Back in 2012 I wrote an article here entitled: "Ticking Time Bomb". It was an analytical piece which focussed on the instability of the perceived value of Xacrow's NEOGEO protos. Now, to be fair, the main intention of the article was to cause him stress in the hopes of bringing him to the negotiation table. And in that sense it was a worthy effort. But 10 years later, just how accurate was the article? Well, lets take a look now and set the record straight.

With the recent February 2022 yahoo japan auction of the unreleased neogeo game Block Paradise, concerns were raised about the true status and value of the game, or more specifically, the true value of the games rom data itself. And there is no doubt that the perceived value of the game was directly affected by the fact that the rom data contained inside had already been safeguarded back in January of 2005. The fact is, Block Paradise was 1 of the 8 unreleased neogeo games for which Xacrow had provided emulated screen shots. And at the time of the auction, it was unclear and unknown if it was the same original cartridge that Xacrow retrieved the rom data from, or if it was another completely unrelated cartridge. But either way, the existence of the emulated screen shots was well known and absolutely hurt the value of the game, as it caused restraint with potential buyers.

However, all is not as it seems, which is the main purpose of this article
After the auction ended more information came to light. As such, we now know the provenance of this cartridge. And so with the proper timeline now established, it is now possible to know the facts. Xacrow's cartridge (assuming one ever existed as it is also possible that he didn't have any physical cartridges and his rom data came from backup disks or a computer hard drive) was dumped sometime in the past. We don't know exactly when of course, but we do know that it had to have been done prior to January 2005. 2021kDuck's cartridge has been in his possesion since 2000. He has never opened it. He has never leant it out to anyone. It never left his hands until February 2022. And most importantly, detailed analysis of the physical cartridge itself supported these statements and revealed that the rom data had not been extrapolated from it. Therefore, 2021kDuck's cartridge was NOT the source of Xacrow's rom data that he posted back in January of 2005.

So, why does this matter?
When I was debating with wether or not to go above my initial limit of how much I was willing to pay for this cartridge, I had a realization. And the provenance of Duck's cartridge was the key that swayed me to raise my limit beyond my comfort zone. Knowledge is power. And just the knowledge that 2021kDuck himself had never messed with the cartridge and that it would come directly to me, meant that I would in fact have the much needed control over it's contents. I no longer had any fears or worries that the seller himself could or would release the rom data after the sale. And this solidified the deal for me.

But, what about Xacrow?
Ah yes, so what about Xacrow? Of course, eliminating the danger of the seller releasing the rom only established HALF of the control needed to lower the financial risk involved here. Afterall, Xacrow also has this games rom data and he is still out there! What if he was somehow involved and what if he releases the rom data? Well, of course I considered this possibility, but with calm anlysis it becomes quite clear that Xacrow is not a factor whatsoever. In fact, he never really has been for that matter. All of the evidence that we have on Xacrow and his roms points to exactly the opposite. Because while it is true that many of his roms have found their way into the community, NONE of them have been with his involvement. Rather, they have all been obtained through completely different and unrelated sources.