DALLAS, TX.- The tech industry, a bastion of innovation, is understandably obsessed with firsts. Endless appetite for competition and novelty has brought the world our first smartphones, our first arcade games and home video games, our first processors, electric cars, and self-teaching AI tools. In its Video Games category, Heritage often finds itself handling true firsts, including some examples from the list above. And now its May 24-25 Video Games SignatureŽ Auction is marked by highlights that were the harbingers for the tech-savvy world we inhabit today, starting with the world’s first true microcomputer: The Q1 Desktop Micro Computer with an internal printer, from 1972, along with its slightly later sibling the Q1 Lite, were the world's first fully integrated desktop computers. Two of the three last-known surviving Q1 microcomputers surfaced last year as a U.K. cleaning crew discovered them in some boxes while on the job, along with a Q1 desktop companion printer for the Q1 Lite. All three will make their auction debut at Heritage this month, but soon after they were discovered, these examples were also curated into an exhibition of early computers and gaming machines at Kingston University in London titled Creating the Everything Device: Showcasing the Machines That Built the Future.

At the time, Paul Neve, a senior lecturer at the university told New Atlas, “It is a real bonus being able to feature two Q1s — the world’s earliest microcomputers — at Kingston University. The early pioneers in the 1970s and 1980s laid the foundation for today’s everything device — the modern computer now so ubiquitous in everyday life. We rely on computers for our work, communication, productivity and entertainment, but without the early trailblazers none of these would exist. There would be no PCs, no Macs and no Apple or Android phones without Q1 Corporation... .”

In fact, the Q1 hit the market four years before Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs introduced the Apple 1. Built in 1972 by the Q1 Corporation in New York, the Q1 computer offered by Heritage was arguably the first complete and standalone microcomputer model, followed in 1976 by the Q1 Lite and its printer. The Q1 interfaced with other Q1s in its network as well as printers and hard drives and was capable of word processing and guided data entry. Its plasma display was an eye-catching orange on black, its all-in-one typewriter design was elegant, and the examples at Heritage were evidently used by the drilling industry.

In the 1970s, these Q1 computers sold for the then-equivalent of upwards of $90K each; they were too pricey to be marketed for individual use. Computers before the Q1 were fitted with multi-chip microprocessors, while the Q1 was the first powered by a single chip, the Intel 8008. “The first Q1 was sold in December of 1972, only eight months after the 8008 was released by Intel,” writes The Byte Attic. “The Q1 was, therefore, the first true microcomputer — that is, the first fully integrated desktop computer featuring a single-chip microprocessor for CPU.”

All three Q1 lots in Heritage’s May 24-25 event — the earliest Q1 desktop with the integrated printer, the Q1 Lite, and the Lite’s companion printer — are in remarkable condition considering they are half a century old.

“There are very few surviving examples of these historic items, making this a landmark occasion at Heritage Auctions,” says Valarie Spiegel, Heritage’s Director of Video Games. “The shift to a microprocessor-based architecture allowed the Q1 to punch well above its weight and support capabilities usually reserved for larger systems. This early machine's capabilities were impressive and set a precedent in the computing industry; it hinted at the future of personal computing and marked a pivotal moment in technological history, demonstrating the vast potential of microcomputers to transform both professional and personal computing landscapes.”

These remarkable Q1 models top an auction rife with firsts for Heritage, which is a category leader in Video Games and has recently landed some doozies that were firsts in game franchises that are still going strong: Making its public auction debut is this first-production, sealed, graded hangtab Castlevania, from 1987. This Wata-graded example comes in at 9.2A+ and is the highest-graded copy in a March 2024 report out of the three hangtab examples the company has certified.

“When Castlevania debuted on the NES in 1987, following its 1986 release in Japan on the Famicom Disk System, it set a new standard for video games,” says Spiegel. “It introduced Simon Belmont's epic saga against the forces of darkness and laid the groundwork for a franchise appreciated for its intricate lore and innovative gameplay. Since then Castlevania has been preserved through re-releases on multiple platforms and inclusion in various compilations, as well as a plethora of sequels and homage games. It is a cultural phenomenon that bridges generations of gamers.”

It turns out 1987 was a watershed for gaming innovations; that was also the first year for Legend of Zelda and Mike Tyson’s Punchout. Another 1987 first Heritage presents on May 24 is the the first time in five years that a copy of a sealed, first-production copy of Mega Man has been offered to the public. The Wata 9.4 A+ graded example is distinguished not just by its beautiful condition but by its rare variant (the original box typo lists the game character Dr. Wily as “Dr. Wright”) and shares its highest grade with the esteemed copy from the famed Carolina Collection of video games. 1987’s Mega Man is a pillar in the pantheon of video games — a title that introduced innovative gameplay for the platforming genre, spawned numerous sequels and set a standard for action-platformers with its unique non-linear level selection that has influenced countless titles ever since.

Yet another auction first is Heritage’s offer of all four iterations of the first generation of Nintendo’s Pocket Monsters Game Boy series from 1996. Released 31 months before its USA counterpart, Pokémon Red Version, the Japanese title, Pocket Monsters Aka, along with Pocket Monsters Midori, marked the genesis of the Pokémon phenomenon and made it an integral part of gaming lore. The box art for Aka marked the first appearance of the beloved Charizard, and predated the creation of the trading card game by six months.

Pocket Monsters Midori (“Pokémon Green” in English), also on offer, was released alongside Aka in 1996exclusively in Japan. ‘Midori’ predated the release of Pocket Monsters Ao (Pokémon Blue) in Japan by six months, and Pokémon Blue in the USA by 31 months. Japan’s Pocket Monsters Pikachu (Yellow Version, from 1998) and Pocket Monsters Ao (Blue Version, 1996) will also go under the hammer in this event. The former is the first-ever Pokémon title to allow one of its indelible creatures, in this case Pikachu himself, to step out of the Poké Ball and follow his trainer on his heroic journey. The latter was a cornerstone of gaming history and was first exclusively offered in an issue of CoroCoro Comic on October 15, 1996 by mail order only.

“This marks the first-ever offering of this incredibly significant series of Pokémon game history at Heritage, adding to the prestige of this landmark signature auction,” says Spiegel. “It’s a rare chance for knowing collectors to power-up their Pokémon collection, along with many other significant and rare titles that make up the cornerstones of both video games and our longstanding relationship with the technology that allows us to enjoy them.”