Article

While they didn’t start out as such, some video games have become highly collectible. The most valuable ones are often incredibly rare, including games like the Nintendo Entertainment System’s Nintendo World Championships: Gold Edition. That’s not a game you’re going to stumble across at a garage sale, so we took a look at some popular collectibles and selected a handful that you might find in the wild. With any luck, you have one of these five games hidden in your attic or basement because they’re worth a ton of cash.

1) James Buster Douglas Knockout Boxing – Sega Master System

James Buster Douglas Knockout Boxing was released across multiple systems to capitalize on the upset victory James “Buster” Douglas achieved over Mike Tyson in 1990. It started as Final Blow in Japan, but got retitled to cash in on the 1990 match in the U.S. and elsewhere. While most copies aren’t worth much, the one released on the Sega Master System is incredibly rare. That’s because it was released in very limited numbers due to arriving at the tail end of the Master System’s lifecycle. According to Price Charting, a loose copy is worth around $336, while graded copies can reach over $7,240.

2) Amazing Tater – Nintendo Game Boy

One of the biggest reasons that a video game becomes valuable has to do with scarcity, and that’s the case for Amazing Tater on the Game Boy. It was released in very limited quantities during its production run and is one of the rarest titles on the system. For much of its existence, Amazing Tater was obscure and not worth much to collectors, but that changed around 2012. Nowadays, a loose copy will cost upwards of $650 while complete sets with the box and manual can run as high as $4,380.

3) The Flintstones: The Surprise at Dinosaur Peak – Nintendo Entertainment System

Another rare title is The Flintstones: The Surprise at Dinosaur Peak for the NES. It came out in 1993, which was long after the system’s popularity had waned in favor of the Super Nintendo. As a result, it received an incredibly low production run, ensuring that it remains ridiculously rare to this day. Finding a loose copy in the wild is a pretty lucky day for anyone, as they run upwards of $1,380.  If you happen to see an unopened box or a high-graded copy, you’re looking at between $14,475 and $15,923.

4) Air Raid – Atari 2600

In 1982, MenAvision released a limited-run of Air Raid for the Atari 2600 in a unique blue cartridge with a large handle. It’s one of those “holy grails” of video game collectors because it is incredibly hard to find. This is something collectors will shell out a lot of money to add to their collections — especially completionists — but they’ll have to spend a lot of cash to do so. A loose copy, which is more common than other conditions, costs around $4,300. A complete copy, including the manual and box, can sell for over $33,430.

5) Family Fun Fitness Stadium Events – Nintendo Entertainment System

The rarest title on the NES is Family Fun Fitness Stadium Events, released in 1987 by Bandai. It was developed for the Family Fun Fitness Control Mat, which Nintendo didn’t own the rights to. It briefly released the game in the States, acquired the rights, and pulled it from shelves. The company released its own version as World Class Track Meet, so any surviving copies of the original North American release are pretty much impossible to find. A loose copy is valued at around $19,000, while high-graded copies can run as much as $174,242, making it obtainable for almost every NES collector.

Did you ever find a rare, valuable game? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!