UPDATED 08:30 EDT / JANUARY 12 2015

Rare NES Stadium Events Game Cartridge NEWS

Rare video game auction reaches $100k, but will anyone pay?

Rare NES Stadium Events Game Cartridge

An ultra-rare video game from the original Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is currently going for $99,850 on ebay, but there is a good possibility the seller might never see that money.

The rare game is Stadium Events, an early exercise game that was developed by Bandai Co., Ltd. and released in North America in 1987. Due to a change in licensing and copyrights in 1988, the North American release of the game was recalled, and many of the original cartridges were destroyed.

Because of this, fewer than 2,000 copies of the game remain, with some estimates being as low as only 200 surviving units.

The rare copy of Stadium Events is currently being sold on ebay by user menaceone, and there have been 81 bids so far. One reason for this particular auction’s high price is the condition of the game, which is still factory sealed.

The seller claims that he was a former employee of Nintendo who received a copy of the game in the 1990s.

“While working at Nintendo games are often available to employees at end of life cycles,” the seller told Gamespot.

“I did not realize the value until 2011, when a story came out about this game being sold on eBay for $44,000. I told my wife ‘I know I have that game.’ I collect a lot of different items, so after looking through several boxes I found it! Since I was still working for Nintendo I could not sell this item for profit, which is a smart company policy. When I left in 2012, it was possible for me to sell this game.”

 

Genuine offers, or cruel trolls?

 

Internet communities are often the targets of trolls, and ebay is no exception. Wired’s Chris Kohler pointed out a 2014 auction for Nintendo World Championships, another rare game that reached a maximum bid of  nearly $100,000. The winning bidder refused to pay, claiming that the bid was made in error. The seller later sold the game privately for $5,000, the auction’s original minimum bid.

Whether or not the current auction will end the same way is unknown, but Kohler points out that that highest ever auction for Stadium Events was $22,800.

A nearly six-figure sum is enough to make nearly anyone go a little bit crazy, but the seller might want to hold off on any early retirement plans or vacations in the Bahamas.


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