WEBVTT 00:00:00.530 --> 00:00:02.220 "...move on to Japan, because what happens 00:00:02.220 --> 00:00:05.460 if you put the world's best-selling handheld game machine 00:00:05.460 --> 00:00:08.253 in the world's biggest burger chain?" 00:00:12.670 --> 00:00:15.410 "...DSis donning the McDonald's 'M' 00:00:15.410 --> 00:00:17.570 came with unique DS cartridges 00:00:17.570 --> 00:00:19.720 containing training software." 00:00:19.720 --> 00:00:22.110 "...and Mike, how exactly are they teaching 00:00:22.110 --> 00:00:24.850 the McD's members with the... 00:00:24.850 --> 00:00:27.410 what is it, the 'NSDS' or something like that?" 00:00:27.410 --> 00:00:28.750 "The... the DS." 00:00:28.750 --> 00:00:30.520 "Perhaps someone out there watching this video 00:00:30.520 --> 00:00:32.090 knows more than we do. 00:00:32.090 --> 00:00:33.183 But for now... 00:00:33.394 --> 00:00:35.679 the McDonald's training game is... 00:00:35.679 --> 00:00:38.463 ...a mystery." 00:00:49.010 --> 00:00:49.940 In the year 2010, 00:00:49.940 --> 00:00:52.640 McDonald's Japan announced something shocking. 00:00:52.640 --> 00:00:54.540 In March of that year, the company revealed 00:00:54.540 --> 00:00:57.980 a brand new program to train part-time McDonald's employees: 00:00:57.980 --> 00:01:01.010 a partnership to create an exclusive piece of software 00:01:01.010 --> 00:01:03.000 for the Nintendo DS. 00:01:03.000 --> 00:01:05.240 This unassuming little cartridge would then go on 00:01:05.240 --> 00:01:08.830 to become one of the rarest Nintendo DS games of all time. 00:01:08.830 --> 00:01:11.560 Today, I'll be telling you the story of this legendary game - 00:01:11.560 --> 00:01:13.910 and how, in June of 2020, 00:01:13.910 --> 00:01:16.040 one of the last known copies disappeared 00:01:16.040 --> 00:01:19.110 into the hands of an anonymous collector forever. 00:01:23.160 --> 00:01:26.200 Now this program was a big deal for McDonald's Japan: 00:01:26.200 --> 00:01:27.960 the company claimed this cartridge would allow them 00:01:27.960 --> 00:01:30.080 to train new employees in half the time 00:01:30.080 --> 00:01:31.240 it would usually take. 00:01:31.240 --> 00:01:32.950 It was a huge investment for the company, too: 00:01:32.950 --> 00:01:33.783 this whole endeavor 00:01:33.783 --> 00:01:35.740 of manufacturing and distributing these carts 00:01:35.740 --> 00:01:38.460 was costing them roughly 200 million yen - 00:01:38.460 --> 00:01:38.960 or 2 million dollars - 00:01:38.960 --> 00:01:43.140 and that's not even counting the cost of developing the software itself. 00:01:43.140 --> 00:01:45.710 And while the title of the game isn't particularly exciting - 00:01:45.710 --> 00:01:48.870 the official name is "eCrew Development Program" - 00:01:48.870 --> 00:01:51.870 the contents of this cartridge are fascinating. 00:01:51.870 --> 00:01:54.850 From what little we know, the game was surprisingly robust, 00:01:54.850 --> 00:01:58.090 with just a ton of personality, lots of custom sprite work, 00:01:58.090 --> 00:01:59.940 and even some rudimentary 3D 00:01:59.940 --> 00:02:03.247 for the little boxes the hamburgers come in. 00:02:06.170 --> 00:02:08.040 "This game shows trainees how to assemble 00:02:08.040 --> 00:02:09.630 a quarter pounder with cheese. 00:02:09.630 --> 00:02:11.420 You can also learn how to cook fries 00:02:11.420 --> 00:02:12.913 and clean your workstation." 00:02:18.010 --> 00:02:19.350 - And I say 'what little we know' because, 00:02:19.350 --> 00:02:20.800 for the past decade, 00:02:20.800 --> 00:02:24.040 this game has been completely lost to time. 00:02:24.040 --> 00:02:25.190 For about 10 years now, 00:02:25.190 --> 00:02:27.220 this unassuming little blue cartridge 00:02:27.220 --> 00:02:30.580 has been the Holy Grail for many Nintendo collectors. 00:02:30.580 --> 00:02:31.840 While, nobody knows precisely 00:02:31.840 --> 00:02:33.420 how many copies were manufactured - 00:02:33.420 --> 00:02:36.610 estimates range from a few hundred to a few thousand - 00:02:36.610 --> 00:02:37.640 one thing is for sure: 00:02:37.640 --> 00:02:40.300 this game, if you can even call it a game, 00:02:40.300 --> 00:02:42.740 is highly sought after. 00:02:42.740 --> 00:02:44.470 Now, this tactic of taking something 00:02:44.470 --> 00:02:46.400 that appeals to the young people of Japan 00:02:46.400 --> 00:02:48.900 and deploying it as a recruitment tactic 00:02:48.900 --> 00:02:52.050 is something McDonald's Japan has done many times before. 00:02:52.050 --> 00:02:55.230 Among the most memorable examples would be this anime-style 00:02:55.230 --> 00:02:58.260 "Join the McDonald's Crew" campaign from a few years back 00:02:58.260 --> 00:03:02.210 featuring members of popular idol group AKB48. 00:03:02.210 --> 00:03:03.450 This game is so rare, in fact, 00:03:03.450 --> 00:03:05.520 that it even spawned conspiracy theories 00:03:05.520 --> 00:03:08.060 that it never existed in the first place. 00:03:08.060 --> 00:03:09.360 I've come across YouTube comments before 00:03:09.360 --> 00:03:10.830 claiming that this game is a total hoax, 00:03:10.830 --> 00:03:12.520 and that it's just people mixing up 00:03:12.520 --> 00:03:15.960 some Hilton PSP game for training employees 00:03:15.960 --> 00:03:18.480 and transposing a memory onto McDonald's. 00:03:18.480 --> 00:03:20.008 And, of course, the existence of 00:03:20.008 --> 00:03:22.360 that Bloomberg news report I showed you at the beginning 00:03:22.360 --> 00:03:25.410 kind of contradicts the whole 'this game is a hoax' theory. 00:03:25.410 --> 00:03:28.280 But, strangely, that Bloomberg news report 00:03:28.280 --> 00:03:30.950 has remained the closest look we've ever gotten at gameplay 00:03:30.950 --> 00:03:32.030 for 10 years now. 00:03:32.030 --> 00:03:33.730 "And Bloomberg's Mike Fern 00:03:33.730 --> 00:03:37.050 went to McDonald's training center in the heart of Tokyo." 00:03:37.050 --> 00:03:40.450 "That game is a little bit trickier than it looks, actually. 00:03:40.450 --> 00:03:42.310 If you don't get everything exactly right, 00:03:42.310 --> 00:03:44.020 it won't let you shake your fries. 00:03:44.020 --> 00:03:46.330 Japan, the only country where McDonald's 00:03:46.330 --> 00:03:48.020 uses the DS to train staff..." 00:03:48.020 --> 00:03:50.750 - Somehow, in the time since that Bloomberg reporter 00:03:50.750 --> 00:03:53.130 paid a visit to McDonald's Japan HQ, 00:03:53.130 --> 00:03:55.670 we have never really gotten a close look at the game 00:03:55.670 --> 00:03:58.438 and nobody has really gotten their hands on the cartridge - or, at least, 00:03:58.438 --> 00:04:00.749 everybody who has gotten their hands on the cartridge 00:04:00.749 --> 00:04:03.393 has kept it completely to themselves. 00:04:05.580 --> 00:04:09.080 ...or, at least, that WAS the case until December 2018, 00:04:10.740 --> 00:04:14.320 when a user on assembler-games.com named code1038 00:04:14.320 --> 00:04:15.630 made the following post 00:04:15.630 --> 00:04:18.160 announcing he'd gotten his hands on the game. 00:04:18.160 --> 00:04:19.500 "Hello, guys. 00:04:19.500 --> 00:04:22.160 I found this very rarest cartridge year ago, 00:04:22.160 --> 00:04:23.780 and I'm still at same point. 00:04:23.780 --> 00:04:27.720 I can't reach hidden menu to see 3D burger and play games. 00:04:27.720 --> 00:04:30.690 I've tried with famous Japanese speaker to enter in it, 00:04:30.690 --> 00:04:33.320 but unfortunatly, I need a code. 00:04:33.320 --> 00:04:35.440 I've made this little video what I can do. 00:04:35.440 --> 00:04:37.060 Help needed!" 00:04:37.060 --> 00:04:39.500 Now, maybe you're confused, so I'll explain: 00:04:39.500 --> 00:04:41.160 code1038 on this forum, 00:04:41.160 --> 00:04:43.570 also known as Coddy Trentuit on YouTube, 00:04:43.570 --> 00:04:45.110 had actually gotten his hands 00:04:45.110 --> 00:04:46.930 on a copy of this coveted game. 00:04:46.930 --> 00:04:50.020 However - and here's the incredibly intriguing part - 00:04:50.020 --> 00:04:52.570 he had been stuck for years on the title screen 00:04:52.570 --> 00:04:54.202 because the title screen... 00:04:54.202 --> 00:04:55.633 required a password. 00:04:57.986 --> 00:04:59.410 Coddy had even included a video 00:04:59.410 --> 00:05:01.330 captured directly from his copy of the game 00:05:01.330 --> 00:05:04.510 showing the issue, and sure enough: this gameplay video - 00:05:04.510 --> 00:05:06.380 the only gameplay video we have 00:05:06.380 --> 00:05:07.880 of the McDonald's training game - 00:05:07.880 --> 00:05:09.110 is only two minutes long, 00:05:09.110 --> 00:05:11.140 because he couldn't get past the title screen. 00:05:11.140 --> 00:05:12.780 And while it's only two minutes long, 00:05:12.780 --> 00:05:16.410 what's in those two minutes is unbelievably intriguing. 00:05:16.410 --> 00:05:19.203 First off, there's this amazing opening cutscene: 00:05:35.994 --> 00:05:37.880 And then, there's my personal favorite part: 00:05:37.880 --> 00:05:40.220 the incredible main menu music - 00:05:40.220 --> 00:05:42.310 which, if you listen closely, 00:05:42.310 --> 00:05:45.760 you'll note is a re-orchestrated chiptune interpretation 00:05:45.760 --> 00:05:49.490 of the classic McDonald's "ba-da-ba-ba-ba!" jingle. 