Two unreleased NES games have mysteriously surfaced on eBay

A few new eBay listings recently advertised "one-of-a-kind, never-digitized" unreleased NES games. The first one is Battlefields of Napoleon, which includes its original packaging design. The second one, however, unveiled a mystery and conversation on its content. A plain-looking cartridge labeled "CES SAMPLE" appears to be a lost demo for the Power Glove.

Frank Cifaldi from the Video Game History Foundation initially spotted these listings. Cifaldi estimates that if both cartridges were on sale, they would easily reach into the "thousands." However, Eurogamer revealed that Battlefields of Napoleon sits with a current bid of $5100.

🚨Attention video game preservation fans with money to spare🚨

There are currently TWO unreleased, one-of-a-kind, never-digitized games for the original NES on eBay right now. This has literally never happened before. Our resources are stretched thin, and we could use help. pic.twitter.com/54ym603mHM

— Frank Cifaldi (Sleepy).exe (@frankcifaldi) October 11, 2022

Cifaldi also mentioned that he's now looking for funding to purchase these NES cartridges for the Video Game History Foundation (a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving, celebrating, and teaching the history of video games.) Sadly, Cifaldi added that the organization is going through a rough patch and aren’t currently in a position to do this.

"It's been kind of a rough year. We're healthy and happy but not at a 'continue throwing thousands at prototypes when they show up' level," he explained on Twitter.

Kotaku recently revealed that they have some hints as to what it was about, though. Rare’s James Thomas put out a call earlier today for information on the demo. Former programmer Paul Byford told him that he recalls it “was a puzzle game where the cursor was a disembodied hand, and you made different gestures to complete tasks. Punching rocks or turning keys etc.”

This brief description undoubtedly makes the preservation of the game pretty much a priority. Hopefully, the Video Game History Foundation will secure the funds needed to get hold of the cartridge.

What are your thoughts on this? Let us know in the comment section!