Update: Rare Nintendo World Championship Cartridge Sells for $99K

[StewShearerOld]

Update: Rare Nintendo World Championship Cartridge Sells for $99K

A recent eBay auction has ended with a gray cartridge version of Nintendo World Championship earning $99,902.

For every generation of video games there are titles that, for one reason or another, wind up being rare commodities. Even in realm of rare games however, there are a few names that carry some special weight. Standing tall among those is Nintendo World Championship, a title so scarce and coveted that copies regularly rake in thousands when they appear.

That being the case, a recent <a href=http://www.ebay.com/itm/NES-Nintendo-World-Championship-Cart-RARE-Torn-Label-100-Authentic-Adult-Owned-/221357006206?_trksid=p2047675.l2557&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT&nma=true&si=SSnEkmnPkHl1ddFtAV%252Fkfruixfw%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc>eBay auction involving a copy Nintendo World Championship has wound up being one for the record books, selling for an unbelievable $99,902. As long as this tremendous final bid holds up, this auction will claim the world record for the most expensive video game ever sold, supplanting a copy of the game Stadium Events which sold for $75,000 in 2012.

What's particularly notable about this auction is the fact that this copy of Nintendo World Championship isn't even one of the rarest variety. While it and the 89 other gray-style NWC carts are obviously few in number, their uniqueness pales in comparison to the even less common <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_World_Championships>gold version cartridges, of which there are only 26 in the entire world. The condition of the $99K cart also isn't the best. Typically adorned with an identifying sticker, the cartridge being sold has had its label pretty well destroyed. Even so, it was clearly worth a lot to someone and hey, if you've got that kind of money to spent on old Nintendo games who are we to begrudge you?

Update: <a href=http://www.destructoid.com/nintendo-world-championship-won-t-sell-for-99-902-269508.phtml>According to the seller Muresan, the winning bidder has retracted its $99,902 offer, calling it a "mistake." Muresan has, in turn, expressed frustration with eBay's policies and their focus on "100% buyer protection."

Source: <a href=http://www.ibtimes.com/rare-nintendo-world-championship-cart-sells-over-99k-now-worlds-most-expensive-video-game-1548081>International Business Times


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[MazokuRanma]

I'm feeling pretty certain this was a hoax bid. Anyone with $100k to throw around like this could have specifically sought out a copy that was in good condition and still likely paid less.

 

[Strazdas]

Funny thing is, the value from it is the fact that it was in the championship. the actual game inside it is no different than the regular game, and the championship sticker is so bad a modern home printer can make a fake that looks better. Essentially, you are paying for a regular super mario, rad racer and tetris, just with a name attached to it.

I'm feeling pretty certain this was a hoax bid. Anyone with $100k to throw around like this could have specifically sought out a copy that was in good condition and still likely paid less.

It wasnt. there are only a couple of those in the world and they costs that much.

 

[StewShearerOld]

Funny thing is, the value from it is the fact that it was in the championship. the actual game inside it is no different than the regular game, and the championship sticker is so bad a modern home printer can make a fake that looks better. Essentially, you are paying for a regular super mario, rad racer and tetris, just with a name attached to it.

I'm feeling pretty certain this was a hoax bid. Anyone with $100k to throw around like this could have specifically sought out a copy that was in good condition and still likely paid less.

It wasnt. there are only a couple of those in the world and they costs that much.

It's actually usually the gold cart versions of NWC that cost. Don't get me wrong, the gray carts are still really rare, but $100K would be an incredibly unprecedented amount for one. Rest assured, I'll be keeping my eyes on this to update this article if necessary. For the time being however, this appears legit.

 

[VanQ]

Funny thing is, the value from it is the fact that it was in the championship. the actual game inside it is no different than the regular game, and the championship sticker is so bad a modern home printer can make a fake that looks better. Essentially, you are paying for a regular super mario, rad racer and tetris, just with a name attached to it.

I'm feeling pretty certain this was a hoax bid. Anyone with $100k to throw around like this could have specifically sought out a copy that was in good condition and still likely paid less.

It wasnt. there are only a couple of those in the world and they costs that much.

It's actually usually the gold cart versions of NWC that cost. Don't get me wrong, the gray carts are still really rare, but $100K would be an incredibly unprecedented amount for one. Rest assured, I'll be keeping my eyes on this to update this article if necessary. For the time being however, this appears legit.

If this does turn out to be a fake bid, I'd hate to be the guy in the selling end that's really, really hoping right now that it's legit. I'll be keeping my eyes out for an update.

 

[Starke]

Funny thing is, the value from it is the fact that it was in the championship. the actual game inside it is no different than the regular game, and the championship sticker is so bad a modern home printer can make a fake that looks better. Essentially, you are paying for a regular super mario, rad racer and tetris, just with a name attached to it.

I'm feeling pretty certain this was a hoax bid. Anyone with $100k to throw around like this could have specifically sought out a copy that was in good condition and still likely paid less.

It wasnt. there are only a couple of those in the world and they costs that much.

It's actually usually the gold cart versions of NWC that cost. Don't get me wrong, the gray carts are still really rare, but $100K would be an incredibly unprecedented amount for one. Rest assured, I'll be keeping my eyes on this to update this article if necessary. For the time being however, this appears legit.

Could have sworn I saw someone yesterday reporting that the 100k bid was retracted, but I can't find it now.

EDIT: It was Destructoid. Nintendo World Championship won't sell for $99,902 [http://www.destructoid.com/nintendo-world-championship-won-t-sell-for-99-902-269508.phtml]

 

[ClockworkUniverse]

I'm feeling pretty certain this was a hoax bid. Anyone with $100k to throw around like this could have specifically sought out a copy that was in good condition and still likely paid less.

It wasnt. there are only a couple of those in the world and they costs that much.

That it's actually worth that much doesn't mean the bid was legit. It wasn't. The bidder immediately insisted that the bid was placed by accident, and cancelled the transaction.

 

[Dr.Awkward]

I wonder if the "accident" was an auto-bidding bot gone awry...

 

[Therumancer]

Close to $100k for this does seem like a lot at this point in time, especially given the condition of the cartridge there is no doubt about that. However at the end of the day I have to side with the seller here, the bid did go that high and honestly unless a technical error can be proven, the buyer should be held responsible for it, and face some serious penalties if it was a "Troll bid" or if they bid without the money.

That said "100% buyer protection" is lulzworthy given that Ebay is infamous for scammers who create carefully phrased faux ads to sell people things like empty boxes for highly desired products, or in one case a rotten apple in an Ipad box (or something like that if I remember the story right). In general the victims here generally get scorned by the internet as well for not being more careful.

 

[Kinitawowi]

I saw this mentioned on BBC last night. Took one look at the auction, saw it was $99K and knew it was a bogus bid.

eBay is completely the wrong place to even try to sell stuff like this.

 

[Vyress]

100k is pushing it but the gold cartridge for Nintendo World Championships does go for around 20k$ though. Collectors can be crazy sometimes.