Video Games Worth A Small (And Sometimes Large) Fortune If You Still Own Them
Gaming is not a cheap hobby. New games can cost $30 to $70 each and in some cases, experienced gamers can spend a few short days mastering their new purchase before moving onto the next challenge. Gaming enthusiasts can easily spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars per year, and sometimes they luck out with purchases that turn into small (and sometimes very large), gaming goldmines.
Here are some of the rarest and most valuable video games ever created for gaming consoles. At least one title is worth north of $100,000.
Amazing Tater For Game Boy In Mint Condition Sold For $1,688
If you do a quick search for Amazing Tater you'll find a bunch of used copies selling anywhere from $100 to $500. The game was popular enough that quite a few copies exist but are still rare enough to fetch at least a few hundred dollars on average.
In 2012, Amazing Tater was put on the auction block in mint condition. The pristine copy of the game brought in $1,688, which remains the public selling record for the title.
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Fortune Hunter Edition For PS3 Sold For $1,973
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves was released on the Playstation 3 and the regular copy of the game can be purchased from your local Gamestop for a fraction of the cost we've listed. That's because the Fortune Hunter Edition was not available in stores.
Packed full of collectible art, a replica artifact, and a case autographed by the Naughty Dog development team, this title could only be won via an online lottery. Online players of the game were auto-enrolled in the lottery and only a handful took home the collector's prize.
Shantae Is A $2,100 Game Boy Color Game
Husband and wife, Erin and Matt Bozon, tried to find a home for their game Shantae for years and it finally arrived on Game Boy Color in 2002. Sadly, the game launched right after the arrival of Game Boy Advanced.
Because of the poor timing, the game only received 25,000 copies. If you own a mint condition of this title you can expect a selling price of around $2,000. The highest public sale to date has been $2,100.
Earthbound For SNES Has Fetched Up To $2,127
EarthBound was released for the SNES in 1995 and back then it was an expensive title at $70. Along with the game itself, gamers received a full-sized guide book and a handful of other goodies.
After the Nintendo 64 arrived, the fanfare around EarthBound vanished and only 150,000 copies went out the door. The game has since become a cult classic and original copies have reached up to $2,127 in mint condition and with the original extras.
Harvest Moon For SNES Can Bring You $2,200
Harvest Moon came out for the SNES the same year that the Nintendo 64 was introduced. As gamers flocked to the new platform they quickly lost interest in SNES games, which turned Harvest Moon into a quickly-ditched project.
The game was largely forgotten by most casual gamers but in 2016 a copy sold for $2,199.99. It was in mint condition but non-mint copies easily sell for $100 or more on eBay and other auction sites.
Elemental Gearbolt Assassin's Case Edition For Playstation Can Sell For $2,200
Elemental Gearbolt is the creation of Alfa System. Released in 1997, the game was popular and there are many copies available. However, the game's Assassin's Case Edition is rare with 50 or fewer copies known to have been produced.
The special edition includes an aluminum embossed case along with a Golden Namco GuncCon controller, a red or gold PlayStation Memory card, and a few other additions that add to the collector's edition value of this particular copy. The special edition could only be won by gamers at an E3 tournament, which made it even harder to obtain.
Mega Man V For Game Boy Is Worth $2,500
If you're a fan of the Mega Man franchise and you have a copy of Mega Man V for Game Boy, you could take home $2,500 by selling the game. While Mega Man was popular, the fifth iteration was received with mixed reviews that didn't help its popularity.
With so many versions of Mega Man available, buyers weren't interested in another game to defeat. Years later, a mint copy of the title sold for $2,500. That copy was still sealed in its original packaging. Used copies regularly sell for more than $100.
Dead Space Ultra Limited Edition For Xbox 360 Has Sold For $2,500
Dead Space was released in 2008 by EA and the company simultaneously announced it was releasing 1,000 units through the EA Store. A copy of the rare package sold for $2,500 in 2018.
If you were lucky enough to buy the rare edition it includes bonus content, lithograph artwork, an artbook, a graphic novel, and an Ishimura crew patch. An animated Downfall DVD was also included in the sale.
