How 97 Copies of an Unreleased Version of Super Mario Bros. Duck Hunt Were Discovered in a Wisconsin Warehouse
A historic discovery has been made in Waukesha, Wisconsin, where 97 copies of an unreleased version of Super Mario Bros. Duck Hunt were uncovered in a vintage collectibles shop. Jason Ganos made the find while helping to catalog and sell a collection of old NES cartridges from OneStopWonders, a vintage store owned by collector Kevin Braun located in downtown Waukesha, a suburb of Milwaukee.
What began as a routine assessment of pre-owned game cartridges turned into a significant moment for video game preservation and Nintendo history. The discovery of nearly 100 unreleased copies represents a rare window into the company’s early development and publishing decisions. Such findings are increasingly valuable to collectors and gaming historians as they illuminate abandoned projects and design choices from the industry’s formative era.
The discovery underscores the ongoing importance of preserving physical media and vintage game collections. Rare and unreleased cartridges have become highly sought after as they provide tangible connections to gaming’s past and shed light on how pivotal franchises evolved. Waukesha’s retro-focused downtown district, known for its vintage shops and classic establishments, proved to be an unexpected repository for a piece of Nintendo’s unreleased legacy.