00:05:49.490 --> 00:05:50.895 Just listen: 00:06:09.750 --> 00:06:12.850 But tragically, this was all Coddy could see. 00:06:12.850 --> 00:06:14.530 Even though he owned the cartridge, 00:06:14.530 --> 00:06:16.160 he could only watch that title screen 00:06:16.160 --> 00:06:17.820 and get to that main menu over and over - 00:06:17.820 --> 00:06:20.430 and had been stuck there, according to him, for a year. 00:06:20.430 --> 00:06:22.970 Now, this in and of itself is extremely weird: 00:06:22.970 --> 00:06:24.910 the idea of a Nintendo game cartridge 00:06:24.910 --> 00:06:27.640 with a unique password to lock out unintended players 00:06:27.640 --> 00:06:29.520 is already very unusual. 00:06:29.520 --> 00:06:31.490 But the fact that this functionality was built 00:06:31.490 --> 00:06:34.090 into what is also arguably the single rarest 00:06:34.090 --> 00:06:35.790 Nintendo DS game ever manufactured 00:06:35.790 --> 00:06:38.283 made the whole thing even more intriguing. 00:06:39.250 --> 00:06:40.870 Now, making things even trickier 00:06:40.870 --> 00:06:42.730 is the fact that Coddy refused 00:06:42.730 --> 00:06:44.650 to share the contents of the cartridge. 00:06:44.650 --> 00:06:47.020 In the comments of his video and all over the internet, 00:06:47.020 --> 00:06:49.630 people have begged him to dump the game. 00:06:49.630 --> 00:06:51.110 The comments on the video are now locked, 00:06:51.110 --> 00:06:53.630 but in this video by the YouTuber blameitonjorge, 00:06:53.630 --> 00:06:57.010 you can see somebody asking Coddy to please dump the rom 00:06:57.010 --> 00:07:01.160 and him saying "that's illegal ;)". 00:07:01.160 --> 00:07:03.030 Even going back to his initial forum thread, 00:07:03.030 --> 00:07:05.890 Coddy said "ps: I can't share rom." 00:07:05.890 --> 00:07:07.280 And when another user insisted 00:07:07.280 --> 00:07:10.540 that Cody dump the cartridge, he stood firm: 00:07:10.540 --> 00:07:13.510 "Law is law, and I've already stuff for dumping. 00:07:13.510 --> 00:07:15.070 Sharing is still illegal by law 00:07:15.070 --> 00:07:17.220 and I'm very strict for this point. 00:07:17.220 --> 00:07:20.220 I've bad personal experience about illegal download. 00:07:20.220 --> 00:07:22.290 I'm working with people who are very strict 00:07:22.290 --> 00:07:24.030 about information sharing." 00:07:24.030 --> 00:07:26.490 In other words, Coddy would not be dumping the cartridge 00:07:26.490 --> 00:07:27.920 and distributing it online, 00:07:27.920 --> 00:07:30.090 so picking the game apart inside the software 00:07:30.090 --> 00:07:32.260 and looking for the password was not gonna be an option. 00:07:32.260 --> 00:07:33.730 Now, while researching all this, I reached out 00:07:33.730 --> 00:07:35.630 to a video game conservationist and translator 00:07:35.630 --> 00:07:37.800 named Samuel Messner to ask him about this phenomenon: 00:07:37.800 --> 00:07:40.970 why do collectors keep these one-of-a-kind games 00:07:40.970 --> 00:07:42.640 hoarded for themselves? 00:07:42.640 --> 00:07:46.810 "Yeah, so this is an issue that is a bit hard to dodge, 00:07:46.810 --> 00:07:49.580 because whenever you've got something that's valuable, 00:07:49.580 --> 00:07:52.180 the only thing that's gonna drive you 00:07:52.180 --> 00:07:57.050 to do anything that decreases that value is altruism, 00:07:57.050 --> 00:08:00.710 and you know, idealism, right?" 00:08:00.710 --> 00:08:01.880 - Right. 00:08:01.880 --> 00:08:04.460 "And you know, personally, I'm very much an idealist, 00:08:04.460 --> 00:08:05.600 so that's what I would do, 00:08:05.600 --> 00:08:09.160 but some people are not very into the idea 00:08:09.160 --> 00:08:11.020 that things they have in their collection 00:08:11.020 --> 00:08:13.600 would suddenly be worth so much less." 00:08:13.600 --> 00:08:15.970 - Now, despite Coddy's insistence on not sharing, 00:08:15.970 --> 00:08:18.890 the members of the now defunct ASSEMbler Games forum 00:08:18.890 --> 00:08:20.260 did their very best to help him out: 00:08:20.260 --> 00:08:22.360 they translated the menus for him, 00:08:22.360 --> 00:08:25.330 picked apart his extracted game saves that he uploaded, 00:08:25.330 --> 00:08:28.080 attempted to contact Japanese game collectors for help, 00:08:28.080 --> 00:08:28.580 and... 00:08:28.580 --> 00:08:29.553 nothing. 00:08:29.553 --> 00:08:31.840 They came up completely empty-handed. 00:08:31.840 --> 00:08:33.160 Eventually, the forum shut down, 00:08:33.160 --> 00:08:35.960 and the quest hit what looked like a permanent dead-end. 00:08:43.491 --> 00:08:46.270 Now, fover a year, this was where the story ended - 00:08:46.270 --> 00:08:49.130 there was no real movement on Coddy's hunt 00:08:49.130 --> 00:08:50.980 to get access to this game. 00:08:50.980 --> 00:08:53.900 But then, in June of 2020 - just a few months ago - 00:08:53.900 --> 00:08:56.320 there was an enormous development. 00:08:56.320 --> 00:08:57.830 Over on Yahoo! Auctions Japan, 00:08:57.830 --> 00:09:02.700 a seller by the name of nanvata_0122 was selling a copy - 00:09:02.700 --> 00:09:05.819 an actual copy - of the McDonald's training game. 00:09:05.819 --> 00:09:07.480 And that would have been exciting enough on its own, 00:09:07.480 --> 00:09:09.860 but the thing that made this auction really special 00:09:09.860 --> 00:09:11.250 is that from the photos, you could tell 00:09:11.250 --> 00:09:12.850 that whoever this mysterious person is 00:09:12.849 --> 00:09:14.531 who was selling the game... 00:09:14.542 --> 00:09:16.296 actually had the password. 00:09:16.420 --> 00:09:17.750 In all the photos of the game, 00:09:17.750 --> 00:09:18.950 you could see it being played - 00:09:18.950 --> 00:09:20.720 there was actual gameplay on the screen. 00:09:20.720 --> 00:09:24.670 This person had the password that Coddy needed - 00:09:24.670 --> 00:09:26.990 the password for this specific cartridge - 00:09:26.990 --> 00:09:28.870 which was completely unprecedented. 00:09:28.870 --> 00:09:31.910 Now the thing is... nanvata_0122 00:09:31.910 --> 00:09:34.360 clearly knew what this was worth. 00:09:34.360 --> 00:09:39.360 Because they listed this auction at a whopping 345,000 yen - 00:09:39.780 --> 00:09:43.403 the equivalent of about $3,500 US dollars. 00:09:45.670 --> 00:09:47.800 Still, the item description was clear" 00:09:47.800 --> 00:09:50.490 You weren't just paying for this very rare game, 00:09:50.490 --> 00:09:52.420 and the equally-rare 00:09:52.420 --> 00:09:55.440 matte black McDonald's logo branded DSi; 00:09:55.440 --> 00:09:57.560 Included in this auction was the code 00:09:57.560 --> 00:10:00.150 required to boot the game up. 00:10:00.150 --> 00:10:02.640 For the very first time in 10 years, 00:10:02.640 --> 00:10:04.580 there was finally a path forward, 00:10:04.580 --> 00:10:07.080 a way for the world to finally see what secrets 00:10:07.080 --> 00:10:09.470 the Japanese McDonald's training game had - 00:10:09.470 --> 00:10:13.393 but there was an enormous, 350,000-yen roadblock in the way. 00:10:15.850 --> 00:10:18.810 Coddy reappeared, now on a new forum called Obscure Gamers, 00:10:18.810 --> 00:10:21.690 and posted: "I found a guy on Yahoo! Auctions Japan 00:10:21.690 --> 00:10:23.650 who has full access to menu. 00:10:23.650 --> 00:10:26.250 I need someone to contact him and get access." 00:10:26.250 --> 00:10:28.490 But, of course, that never happened. 00:10:28.490 --> 00:10:31.240 No one was able to reach out to nanvata_0122 - 00:10:31.240 --> 00:10:33.150 and, besides, there's no way this person 00:10:33.150 --> 00:10:35.470 would be giving up this password. 00:10:35.470 --> 00:10:37.960 And then... the auction just sat there for weeks, 00:10:37.960 --> 00:10:40.750 with seemingly no one willing to fork up the cash 00:10:40.750 --> 00:10:43.770 for this very, very, very rare game - 00:10:43.770 --> 00:10:48.320 that was, until July 9th, at 9:00 PM Japan time, 00:10:48.320 --> 00:10:50.870 when an anonymous person placed a sniper bid 00:10:50.870 --> 00:10:54.813 at the last second, won the game... and then vanished. 00:10:58.230 --> 00:10:59.880 That was four months ago now. 00:10:59.880 --> 00:11:01.900 And ever since that auction ended, 00:11:01.900 --> 00:11:04.760 nobody has stepped forward as the owner of this game. 00:11:04.760 --> 00:11:09.030 "In 2020, one was put up for sale on Yahoo! Japan Auctions 00:11:09.030 --> 00:11:10.920 with one of the training cartridges 00:11:10.920 --> 00:11:15.030 and sold for the equivalent of around $3,200." 00:11:15.030 --> 00:11:16.590 - Most people have just assumed that it went 00:11:16.590 --> 00:11:18.000 into the hands of a private collector, 00:11:18.000 --> 00:11:20.430 someone who's as fascinated as you and I 00:11:20.430 --> 00:11:23.720 about Nintendo history, who has no intention of ever 00:11:23.720 --> 00:11:25.920 sharing this precious gem with the outside world. 00:11:25.920 --> 00:11:27.760 Seemingly, this person was perfectly content 00:11:27.760 --> 00:11:29.360 to just enjoy this game themselves 00:11:29.360 --> 00:11:32.020 and never let us see what the gameplay looked like. 00:11:32.020 --> 00:11:33.410 Just as quickly as it had appeared, 00:11:33.410 --> 00:11:36.030 the game had once again vanished - 00:11:36.030 --> 00:11:38.520 and so too had the world's only opportunity 00:11:38.520 --> 00:11:40.850 to actually experience the gameplay 00:11:40.850 --> 00:11:42.860 of the McDonald's training game. 00:11:42.860 --> 00:11:45.490 And until now, this has been where this story ends: 00:11:45.490 --> 00:11:47.790 an unsatisfying and predictable outcome 00:11:47.790 --> 00:11:49.980 that honestly paints a pretty grim picture 00:11:49.980 --> 00:11:52.650 of the state of video game preservation. 