Variant Guide: Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!

Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! Variant Guide

Written by Dan Gomez

Preface

Historically, one of the greatest obstacles in growing the hobby has been the lack of information in a centralized location that is accessible to all. While the information out there was helpful to those who could find it, the information wasn’t typically published in a digestible manner, making it difficult for newcomers to remember. Add the fact that video game variants are inherently complex (we’re calling out the minutiae in packaging after-all) and you can see perhaps why our hobby’s growth has been stunted for so long. WATA has made considerable efforts to publish information in a visually clear and concise manner so that it can be easily understood by collectors of all levels. We’ve also spearheaded some of the biggest variant discoveries in recent history such as new variants for Killer Instinct Gold, Mario Party 3, Super Smash Bros., Gauntlet Legends, and GTA Vice City among many others.

For Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out, we’ve simply taken previously known variants and narrowed them down to their simplest form. We’ve also included a single image quick reference guide so that you may easily reference it at any time. Enjoy!

“No REV-A” Variants

The first two printings are “No REV-A” boxes, meaning the text did not yet appear on these early boxes. The very first printing of Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out is most easily recognizable via the white bullet points used on the artwork. The color of the bullets were changed to orange in all subsequent prints following the first production white bullets print.

“REV-A – Round SOQ” Variants

Considered mid-production variants, these variants are REV-A boxes, but still featured the Round SOQ (Seal of Quality). They were produced in both “No Code” and “USA Code” varieties. Earlier prints of NES games originally did not contain box flap codes. In this case, there was a print made without, and later, one with box flap codes. (No Code vs USA Code). Note that since the flap codes can only be determined by opening the box, the “No Code” and “USA Code” variants only pertain to CIB (Complete-In-Box) copies. For sealed copies, it’s simply generalized as “Rev-A — Round SOQ.”

“REV-A — Oval SOQ” Variants

In 1989, Nintendo changed their SOQ from round to oval, which meant prints manufactured during this time saw this change reflected on their boxes. There are variants within the Oval SOQ’s here, 1987 and 1989, with the 1989 print obviously being last. The 1987 REV A Oval SOQ was likely produced in 1989, but the copyright date wasn’t updated until later.

3 Variant Buckets

The six variants of Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out can best be put into three buckets (or categories) to help one better understand them.

Quick Reference Guide

Here’s something we’ve whipped up that anyone can quickly reference in a pinch!

Sealed Population

We’ve put together this graphic showing the sealed population (Across all grades) for each printing. It’s incredible how low the population is. And yes, you’re seeing that correctly, zero sealed first production “White Bullets” Mike Tyson’s graded. Full a full breakdown and grades by variant visit our population page here!