Flashing lights, bleeping sounds, and the clickity-clack of controllers. These phenomena are all too common if you’ve lived in a house that had video game consoles in it in recent years.
Around 70 percent of US houses have gaming systems in them, and the gaming industry is growing almost larger than any other entertainment industry; while it made ~$80 billion in 2009, it is predicted to make $111 this very same year!
That’s no small rate of growth, in fact, that’s about 60 billion a year.
There are countless games out there, whether it is on PC, consoles, or handheld devices.
However, there are a certain few that are prized by collectors, with no small price tag. In fact, one of the rarest games ever (Gamma Attack by Atari) is valued at about $50,000!
Unless you’re one of the few people in the world who has one of these in their possession, you probably aren’t going to make 50K in one sale.
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But what if you’ve been on the gaming scene for 10, or 20 years?
There’s a chance that you have rare video games in your collection that are worth big money.
Below we’ll have a list of 7, ordered from low to high.
What will I learn?
1. Megaman V, on the Nintendo Gameboy / New: $300, Used $100
Megaman V is the game with the lowest collector’s value on the list, but it’s also the one you have the highest chance of having in your possession.
It’s from 1994, so many of our readers were probably only children when this game came out.
Sadly, this also means that there is a low chance that will be unopened, and applicable for the $300 price tag.
Currently selling for between $100 to $300 on:
2. Suikoden II, on the Playstation One / New: $600, Used $100-$200
SUikoden is a popular RPG gaming series from Japan.
While Suikoden I was technically released in the US, it came and went relatively quietly, and there were ample copies to go around.
On the other hand, Suikoden II had a mysteriously small circulation amount, and so it is worth a lot of money in physical form.
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At the very least, a used copy of this game would net you a cool hundred! But if you were already collecting it, you can make over a half thousand by selling it mint.
Currently selling for between $100 to $600 on:
3. Radiant Silvergun, on the Sega Saturn / New: $1200 Used: $150-$400
Radiant Silvergun is a Japan-exclusive top-down shooting game for the Sega Saturn which was only playable in western countries with the use of a modded or Japanese-native system.
Regardless of that initial hurdle, those of us that have it mint can sell it for over a thousand dollars! ($1200, at least.)
You can technically buy one from Amazon, of course– for $1000. Even your lovingly used copy can fetch $150 on eBay.
Currently selling for between $150 to $1200 on:
4. Earthbound, on the Super Nintendo / New: $900 Used: $200
Earthbound, is the famous singular western-released game from the infamously exclusive “Mother” series.
Perhaps better known than Earthbound itself is the main character Ness, who modern gamers will recognize from the “Super Smash” franchise.
If you played this game as a kid, you can get $100-$200 for your used copy, but if you somehow failed to open it, there are $1250-$1500 dollars waiting for you online.
Currently selling for between $200 to $900 on:
5. Flintstones II Surprise at Dinosaur Peak, on the NES / New: $1300 Used: $700
This seemingly forgettable tie-in game is one with a bit of a strange history: it was never released for retail sale! Instead, this game was a rental only.
Because of that, it has a high “used” value, the highest on this list (not counting #1.)
It came out in 1994, so there’s a high chance you’ll find it “used,” but that’s not so bad when you’re getting almost $1000 for it!
Currently selling for between $700 to $1300 on:
6. Shantae, on the Gameboy Color / New: $1300 Used: $200-$300
Shantae is noteworthy for several reasons, one of which is that it came out on the Gameboy Color a year after the Gameboy Advance was released!
Also noteworthy is that despite Shantae’s low production rate, it was critically acclaimed for its Castlevania-style play, and now you can find it rehosted on digital download services.
An unopened package will net you serious dough, between $1200-$1300, depending.
Currently selling for between $200 to $1300 on:
7. Nintendo World Championships, on the NES / Approximately: $20,000
It’s the granddady of collectible games, a legendary rare cartridge.
Nintendo World Championship is a multi-game cartridge that received almost no circulation in North America, so any copies of it, used or not, are incredibly expensive. Even rarer among them are the gold cartridges, one of which sold for $17500 a few years ago on eBay.
This game is so rare, you can find whole internet videos devoted to discussing it. But it’s worth keeping your head up for it, since selling any legit copy of the game will earn you enough money for a new car.
The last time it sold for $20,000 on:
Takeaway
If you were a gamer a generation or two ago (or your children were) and you still have boxes of games sitting around, pop them open! You never know what kind of rare goodies could be waiting inside.
It is recommended to sell your games sooner, rather than later– while there still exists a collector’s market for these physical games, it is no secret that all of the files are available online. Collectors are a rare breed, and they won’t be looking for this stuff forever!
When you’re looking through the games in your collection, feel free to cross-check their rarity against websites to see if you have a little nest egg in your collection.
This list will give you some strong ideas, but this isn’t the final word on what is worth money and what isn’t.
If you can find something in your collection and sell it, do so, absolutely. The collecting world is the definition of, “… another man’s treasure.”
None of those are in my gaming archive. Would have been nice to have #7 on your list in my collection. Oh well…
Yeah, I have none either. But if you have a lot of games, you may want to check them online to see if any of them is worth more than its sticker prices.