm Sonic The HedgeHog!
  • thedrx, on 02/18/2008, -14/+142I am the person behind the release, and I must say, I'm disgusted by this blog post.
    • soot, on 02/18/2008, -2/+22Why?
      • thedrx, on 02/18/2008, -3/+64Because it's very innacurate, and attention seeking. Your typical blog trash.
        • Jerk, on 02/18/2008, -3/+40You know this is digg.com, right? Home of the most outrageous, sensationalistic headlines and stories? So why don't you type something up and submit it to digg? I'll digg you up.
        • saxreturns, on 02/18/2008, -3/+29I second Jerk's motion.
          • diggit23, on 02/19/2008, -1/+20That's what she said...
            Sorry bro, couldn't resist.
        • Rhino2, on 02/19/2008, -0/+2Also filled with ***** ads to make money off your sweet find. Don't forget that. They probably made like $7 off this and only cost-ed them their self respect.
    • ParaSwarm, on 02/18/2008, -1/+27I'll agree to anything you say. Just give me sweet sweet beta-Sonic.
    • aladrin, on 02/18/2008, -8/+12Yeah, what's so wrong with it? You release a bunch of stuff that people are looking forward to (why else would you advertise that you're going to do it?) and they help get the word out. They didn't suggest anything illegal or talk bad about your efforts in any way.

      So why are you disgusted?

      Or is it that you aren't even who you claim to be and are simply trolling?
      • thedrx, on 02/18/2008, -2/+35I'm not trolling. It's innacurate, and I even warned the poster before he posted the blog post that it is inaccurate. Despite my warning, he still posted an inaccurate summary of the situation. Oh well.

        That said, check back on 23rd, it wil be certainly interesting.
        • digitallysick, on 02/18/2008, -0/+12Well, even if its just a few games, i for one, am very thankful for your work
        • grgcnnr, on 02/18/2008, -1/+1ditto, and if theres anything seriously amiss in that article I for one would be glad to hear it
        • Namco, on 02/19/2008, -0/+1Thanks DRX! Can't wait.
        • INTERNETMASTER, on 02/19/2008, -0/+1looking forward to it! xD
    • maximm, on 02/18/2008, -10/+0you really don t have a grasp word play. mindblowing/disgusted
    • ligyron, on 02/19/2008, -1/+3Well, mind posting a more accurate summary then? We'll just bury this one and Digg yours
  • thedrx, on 02/18/2008, -24/+9I am the person behind this release. And I must say, I am disgusted by this blog post.
  • blueZhift, on 02/18/2008, -2/+2This should be fun! I can't wait to check these out! I wonder how long it will be before Sega shuts this down. Afterall, they've discovered that people still want to pay to play these old games, so I don't think they'll be too happy having the code all over the internet.
    • saxreturns, on 02/18/2008, -0/+1I'd say Sega shutting this down is highly unlikely, given the age of the games and the fact that these particular ones aren't even retail releases. Hell, games companies don't try to shut down the massive console emulator communities on the net, why should this be any different?
    • alz0rz, on 02/19/2008, -0/+2Sega is still around?
      • jon30041, on 02/19/2008, -0/+2I make parts for their game cabinets sometimes at my factory.

        Got a nearly complete Sega Racing arcade thing sitting in a warehouse, I guess partway through prototyping. The processor/hard drive/whatever is just sitting in a room only about 7 people go in, for whatever reason.
    • coresnake, on 02/20/2008, -0/+1Serves them right for ***** the Sonic franschise up the ass then pimping it out like it was Chelsea Clinton
  • GeneralFailure0, on 02/18/2008, -1/+9"A large community of Sonic fans have been searching for prototypes and lost levels in the games for many years now, and to document their accomplishments so far would be beyond the scope of this article."

