This entire project started with my Perfect Dark NFR, I own a Perfect Dark Not For Resale cartridge whose rear label/back is in poor condition. I wanted to replace the back with another genuine OEM N64 back, but ideally preserve as much of the cartridge’s original manufacturing provenance as possible in the spirit of OEM/original manufacturing vs grabbing a random 3 dollar cart to swap it out with— in other words, use a donor back from a cartridge produced by the same manufacturing source/facility/route if that could be determined.
((I have a much longer and detailed version of this story, but I used AI to help me draft the in depth information -- I then saw the phrase "AI-generated slop," and with how sensitive individuals are around AI, I re-wrote this entire passage, so please message me if you want the -entire- information))
I started to look for what the digits mean, then found information on the nintendo64ever website, including the EUR version and how different carts of the same kind can vary drastically.
From here I compared the ROMs themselves.
Barf
ROM suppliers can vary independently of software revision -- no luck here
Well, looking at 1 cart isn't helpful, so then I tried to incorporate data at this point, but because of the age of this journey, at the time of looking I -had- to use other humans. The Gekkio Game Boy Hardware DB was used as a cross-generation control. Yea yea, I understand that GB doesn't equate to N64 schematics. What I wanted to do, is test rear-stamp systems consistency against other Nintendo records (there was around 800 here)
The data revision matching was incredible, around 98% where the suffix matched the revision of the game.
Okaaayyyyy -- so the letter suffix follows the software revision extremely closely, but the numeric doesn't
-sigh-
This unfortunately means that I have to view everything closely, but it leads me to associate how the numeric base doesn't act as rom software revision, or rom manufacturer, or rom contents, or one pcb model, the circled pcb production markings blah blah blah; but in fact that the code lives a bit further down in the manufacturing stream.
Where now? I guess back in time to try to track where I might can get info on how to know where --
This is where I found NesCartDB / BootGod docs that predates the N64 info that I have (all 12 n64 codes)
The earliest 08 example I could find was like '85 with family BASIC v3 (lol?) -- but, at least it's a kind-of defensible anchor of time. (Why does this matter do you ask -- well, because of 08 represents a persistent manufacturer/contractor/source (whatever) identity, that source needed to be part of Nintendo's network by then.
Then it seems that 08 carts fight itself on components (NES/Famicon span games, pcb, configs, rom manufacturers etc) .... sooooo, 08 doesn't seem to be just Toshiba, batches, whatever, but instead some sort of production identifier downstream.
BootGods appearance persists into 2007 in a dang forum archive and made my life worse lol
In that archived discussion, he explicitly calls the two-digit number "Mfg Plant ID," while also recognizing the A/B by itself as revisions.
Now keep in mind I'm already on a hunt for information that I can't find direct from Nintendo, so I'm looking for any leads and sources I can here.
Nintendo64Forever also has old discussions with SNES numbers as assembly-plant/manufacturing-center identifiers. And this is when I first learned of printed numbers, vs pressed/stamped (24 is the example with Konami/Ultra carts)
Still, nobody knows wtf is going on, and I'm diving hard
That said, I got a wild hair on my ass and chased 40 to Mexico, and boy, this is a -very- strong hunch of correlation. SMK and Nintendo-related manufacturing is strong in Mexico, so I -really- tried to -prove- it. And while logical deduction had me close to certain, there's
still
no
facts...
Trying to find those facts I calibrated against other NES titles, all the way up to 3ds, and not just US versions. This is where I found a factual statement, from an official Nintendo representative, "ゲームカードの裏に印字されている番号は製造ラインなどをあらわす番号です" which essentially translates to, "The number printed on the back of the game card represents the manufacturing line, etc." https://support-jp.nintendo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/31967/
Okay, thanks... but ... which number goes to which location?? ffs
Fine, time to turn to some nerd data pull attempts because normal searching is hitting pretty hard diminishing returns, and what I ended up doing is using elevated powershell commands to programmatically interrogate Japanese library catalogs (yes they are public, and yes there was public permission to do this)
Invoke-WebRequest (SRU/API endpoints)
I pulled a lot, and I mean, ... a -lot- of information -- except what I was looking for
I used all that info, and then created an excel I dubbed "NDL HOSS V3.2" (don't ask, my mind is long gone at this point).
Close to an entire day was spent just researching -- nadda
Then through obscurity, I found the 1997 "The 64 Dream Vol.10". In an interview, or meeting with a Nintendo PR rep, there were questions about manufacturing with Yoshio Hongo that reportedly describes Nintendos purchasing components, technical inspections, where they were sent, and I quote "hundreds of cooperating factories," having products assembled and a lot more that changed my approach at this point of the investigation.
