A prototype version of a game that was at one point in the works for Nintendo DS handhelds has now appeared online. By all accounts, the Nintendo DS is one of the most successful video game platforms of all-time. Across its lifespan, the Nintendo DS, Nintendo DS Lite, and Nintendo DSi racked up more than 150 million sales combined. The handheld’s popularity was primarily bolstered by a fantastic lineup of games that included Mario Kart DS, New Super Mario Bros., Pokemon Diamond and Pearl, and Nintendogs, just to name a few. Now, some 20 years after the Nintendo DS first arrived, a new game that never saw the light has shown up in an unexpected way.
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Spotted by those on Reddit, a recent listing for the video game LEGO Battles: Castle has appeared on eBay. Coming from seller selling4fun2319, this version of LEGO Battles: Castle is on a prototype DS cartridge that featured an in-progress build of the game. LEGO Battles: Castle was never formally released in this manner, which means that this DS cart is incredibly rare. So much so, in fact, that one buyer opted to already purchase the prototype for a staggering value of $950.
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While LEGO Battles: Castle never ended up launching on DS under this name, work on the game seemingly wasn’t scrapped entirely. Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and developer Hellbent Games went on to eventually release the more simply titled LEGO Battles for Nintendo DS in 2009. This version of the game centered around a variety of different backdrops that included pirates, outer space, and a medieval setting.
In all likelihood, the work that was done on LEGO Battles: Castle ended up getting folded into what would later become LEGO Battles. Rather than revolving entirely around a medieval setting, though, Hellbent Games seems to have chosen to incorporate other themes to diversify LEGO Battles just a bit.
While LEGO Battles can likely still be found with relative ease, there’s a good chance that this prototype of LEGO Battles: Castle is one of only a handful that were ever released. As such, it makes sense why someone was so quick to snatch it up, even if it was for an outlandish price.
