There are collectors and then there are collectors. The former are content with having a comprehensive library of games they enjoy. The latter want ’em all.
Most likely, those are the people bidding on a new eBay auction, which features an extraordinarily rare NES cartridge. As you can see, the label’s gone but the seller promises the game plays fine. It’s Nintendo World Championships; Nintendo only distributed 116 copies back in 1990 as part of a special competition. The game was never produced for retail distribution.
Right now, the bidding has passed $9,000 and the auction doesn’t end until tomorrow. The seller, “muresean,” notes:
“The cart plays just fine and may some day be worth much more if someone decides to investigate a forensics lab’s involvement to see if they can determine the official number by running tests on the cart.”
If you’re not familiar, Nintendo World Championships featured abridged versions of Super Mario, Tetris, and Rad Racer. The aforementioned contest tasked participants with racking up the highest possible score playing all three games. They only had 6 minutes; essentially, 2 minutes for each game. All 90 semi-finalists got a copy of the grey cartridge, and the rest received unique golden cartridges that were part of a Nintendo Power promotion.
Okay, I’m not that hardcore
I like my collection and everything, but spending that kind of money on a game I’d probably only play once is tough to swallow. Then again, I don’t qualify as a “collector” in the eyes of many. Do you?
