Hi, I tried the search function but wasn't able to locate anything on this. I purchased my first Sega Genesis sometime around late August, 1989. (I don't remember the exact date, but it was early enough that they didn't even have extra controllers available for purchase) The copy of Altered Beast that came with my system is different from most out there in that it does not have the English text "Altered Beast" displayed on the title screen, only the Japanese characters (獣王記, which I'd translate as "Chronicles of the Beast King"). The rest of the game is identical to the regular U.S. release; the game itself, in fact, is essentially the Japanese Mega Drive version of the game (the Japanese MD release had the same title screen as what's on mine).
I remember reading some time ago about someone else owning one of these, so I don't believe my cart is unique, nor necessarily a printing error. Rather, it's likely that Sega rushed this one to market, and only went back and modified the title screen for a later production run.
My question is this: Just how rare is this variant? Was this restricted to just the launch run of systems, or did it linger for some time? If you purchased a Genesis pretty close to launch (say, 1989 or early 1990), please chime in and let me know which title screen your copy of the game has. While I doubt that this will result in any hard numbers, I am curious just how long this run of the game was in production for. Thanks!