PCStop user shared some rather interesting information regarding an unusual version of the role-playing game Pokémon Red for the Game Boy portable console. More precisely, it's about a prototype box before the art for the English-language release was finally approved.
That's why it features Charizard from the Japanese version. It appeared in a small number of promotional materials before the official release in 1998–1999, for example, in the 1998 Sears catalog.
If this prototype is indeed genuine — and similar items have previously received appraisal certificates only to be later found fake — then it could be one of the rarest collectibles in the world of Pokémon video games.
The appraisal was conducted by WATA, which claims the item is genuine, but, again, this company has a rather questionable past. The back of this Pokémon Red prototype is actually not from Pokémon Red, but from the Game Boy game Mickey's Dangerous Chase.
It was used as a sample for a personal demonstration at The Pokémon Company, so to speed things up (or because the design of the back of the box had not yet been approved at the time of testing), the printing line used a box from an older game.
The collectible belongs to Mike DeRuggiero, who bought it on eBay in 2019 and is now, according to PCStop and Joe Munns, ready to consider offers around $500,000.
There is no information about previous sales of this item, so it all comes down to who wants it more and can meet Mike's demands. With the growing popularity of grading, this exhibit will undoubtedly become an intriguing lot for wealthy collectors.