Pepsi Invaders For Atari 2600 Could Fetch You $3,500
Released in 1983, the Atari 2600 game Pepsi Invaders was a new take on the classic game Space Invaders. The game was a Coca-Cola based feature that was given to the company's executives during a sales convention. The game's box includes the wording, "Atari Goes Better With Coke."
While gameplay mimics the original Space Invaders, the aliens spell out the word PEPSI and the top of the screen reads "Coke Wins." Only 125 copies were created and non-mint copies have sold for $800 while a mint edition copy sold for $3,500.
Spud's Adventure For Game Boy Could Put $3,500 In Your Pocket
Spud's Adventure was released by Game Boy in 1991 and the action RPG is a weird adventure led by a potato who must rescue Princess Mato.
Game developer Atlus limited the number of copies made available to the public. In turn, the game is incredibly rare and quickly became a collector's dream come true. Used copies of the game easily sell for $200 or more. A mint copy, still in the original box, copy of Spud's Adventure sold for $3,500.
ClayFighter: Sculptor's Cut For Nintendo 65 Can Fetch Up To $4,000
ClayFighter: Sculptor's Cut was released in 1998 as an update for the original ClayFighter 63⅓. The collector's edition includes additional characters and other elements that changed the original gameplay.
In a change of pace, this edition was only available as a Blockbuster Video game rental. Blockbuster stores often destroyed a game's original box, only keeping one copy for display purposes. You can grab hundreds of dollars for a loose game or up to $4,000 if you somehow have the game with its original packaging.
Wrecking Crew For NES Is Worth $4,060 In Mint Condition
Wrecking Crew was an NES game that was released in 1985. If the main character on the box looks familiar, that's because you play as Mario! The game was ahead of its time, allowing for a level editor that would later become standard for many Mario titles.
Sadly, only the Japanese version offered a tape drive accessory to save game progress and that left many American buyers looking elsewhere for new games to play. The going price for a mint condition copy of Wrecking Crew in a sealed box is around $4,000.
Batman Forever Limited Edition For PAL NES Is Worth $4,202
Batman Forever took its title from the movie of the same name. Released for PAL SNES in 1995, the game wasn't was critically panned and that led to low sales.
The Batman Forever Limited Edition title regularly fetches around $500 for used copies while a mint copy has sold for $4,202 at auction. This is one of the rarest SNES games on the market so a $4,000 price tag isn't uncommon for the title.
Entertainment Mountain Bike Rally & Speed Racer For SNES Could Fetch You $4,800
This is a unique offering because it features multiple titles that combine for an amazing collector's item. This package includes both Entertainment Mountain Bike Rally and Speed Racer. If you have an equally rare SNES exercise bike from Life Fitness you'll even get some exercise playing this game.
The bike, sold with the 2-in-1 cartridge, in mint condition, has brought in up to $4,800. It's not a cheap gaming auction item but your serious gamer friends will flock to your house to try out the bike and the games it comes with.
The DuckTales Remastered Press Kit For NES Is Worth $5,100
In 2013 a new edition of the DuckTales game for NES was released. It was a Capcom promotional package and only 150 full packages were ever created.
The package came equipped with the game, a metal DuckTales lunchbox, a music program guide, a certificate of authenticity, and shredded money. One copy of the game sold in 2014 for $5,100. It's the first game on our list to pass the $5,000 mark.
King of Fighters 2000 For Neo Geo Is Worth $5,750
The English version of The King of Fighters 2000 for Neo Geo is incredibly rare and sought after by game collectors looking to buy elusive games that were manufactured in very low numbers.
With only around 100 copies said to exist and a very limited released in North America, this game has fetched upwards of $5,750. That was the going price for a mint copy that was sold in 2017 which likely means the price is even higher today.
The Flintstones: The Surprise At Dinosaur Peak! For NES: $6,624.03
The Flintstones: The Surprise At Dinosaur Peak! debuted for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1994 and it was promptly sent to video stores as part of a rental model meant to earn more money for gaming and video rental stores.
The game was released four years after the SNES debuted which already made it a hard sale. As previously mentioned, video rental companies often destroyed all but one or two display boxes which means a fully intact copy can sell for up to $6,600. A loose copy is still worth between $200 and $300.
Super Copa For SNES Has Sold At Auction For $6,900
Released in 1993, Super Copa is the Spanish and Portuguese version of a game called Tony Meola's Sidekicks Soccer. The game was created by Sculptured Software and used the same gaming engine that powered NCAA Basketball and NHL Stanley Cup Hockey.