    Poems and songs will be written about the achievements of these great men!
  • novelyk, on 02/18/2008, -9/+4i still have a sega cd console and some games
    • plizard, on 02/18/2008, -8/+1yeah? so do i, *****
    • Brasky, on 02/19/2008, -0/+2But do you have the Activator and the Menacer?
      • Amadeus2490, on 02/19/2008, -0/+1That's nice, dear. What else do you have?
  • mysteri0usdrx, on 02/18/2008, -24/+2I am the person behind this release. And I must say, I am disgusted by this blog post .
    (seriously drx, you arent fooling anybody. That account was created minutes ago.)
    • ParaSwarm, on 02/18/2008, -1/+10June 30th, 2006?
    • thedrx, on 02/18/2008, -0/+29What are you talking about? My account is 2 years old.
      • Aitese, on 02/18/2008, -5/+5So any plans on cluing us all in as to what is so inaccurate about this? There is the option to Digg down for inaccuracy you know...but we have to know why we're burying it first.
    • aladrin, on 02/18/2008, -0/+14thedrx
      A person who joined Digg on June 30th, 2006

      ... Um, yeah. Too bad it's -so- easy to check on that.
      • Aitese, on 02/18/2008, -3/+2He does seem to have submitted a story a year and 190 days ago...how does one fake that?
    • NotOptium, on 02/18/2008, -4/+2But this guy's name is mysteriousDRX and he's been here since June 20 2007. I'm so confused!
      • bolt7, on 02/18/2008, -0/+3'thedrx' is the releaser of these prototypes.
  • MonsterChaOS, on 02/18/2008, -1/+8Hopefully some new sonic levels turn up from all this!
  • appleseed1234, on 02/18/2008, -1/+59Sega does what Nintendon't
    • odseraphim, on 02/18/2008, -8/+22What, fail in the home console market? ;-)
      • Rodalli, on 02/18/2008, -0/+31Actually, they both did that. Nintendo just managed to bounce back. :D
        • solid12345, on 02/18/2008, -1/+6Agreed, nintendo just went back to the drawing board, sega decided games were more profitable. I'm sure if Sega had come up with the Wii concept they'd have bounced back too.
    • SaxxonPike, on 02/18/2008, -0/+12@odseraphim:
      Haha, you know... I love the sega, it's probably the only company I've been fanboyish for... and would normally bury your ass, but that cracked me up.
    • completerobot, on 02/18/2008, -1/+1Sega's not the one doing this, though.
    • NoMercy, on 02/19/2008, -0/+1I thought nintendo bought out sega..thats why the gamecube is pretty much the dreamcast
  • maximm, on 02/18/2008, -31/+0so what yay! we get to look at 20 year old games and crap. Tthis is not 'mindblowing' nor even interesting. Find a girlfriend or boyfriend and figure out how to do something actually mindblowing (personally I prefer to receive the latter part of the word).
    • ParaSwarm, on 02/18/2008, -1/+17Grow up kiddo. I have a wife, a military job, and I still find the time to love retro games. Just because they came out before you were born, and they don't look like Halo, doesn't mean they are bad games.
    • aladrin, on 02/18/2008, -0/+2So you've got the time, patience, money, connections and know-how to do something like this? I doubt it.

      Just because it doesn't interest you doesn't mean it's not interesting, and it doesn't mean it wasn't difficult.

      Of course, drx is apparently saying the blog post is 'inaccurate' and not why, so maybe he's just going to release a bunch of total crap and not what the blog claims. We'll know in a week, won't we?
    • NotOptium, on 02/18/2008, -1/+3I see what you did there.
    • moush, on 02/19/2008, -0/+1With a name like Maxim, i bet he gets blowed by guys.
  • scabbers, on 02/18/2008, -15/+1Hey if we piss this kid off enough, maybe he'll not release it at all. Epic lulz!!!11111111111
    • thedrx, on 02/18/2008, -4/+8It would take more than a bunch of 16 year olds to piss me off =)