00:11:52.650 --> 00:11:55.870 But I'm here tell you that there's more to this story. 00:11:55.870 --> 00:11:56.703 A lot more. 00:11:58.800 --> 00:11:59.893 Because, viewer... 00:12:00.860 --> 00:12:03.200 I've been keeping a secret from you. 00:12:03.200 --> 00:12:05.023 See, the person who placed that bid... 00:12:06.010 --> 00:12:08.990 The person who won that $3,500 auction 00:12:08.990 --> 00:12:11.080 for the McDonald's DS game, 00:12:11.080 --> 00:12:13.210 the person who now owns the only copy 00:12:13.210 --> 00:12:14.560 with the password included... 00:12:15.760 --> 00:12:16.610 that person... 00:12:19.460 --> 00:12:20.293 ...is me. 00:12:32.160 --> 00:12:33.620 All right, let's back up. 00:12:33.620 --> 00:12:36.230 Four months ago, I received a comment on one of my videos 00:12:36.230 --> 00:12:37.900 saying "You have to make a video 00:12:37.900 --> 00:12:39.800 about the lost Japanese DS game 00:12:39.800 --> 00:12:41.870 made for McDonald's employees." 00:12:41.870 --> 00:12:44.120 And while I don't normally solicit video ideas 00:12:44.120 --> 00:12:47.710 from my YouTube comments, this idea immediately hooked me. 00:12:47.710 --> 00:12:50.080 I had no idea that this cartridge existed, 00:12:50.080 --> 00:12:51.030 and the more I looked into it, 00:12:51.030 --> 00:12:53.600 the more fascinated I became by this whole thing. 00:12:53.600 --> 00:12:55.730 It wasn't long before I found myself on a forum thread 00:12:55.730 --> 00:12:56.750 where one user said: 00:12:56.750 --> 00:13:00.720 "I found an auction, but it's too darn expensive. It ends on Thursday. 00:13:00.720 --> 00:13:04.070 The thing is... when I came across this thread, 00:13:04.070 --> 00:13:06.090 it was already Thursday. 00:13:06.090 --> 00:13:07.890 Frantically, I clicked the auction link - 00:13:07.890 --> 00:13:11.070 and there I was, staring down a copy of the game 00:13:11.070 --> 00:13:13.290 I had just spent an entire night researching... 00:13:13.290 --> 00:13:15.340 ...and there were just 30 minutes left. 00:13:15.340 --> 00:13:16.920 For that entire half-hour, 00:13:16.920 --> 00:13:19.350 I was just pacing in front of my desk, 00:13:19.350 --> 00:13:20.760 trying to decide whether or not this purchase 00:13:20.760 --> 00:13:21.800 could be worth it. 00:13:21.800 --> 00:13:23.220 I kept talking myself into it, 00:13:23.220 --> 00:13:25.140 and then talking myself out of it, over and over - 00:13:25.140 --> 00:13:27.700 and then, finally... I caved. 00:13:27.700 --> 00:13:29.630 With two minutes left on the auction, 00:13:29.630 --> 00:13:31.223 I clicked the Place Bid button, 00:13:33.300 --> 00:13:34.363 and saw... this: 00:13:39.120 --> 00:13:40.250 Turns out, the website I was using 00:13:40.250 --> 00:13:42.580 had a 300,000 yen limit on my account, 00:13:42.580 --> 00:13:45.610 and the auction was seconds away from ending. 00:13:45.610 --> 00:13:48.400 And as I watched it slip away, I was pretty bummed out - 00:13:48.400 --> 00:13:49.520 but also kind of relieved 00:13:49.520 --> 00:13:51.910 that this temporary insanity that had taken over me 00:13:51.910 --> 00:13:54.420 hadn't driven me to spend a preposterous amount of money 00:13:54.420 --> 00:13:55.510 on a piece of McDonald's 00:13:55.510 --> 00:13:58.350 employee training software from Japan. 00:13:58.350 --> 00:14:00.140 With the auction over, I refreshed the page, 00:14:00.140 --> 00:14:01.860 curious to see if some other last minute bidder 00:14:01.860 --> 00:14:03.670 had swooped in and stolen it... 00:14:03.670 --> 00:14:05.530 and lo and behold, that's when I realized 00:14:05.530 --> 00:14:09.390 that the auction had been set to automatically re-list. 00:14:09.390 --> 00:14:11.410 This meant that I now had six whole days 00:14:11.410 --> 00:14:14.400 to formulate a plan to get my hands on this thing. 00:14:14.400 --> 00:14:15.233 Now, maybe you've noticed 00:14:15.233 --> 00:14:17.320 that when it comes to placing the actual bids, 00:14:17.320 --> 00:14:19.770 I'm not doing it through Yahoo! Auctions Japan directly; 00:14:19.770 --> 00:14:22.310 I'm doing it through another website called Buyee. 00:14:22.310 --> 00:14:24.380 That's because most sellers on Yahoo! Auctions Japan 00:14:24.380 --> 00:14:26.430 do not offer international shipping. 00:14:26.430 --> 00:14:27.710 And that's where Buyee steps in: 00:14:27.710 --> 00:14:29.540 in essence, they allow international customers 00:14:29.540 --> 00:14:31.890 like you and me to shop directly for items 00:14:31.890 --> 00:14:34.400 on Yahoo! Auctions Japan, Mercari, Rakuten, 00:14:34.400 --> 00:14:36.690 and a ton of other Japanese online retailers. 00:14:36.690 --> 00:14:38.470 The way Buyee works is that these items you buy 00:14:38.470 --> 00:14:40.480 are then shipped to Buyee's warehouse, 00:14:40.480 --> 00:14:41.970 packed together in one package, 00:14:41.970 --> 00:14:44.820 and then shipped to you all as one big thing 00:14:44.820 --> 00:14:47.930 to save you time, hassle, and a lot of money. 00:14:47.930 --> 00:14:50.110 Now I've partnered with Buyee before on videos - 00:14:50.110 --> 00:14:52.740 like for this unboxing of a ton of Japan exclusive 00:14:52.740 --> 00:14:54.860 Super Monkey Ball and Mario items - 00:14:54.860 --> 00:14:56.800 but this was different. 00:14:56.800 --> 00:14:59.730 This time, I was gonna be asking them a way bigger question: 00:14:59.730 --> 00:15:01.880 I wanted to know if there was any chance 00:15:01.880 --> 00:15:03.710 Buyee would be willing to help me out 00:15:03.710 --> 00:15:07.130 and assist me in securing this historic video game. 00:15:07.130 --> 00:15:10.002 Amazingly... they said yes. 00:15:14.690 --> 00:15:16.450 Now, I can't tell you how happy I was 00:15:16.450 --> 00:15:19.460 when Buyee said yes to this proposition, 00:15:19.460 --> 00:15:22.230 and with their help, I placed the bid, 00:15:22.230 --> 00:15:24.503 waited, and then won the auction. 00:15:25.470 --> 00:15:29.930 However, there was still one enormous hurdle left to clear. 00:15:29.930 --> 00:15:33.000 See, it's still 2020, and over the summer, 00:15:33.000 --> 00:15:36.540 as a temporary precaution due to [CURRENT WORLD EVENT] 00:15:36.540 --> 00:15:40.570 Japan actually halted shipping in or out of the country. 00:15:40.570 --> 00:15:44.280 See, Japan's primary mail provider is Japan Post, 00:15:44.280 --> 00:15:47.046 and Japan Post had an enormous list of countries 00:15:47.046 --> 00:15:48.500 who they were forbidding 00:15:48.500 --> 00:15:51.110 all mail to be sent or received from - 00:15:51.110 --> 00:15:54.480 and included on that list was my home country: 00:15:54.480 --> 00:15:55.930 the United States of America. 00:16:06.970 --> 00:16:09.650 This posed an enormous problem: 00:16:09.650 --> 00:16:11.270 I needed to devise a way to somehow 00:16:11.270 --> 00:16:13.170 get this game out of Japan 00:16:13.170 --> 00:16:15.840 at a time when mailing things in and out of Japan 00:16:15.840 --> 00:16:17.900 was strictly forbidden. 00:16:17.900 --> 00:16:20.290 Out of options and desperate for some sort of resolution, 00:16:20.290 --> 00:16:22.090 I knew what I had to do. 00:16:22.090 --> 00:16:23.900 ...and it's not what you think. 00:16:23.900 --> 00:16:25.670 See, normally in a situation like this, 00:16:25.670 --> 00:16:27.300 my solution - as you probably could have guessed 00:16:27.300 --> 00:16:29.940 if you've seen my other videos - would be to go to Japan 00:16:29.940 --> 00:16:31.700 and secure the package myself. 00:16:31.700 --> 00:16:32.700 But not only had Japan 00:16:32.700 --> 00:16:34.930 halted all mail in or out of the country, 00:16:34.930 --> 00:16:37.590 they've also halted all tourism in and out of the country, 00:16:37.590 --> 00:16:40.140 so there was no way I'd be getting in. 00:16:40.140 --> 00:16:41.870 So I'm sure you can understand my predicament here: 00:16:41.870 --> 00:16:44.040 I effectively had to figure out a way 00:16:44.040 --> 00:16:46.560 to book a flight to Tokyo in search of answers 00:16:46.560 --> 00:16:48.330 at a time when booking a flight to Tokyo 00:16:48.330 --> 00:16:50.830 in search of answers is literally against the law. 00:16:53.270 --> 00:16:55.283 Luckily, I had an ace up my sleeve. 00:16:59.490 --> 00:17:00.840 See, around this time last year, 00:17:00.840 --> 00:17:03.810 my younger brother Mark actually moved to Tokyo 00:17:03.810 --> 00:17:05.130 to go to university - 00:17:05.130 --> 00:17:07.370 and while all foreign residents of Japan, 00:17:07.370 --> 00:17:09.360 including people with student visas, 00:17:09.360 --> 00:17:10.730 have been forbidden from leaving 00:17:10.730 --> 00:17:12.730 and re-entering the country during the pandemic, 00:17:12.730 --> 00:17:15.190 my brother had just been granted special permission 00:17:15.190 --> 00:17:17.140 to head back to the United States for a few weeks 00:17:17.140 --> 00:17:19.243 for a mandatory medical checkup. 