Nintendo’s Most Wanted!
Canucklehead | February 27, 2008
Video game collecting is really nothing new. There are numerous examples around the internet of huge Nintendo game collections that take up whole rooms, if not houses. This collection however will focus not on quantity but instead quality. This is a collection of the most uncommon Nintendo games that while many people haven’t heard of, serious collectors start drooling just thinking about.
It may be handy to cut this out and put it in your wallet for when you are out and about at garage sales and/or flea markets. It was recently reported that someone was able to buy a bunch of unreleased game prototypes for the original NES system at a garage sale for a few bucks - with the resulting auction expected to reach into the thousands at least. Please note that this list is by no means comprehensive and we would love to hear from you about glaring ommisions below. Well, enjoy!
Nintendo World Championships Gold: This was a limited-edition game that Nintendo put out for the NES in 1990 and is considred by many to be the ‘holy grail’ of Nintendo games. There are 116 copies in total with only 12 of these gold edition games known to exist somewhere out there, if they haven’t been destroyed that is — current value is between $20,000 - $30,000, with a recent auction price being $22,000 - for a non-gold edition!
Myriad 6-in-1: The 6-in-1 Myriad game has also become one of the more standout collector’s items from the NES. As the name suggests, it’s a collection of 6 games, which are of the quality you’d expect from an independent, unlicensed title (read: not good). The catridges themselves are individually numbered with the highest known number to date being 888 - so it is almost a certainty that less than 1,000 exist. That being said, the most recent auction that I could find (they are rare) had the loose game alone sell for just over $700.
Game & Watch Collection: One of the rarest Nintendo DS games ever, a promotional item that was only sent out to Club Nintendo members in Japan. While currently only going for around $100 at auction, in a few years copies that are still in their shrink-wrapped state will almost certainly be worth at least 10 times as much.
Kunio-kun no Dodge Ball Zenin Shuugou Tournament Special: Released in 1993 by Super Famicom as a limited edition for tournaments in Japan, this is certainly the most valuable and rare SNES game known. Given away only as a tournament prize - it currently fetches between $1000 - $1500.
Donkey Kong Country Competiton: Another SNES offering, these cartidges were used by Blockbuster Video in tournaments held within the store, and never receieved a true commercial release. (The cartridge is rumored to have a print run of only 2,500 copies) As typical with most video rental stores, a few cartridges made their way into the bargain bins for customers to purchase. Current value is around $700.
The Starfox Super Weekend and Donkey Kong Country Competiton: Another cartidge were only distributed to Blockbuster Video to be used in tournaments held within the store, and never saw commercial release. The winners of these tournaments would receive prizes such as jackets and sometimes even vacations. Once again, only about 2,500 copies are rumored to exist. While the main retail games may not be rare at all, there was a special package that is quite desirable and current value is around $400.
Stadium Events: (NES) With only about 2000 copies out there, this is the most rare of all the otherwise standard games. In fact, some suggest that as few as 200 copies still exist. This is due in no small part to the fact that just after its release, it was recalled. Upon its release, Nintendo decided to grant the game a first party production, recalling the scant initial cartridges that had been sent out. The game would later become “World Class Track Meet” and only a few of the original issuance remain. As a result, boxed copies of Stadium Events have sold for over $1000, and even loose cartridges are also now closing in on that amount.
Bubble Bath Babes: Going from the screenshot above (censored of course), this is a well, …umm … “mature†NES game. Of the puzzle (puzzling?) genre. Featuring an 8-bit rendered, unclothed female at the bottom of the screen it is easy to see why didn’t get the ‘OK’ from Nintendo, nor were stores eager to carry it. The actual copies in existence is anyone’s guess but this certainly seems like the game one is most likely to find at a garage sale or in a bargain bin somewhere. Of course, this game on eBay will net you at least $500.
Guitar Hero 3 - Canucklehead Edition: Our final entry, apart from being the most rare is also the most perplexing. It is a well used edition of Guitar Hero 3 that has been signed by someone known only as ‘Canucklehead’ who has absolutely nothing to do with the game and to be frank is plain terrible at it. The controller itself appears to have been decorated by a two-year-old (because it was) and shows obvious signs of misuse. It is difficult to put a price on this one-of-a-kind item however all offers over $1000 in the comments section below will be seriously entertained.
That’s all for now - happy hunting!
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