      I'm UN-STOPPABLE.
    • scabbers, on 02/20/2008, -0/+1Must remember the sarcasm tag in this place.
  • bolt7, on 02/18/2008, -0/+9This is just like the release of the Sonic 2 Alpha, but times 100.
    And I also think people shouldn't doubt Drx.
  • heartcoldfusion, on 02/18/2008, -8/+22It would be mindblowing if we could convert sunlight into 100% efficient energy. This is just kind of cool.
  • Hazydew, on 02/18/2008, -10/+5My mind is most certainly still intact.
    • appleseed1234, on 02/18/2008, -0/+5I guess mine isn't, I accidently clicked the bury button.
  • SaxxonPike, on 02/18/2008, -0/+3I'm a self-proclaimed content extractor and this news... it joys me to no end. Time to rip them apart for their long-lost pre-release riches :D
  • Kenzan, on 02/18/2008, -0/+6Someone needs to make a retro console that plays everything since Pong.
    • Darrelc, on 02/18/2008, -0/+8The original Xbox does pretty well, everything from old arcade hardware to PS1 games.
    • Corrosionx, on 02/18/2008, -0/+2Yep, original Xbox FTW
    • cerealjynx, on 02/19/2008, -0/+2PSP with custom firmware if you wanna go portable.
  • ronaldmonster, on 02/18/2008, -0/+13Hopefully one of those documents is the script for Shenmue. Seriously ***** you SEGA for not even so much as making a comic to finish the story.
  • AzureRise, on 02/18/2008, -0/+6That's good and all, but I'm still waiting for someone to leak Resident Evil 1.5 .
    • solid12345, on 02/18/2008, -0/+3Am I the only one who thought RE 1.5 looked better than the end product of RE2?
  • drworthless, on 02/18/2008, -0/+5you had me at "other things"
  • BobbyMC, on 07/21/2008, -4/+3Something tells me that while this will be mildly interesting it won't compare to the golden age of hacking and what was found in N64 carts. Different Sonic levels are net, but stuff like the Zelda beta code and the resurrection of the Citadel in GE were simply RIDONKULOUS. I don't think anyone can come close to matching the magic of that era short of someone getting around to manufacturing a modern day USB enabled tool to replace the GameShark Pros of the past.
    • appleseed1234, on 02/18/2008, -0/+5Welcome, obligatory Nintendo fanboy, you're late.
    • aoru, on 02/19/2008, -0/+3The things people were doing with the THQ/AKI wrestling games were amazing. They pretty much kept all the data from previous generations of games, Japanese/American on the same cart. VPW 2 was amazing. Putting in thousands of lines of code into the gameshark pro via cable to create exploding barb wire death matches with every character/texture from wcw/nwo revenge/wm2k/no mercy/ vpw's was the *****.
      • kevro, on 02/19/2008, -0/+1I need more info on this....website please
        • aoru, on 02/19/2008, -0/+2It was so long ago. Maybe 8 years. I know at one time the people that were doing it were going to release a full game based on the altered codes. They supposedly had the ability to make N64 cartridges and were going to sell them. I think they scrapped the project, but there were a couple sites and forums that focused solely on modding vpw/no mercy with gamesharks. VPW 2 is still the best wrestling/3d mma game ever made. I remember some of the codes were like hold z+r to set ropes on fire, spawn weapons, go into crowd, hell in a cell mode, WCW rings/banners, flaming tables/weapons, all the american textures, and full english translation. Try googling virtual pro wrestling 2 gameshark or something like that. There was a ton of information. Im sure its still somewhere on the net.
    • LocalH, on 02/19/2008, -0/+1How will it not be big? There are HUNDREDS of prototypes here for Sega systems. It'd be like if someone hunted and hunted and found a guy who had 15 builds of Super Mario World, 8 builds of Zelda: LttP, 6 builds of Super Metroid, 10 builds of Zelda: OoT, and 9 builds of Mother 3.
  • sonicjosh, on 02/18/2008, -0/+3I use to be a member of those forums but they are really strict, well, I'll try to join again and get back into it. You even had to take a test, a HARD one; you had to know a lot about the genesis and sonic to pass, and you could only take it a few times; fail too much and you're not gettin in, after you were in you were on trial, thats where I never got out.
    DRX also released a sonic 2 prototype a while back; that was some big news then, can't wait for this.
    • solid12345, on 02/18/2008, -0/+1Don't worry they will be on the pirate bay before you know it.
      • thedrx, on 02/19/2008, -0/+2Well that's the plan. To make it available to anyone.
    • mancat, on 02/18/2008, -0/+1What's the point?
      • sonicjosh, on 02/19/2008, -0/+1My point is that all those people on those boards should know what there talking about; no spam, no noobs; they have very strict rules.
        And to the people below this... you can READ the forums without signing up. There are also many hacks there.
  • TheCoreh, on 02/18/2008, -1/+0Thanks, DRX!
  • JupiterSSJ4, on 02/18/2008, -0/+1The only thing I have like this is an unreleased prototype Penn and Teller 2-disc Sega CD game. Its only one of my 30 or so Sega CD games.
  • juicebag, on 02/19/2008, -5/+1Does this include the Sonic Adventure games? Those were the only ones I really liked.
    inb4 I get dugg down for not liking certain games
    • hilo4321, on 02/19/2008, -1/+4you get dugg down for "b4"
      • juicebag, on 02/19/2008, -3/+1you get dugg down for being a nub to the internet
        • mystikraven, on 02/19/2008, -0/+3"Inb4"? This is not *chan. Nub? b4? Grow up.
  • cyberdash, on 02/19/2008, -0/+4I would write an intelligent comment, but apparently my mind has just been blown.
  • camino262, on 02/19/2008, -4/+1Wasn't the sonic 1 code "ABACABB"?
    • Antinous, on 02/19/2008, -0/+5Negative. That is Mortal Kombat 1s blood code.
      • cruzer2727, on 02/19/2008, -0/+2Aw the days where I use to get excited when I saw blood in a game. The good old days.
        • Rhino2, on 02/19/2008, -0/+1Creepy. Woman are what does it for me.
  • biggestsonicfan, on 02/19/2008, -0/+3It's times like this I wish IUG or The Government were mods here at Digg...
  • Fallout911, on 02/19/2008, -0/+1welcometothenextlevel
  • abadonn, on 02/19/2008, -0/+1What is it about 16-bit color that just makes my thumbs ache?
    • GerbilSoft, on 02/19/2008, -0/+1More like 9-bit color.
      • Rhino2, on 02/19/2008, -0/+1There is no 9-bit! bits have to come in pairs! They use the buddy system. 2-bit, 4-bit, 8 -bit, 10-bit, 12-bit, etc.