Only released in Latin America, the game became incredibly rare almost immediately following its release and is even harder to find today. A mint copy still sealed in its original box sold several years ago for $6,900.
Atlantis II Is An Atari 2600 Game Worth A Cool $6,982
Atlantis II debuted in 1993 and was given to winners of a gaming tournament. The only differences from the original Atlantis game were faster gameplay and a brand new scoring system.
In 2011 someone managed to grab a copy of Atlantis II for $6,982. It was a surprising sale because the game is so rare that it's almost never spotted in auctions or even gloated about by game collectors who happen to own a copy of the incredibly rare game.
Little Samson For NES Sold For $8,738.93
Little Samson debuted for the NES in 1992 and sales were hampered because the SNES was already available and dominating the gaming market. Sales for the game started slow and never picked up, leaving a limited supply available for collectors.
Simply having this game with its original box, in non-mint condition, can fetch upwards of $1,000, which showcases its rarity. In comparison, a mint-in-box copy sold for a very specific $8,738.93.
Super Mario Bros. 2 Can Fetch $10,000 (But There's A Catch)
The English version of Super Mario Bros. 2 was available in abundance, sorry to burst your bubble. With that being said, a version of the game was created for a Hong Kong audience that includes Cantonese.
The game was rare and even a loose cartridge can bring up upwards of $1,000 or more. One mint-in-the-box copy of the game sold for $10,000. Even if you don't speak the language, if you're a collector this is probably on your list of must-have titles.
Red Sea Crossing For Atari 2600 Can Earn Upwards Of $10,400
Red Sea Crossing debuted in 1983 and only 100 copies were produced, making it one of the rarest Atari 2600 games in existence. That might help explain why a mint-condition copy sold in 2012 for $10,000.
Only two copies of the game have ever shown up in public. As an added bonus, the game was originally advertised with a coloring book and an audiotape. No copies with those options have been found but if they exist the auction price could end up even higher than $10,000.
Blockbuster World Championships II For Mega Drive Has Sold For $10,500
Blockbuster World Championships II debuted in 1995 and involved contestants from America, despite its name. Players competed in either NBA Jam Tournament Edition or Judge Dredd for the SEGA Master System or Donkey Kong Country when choosing the Super Nintendo.
The tournament ended in July and rather than hold onto the Mega Drive games, Acclaim ordered that they all be destroyed. A few copies survived and poor condition games can still bring in $2,000. One lucky person discovered a SEGA bundle at Goodwill and sold it for $10,500.
Nintendo Powerfest Has Sold For $15,600
Nintendo held a competition in 1994 in which competition level copies of Super Mario Kart, Super Mario All-Stars, and Ken Griffey Jr. Home Run Derby were all played on a single Powerfest cartridge.
The company offered 33 cartridges for the competition and 31 of them were eventually recycled for parts. The remaining two cartridges have sold several times over the last 26 years, with the most recent high ticket sale reaching $15,600.
Tetris for Mega Drive Can Demand A $16,000 Price Tag
Tetris was developed by the USSR in the 1980s and was licensed by the country. SEGA ended up creating its own edition of the game for the Mega Drive but stopped production after facing a lawsuit from Kyoto-based publisher Tengen which produced the NES version of Tetris.
One collector managed to get a copy of the game that was signed by Tetris creator Alexey Pajitnov. The collector paid $16,000 for the game. Tetris Holding LLC is now headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Nintendo Campus Challenge Is Worth $20,000 If You Happen To Own A Copy
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System was a popular console for gaming tournaments and that's how we ended up with Nintendo's Campus Challenge in 1992. This multi-game cartridge includes Super Mario World, F-Zero, and Pilotwings.
Much like Acclaim's decision to destroy tournament cartridge copies, all of the cartridges from the tournament were supposed to be destroyed. In 2009, a single cartridge was revealed and it quickly sold for $20,100. No other copies are known to exist and the one revealed in 2009 seemingly came out of nowhere.
Super Mario Bros. is Worth $30,000.
Super Mario Bros. helped launch the NES into the stratosphere. The game was incredibly popular and a lot of copies were sold. However, gamers were so excited to play it that they quickly removed it from the original packaging and started their new gaming addiction.
