A prototype of a RAM extension for the Pippin

Seen on eBay, a prototype of an 8 MB memory card for the Bandai Pippin.

How can we be certain that it’s a prototype? First, there is no marking. Then, the two side arrows: they are not present on commercial cards. The only extension I own that has these two arrows is a 16 MB extension.

The extension

You can clearly see the side arrows

How can we be sure it is indeed 8 MB? By verifying with the capture. In the listing, there is a photo of Pease Turbo showing ~10,800 KB free. I launched the same disk with an 8 MB extension and I have practically the same amount of free RAM.

In the listing

A quick test

Well, on the other hand, €240 is really too much. You can find a console with an 8 MB (classic) extension for this price in Japan.