        If you have 9-bits, it means one poor bit has lost his best friend :(
        • LocalH, on 02/19/2008, -0/+1No, he's right. Genesis colors are stored as 0000 BBB0 GGG0 RRR0. 3 bits per color component, 9 bits per pallet entry. 512 colors max.
  • AquaOSX, on 02/19/2008, -0/+1Aside from modding potential, can someone please explain why I should be excited about a pile of prototypes and or games that weren't good enough to make the cut 15 years ago?
    • kyouteki, on 02/19/2008, -0/+3It's of purely historical intereset. These Sonic 2 hackers are almost a sort of digital archaeologists.
    • idumych, on 02/19/2008, -0/+0This is true :) Plus, as far as I know, most of these protos are early builds of games that were actually quite popular, they are not all cut games!
  • antdude, on 02/19/2008, -0/+1Someone please release Marble Madness arcade. :)
    • AllenHSmilden, on 02/19/2008, -0/+1you mean marble madness 2 right? The first one is in name.
  • DrVonNugent, on 02/19/2008, -1/+1This guys is a great writer. I don't care about Sega, but suddenly I'm very interested.
    • idumych, on 02/19/2008, -0/+0I'm really happy to hear that! You are exactly the sort of person I was hoping to reach with this article, and I'm thrilled to hear your feedback.
  • xlgc, on 02/19/2008, -0/+1I think I still have some old eeproms of ecco the dolphin
    • Rhino2, on 02/19/2008, -0/+1ECCO the Dolphin, the Magician of the Sea! Killing Tigers with his laser eyes and shooting down stars with his sun beams!
      ECCO the Dolphin, what a very merry fish; living by the beaching and swimming in the sea!

      I loved that ***** game!
  • BlackOp, on 02/19/2008, -0/+1100's of games? What am I gonna do to keep up?
  • RIPtechtv, on 02/19/2008, -0/+1>_> I play Sonic and Sonic 2 once a week. I have played almost all the alpha and beta roms.
  • Kumah, on 02/19/2008, -0/+1lol, I go to school with the guy who wrote this article. He is bearded and tall.
  • jsin1276, on 02/21/2008, -0/+1I love our gaming history that I grew up with.
  • MrColdheart, on 02/25/2008, -0/+1if someone can find the Annet Again SEGA CD build that would be cool.
    lots of ppl baught the Sega CD for that game that never came out
  •  

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