00:17:20.080 --> 00:17:21.850 And by the way, just to reassure you, 00:17:21.850 --> 00:17:23.993 he got his checkup and everything's fine. 00:17:24.960 --> 00:17:26.470 So here's my idea: 00:17:26.470 --> 00:17:30.460 If I could somehow get this game into Mark's hands 00:17:30.460 --> 00:17:32.680 before his flight back to America, 00:17:32.680 --> 00:17:35.130 he could theoretically smuggle the McDonald's DS 00:17:35.130 --> 00:17:36.950 out of Japan in his luggage, 00:17:36.950 --> 00:17:38.653 and the package would be secure. 00:17:39.580 --> 00:17:40.460 For whatever reason, 00:17:40.460 --> 00:17:44.890 I felt a real sense of urgency with this mission: 00:17:44.890 --> 00:17:47.210 blameitonjorge's video that mentioned this McDonald's game 00:17:47.210 --> 00:17:48.990 had shined an enormous spotlight on it, 00:17:48.990 --> 00:17:50.160 and I couldn't shake the feeling 00:17:50.160 --> 00:17:53.040 that someone else might beat me to the punch on this. 00:17:53.040 --> 00:17:54.580 Now, a couple of weeks after winning the auction, 00:17:54.580 --> 00:17:57.070 the item finally arrived at Buyee's warehouse - 00:17:57.070 --> 00:17:59.520 but I was really, really running out of time. 00:17:59.520 --> 00:18:01.290 By this point, it was July 28th, 00:18:01.290 --> 00:18:04.520 and my brother's flight to America was just 3 days away - 00:18:04.520 --> 00:18:07.230 an incredibly narrow window to get this thing delivered. 00:18:07.230 --> 00:18:08.700 So if this item didn't arrive quickly, 00:18:08.700 --> 00:18:10.530 this plan was doomed. 00:18:10.530 --> 00:18:12.280 For two very stressful days, 00:18:12.280 --> 00:18:13.840 this possibility hung over my head 00:18:13.840 --> 00:18:16.970 that after all this work - after all the money we'd spent 00:18:16.970 --> 00:18:19.690 and after everything else had lined up so perfectly - 00:18:19.690 --> 00:18:23.410 a simple scheduling issue could unravel this entire plan. 00:18:23.410 --> 00:18:25.160 Then, on July 30th, 00:18:25.160 --> 00:18:27.663 I got this Discord message from my brother: 00:18:36.640 --> 00:18:38.693 The package had been secured. 00:18:43.870 --> 00:18:45.270 "So while I was packing up my stuff 00:18:45.270 --> 00:18:49.400 to get ready to return to America here in a few days, 00:18:49.400 --> 00:18:52.740 I am pretty sure that I heard a certain package 00:18:52.740 --> 00:18:54.150 arrive at my doorstep, 00:18:54.150 --> 00:18:55.800 so we're gonna go check that out. 00:19:00.850 --> 00:19:01.683 Oh-ho-ho! 00:19:08.460 --> 00:19:13.070 Not only is the inside of this cardboard box 00:19:13.070 --> 00:19:18.070 an incredibly rare, one-of-a-kind make and model of DS - 00:19:19.570 --> 00:19:21.520 it also could potentially hold 00:19:21.520 --> 00:19:25.170 trade secrets of the McDonald's corporation. 00:19:25.170 --> 00:19:28.597 So I'm gonna be very careful opening this. 00:19:28.597 --> 00:19:30.500 Who knows what kind of... 00:19:30.500 --> 00:19:32.210 This could be bugged. 00:19:32.210 --> 00:19:34.310 I could have the McDonald's corporate team 00:19:35.240 --> 00:19:39.203 busting down my door with riot shields any second now. 00:19:41.400 --> 00:19:42.233 Oh, my goodness." 00:19:43.660 --> 00:19:45.600 - With barely a day left before his flight, 00:19:45.600 --> 00:19:47.930 Mark safely packed the McDonald's DS 00:19:47.930 --> 00:19:49.760 into his enormous blue suitcase, 00:19:49.760 --> 00:19:52.733 and soon he was on his way to Tokyo's Haneda Airport. 00:20:11.840 --> 00:20:13.850 And to be honest with you, the particulars 00:20:13.850 --> 00:20:16.280 of whether or not Mark would even be able to leave 00:20:16.280 --> 00:20:18.860 were kind of a big question mark. 00:20:18.860 --> 00:20:19.850 Jumping through the hoops 00:20:19.850 --> 00:20:21.160 to get all the paperwork filled out 00:20:21.160 --> 00:20:23.750 so that Mark could return home was an enormous hassle, 00:20:23.750 --> 00:20:24.930 and there was no real guarantee 00:20:24.930 --> 00:20:26.920 he would even be able to leave, 00:20:26.920 --> 00:20:29.470 much less get back into the country. 00:20:29.470 --> 00:20:32.340 Mark entered the airport, and with virtually all flights 00:20:32.340 --> 00:20:34.780 in and out of Japan canceled due to the pandemic, 00:20:34.780 --> 00:20:38.070 Haneda's international terminal was a ghost town. 00:20:38.070 --> 00:20:39.790 Everywhere he looked, seats were blocked off 00:20:39.790 --> 00:20:41.730 forbidding people from sitting next to each other - 00:20:41.730 --> 00:20:43.710 a measure that ultimately proved redundant, 00:20:43.710 --> 00:20:46.780 since almost every seat in the airport was unoccupied. 00:20:46.780 --> 00:20:48.250 Soon, it was time for Mark's flight, 00:20:48.250 --> 00:20:49.400 and a few minutes later, 00:20:49.400 --> 00:20:52.660 Mark found himself onboard a virtually empty airplane 00:20:52.660 --> 00:20:55.013 from Tokyo to the United States. 00:20:55.860 --> 00:20:58.510 Meanwhile, halfway across the world, 00:20:58.510 --> 00:21:00.310 me and my family were on our way to the airport 00:21:00.310 --> 00:21:02.730 to go meet Mark and see him for the first time 00:21:02.730 --> 00:21:03.680 since the pandemic. 00:21:07.180 --> 00:21:09.010 I was extremely excited: 00:21:09.010 --> 00:21:10.810 excited, of course, to see my brother 00:21:10.810 --> 00:21:12.850 for the first time since 2019 - 00:21:12.850 --> 00:21:14.930 something that seemed almost impossible to pull off 00:21:14.930 --> 00:21:17.040 in the midst of COVID - but also excited 00:21:17.040 --> 00:21:19.090 that the world would finally get a close look 00:21:19.090 --> 00:21:21.450 at this legendary and mysterious game 00:21:21.450 --> 00:21:22.943 for the first time ever. 00:21:30.810 --> 00:21:32.650 We arrived at the airport masked up, 00:21:32.650 --> 00:21:35.960 and after patiently waiting for what felt like forever, 00:21:35.960 --> 00:21:38.220 watching handfuls of masked passengers 00:21:38.220 --> 00:21:40.570 slowly trickle out of the gates, 00:21:40.570 --> 00:21:42.803 finally... we saw him. 00:21:49.090 --> 00:21:50.053 He had arrived. 00:21:51.980 --> 00:21:52.813 It's hard to overstate 00:21:52.813 --> 00:21:55.010 how great a feeling it was to see Mark again. 00:21:55.010 --> 00:21:57.080 The whole situation with travel in Japan 00:21:57.080 --> 00:21:59.720 had really led me to believe that he may not 00:21:59.720 --> 00:22:01.400 get to see us this summer at all, 00:22:01.400 --> 00:22:04.530 and that we may not see him until next year. 00:22:04.530 --> 00:22:07.060 But in all the excitement of seeing Mark, 00:22:07.060 --> 00:22:08.670 something slipped through the cracks - 00:22:08.670 --> 00:22:11.070 something I didn't realize right away. 00:22:11.070 --> 00:22:13.320 If I'd been looking closely, I would have noticed 00:22:13.320 --> 00:22:14.920 that the enormous blue suitcase 00:22:14.920 --> 00:22:17.610 that Mark had packed the McDonald's DS in... 00:22:17.610 --> 00:22:18.510 He didn't have it. 00:22:20.690 --> 00:22:23.580 "Do you know... your... bag didn't come?" 00:22:23.580 --> 00:22:25.760 "So the bag is delayed..." 00:22:34.010 --> 00:22:34.843 - Mark explained to me 00:22:34.843 --> 00:22:37.740 that due to a baggage snafu with the airline, 00:22:37.740 --> 00:22:40.590 his luggage had not wound up on his flight home with him. 00:22:45.220 --> 00:22:47.800 So... I'd be lying if I said 00:22:47.800 --> 00:22:50.070 that this situation was not terrifying. 00:22:50.070 --> 00:22:52.930 I mean, here we had this incredibly rare game - 00:22:52.930 --> 00:22:55.730 an item that virtually never showed up on auction sites, 00:22:55.730 --> 00:22:59.240 a game that as far as I know, doesn't exist anywhere else 00:22:59.240 --> 00:23:00.230 in the United States, 00:23:00.230 --> 00:23:04.010 a game that seemingly nobody had the password to access except for me - 00:23:04.010 --> 00:23:05.880 and we'd have to rely on an airline 00:23:05.880 --> 00:23:08.963 who'd already misplaced it once to ever get it back. 00:23:12.860 --> 00:23:14.800 This was a truly helpless feeling. 00:23:14.800 --> 00:23:16.940 There was really nothing we could do here 00:23:16.940 --> 00:23:19.723 except just exercise some patience and wait. 00:23:20.670 --> 00:23:22.490 Well... almost nothing. 00:23:22.490 --> 00:23:25.293 The one thing I could do... was start preparing. 00:23:26.300 --> 00:23:28.440 See, even if everything went perfectly 00:23:28.440 --> 00:23:31.230 and the airline found this bag and returned it to us, 00:23:31.230 --> 00:23:32.730 that was only half the battle. 00:23:33.580 --> 00:23:34.690 I didn't just want to own 00:23:34.690 --> 00:23:36.550 this McDonald's training cartridge - 00:23:36.550 --> 00:23:38.410 I wanted to document it. 00:23:38.410 --> 00:23:41.740 I wanted to finally give the world its first up-close look 00:23:41.740 --> 00:23:45.100 at what the McGameplay actually consisted of. 00:23:45.100 --> 00:23:46.110 See, if I was gonna do this - 00:23:46.110 --> 00:23:48.140 if I was gonna put in all this time, effort, 00:23:48.140 --> 00:23:50.700 energy, and money - I wanted to do it the right way: 00:23:50.700 --> 00:23:53.380 I wanted to capture the game as it was actually played 00:23:53.380 --> 00:23:55.240 by McDonald's employees back in 2010 00:23:55.240 --> 00:23:57.393 running on actual Nintendo hardware. 