Unopened demo version of the comic science fiction adventure game Space Quest: Chapter I - The Sarien Encounter, developed and released by Sierra On-Line in 1986 for the Apple IIGS computer. The front of the box, 7″ x 9″ x 1″, which features the game’s title, a space car, and a gameplay image, bears an affixed “Demo, Not For Resale” label to the lower left. The back features four more gameplay screens, a humorous plot summary and features list, and a small image of Sierra programmers Scott Murphy and Mark Crowe vacationing in Yosemite. Encapsulated and graded by VGA with a score of “80+ NM.”
The brainchild of Murphy and Crowe, Sierra programmers who had worked on prior titles like King's Quest II, Space Quest quickly became a hit upon its release, selling in excess of 100,000 copies. The game’s success led to five sequels, with each continuing the franchise’s successful parodying of Star Wars and Star Trek, as well as pop-culture phenomena like McDonald's and Microsoft. A coveted never-opened demo copy of a now-classic computer game.
