Being a gamer ♍is an expensive hobby. From keeping up with the new consoles, upgrading your hardware or just trying to stay on top of the latest $80 AAA titles to be released, this is a passion that can take a toll on your wallet.
And that's 🐼not even touching upon video game collectors.
Video game collectors are the most passionate of the passionate. Taking a hobby and turning it into an obsessio𓄧n. Whether they are collecting for the sake of hoarding and having a nice bookshelf of fancy, expensive things, or a deeper need to preserve trinkets of video game history, the work they do is important for the legitimacy of video games as something more than a toy.
Video games are works of art, and when you see how much people are willing to pay to oღwn some of these pieces of art, I think you will start to see it that way too. At the very least you will start to see just how much valueไ can be held in what might seem like a simple plastic container loaded with code.
At some of these price points, we've gotta ask ourselves, would anyone even want to play a game this valuable? It's remarkable how many vintage video games have garnered a reputation with collector's that make them worth their weight in gold. Here is our list of🦹 30 extremely rare video game collectibles. Good luck searching!
30 Sega Genesis: Tetꦐris ($1,000,000)
Tetris in itself is not a very rare game. Countless iterations of this Soviet block dropper can be found on everything from arcade machines to home consoles🌜, and even cell phones.
The Sega Genesis version is extremely rare, rumors have it that there are only 10 copies in existence. Selling one of these would be enough to make you a fortune, but selling one signed by the Tetris creator Alexey🍸 Pajitnov, then you've got an extra in your po🌼cket.
29 ♈ 1990 Nintendo World Championship Gold Cartridge ($100,000)
The 1990 Nintendo World Championships saw a ♈competition across 29 cities pitting the best gamers against each other. Up for grabs was a trophy, a shiny new television, and the ultimate bragging rights.
But the biggest prize to come out of the competition would be one of 26 golden NES cartridges which were given to the finalists.
Becoming the mos🍬t val𓆉uable and rare NES collectible, it is easy to see how an item this treasured would sell for
28 ꦰ Gamma Attack ($500,000) ﷺ
Gamma Attack is a rarity because there is only a single copy of it in existence for the Atari 2600. Thereby making it one of the rarest game🃏s in existence.
Anthꩵony DeNardo, the lucky guy who owned that copy, valued it at $500,000 and put it up for that ridiculous price on eBay.
Unsurprisingly, nobody took DeNardo up on his offer and since then the studio which made the game re-released several copies thus ending Gamma Attack's reign as the most expensive game.
27 E.♚T. Ex🐎tra-Terrestrial ($108,000)
The source of video game legend since the 8-bit era of the Atari 2600, E.T. will forever be remeꦫmbered as a huge flop that could only be .
What people might not know, is that 881 of these buried cartridges were unearthed in 2015 to sell for a total of $108,000.
We have all heard the adage that one man's trash is another man's treasure but this is taꦏking it to a whole other level.
26 ꧒ Air Raid ($30,000) 🦹
Dubbed as one of the rarest games in video game history, Air Raid💃 will blow you away with h🍃ow expensive it is to collectors.
It turns out collectors will want to buy any piece of garbage so long as there are only a few in existence. I doubt this game ever held🌊 any sentimental value for anyone but that doesn't stop it from selling for over $ at auction. The cartridge alone has sold for $3,575 while a complete set of the cartridge, manual and box sold for a stellar $33,433.30.
25 Stadium Events($42,000) 🐼
Like the other items on this list, Stadium Events is notorious for on🐲ly being available for a limited time. Not too long ago, in 2017, a൩ near perfect, factory sealed copy of the game was put up for auction.
Unfortunately, bidding has ended for the item, with the spoils of victory going to the winning bid of $42,077.
This particular copy was even examined by the Video Game Authority who💎 awarded it a grade of 85+ out of 100. A fine copy in pristine condition. Worth $42,000? That remains to be seen.
24 Neo Geo Double Dragon Euro Version ($11,000) ♉
Neo Geo games are disgustingly expensive if you can manage to find them at auction. That is because the Neo Geo itself is an incredibly rare console, with s♑uch a wonderf🌠ul selection of games that are well known enough that everyone would want to get their hands on them.
Take for example this auction for the European Version of Double Dragon going for $. Currently the most expensive Neo-Geo game on eBay right now. Though, I think I'll save my $11,000 for something else tha𒐪nks.
23 ♉ Wrecking Crew♚ NES ($4,000)
Wrecking Crew was bundled for the NES upon release and didn't really make much of a splash on the home video game market. This game featured everyone's favorite mustached plumber Mario in a new adventure consisting of smashing your way out of a bind using a giant hammer. The game would become an item🀅 among collectors due to its rarity and it featuring Nintendo's mascot in a less famous role. Anybody looking to complete their Mario collection can find it on for $4,199. Pocket chan♎ge compared to some of the other items on this list.
22 Blockbuster World Video Game Championship II ($3,601) 🍌
In the same vein as the Nintendo World Championships, Blockbuster (remember them?) also had the bright idea to throw gaming's best into the ring against each other. These cartridges were not given to contestants like the ♚Nintendo ones were, these were only used for the tournament and were supposed to be destroyed afterꦅward.
Clearly, we have someone to thank for not doing their job because these cartridge🐟s have shown up on auction sites. They are so rare 🔜that they have fetched a pretty penny, valued at more than .
21 Supe🔥r Mario Bros ($30,000)
As far as gaming artifacts go, nothing could be more important than an original sealed copy of Super Mario Bros. for the NES. Not only is th💧is the game tha𒁃t kickstarted gaming's most eternal franchise, but it is also the game that shipped NES's off store shelves like hot cakes.
A sealed copy of the original Super Mario Bros. sold at auction for $30,000.
Further cementing Mario's𓂃 place in the annals of game history, this sale is just a reminder of Mario's lasting appeal and his place among the greats.