00:23:58.510 --> 00:23:59.770 So I started looking into solutions, 00:23:59.770 --> 00:24:02.220 and pretty quickly I realized what I wanted 00:24:02.220 --> 00:24:04.843 was a 3DS modified for video capture. 00:24:05.730 --> 00:24:06.960 But here's the thing: 00:24:06.960 --> 00:24:10.410 In 2020, getting your hands on a 3DS capture device 00:24:10.410 --> 00:24:12.820 is much easier said than done. 00:24:12.820 --> 00:24:16.230 For example, check out this MLIG video from last April: 00:24:16.230 --> 00:24:18.010 "I wish we could say we were able to show you 00:24:18.010 --> 00:24:21.600 great ideas that you can go and try for yourself right now, 00:24:21.600 --> 00:24:24.230 but the reality is that at this moment, 00:24:24.230 --> 00:24:27.280 the 3DS is in kind of a bad place." 00:24:27.280 --> 00:24:29.560 - And what they say in that video is completely true: 00:24:29.560 --> 00:24:33.570 the availability of hardware-modified 3DSs in 2020 00:24:33.570 --> 00:24:35.770 has dried up almost entirely. 00:24:35.770 --> 00:24:37.070 And from doing a ton of research, 00:24:37.070 --> 00:24:39.810 I realized that there was really only one person 00:24:39.810 --> 00:24:41.770 left on Earth who could help me with this problem, 00:24:41.770 --> 00:24:44.070 and that was a console modder based out of Germany 00:24:44.070 --> 00:24:45.568 named Stefan Merki. 00:24:45.568 --> 00:24:47.893 "Wir bieten seit mehr als zwei Jahren 00:24:47.893 --> 00:24:49.746 Installationen von 3DS Capture Cards." 00:24:50.050 --> 00:24:53.070 For years now, Stefan has run a shop called merki.net 00:24:53.070 --> 00:24:54.980 where he sells capture cards and hardware mods 00:24:54.980 --> 00:24:57.230 for the Nintendo 3DS. 00:24:57.230 --> 00:24:59.270 This site came up over and over in my research: 00:24:59.270 --> 00:25:01.480 by all accounts, Stefan was one of the best 00:25:01.480 --> 00:25:03.300 and most reliable hardware modders out there, 00:25:03.300 --> 00:25:05.850 able to install a full suite of capture devices 00:25:05.850 --> 00:25:07.940 and other useful hardware modifications, 00:25:07.940 --> 00:25:10.850 and he seemed like a perfect fit for this project. 00:25:10.850 --> 00:25:12.911 So, excitedly, I went to Stefan's website 00:25:12.911 --> 00:25:15.233 and... he had stopped selling them. 00:25:16.480 --> 00:25:18.810 "We chatted a bit via email with Merki, 00:25:18.810 --> 00:25:22.470 a European distributor for both Katsukity and Loopy kits, 00:25:22.470 --> 00:25:24.900 and he tells us that he is also getting out of the game 00:25:24.900 --> 00:25:27.040 once his existing stock is depleted. 00:25:27.040 --> 00:25:28.570 He seems to believe that his business 00:25:28.570 --> 00:25:31.610 can no longer count on receiving a return on investment 00:25:31.610 --> 00:25:33.490 for additional 3DS hardware." 00:25:33.490 --> 00:25:35.830 - Stefan had just posted an open letter on his website 00:25:35.830 --> 00:25:39.130 announcing that he was, sure enough, out of the modding game: 00:25:39.130 --> 00:25:40.950 retiring after seven long years 00:25:40.950 --> 00:25:43.730 of modding Nintendo hardware for a living. 00:25:43.730 --> 00:25:46.297 Still, I knew I had to try. 00:25:46.297 --> 00:25:48.197 So I reached out to Stefan personally. 00:25:49.690 --> 00:25:50.940 I pleaded with this man - 00:25:50.940 --> 00:25:54.260 the Hattori Hanzo of 3DS hardware modification - 00:25:54.260 --> 00:25:57.210 trying my hardest to persuade this master of his craft 00:25:57.210 --> 00:26:00.890 into coming out of retirement for one last job. 00:26:00.890 --> 00:26:02.730 I explained the situation to Stefan: 00:26:02.730 --> 00:26:04.680 that I was painfully close to getting my hands 00:26:04.680 --> 00:26:06.287 on this ultra-rare DS game, 00:26:06.287 --> 00:26:08.070 and that I needed one of his devices 00:26:08.070 --> 00:26:09.420 to share it with the world. 00:26:13.190 --> 00:26:15.463 And it took some convincing, but eventually... 00:26:16.430 --> 00:26:17.950 he agreed. 00:26:17.950 --> 00:26:19.103 But there was a caveat: 00:26:21.070 --> 00:26:22.810 Stefan said he would need me to send him 00:26:22.810 --> 00:26:24.970 some American 3DS hardware to modify, 00:26:24.970 --> 00:26:28.980 so I went out and purchased a brand new New 2DS XL 00:26:28.980 --> 00:26:30.723 and mailed it off to Germany. 00:26:32.298 --> 00:26:33.131 "You're left-handed, too." 00:26:33.131 --> 00:26:34.015 - "Yep." 00:26:34.015 --> 00:26:34.980 "We're the smart ones." 00:26:34.980 --> 00:26:36.030 - "That's what I hear." 00:26:38.190 --> 00:26:39.173 More on that later. 00:26:40.060 --> 00:26:41.640 In the meantime, I also continued 00:26:41.640 --> 00:26:44.720 to closely monitor this piece of lost luggage. 00:26:44.720 --> 00:26:46.070 Balancing all these things: 00:26:46.070 --> 00:26:48.380 the auction, the missing baggage, 00:26:48.380 --> 00:26:50.600 trying to persuade a retired German modder 00:26:50.600 --> 00:26:53.090 to make me a custom 3DS for capture - 00:26:53.090 --> 00:26:54.350 it was overwhelming trying to keep 00:26:54.350 --> 00:26:56.380 all these plates spinning at once, especially knowing 00:26:56.380 --> 00:26:58.180 that if even one of these things fell through, 00:26:58.180 --> 00:27:00.440 the whole project would likely fall apart. 00:27:00.440 --> 00:27:02.330 Eventually, after hours of checking 00:27:02.330 --> 00:27:05.750 the luggage delivery link over and over and over, 00:27:05.750 --> 00:27:07.373 an update came in the next day. 00:27:08.430 --> 00:27:09.780 - "Yeah? Wait, what's it say?" 00:27:09.780 --> 00:27:12.290 "Airlines Baggage Information delivery info." 00:27:12.290 --> 00:27:13.123 - "Oh, okay." 00:27:13.123 --> 00:27:14.622 "This is from an email address called 00:27:14.622 --> 00:27:17.443 Welcome to WheresMySuitcase.com." 00:27:17.443 --> 00:27:18.810 - (laughs) "Where IS your suitcase?" 00:27:18.810 --> 00:27:19.960 "Recently, your baggage was delayed 00:27:19.960 --> 00:27:21.800 while flying into Raleigh-Durham International Airport. 00:27:21.800 --> 00:27:22.633 You're seeing this email 00:27:22.633 --> 00:27:23.840 because we will be handling your delivery 00:27:23.840 --> 00:27:24.673 on behalf of American Airlines." 00:27:24.673 --> 00:27:26.120 - "So far, so good." 00:27:26.120 --> 00:27:27.910 "We have entered your baggage claim into our system 00:27:27.910 --> 00:27:28.860 and are working with the airline 00:27:28.860 --> 00:27:42.009 to get your baggage as fast to you as possible. 00:27:30.670 --> 00:27:31.780 If all goes according to plan, 00:27:31.780 --> 00:27:34.020 we'll get this bag by tonight at 10:00 PM." 00:27:34.020 --> 00:27:36.670 - "I mean, this is the closest I've ever been 00:27:36.670 --> 00:27:38.940 to this McDonald's DS. 00:27:38.940 --> 00:27:41.420 The trajectory is correct. It's on the right path." 00:27:41.420 --> 00:27:45.010 "It's in spitting distance." 00:27:44.510 --> 00:27:45.010 - "It's passed so many hands, you know? 00:27:45.010 --> 00:27:46.920 Who can really trust... 00:27:46.920 --> 00:27:48.790 what if a little Greedy Gus at the airport 00:27:48.790 --> 00:27:49.820 snuck his hand in there 00:27:49.820 --> 00:27:51.930 and decided he wanted a McDonald's Game Boy? 00:27:51.930 --> 00:27:52.763 Who can say?" 00:27:52.763 --> 00:27:53.890 "So there's your info." 00:27:53.890 --> 00:27:54.980 - "Thank you." 00:27:56.550 --> 00:27:57.970 - "Oh, what?! What the... 00:27:57.970 --> 00:27:58.803 Are you ser-...?" 00:28:00.210 --> 00:28:03.200 The baggage had apparently arrived at our airport 00:28:03.200 --> 00:28:06.630 and was set to be delivered to our house that night. 00:28:06.630 --> 00:28:09.730 And then, on August 4th at 10:00 PM, 00:28:09.730 --> 00:28:11.000 there was a knock on the door: 00:28:11.000 --> 00:28:12.400 "Hi!" - "Hi. 00:28:12.400 --> 00:28:14.559 This is for Mark?" 00:28:14.559 --> 00:28:15.990 "Yep. That's it." 00:28:15.990 --> 00:28:17.100 - "Awesome. Thank you so much." 00:28:17.100 --> 00:28:17.933 "Absolutely. Have a good night." 00:28:17.933 --> 00:28:18.766 - "You too. 00:28:18.766 --> 00:28:19.599 Oh, my gosh..." 00:28:20.710 --> 00:28:22.020 It had arrived. 00:28:22.020 --> 00:28:24.160 -"Here it is... this is it, right, Mark?" 00:28:24.160 --> 00:28:24.993 "Yup! 00:28:24.993 --> 00:28:26.240 Very precious cargo." 00:28:26.240 --> 00:28:27.263 - "Indeed." 00:28:31.720 --> 00:28:32.903 - "We got the goods..." 00:28:35.240 --> 00:28:36.140 "This is smuggled... 00:28:38.150 --> 00:28:40.970 across country borders." 00:28:40.970 --> 00:28:42.744 - "Multiple states. 00:28:42.744 --> 00:28:44.750 It's changed hands 00:28:44.750 --> 00:28:47.263 more times than I can count, between postmen... 00:28:48.130 --> 00:28:49.270 Oh, my gosh." 00:28:49.270 --> 00:28:50.800 "Everything is all jumbled up in here. 00:28:50.800 --> 00:28:52.700 This is NOT how I had everything." 00:28:52.700 --> 00:28:55.430 - "Well, I suspect it was packed pretty safely 00:28:55.430 --> 00:28:57.823 by our friend in Japan, right? 00:28:59.230 --> 00:29:00.063 Oh my God. Is this..?" 00:29:00.063 --> 00:29:01.163 "There's part one. 00:29:05.124 --> 00:29:06.624 ...where is part two...? 00:29:07.880 --> 00:29:09.280 Wait a minute... 