Blog
World's Most Expensive Video Games
And I Thought $80 for Marvel vs. Capcom 2 was Bad...
by Sarah
As we all know, I like to think of myself as something of a collector of old video games. That sounds a lot nicer than “crazy pack rat”. However, even though I thought I had a pretty snazzy and mildly valuable collection, I still don’t have any of the ten most expensive and hard-to-find video games in history. My life seems a little bit empty now.
Below is a list of the ten most expensive video games in the world. Finding them would definitely be a challenge, because they all had a limited amount of copies produced and are all fairly old. However, if you are a hardcore collector, these are must-have titles.
10. Blockbuster World Video Game Championships II (Sega Genesis)
Price: $2,000 and up
In 1995, Blockbuster organized its second Video Game Championship, in which hopeful contenders competed on either the SNES or the Genesis. This was the limited edition cartridge that Acclaim made for the Genesis competition. It could not be won or bought, and was supposed to be destroyed after the contest. Some copies reportedly escaped unharmed, but as of now, the existence of less than five copies has been confirmed.
9. Ultima: Escape From Mt. Drash (VIC-20)
Price: $2,500 and up
The Commodore VIC-20, was a home computer system, not a console, and while Sierra’s game may have had a higher production run than some of the games on this list, few copies are known to exist today. Now over 20 years old, I’m not even sure how you would get it to work even if you could find it, but if you’re a real collector, you won’t let tiny details like that stand in your way. I think it’s interesting to note that the game was made on a cassette tape, for crying out loud!
8. Air Raid (Atari 2600)
Price: $3,000 and up
Another console game with no more than five known copies existing, this shooting game similar to Space Invaders probably had the most limited production run of any commercially released Atari 2600 game. Keep an eye out at flea markets, you can’t miss the sky blue cartridge and nifty handle for insertion.
7. Mr. Boston (Vectrex)
Price: $3,000 and up
I am really feeling kind of dumb here. Not only have I not heard of most of these games, but some of these systems are completely foreign to me. Well, a little bit of research has informed me that the Vectrex was an obscure 8-bit system with its own vector monitor. As for Mr. Boston, it was actually a liquor company, and they gave out customized Vectrex cartridges of the game Clean Sweep with Mr. Boston stickers on them. Liquor companies making games? I like it.
6. Nintendo World Championship (NES)
Price: $5,000 and up
In 1990, Nintendo hosted the Nintendo World Championships, in which three different age groups competed through eight rounds consisting of Super Mario Brothers, Rad Racer, and Tetris. Cartridges of the game were given out as a prize to many of the winners. This one actually sounds right up my alley. Not to brag, but I know my way around the Mushroom Kingdom.
5. Kizuna Encounter (Neo Geo)
Price: $10,000 and up
Acquiring a Neo Geo and the games to accompany it was a costly hobby even when the system was readily available; it launched with a $649.99 price point, with some games costing around $200. This particular SNK fighting game had low production numbers and may not have even been commercially released. The Japanese version is supposedly easier to find, but only a handful of American cartridges exist today.
4. Nintendo Campus Challenge (SNES)
Price: $10,000 and up
3. Nintendo Campus Challenge (NES)
Price: $10,000 and up
Similar to the World Championship game, this was used on college campuses throughout the U.S. and Europe, where Nintendo pitted college students against each other in F-Zero, Pilotwings, and Super Mario World. The grand prize winner got $10,000, although individual winners at each college got a Super Nintendo with full versions of the three games used in the competition. Two copies are known to exist.
Nintendo also had a campus competition using the NES, with Super Mario 3, Dr. Mario, and Pinbot being the three games used on the cartridge. If there was any game I’d want on this list, that would probably be it. Unfortunately, the NES version is even harder to find that the SNES one.
2. Nintendo Powerfest 94 (SNES)
Price: $10,000 and up
Used for another Nintendo contest in the early 90s, this competition was nationwide and once again included parts of three SNES games: Super Mario Brothers: The Lost Levels, Super Mario Kart, and Ken Griffey Jr. Presents Major League Baseball. There may only be one copy of this game in existence, which the owner attempted to sell on ebay for fifty grand. It didn’t work out.
1. 1990 Nintendo World Championships: Gold Edition (NES)
Price: $10,000 and up
A limited edition of an already extremely rare game? That just blew my mind. It’s exactly like the gray cartridge, except it’s gold, and we all know that gold Nintendo games were way better than gray ones. Keep an eye out for this one, because in the past it’s been sold inadvertently with the seller having no idea what the game’s true value was.
Man, $60 for a new game doesn’t seem so bad now, does it?
