In Search of the Rarest NES Games

Are you a collector of something? It could be anything… pens, comic books, coins, stamps, or even video games. The latter is something that’s only begun to catch on in the past couple of years, as we’re beginning to enter an age where some of the most popular titles ever sold are well over 20-years-old – in some cases, nearing 30.

Like comic books or anything else, video gaming has its share of rarities – games that could be worth hundreds or even thousands based on market demand. One popular example of this is Nintendo World Championships, released in 1990. It was produced in conjunction with real championships at the time that Nintendo held, with this cartridge being the one used in the competition.

Two variants were produced, gray and gold. The former can be had for multiple thousands of dollars, while the latter tends to sell for closer to $20,000, due to the fact that only 26 were produced (and 13 ever found). And while the cartridge itself just looks like a gold Legend of Zelda game with a replacement sticker and a hole cut out of it, it doesn’t matter to collectors.

Ars Technica interviews a couple of people who both own these cartridges or competed in the competition. Would you believe that one aspiring collector (or opportunist) managed to score 7 gray cartridges by making use of the winners’ list at the back of Nintendo Power magazine? Doing the math on at least one game he sold, this move could have almost bought him a house.

I should point out that while Nintendo World Championships is one of the rarest games in existence, Nintendo Campus Challenge is even rarer. Like the former, this game was designed for championships held throughout 60 or so US campuses. It’s speculated that only one cartridge exists, making it crazy rare and unachievable (unless perhaps you are willing to par with a likewise crazy amount of money).

For a humorous look at Nintendo World Championships, I’d recommend checking out the latest Angry Video Game Nerd video (language warning).