00:29:09.280 --> 00:29:13.190 - "There's no way somebody... would snatch it..?" 00:29:13.190 --> 00:29:13.851 "Here it is." 00:29:13.851 --> 00:29:14.351 (huge sigh of relief, laughter) 00:29:15.310 --> 00:29:15.899 - "You never know with TSA, dude." 00:29:15.899 --> 00:29:19.157 "I thought maybe like, yeah, there's a lithium ion battery in it... 00:29:19.157 --> 00:29:21.420 and they wouldn't let me check it through. 00:29:21.420 --> 00:29:23.018 That was the thought in my head just now 00:29:23.018 --> 00:29:24.730 why they could have taken it." 00:29:24.730 --> 00:29:28.607 - "Getting lithium batteries through customs can be tricky." 00:29:28.607 --> 00:29:30.750 - "I believe what you have here is the charger." 00:29:30.750 --> 00:29:31.250 - "Okay." 00:29:31.250 --> 00:29:33.068 "I think this is the actual device." 00:29:33.080 --> 00:29:33.913 - "Okay." 00:29:33.913 --> 00:29:35.220 "That's based on how much it weighs." 00:29:35.220 --> 00:29:36.053 - "All right." 00:29:36.053 --> 00:29:37.530 - "So you haven't opened this part yet, right?" 00:29:37.530 --> 00:29:38.930 "I haven't opened anything." 00:29:39.830 --> 00:29:41.063 - "This is a huge moment. 00:29:50.088 --> 00:29:51.088 Oh, my gosh. 00:29:57.280 --> 00:30:00.040 This is so thoroughly wrapped, 00:30:00.040 --> 00:30:00.920 and I'm grateful. 00:30:00.920 --> 00:30:03.583 It needed every bit of wrapping here. 00:30:06.140 --> 00:30:07.690 Okay, hang on a second. 00:30:07.690 --> 00:30:10.240 There's something pretty interesting going on here. 00:30:22.500 --> 00:30:23.333 You ready? 00:30:26.107 --> 00:30:29.230 (wheezing) That is beautiful. 00:30:29.230 --> 00:30:32.333 Look at the matte black McDonald's logo. 00:30:33.880 --> 00:30:36.793 MKBHD would get a kick out of this, I think. 00:30:37.710 --> 00:30:39.210 It's in such good condition, too. 00:30:39.210 --> 00:30:42.270 Shouts out to the McDonald's employee who took -" 00:30:42.270 --> 00:30:44.350 "So it has a cartridge? It's not just pre-installed?" 00:30:44.350 --> 00:30:45.183 - "Oh, buddy. 00:30:46.070 --> 00:30:48.560 That's an unassuming cartridge 00:30:49.470 --> 00:30:54.190 with incredibly high value... and precious data. 00:30:56.740 --> 00:30:58.540 And then what is going on over here? 00:31:03.960 --> 00:31:05.637 What is this second thing? 00:31:08.610 --> 00:31:11.340 So this number, from the YouTube videos I've seen 00:31:11.340 --> 00:31:13.610 of the people who can't get past the title screen, 00:31:13.610 --> 00:31:16.360 I'm pretty sure there's a six digit code that's needed. 00:31:18.402 --> 00:31:20.783 Wait, there's ANOTHERone? 00:31:20.783 --> 00:31:24.002 There's TWO? What?! 00:31:26.780 --> 00:31:29.053 Two McDonald DSis here. 00:31:30.500 --> 00:31:34.143 Wow, they're both like in incredible condition too. 00:31:35.230 --> 00:31:36.860 That matte texture is so nice. 00:31:36.860 --> 00:31:40.450 The DSi is a very beautiful and underrated device. 00:31:40.450 --> 00:31:41.840 And then, let's see 00:31:41.840 --> 00:31:44.193 what's the last piece of the puzzle here... 00:31:47.040 --> 00:31:49.040 Mark, I think your suspicion is correct. 00:31:53.460 --> 00:31:58.460 I think this is just a pretty standard DSi charger here. 00:31:59.006 --> 00:31:59.839 Oh, my god. 00:31:59.839 --> 00:32:01.620 Wow. Beautiful. 00:32:01.620 --> 00:32:03.230 Thank you. Thank you so much, Mark." 00:32:03.230 --> 00:32:04.063 "Yeah, yeah!" 00:32:04.063 --> 00:32:05.593 - "and thank you, Robert, for filming." 00:32:06.840 --> 00:32:09.180 At long last, this ultra rare game - 00:32:09.180 --> 00:32:13.520 and, allegedly, the password for it - was in our hands: 00:32:13.520 --> 00:32:16.230 This incredibly rare, McDonald's-branded DSi; 00:32:16.230 --> 00:32:20.150 this even rarer McDonald's Japan employee training game; 00:32:20.150 --> 00:32:22.600 and, arguably the most precious part of all, 00:32:22.600 --> 00:32:25.070 the long lost, unique six-digit password 00:32:25.070 --> 00:32:26.360 that would let us access the game 00:32:26.360 --> 00:32:28.573 for the first time in 10 years. 00:32:35.000 --> 00:32:37.670 Finally, at long last, the game was safely in our hands, 00:32:37.670 --> 00:32:38.720 and that meant that there was only 00:32:38.720 --> 00:32:40.463 one piece of the puzzle left. 00:32:41.430 --> 00:32:42.910 And sure enough, a few days later, 00:32:42.910 --> 00:32:45.620 another package arrived, this time from Germany, 00:32:45.620 --> 00:32:48.423 containing the modded New 2DS XL. 00:32:49.400 --> 00:32:50.830 This was the final piece - 00:32:50.830 --> 00:32:52.620 this was the last ingredient necessary 00:32:52.620 --> 00:32:54.710 to share this game with the world. 00:32:54.710 --> 00:32:57.960 The only obstacle left to surmount was the language barrier. 00:32:57.960 --> 00:33:02.160 I can't read Japanese, but I know somebody who can. 00:33:02.160 --> 00:33:03.690 So I reached out to Samuel Messner again 00:33:03.690 --> 00:33:05.400 and asked him if he'd be down to join me 00:33:05.400 --> 00:33:06.860 for this first-ever playthrough 00:33:06.860 --> 00:33:10.930 of the McDonald's DS training game. 00:33:10.930 --> 00:33:12.421 He agreed. 00:33:18.300 --> 00:33:20.920 - I'm excited to see the icon for it. 00:33:20.920 --> 00:33:22.490 - Yes. Good point. 00:33:22.490 --> 00:33:23.520 This is a big moment for me. 00:33:23.520 --> 00:33:25.360 I have not actually turned this game on yet. 00:33:25.360 --> 00:33:27.736 I've played zero seconds of this, 00:33:27.736 --> 00:33:30.220 as has everyone in the United States, 00:33:30.220 --> 00:33:31.870 as far as I can tell. 00:33:31.870 --> 00:33:34.060 - Oh, my God, it's fancy. 00:33:34.060 --> 00:33:34.893 - Dang, I kind of wish that 00:33:34.893 --> 00:33:36.660 that was what the cartridge looked like, 00:33:36.660 --> 00:33:40.413 because it's got kind of a "Feel the Magic: XY/XX" vibe to it. 00:33:43.240 --> 00:33:44.073 Dude. 00:33:44.941 --> 00:33:46.190 - [Both] I'm loving it! 00:33:46.190 --> 00:33:47.301 - I'm loving it! 00:33:47.301 --> 00:33:48.362 I AM loving it. 00:33:52.856 --> 00:33:53.689 FMV!! 00:34:07.530 --> 00:34:08.743 Oh my god. 00:34:11.020 --> 00:34:11.853 Dude. 00:34:13.440 --> 00:34:15.530 Happy McDonald's customers all over the world. 00:34:15.530 --> 00:34:18.440 So this opening video was on YouTube, 00:34:18.440 --> 00:34:19.870 but I avoided watching it 00:34:19.870 --> 00:34:22.050 'cause I didn't want to take away from that moment, 00:34:22.050 --> 00:34:23.350 and I made the right call. 00:34:25.130 --> 00:34:26.040 Wowie. 00:34:26.040 --> 00:34:27.510 All right, so we got three menu options here - 00:34:27.510 --> 00:34:28.810 Can you help me out with these? 00:34:28.810 --> 00:34:31.190 - Yeah. So the first one is password input. 00:34:31.190 --> 00:34:35.080 The second is password, like change your password. 00:34:35.080 --> 00:34:37.670 And the third one is serial code input, 00:34:37.670 --> 00:34:39.760 which is probably what we're gonna wanna do here. 00:34:39.760 --> 00:34:40.763 - Oh, interesting. 00:34:42.000 --> 00:34:43.900 I feel like I'm defusing a bomb here. 00:34:45.830 --> 00:34:48.053 Dude. I don't know if you caught that: 00:34:48.890 --> 00:34:50.973 It's got the ba-da-ba-ba-ba jingle. 00:34:53.390 --> 00:34:54.700 It's incredible. 00:34:54.700 --> 00:34:56.330 It's so spiritual. 00:34:56.330 --> 00:34:57.430 Okay, this has to be it, 00:34:57.430 --> 00:35:00.510 because it's a six digit code that only takes numbers. 00:35:00.510 --> 00:35:02.440 All right, let's punch this in. 00:35:02.440 --> 00:35:03.670 Four. 00:35:03.670 --> 00:35:04.503 Eight. 00:35:05.460 --> 00:35:06.590 Five. 00:35:06.590 --> 00:35:07.650 Oops. 00:35:07.650 --> 00:35:09.660 Is this backspace in the lower right? 00:35:09.660 --> 00:35:10.493 - Yeah, it is. 00:35:10.493 --> 00:35:12.383 - Four, eight, two. 00:35:13.220 --> 00:35:15.077 Such a distractingly beautiful song. 00:35:15.077 --> 00:35:16.143 All right, here we go. 00:35:17.225 --> 00:35:18.090 What does it say at the bottom? 00:35:18.090 --> 00:35:19.333 - Complete input. 00:35:21.366 --> 00:35:22.400 All right, let's see here. 00:35:22.400 --> 00:35:23.233 Oh, no! 00:35:25.288 --> 00:35:27.040 'What you have entered is incorrect. 00:35:27.040 --> 00:35:29.663 Please enter the correct information.' 00:35:34.880 --> 00:35:38.500 - This moment, in all honesty, scared the crap out of me. 00:35:38.500 --> 00:35:40.910 My mind flooded with terrifying possibilities: 00:35:40.910 --> 00:35:44.390 Had this DS cartridge save game been wiped somehow? 00:35:44.390 --> 00:35:46.930 Had the seller sent me the wrong copy? 00:35:46.930 --> 00:35:50.160 Or, worst of all: were these photos... fake? 00:35:50.160 --> 00:35:52.465 Had we been straight-up scammed here? 00:35:57.960 --> 00:35:59.360 - What if it's the password? 00:35:59.360 --> 00:36:01.200 What if they set the password to be... 00:36:01.200 --> 00:36:03.450 'Cause it is a six digit password. 00:36:03.450 --> 00:36:04.977 - Try it. Yeah, why not? 00:36:06.100 --> 00:36:08.610 - I hope so, 'cause I don't know what I'm gonna do 00:36:08.610 --> 00:36:09.660 if this doesn't work. 00:36:11.320 --> 00:36:14.030 - And here it says, please enter the six digit password 00:36:14.030 --> 00:36:15.970 that you yourself have decided. 