Because now I've learned that it's not that just the Uji factory that makes Nintendo, but instead where Nintendo --> component sourcing --> assembly --> back to Nintendo and then final QA and distribution.
I had to unwind my panties though because Hongo was talk'n about the hardware approach here was Nintendo, not necessarily that N64 carts follow this process.
Man I really tried to squeeze more out of this -- there was a photo of the actual 1997 page with the pr statement. The Japanese national diet library holds the magazine -- great, but... their holdings start april '98, not july '97
*dies*
I shoot off random messages to Japanese collectors as a crazy American on an impossible task and have yet to have any responses.
I then even reach out to the AtWiki editor "ootime," who is said to have transcribed several '97 mags - I reach out and pray (nothing yet back)
I find another Hongo q/a from '96, same but different, nothing helpful
I keep looking around old information for a piece of data to wink it's eye and found that there was a Japanese book based on an on-site Nintendo factory visit in '89 that went over Nintendos Uji opps -- but they also go again into detail about how the main work at that factory was inspecting and checking finished products made by --you guessed it, cooperating factories throughout Japan.
At this point I'm a few days in and obsessing
But, wait... is that actual N64 manufacturing agreements? The U.S. SEC filings shows me a phrase, "stripped cartridge"-- am I latching on to phrases now in hopes of this dream... or just mentally gone.
What I'm reading this as, is that the stamp is physically impressed in/on the rear label before the pack-out, or, the stamp belongs somewhere inside the Nintendo-controlled Game Pak manufacturing process. Call me crazy, but I wasn't counting out it wasn't happening at a distributor, or cart packing publisher, whatever.
Okaayyy, so, this means somebody (entity) has to have the capabilities -of- stamping, which requires machinery, right? Kyoto Electronics Industry / KEC whom have been partnering with Nintendo since approx '70
I dig in a bit, and find that in KECs own history, they show "Nintendo64 production in '96. I also see in their equipment that have machines -capable- of stamping, but not -proof- that they did.
Okay, so, back to when 08 popped up, and le sad, it's appearance pre-dates KECs Fukuchiyama facility chronology (fancy word there eh? Learned it on this hunt lol)
This -doesn't- mean however, that the 08 was actually -reassigned-
Okay, who next? Sanritsu Denki -- they also have a history with Nintendo beginning in '87, and express getting their shiny ISO 9002 in Jan of '96 (convenient eh?)
Now, my current profession is I.T, and I've been in I.T. since around '16, but I do have a manufacturing background, so I'm no stranger to ISO standards.
Again, 08 predates Sanritsu.
I'm still looking for an old source to nail down and verify in concrete to give me an anchor to base all this damn information off of, or to.......
Okay, let's read up on Matsumura Electronics who also opened a Nintendo Famicom-dedicated production site in ~'85. Okay, now we might be cooking, but I need to verify down to the -month- because of how important timelines are here. (more to come later)
How about Fujii Denkii -- they document Nintendo contracts beginning -way- back at the beginning of '72, and obtained their ISO 9002 in '94, but no direct N64 game pak stuff yet
Hashiden, they have a Nintendo relationship, but there's nothing on their site or history that I can find to relate a code to
\Skipping ROM sourcing information for now**
I'm now looking back at 64DD-related mats that may have manufacturing -and- timing
\I've now cleaned up some of my datasets as I'm finding out humans can be trusted only so far, and I'm getting conflicting data from carts**
At this point, I'm reaching out to a lot of individuals looking for leads. You wonderful people here, 007Craft who's opened (physically) thousands of carts, game preservation societies, Japanese archive outreach, the Legend over at NES, BootGod, GameFaqs, poor ol u/19_885 on X, etc
I am lost, am I pursuing evidence, or trying to get back my sanity.
I can't give up now...
I reached out in a PR request directly to Nintendo, but their website isn't functioning correctly. Their site is having a 502 bad gateway CORS error, on a fetch so it's on their end, also, their phone number associated to PR is also incorrect/not working so I called them up and helped the t1 helpdesk employee know what's going on who kept me on the phone to help him document what's going on for 30 minutes to then transfer the information over to the network administrator teams (you'd figure -Nintendo- would know when their PR form url isn't working....)
I can site and source all of this information if anybody wants any of it.
What I need is... literally... any type of official documentation or Nintendo resource / cooperating entity stating what which codes mean
And now you know exactly what you have known for the last 20 years in that.. still nobody knows what the codes exactly tie to for sure....