Let’s talk about Not For Resale (NFR) Demo cartridges for the Super Nintendo. As you’d might expect, these cartridges allowed customers to play games in store before buying them. Even though many demos these days are available to download, demo cartridges and discs are still used in stores to this day, especially with handheld consoles such as the Nintendo 3DS or PS Vita.
These games generally include timed play-throughs of select levels. For example, the Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask demo allowed customers to explore eight different locations of the game, including the Clock Town, Woodfall Temple and Pirate Fortress.
Pictured above is my copy of Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble! It is my first and only DEMO cartridge, aside from my Zelda Test Cartridge. I purchased this one at a local used electronics store for $18. When I paid for it, the cashier said that it was a NFR version, because it was originally bundled with a SNES console, which was not the case. She didn’t see the “DEMO” label on the top.
This is a pretty common mistake. Around the same time that Donkey Kong Country trilogy was released, the Sega Genesis sold most of their consoles bundled with NFR copies of Sonic the Hedgehog. The only SNES bundles included games like: Super Mario World, Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past, the original Donkey Kong Country, Mario Kart, Mario Paint and Super Mario All-Stars. None of these bundled games have a NFR label, although some of them were released in demo cartridges.
Unfortunately, there isn’t a lot of available detailed history on these cartridges. Currently, the only known Super Nintendo demo cartridges known to exist, include:
- Contra III : The Alien Wars
- Donkey Kong Country
- Donkey Kong Country 2
- Donkey Kong Country 3
- Ken Griffey Jr’s Winning Run
- Killer Instinct
- Mortal Kombat II
- NCAA Basketball
- Star Fox
- Street Fighter II
- Street Fighter II Turbo
- Stunt Race FX
- Super Mario Kart
- Super Mario World
- Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island
- Super Metroid
- Super Off-Road
- Super Punch-Out
- Super Street Fighter II
- Tetris Attack
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles In Time
No data exists on how many demo cartridges were produced or which cartridges were used in which stores. But it’s safe to assume that most of them were thrown away. The most valued of these include: Mortal Kombat II, which is valued at around $250. Since demand for these cartridges is inconsistent, prices fluctuate greatly. The Donkey Kong Country 3 demo cartridge has sold for as much as $150 and as low as $30.
Still, there are a lot of collectors out there who specifically seek out demo cartridges. Value generally depends on the console and the cultural impact of the game. NES demo cartridges are the most sought after. Nintendo 64 demo cartridges can also fetch top dollar. Demos for Majora’s Mask and GoldenEye have sold for over $400 but are much more difficult to find. Nintendo DS demos are the most common, but their is still a market for them– especially for cartridges used to distribute exclusive, downloadable content like legendary Pokemon.
UPDATE: This article has been edited to reflect inconsistencies asserted by Nintendo Age user: jonebone and others.
As more collectors become interested in demo cartridges, I expect more information (and rumors) to come out. If you have any interesting information to share about demo cartridges that you’ve found, please feel free to discuss them in the comment section below.