00:36:15.970 --> 00:36:19.513 This is where I'm unsure whether this will actually work. 00:36:20.880 --> 00:36:23.593 - All right. 482500. 00:36:25.260 --> 00:36:26.563 I'm hoping this works. 00:36:28.691 --> 00:36:30.743 Yes! 00:36:30.743 --> 00:36:32.290 - Yeah! 00:36:32.290 --> 00:36:33.770 - All right. 00:36:33.770 --> 00:36:34.603 We're in. 00:36:34.603 --> 00:36:36.720 - We're in uncharted territory, man. 00:36:36.720 --> 00:36:37.553 - Dude. 00:36:37.553 --> 00:36:40.040 The password... had worked. 00:36:40.040 --> 00:36:41.780 Wow, we got the buns. 00:36:41.780 --> 00:36:43.140 Two pickles. 00:36:43.140 --> 00:36:45.270 That's an iconic bit of McDonald's lore. 00:36:45.270 --> 00:36:46.560 Two patties. 00:36:46.560 --> 00:36:47.447 I think I'm done. 00:36:47.447 --> 00:36:48.073 Oh, it's 3D! 00:36:49.960 --> 00:36:52.920 Now our full playthrough of this game took over an hour, 00:36:52.920 --> 00:36:54.867 so I'm gonna spare you from watching all of that 00:36:54.867 --> 00:36:56.523 and just show you the highlights: 00:37:01.400 --> 00:37:02.363 - Is this my name..? 00:37:03.750 --> 00:37:04.933 Oh my god. 00:37:06.420 --> 00:37:08.580 All right, let's go with this guy, then. 00:37:08.580 --> 00:37:09.903 Oh, let's get the egg. 00:37:11.310 --> 00:37:12.143 - Oh yeah. 00:37:12.143 --> 00:37:13.550 - Oh, this sound design is so good. 00:37:13.550 --> 00:37:14.383 Are you hearing that? 00:37:14.383 --> 00:37:17.360 Dude, the fact that it's like a sprite of a cow 00:37:17.360 --> 00:37:19.083 with a McDonald's M on it!! 00:37:22.460 --> 00:37:25.630 - 'Hey, my name is Donald McDonald.' 00:37:25.630 --> 00:37:28.960 - Okay, how many pickles on a double cheeseburger? 00:37:28.960 --> 00:37:29.793 - Easy. 00:37:30.680 --> 00:37:33.638 We're now getting an isometric view of the whole store. 00:37:33.638 --> 00:37:34.630 - Whoa. 00:37:34.630 --> 00:37:35.463 - Oh, my god. 00:37:40.980 --> 00:37:41.813 - Okay... 00:37:43.810 --> 00:37:48.400 ...it says that you can send an encouraging message 00:37:48.400 --> 00:37:50.420 to someone else in the McDonald's crew. 00:37:50.420 --> 00:37:51.890 - Dude. 00:37:51.890 --> 00:37:54.310 Dude, that is incredible. 00:37:54.310 --> 00:37:55.620 - Now, as we played through this game, 00:37:55.620 --> 00:37:59.450 we just kept making discovery after fascinating discovery: 00:37:59.450 --> 00:38:01.390 - Is that Ronald McDonald's hand? 00:38:01.390 --> 00:38:03.250 - Way too much to put in this video. 00:38:03.250 --> 00:38:05.290 And, side note, if you're one of the people crazy enough 00:38:05.290 --> 00:38:07.720 to wanna watch all 73 minutes of this playthrough, 00:38:07.720 --> 00:38:10.080 you can just click the Join button underneath this video, 00:38:10.080 --> 00:38:12.330 and you'll get access to the entire thing 00:38:12.330 --> 00:38:13.500 as one of my channel members. 00:38:13.500 --> 00:38:14.423 Anyways: 00:38:15.470 --> 00:38:17.020 It goes without saying that this was 00:38:17.020 --> 00:38:18.730 an immensely satisfying moment: 00:38:18.730 --> 00:38:21.150 playing through this game for the first time, 00:38:21.150 --> 00:38:23.260 and having a translator by my side to help out. 00:38:23.260 --> 00:38:24.690 It felt like a victory. 00:38:24.690 --> 00:38:28.000 - It's a great piece of history that we've uncovered here, 00:38:28.000 --> 00:38:31.010 and I'm looking forward to sharing it with the world. 00:38:31.010 --> 00:38:33.380 - Yeah, and thank you for doing your part 00:38:33.380 --> 00:38:35.720 for video game preservation, man. 00:38:35.720 --> 00:38:38.820 This'll be the first video material in the world 00:38:38.820 --> 00:38:42.840 that actually goes into properly what the game is like. 00:38:42.840 --> 00:38:44.840 This has existed exclusively 00:38:44.840 --> 00:38:48.113 within the memories for like decades. 00:38:49.120 --> 00:38:49.953 Let's be honest, though. 00:38:49.953 --> 00:38:50.810 No one was gonna document 00:38:50.810 --> 00:38:54.630 the McDonald's DS game before you. 00:38:54.630 --> 00:38:55.837 - However.... 00:39:01.073 --> 00:39:02.685 (dry chuckle) 00:39:03.410 --> 00:39:05.830 About one week after I recorded my playthrough with Samuel, 00:39:05.830 --> 00:39:07.890 I was catching up with a friend over FaceTime 00:39:07.890 --> 00:39:09.490 and she asked me what I'd been up to lately. 00:39:09.490 --> 00:39:11.530 So I walked her through this whole story - 00:39:11.530 --> 00:39:14.510 the long lost game, the Bloomberg video, the auction; 00:39:14.510 --> 00:39:16.030 the French guy, Coddy Trentuit, 00:39:16.030 --> 00:39:17.420 who had a copy but couldn't get in 00:39:17.420 --> 00:39:19.860 because he didn't have the password, et cetera, et cetera - 00:39:19.860 --> 00:39:22.930 and how I had just managed to get to it myself. 00:39:22.930 --> 00:39:25.840 And she says to me, "So, wait: that password, 00:39:25.840 --> 00:39:29.140 was it an employee ID number or what?" 00:39:29.140 --> 00:39:31.530 So I go to Coddy's video to show her 00:39:31.530 --> 00:39:34.410 the exact password screen the guy was stuck on, 00:39:34.410 --> 00:39:37.550 and I noticed something new. 00:39:37.550 --> 00:39:39.090 While showing her Coddy's video, 00:39:39.090 --> 00:39:40.740 I spotted something in the description 00:39:40.740 --> 00:39:42.670 that I hadn't seen before: 00:39:42.670 --> 00:39:44.460 a new message that had been edited in 00:39:44.460 --> 00:39:45.910 since the last time I watched it. 00:39:45.910 --> 00:39:50.640 In French, in all capital letters: 'IDENTIFIANTS TROUVEE' - 00:39:50.640 --> 00:39:51.563 and beneath that, 00:39:53.430 --> 00:39:56.483 'LOGINS FOUNDS !!' with a YouTube link. 00:39:58.870 --> 00:39:59.820 I clicked the link. 00:40:02.520 --> 00:40:05.570 And it took me to a livestream archive, 00:40:05.570 --> 00:40:10.520 broadcast on YouTube, with 131 views - 58 minutes long - 00:40:31.760 --> 00:40:34.270 ...and it actually works. 00:40:34.270 --> 00:40:37.080 He gets in, plays through the entire game, 00:40:37.080 --> 00:40:38.480 just like me and Samuel did. 00:40:39.420 --> 00:40:42.280 And - here's the really devastating part: 00:40:42.280 --> 00:40:45.690 Coddy's playthrough had been streamed live to YouTube 00:40:45.690 --> 00:40:48.063 on August 30th, 2020. 00:40:49.070 --> 00:40:50.943 My playthrough with Samuel? 00:40:54.790 --> 00:40:58.780 That was on September 18th - barely two weeks later. 00:40:58.780 --> 00:40:59.813 We'd been beaten. 00:41:08.820 --> 00:41:10.370 I gotta be honest with you here, 00:41:10.370 --> 00:41:12.710 this was a little bit heartbreaking. 00:41:12.710 --> 00:41:15.760 To have come this far and put in all this effort... 00:41:15.760 --> 00:41:16.980 I was kicking myself: 00:41:16.980 --> 00:41:18.730 If I just moved a little faster, 00:41:18.730 --> 00:41:20.160 procrastinated a little less, 00:41:20.160 --> 00:41:22.600 I could have been the actual first one 00:41:22.600 --> 00:41:23.793 to document this game. 00:41:24.760 --> 00:41:25.610 At the same time, though, 00:41:25.610 --> 00:41:29.010 I was happy for Coddy - and also mystified by the fact 00:41:29.010 --> 00:41:31.960 that he'd somehow gotten the password for his cartridge. 00:41:31.960 --> 00:41:35.530 I mean, we all know how I got the password for my version; 00:41:35.530 --> 00:41:37.923 but how the hell did Coddy get his? 00:41:39.170 --> 00:41:41.430 Well, strap in, because Coddy's journey 00:41:41.430 --> 00:41:44.923 to get his cartridge's password is even crazier than my own. 00:41:52.660 --> 00:41:54.500 Over on that Obscure Gamers forum thread 00:41:54.500 --> 00:41:55.971 from the beginning of this video, 00:41:55.971 --> 00:41:57.930 Coddy tells the full story. 00:41:57.930 --> 00:42:01.650 In short, he was able through a friend to meet in person 00:42:01.650 --> 00:42:04.310 with the IT director of McDonald's in his country - 00:42:04.310 --> 00:42:06.310 presumably McDonald's France. 00:42:06.310 --> 00:42:08.290 Upon seeing the McDonald's DS, 00:42:08.290 --> 00:42:11.360 this IT guy freaked out, said "don't move," 00:42:11.360 --> 00:42:13.540 and then brought it to the desk of none other 00:42:13.540 --> 00:42:17.540 than the CEO - truly the 'Scott, president of Domino's Pizza' 00:42:17.540 --> 00:42:19.430 of this particular story. 00:42:19.430 --> 00:42:21.420 It turns out, the CEO's wife is Japanese, 00:42:21.420 --> 00:42:23.180 and she herself had actually worked 00:42:23.180 --> 00:42:25.520 at McDonald's Japan corporate - 00:42:25.520 --> 00:42:27.840 meaning she knew exactly who to contact 00:42:27.840 --> 00:42:29.113 about Coddy's problem. 00:42:31.400 --> 00:42:33.760 Weeks later, Coddy found himself on an email chain 00:42:33.760 --> 00:42:36.900 with employees from McDonald's Europe, McDonald's UK, 00:42:36.900 --> 00:42:40.483 McDonald's Australia, and of course... McDonald's Japan. 00:42:41.730 --> 00:42:43.480 This email chain, according to Coddy, 00:42:43.480 --> 00:42:44.980 was loaded with information, 00:42:44.980 --> 00:42:48.460 including scans of PDFs of the game's manual... 00:42:48.460 --> 00:42:51.170 but unfortunately, they weren't able to give him a password, 00:42:51.170 --> 00:42:52.750 as the individual passwords 00:42:52.750 --> 00:42:55.960 were set by individual McDonald's store management. 