How to tell an AUTHENTIC 5-screw Mike Tyson’s Punch Out!!!

In 1987, Mike Tysons Punch Out by Nintendo was switching over 5-screw cartridges with 3-screw cartridges. This was done to lower production costs. Also, they added a ‘security bit’, instead of using the flat-head screws to open the cartridge, they used a hexagonal security bit. Since Mike Tyson’s Punch out was realeased during this time and was a popular game, some ‘5-screw’ got out on the market sinced Nintendo pumped out as many cartridges as they could.

Authentic Mike Tyson Punch out cartridges include:

Orange Bullet Points: the reason for this is not 100%, but it was known “Nintendo likely provided factories months before the switch to 3-screw with the new 3-screw shells, and the factories began exhausting the remaining 5-screw shells. With MTPO, a game that Nintendo put their bets and promotions on being a popular hit, they made the first prints of the games (white bullets) with 3-screw shells even though the switch hadn’t officially happened. Once the switch did happen, a factory, later on in the game’s lifespan, likely exhausted the leftover 5-screw shells they had with the updated label to not waste the materials, providing some rationale for the confusion behind why a 5-screw variant comes AFTER a 3-screw printing.” – WATA Games

REV A on the BACK LABEL: this is because they didn’t quite have the 3-screw counterpart ready yet, therefore, it was a REVISION-A cartridge on the back label

Date CODE on the PCB itself: Date codes for the 1st Release of Mike Tyson’s Punch Out range from the VERY 1st 8738KX , this means 1987 38th Week (Sept 14, 1987). This was early enough to denote a 5-screw Mike Tyson since Nintendo was exhausting their 5-screw cartridges before their realease of 3-screw. Please note, 5-screw Tysons are ALSO in OCT-NOV-DEC of 1987. Check the date code on your PCB. It should also be a NES-PT-0 as this was the 1st version of Mike Tyson’s Punch Out!!!

https://youtu.be/4eHB3PpYumI

Production Code: on the Shell Plastic there should be a “F-” and “B-” only on NES cartridges!