$500,000 Pokémon Red 1998 Prototype Packaging Mock-Up

A rare 1998 mock-up packaging of the English-language release of Pokémon Red for the Game Boy is now up for sale, with the owner asking at least $500,000. The listing claims the box is a never-regularly-produced prototype variant that never saw a proper public release—making it a standout piece for Nintendo and retro collecting circles.

A prototype packaging variant that never had a proper release

The mock-up is presented as an English Pokémon Red packaging design that, while intended for the North American release timeline, used artwork from the original Japanese release instead of the later US packaging look.

The design is described as using the Japanese Pokémon Red artwork rather than the final North American design.
Support for the claim includes a crop from a Sears catalog dated 1998, said to show preorder packaging for English Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue that were allegedly tied to prototypes not yet cleared for release.

What suggests it isn’t a finished retail package

Collectors analyzing photos of the mock-up point to details on the back of the box as evidence that it may not be a completed commercial packaging print.

The back of the packaging is said not to show the final Pokémon Red back design.
Instead, it reportedly uses the back layout from Disney’s “Mickey’s Dangerous Chase,” suggesting the mock-up may have been assembled using existing packaging materials or an unrelated back design.

An account known for Pokémon TCG-related coverage speculated that Nintendo and the parties handling the English release may have switched the artwork shortly before the English version went on sale—helping explain why the prototype could still reflect earlier Japanese artwork.