00:42:55.960 --> 00:42:59.460 Now, a lot of people would've given up there... but not Coddy. 00:42:59.460 --> 00:43:01.090 He kept going. 00:43:01.090 --> 00:43:03.550 And the actual explanation of what Cody did next 00:43:03.550 --> 00:43:06.730 is pretty technical and honestly way above my head, 00:43:06.730 --> 00:43:10.960 but at this point, Coddy actually dove into the code itself. 00:43:10.960 --> 00:43:12.570 He took apart the game's ROM, 00:43:12.570 --> 00:43:15.440 comparing the McDonald's training cartridges save data 00:43:15.440 --> 00:43:19.073 with other DS games and began to find similarities. 00:43:20.040 --> 00:43:23.720 Then, incredibly, Coddy made a huge discovery: 00:43:23.720 --> 00:43:25.980 he stumbled across a string of code in the game 00:43:25.980 --> 00:43:27.500 that contained translations 00:43:27.500 --> 00:43:29.350 of the two-character hex code 00:43:29.350 --> 00:43:32.250 for every single letter and number in the password screen. 00:43:33.310 --> 00:43:36.010 From there, he kept hunting, and then found the entry 00:43:36.010 --> 00:43:37.850 in the code for crew members... 00:43:37.850 --> 00:43:40.253 and at that point, he had everything he needed. 00:43:41.650 --> 00:43:45.720 The username? "LE1038". 00:43:45.720 --> 00:43:47.103 and the password he needed? 00:43:47.103 --> 00:43:48.000 Zero... 00:43:48.000 --> 00:43:49.522 zero zero... 00:43:49.522 --> 00:43:50.721 zero... 00:43:50.721 --> 00:43:51.458 ...zero... 00:43:51.458 --> 00:43:53.210 ...zero. 00:43:53.210 --> 00:43:54.043 He was in. 00:43:55.680 --> 00:43:58.650 I could not stop smiling when I first read Coddy's story. 00:43:58.650 --> 00:43:59.660 This guy had jumped through 00:43:59.660 --> 00:44:01.840 about a billion hoops and roadblocks 00:44:01.840 --> 00:44:04.400 to solve a very inconsequential mystery - 00:44:04.400 --> 00:44:06.310 and to me, that made me feel like he and I 00:44:06.310 --> 00:44:08.240 are kindred spirits in a way. 00:44:08.240 --> 00:44:09.950 But also... I'd be lying if I said 00:44:09.950 --> 00:44:11.070 I wasn't a little heartbroken 00:44:11.070 --> 00:44:13.120 that Coddy had ultimately beaten me to the punch. 00:44:13.120 --> 00:44:15.170 But the irony wasn't lost on me either: 00:44:15.170 --> 00:44:17.910 This entire time, without either one of us knowing it, 00:44:17.910 --> 00:44:20.610 Coddy and I had been racing in parallel, neck and neck, 00:44:20.610 --> 00:44:22.230 to the same finish line. 00:44:22.230 --> 00:44:24.870 And, unfortunately for me, Coddy had beaten me, 00:44:24.870 --> 00:44:27.303 fair and square, by just a couple of days. 00:44:30.560 --> 00:44:33.360 Still, I was determined to make this adventure worth it. 00:44:36.433 --> 00:44:38.590 I had come too far to just throw all this away 00:44:38.590 --> 00:44:41.700 because someone else beat me to putting this on YouTube. 00:44:41.700 --> 00:44:43.720 And after thinking about it for awhile, 00:44:43.720 --> 00:44:46.330 I think I figured out what I can do. 00:44:46.330 --> 00:44:48.150 See, as of today, the only two people 00:44:48.150 --> 00:44:50.350 we know for sure have access to this game 00:44:50.350 --> 00:44:52.400 are Coddy and myself. 00:44:52.400 --> 00:44:54.480 And as cool as that scarcity is, 00:44:54.480 --> 00:44:55.720 I think I want this game to be something 00:44:55.720 --> 00:44:57.600 that everybody can enjoy - 00:44:57.600 --> 00:44:59.210 and Cody's made it abundantly clear 00:44:59.210 --> 00:45:01.960 that he plans to never, ever dump his copy. 00:45:01.960 --> 00:45:03.220 After spending months on this project 00:45:03.220 --> 00:45:05.640 and reading tons and tons of forum threads about it, 00:45:05.640 --> 00:45:07.240 one thing I feel pretty confident about 00:45:07.240 --> 00:45:09.950 is that people really want to see this game preserved - 00:45:09.950 --> 00:45:11.830 both just to check the game out for themselves, 00:45:11.830 --> 00:45:13.650 and also out of principle. 00:45:13.650 --> 00:45:16.820 So, one last time, I reached out to Samuel about my idea, 00:45:16.820 --> 00:45:18.040 and Samuel put me in touch 00:45:18.040 --> 00:45:20.140 with a game preservationist named sCZther. 00:45:41.530 --> 00:45:42.520 sCZther walked me through the process 00:45:42.520 --> 00:45:45.880 of using some software called GodMode9 on my 3DS 00:45:45.880 --> 00:45:48.903 to dump the game cartridge itself in its entirety. 00:45:53.750 --> 00:45:57.860 The game cartridge itself and, crucially, my save file - 00:45:57.860 --> 00:45:59.610 since the game requires a password. 00:46:00.620 --> 00:46:02.623 And, after jumping through a few hoops... 00:46:06.400 --> 00:46:07.373 ...we were successful. 00:46:17.160 --> 00:46:18.760 So, I am happy to announce 00:46:18.760 --> 00:46:21.330 that if you or anyone else watching this video 00:46:21.330 --> 00:46:23.140 wants to play this long-lost 00:46:23.140 --> 00:46:25.530 Japanese McDonald's training game for yourself: 00:46:25.530 --> 00:46:27.240 I've created a page on archive.org 00:46:27.240 --> 00:46:29.550 where I've uploaded the ROM and my save file 00:46:29.550 --> 00:46:30.730 and some basic instructions, 00:46:30.730 --> 00:46:33.500 and you can download it and start playing with it today. 00:46:33.500 --> 00:46:34.333 Have fun. 00:46:39.190 --> 00:46:41.100 It's only recently, now that this whole thing is over, 00:46:41.100 --> 00:46:43.650 that I've been able to reflect on just how bizarre 00:46:43.650 --> 00:46:46.710 and uniquely international this journey was. 00:46:46.710 --> 00:46:47.990 The quest to get my hands on this game 00:46:47.990 --> 00:46:51.570 involved a German 3DS hacker, a pseudonymous French rival, 00:46:51.570 --> 00:46:53.810 a game archivist from the Czech Republic, 00:46:53.810 --> 00:46:55.290 international smuggling - 00:46:55.290 --> 00:46:57.360 and, for the second time in my life, 00:46:57.360 --> 00:47:00.173 the Japanese arm of an American fast food company. 00:47:01.020 --> 00:47:03.610 I still don't really understand why this keeps happening - 00:47:03.610 --> 00:47:06.870 why I seem fated to pursue these trivial stories 00:47:06.870 --> 00:47:09.730 about companies like Domino's Japan or McDonald's Japan. 00:47:09.730 --> 00:47:13.170 And though I don't know how things turned out this way, 00:47:13.170 --> 00:47:14.870 there's one thing I know for sure: 00:47:18.260 --> 00:47:19.093 I'm lovin' it. 00:47:19.374 --> 00:47:20.768 (laughter) 00:47:22.121 --> 00:47:23.288 ...stupid ending. 00:47:28.440 --> 00:47:30.840 Before we wrap up, I have three really quick notes: 00:47:30.840 --> 00:47:31.710 first and foremost, 00:47:31.710 --> 00:47:33.700 I'd like to extend a huge thank you, once again, 00:47:33.700 --> 00:47:35.680 to Buyee for sponsoring this video 00:47:35.680 --> 00:47:37.030 and for helping preserve this weird 00:47:37.030 --> 00:47:38.880 little piece of internet history. 00:47:38.880 --> 00:47:39.790 There's a link in the description 00:47:39.790 --> 00:47:42.800 of this video that gives you a free 2,000 yen coupon 00:47:42.800 --> 00:47:45.380 to any new Buyee users who sign up - 00:47:45.380 --> 00:47:47.310 It's a great service, I've used it a ton of times, 00:47:47.310 --> 00:47:49.880 so if you wanna thank Buyee for making this video possible, 00:47:49.880 --> 00:47:51.170 please consider clicking this link 00:47:51.170 --> 00:47:52.530 and checking the site out. 00:47:52.530 --> 00:47:54.540 Also, in the time since the story began, 00:47:54.540 --> 00:47:57.050 Buyee has opened up international shipping via DHL, 00:47:57.050 --> 00:47:59.980 so getting stuff in and out of Japan is now a breeze. 00:47:59.980 --> 00:48:01.990 Also, a huge shout out to Jennifer Walton, 00:48:01.990 --> 00:48:04.460 who composed that phenomenal reorchestrated version 00:48:04.460 --> 00:48:06.680 of the McDonald's training game menu theme 00:48:06.680 --> 00:48:08.580 that you heard at the very end of this video. 00:48:08.580 --> 00:48:10.100 Couldn't have done it without her. 00:48:10.100 --> 00:48:12.170 I still laugh every time I listen to that song. 00:48:12.170 --> 00:48:13.410 It's so perfect. 00:48:13.410 --> 00:48:15.360 Here's a link to that if you want to hear it. 00:48:15.360 --> 00:48:16.930 Secondly, the link to download 00:48:16.930 --> 00:48:18.620 the McDonald's DS game rom that I dumped 00:48:18.620 --> 00:48:19.970 is linked in the description below, 00:48:19.970 --> 00:48:21.620 so please check that out. 00:48:21.620 --> 00:48:22.960 And lastly: you might have noticed 00:48:22.960 --> 00:48:24.480 that right next to the Subscribe button, 00:48:24.480 --> 00:48:27.200 I now have a Join button under my videos. 00:48:27.200 --> 00:48:28.470 Basically, if you'd like to support me 00:48:28.470 --> 00:48:30.320 making more videos like this one, you can do so 00:48:30.320 --> 00:48:32.370 for just 5 bucks a month, and get access 00:48:32.370 --> 00:48:33.970 to all sorts of free extras 00:48:33.970 --> 00:48:35.697 like me and Samuel's full, hour-long playthrough 00:48:35.697 --> 00:48:37.700 of the McDonald's DS game, 00:48:37.700 --> 00:48:41.300 commentary tracks for my older videos, and so much more. 00:48:41.300 --> 00:48:43.813 Thanks for watching and I'll see you next time.