Below is a list of the ten most expensive video games in the world. Finding them would definitely be a challenge, because they all had a limited amount of copies produced and are all fairly old. However, if you are a hardcore collector, these are must-have titles.
10. Blockbuster World Video Game Championships II (Sega Genesis)
Price: $2,000 and up
In 1995, Blockbuster organized its second Video Game Championship, in which hopeful contenders competed on either the SNES or the Genesis. This was the limited edition cartridge that Acclaim made for the Genesis competition. It could not be won or bought, and was supposed to be destroyed after the contest. Some copies reportedly escaped unharmed, but as of now, the existence of less than five copies has been confirmed.
9. Ultima: Escape From Mt. Drash (VIC-20)
Price: $2,500 and up
The Commodore VIC-20, was a home computer system, not a console, and while Sierra’s game may have had a higher production run than some of the games on this list, few copies are known to exist today. Now over 20 years old, I’m not even sure how you would get it to work even if you could find it, but if you’re a real collector, you won’t let tiny details like that stand in your way. I think it’s interesting to note that the game was made on a cassette tape, for crying out loud!
8. Air Raid (Atari 2600)
Price: $3,000 and up
Another console game with no more than five known copies existing, this shooting game similar to Space Invaders probably had the most limited production run of any commercially released Atari 2600 game. Keep an eye out at flea markets, you can’t miss the sky blue cartridge and nifty handle for insertion.
7. Mr. Boston (Vectrex)
Price: $3,000 and up
I am really feeling kind of dumb here. Not only have I not heard of most of these games, but some of these systems are completely foreign to me. Well, a little bit of research has informed me that the Vectrex was an obscure 8-bit system with its own vector monitor. As for Mr. Boston, it was actually a liquor company, and they gave out customized Vectrex cartridges of the game Clean Sweep with Mr. Boston stickers on them. Liquor companies making games? I like it.
6. Nintendo World Championship (NES)
Price: $5,000 and up
In 1990, Nintendo hosted the Nintendo World Championships, in which three different age groups competed through eight rounds consisting of Super Mario Brothers, Rad Racer, and Tetris. Cartridges of the game were given out as a prize to many of the winners. This one actually sounds right up my alley. Not to brag, but I know my way around the Mushroom Kingdom.
5. Kizuna Encounter (Neo Geo)
Price: $10,000 and up
Acquiring a Neo Geo and the games to accompany it was a costly hobby even when the system was readily available; it launched with a $649.99 price point, with some games costing around $200. This particular SNK fighting game had low production numbers and may not have even been commercially released. The Japanese version is supposedly easier to find, but only a handful of American cartridges exist today.
4. Nintendo Campus Challenge (SNES)
Price: $10,000 and up
3. Nintendo Campus Challenge (NES)
Price: $10,000 and up
Similar to the World Championship game, this was used on college campuses throughout the U.S. and Europe, where Nintendo pitted college students against each other in F-Zero, Pilotwings, and Super Mario World. The grand prize winner got $10,000, although individual winners at each college got a Super Nintendo with full versions of the three games used in the competition. Two copies are known to exist.
Nintendo also had a campus competition using the NES, with Super Mario 3, Dr. Mario, and Pinbot being the three games used on the cartridge. If there was any game I’d want on this list, that would probably be it. Unfortunately, the NES version is even harder to find that the SNES one.
2. Nintendo Powerfest 94 (SNES)
Price: $10,000 and up
Used for another Nintendo contest in the early 90s, this competition was nationwide and once again included parts of three SNES games: Super Mario Brothers: The Lost Levels, Super Mario Kart, and Ken Griffey Jr. Presents Major League Baseball. There may only be one copy of this game in existence, which the owner attempted to sell on ebay for fifty grand. It didn’t work out.
1. 1990 Nintendo World Championships: Gold Edition (NES)
Price: $10,000 and up
A limited edition of an already extremely rare game? That just blew my mind. It’s exactly like the gray cartridge, except it’s gold, and we all know that gold Nintendo games were way better than gray ones. Keep an eye out for this one, because in the past it’s been sold inadvertently with the seller having no idea what the game’s true value was.
Man, $60 for a new game doesn’t seem so bad now, does it?
Comments
That's true vanity if people are willing to spend that much on old games. Quite disturbing...
i love ultima and i love lord british. tabula rasa, s'okay.
Yes, $60 dollars is to much. Comic books that cost 10 cents sell for 10,000 bucks, but that doesn't mean a new comic book is $60 bucks. While I respect game development, and find the prices actually reasonable (for new games that is), $60 bucks is still to much for a new game, when there are 3 or 4 games coming out a month.
That wasn't a serious comment, I just meant by comparison, $60 is significantly less than, say, $10,000. Or even $2,000. $60 is still a lot of money to me.