Blimey!
Someone (tragically, it's not me :sad:) is selling a rather rare NES game, Nintendo World Championships, on ebay.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/221357006206?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649
At the time of my making this post, the highest bid is;
US $98,400.86
which already is a record, with the previous highest amount being $41,300 for Stadium Events, which is also a NES game.
And in case you haven't clicked on the above link to see the much sought after Nintendo World Championships, the game doesn't even have it's original label, it's been ripped off, and someone has written in biro "Mario" on it. And of course there's no box. Still, what do you expect for a hundred grand?
Even the BBC have mentioned this (obviously there's been no crime worth reporting in Britain this week) - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-25878678
According to the BBC website;
"Created for the Nintendo Entertainment System - better known as NES - Nintendo World Championships was designed for a competition, and never went on general sale.
The game features shortened versions of three classics - Super Mario, Tetris and Rad Racer.
Competition entrants were given six minutes to amass points on the games, with whoever came top winning a trophy, a trip to Universal Studios and various other prizes. A detailed history of the contest and its winners can be found on Wikipedia.
Each of the 90 semi-finalists was given a grey cartridge like the one now up for auction."
Edit: I thought it might be an idea to include the URL... Doh!
I should really have added a more descriptive title to the thread too, but in fairness to me, I'm supposed to be writing a report for work, but it's so boring that my attention keeps wandering and trying to fill time by doing things like visiting and posting on forums. So it's Martijn's fault really!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/221357006206?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649
At the time of my making this post, the highest bid is;
US $98,400.86
which already is a record, with the previous highest amount being $41,300 for Stadium Events, which is also a NES game.
And in case you haven't clicked on the above link to see the much sought after Nintendo World Championships, the game doesn't even have it's original label, it's been ripped off, and someone has written in biro "Mario" on it. And of course there's no box. Still, what do you expect for a hundred grand?
Even the BBC have mentioned this (obviously there's been no crime worth reporting in Britain this week) - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-25878678
According to the BBC website;
"Created for the Nintendo Entertainment System - better known as NES - Nintendo World Championships was designed for a competition, and never went on general sale.
The game features shortened versions of three classics - Super Mario, Tetris and Rad Racer.
Competition entrants were given six minutes to amass points on the games, with whoever came top winning a trophy, a trip to Universal Studios and various other prizes. A detailed history of the contest and its winners can be found on Wikipedia.
Each of the 90 semi-finalists was given a grey cartridge like the one now up for auction."
Edit: I thought it might be an idea to include the URL... Doh!
I should really have added a more descriptive title to the thread too, but in fairness to me, I'm supposed to be writing a report for work, but it's so boring that my attention keeps wandering and trying to fill time by doing things like visiting and posting on forums. So it's Martijn's fault really!
Post edited by ewgf on
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/me scrawls 'Mire Mare' on a Currys C15
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On a related note, I do sometimes wonder about the collectors who pay a fortune for a sealed (never opened) game. I mean, either they then open it themselves, which renders the huge premium they paid for an un-opened copy wasted, or else they leave it unopened, in which case for all they know the box/case might not contain the game at all, instead just something made to weigh the same.
And there must be tons of fakes out there, opened games that have been carefully re-sealed and made to look unopened. I'd imagine there are people out there who serially make 'unopened' games, using some sort of tried and tested technique, either by hand or with the help of some sort of sealing machine.
Plus even if you have a genuine, 100% never been opened game, then if it's a cartridge rather than a disc, then it might have a save-to-cartridge feature. And if so, it might use battery backup rather than an E-PROM type thing (such as on the N64, where most if not all games that save to cartridge use a battery). And if the cartridge does save using a battery, then (a) the battery will eventually go flat, even though it's effectively storing nothing (every game cartridge I've ever know that used a battery automatically comes with a battery installed), and far more importantly, when the battery gets old, it might leak, which would corrode the cartridge's circuitry, rendering the cartridge useless.
Maybe modern batteries don't do that, or maybe anything later than the N64 used E-PROM for saving, but I have heard of NES cartridges ruined by a leaking battery.
And finally, in my horror list of what-will-happen-if-you-collect-games, if you do buy a sealed in box game and never open it, then even if it is the genuine game, and has never been unsealed, and the cartridge (if it is a cartridge) doesn't use a battery, there's always a chance that the cartridge or disc might be damaged. It does happen.
yeah that's true, I never really though of that before.
The Angry Video Game Nerd did a video on this cartridge for sale.
On the plus side, it has attracted a lot of media attention to this guy's listings, and of course ebay - is it me, or have they not bothered running their TV adverts this weekend....
www.rwapsoftware.co.uk
www.sellmyretro.com
yup, scroll down to 2014 auction - it will probably be edited soon though.
Download the latest version of Bomb Munchies Ver2210 4th July 2020
And now there's the same game on sale from someone else! A different copy I mean, and this time it's the golden cartridge version, which is even rarer than the grey one from the above auction. Nine days to go, and so far the highest bid is a measly US $20,988.00.
Oh, and the label is missing from this cartridge, too!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NES-Nintendo-World-Championship-GOLD-Cart-Super-RARE-100-Authentic-Adult-Owned-/281253143194?pt=Video_Games_Games&hash=item417bfe629a
Maybe the seller deliberately removed the label (very carefully), and when the auction for the cartridge is over he'll then auction off the label! No doubt some people would be stupid enough, sorry, I mean tasteful enough, to bid real money just for a label from the cartridge.
The price has shot up a tad since it was listed. Already on track to eclipse the last auction.
Can't say I blame anyone who owns one of these for cashing in. Hell the game can't be that good so sell the damn thing and buy yourself a new house. Christ the way this one's going the seller might be inline to buy the Playboy Mansion
which is what that french snes(?) seller did last year.. it was obviously a media stunt.
ebay should put a thing in , if it's say over 50k , then you do have to complete on an auction AND verify you have the funds.. or else get the wrath of breach of contract.. the old "my 2 year old bid" BS a crock.. the 2 year old also had daddy's login details.. yer right
I guess mire mare is a holy grail as far as speccy is concerned.. as is something like say parasol stars on c64 :)