In 2017, a factory-sealed copy of the game was revealed and the seller was able to collect $30,000 for it. It's time to look through your old NES collection and see if you happen to own an unopened copy.
Air Raid For Atari 2600 Is Worth $33,000
Air Raid is one of the rarest Atari 2600 games of all time but that didn't stop a copy from surfacing in 2012 and then selling for $33,433 at auction.
Air Raid is the only game created by Men-A-Vision and very few copies were ever produced. The copy sold in 2012 was given to a drugstore owner in 2012. The owner decided the game wasn't a good fit for his customers and the sales rep from the gaming company told him to keep the copy he received because nobody seemed interested in playing it.
Stadium Events For NES Is Worth More Than $40,000
Stadium Events produced a fairly robust 2,000 copies, robust at least compared to other titles on our list. However, only 200 copies made it onto store shelves and those were only sold at Woolworths locations in the Northeastern United States. Talk about the perfect situation for creating a collector scenario.
Eventually, the game was recalled and repackaged under the name World Class Track Meet. To date, 11 copies of Stadium Events are believed to still be in existence. In 2017, a copy of the game sold for $43,100.
Nintendo World Championships Gold 1990 Sold For $100,000
Video game collectors love NES games as our compilation has shown, and the top of the list is dominated by the 1990 game Nintendo World Championships Gold. Nintendo was trying to find the greatest Nintendo player of all time and they created a special championship cartridge to achieve that goal.
The competition originally included 1,000 cartridges and winners received commemorative cartridges. Most of the leftover cartridges were used for Campus Challenge. If you own this game you could receive up to $100,000 for your copy.
A Copy Of Super Mario 64 Sold for $1.56 Million
Although many people have a copy of Super Mario 64 lurking in their basements or attics, the news that one was auctioned off for $1.56 million in 2021 should not lead everyone into a frenzy. After all, NPR reported that nobody was expecting the winning bidder to put down that much, and that it was an original 1996 copy of the game in mint condition.
Still, if a copy of that graded value is on hand, it's apparently not impossible to find someone willing to shell out over a million dollars for it. It's not a good idea to bet the farm on somehing that lucky happening again, though.
A Copy Of The Legend Of Zelda Sold For $870,000
According to NPR, a first-run copy of The Legend Of Zelda from 1987 sold at Heritage Auctions in Dallas for $870,000. Staggeringly, this set a record for video game auctions that only lasted two days, as the $1.56 million Mario sale took place soon after.
Although the likelihood of finding the same kind of mint condition copy that fetched that price is obscenely low, there's a handy way to tell whether you have an original copy of the game. If the trademark says "TM," after "Nintendo Entertainment System," it's an original copy. If it says, "R," it's a reissue.
John Madden Football For The Genesis Sold For $480,000
Over the years, there have been dozens of versions of the famous Madden series of football games, giving the famous coach and broadcaster a legacy that has outlived even him. However, most people who try to return a copy of Madden nowadays will find they get pennies on the dollar for it.
However, this does not appear to be the case for an original copy of John Madden Football, the first game in the series to reach the Sega Genesis. According to Yahoo! Finance, a mint condition copy of the game sold for $480,000 on January 28, 2022.
Super Mario Bros. 3 Sold For $153,883
According to GQ Australia, there were some significant factors working for one copy of the beloved NES game Super Mario Bros. 3. Although it's true that the video game was in mint condition, there was another marking on the label that made it clear this was part of the original production run.
Notice in this copy that the "Bros" under "Super Mario 3" is scrunched up under the left side of Mario's name. If that was on the right side under the I and O, the game would be worth much less. As it stands, one copy matching the original description fetched $231,448 AUD at auction, which is the equivalent of $153,883.
Nintendo World Championships Grey Could Be Worth $20,000
According to Mashable, the previously established gold version of this game is so incredibly valuable because only 26 of them were ever made. However, that doesn't mean it will necessarily be so disappointing to find a grey version of this rare game instead.
Since the 1990 gaming tournament Nintendo held in 30 major cities was the first exposure kids had to the game, winners of that tournament across each age group was awarded a grey copy of the game. That means that only 90 of them can possibly exist in the world, so one of them can be worth anywhere from $8,500 to $20,200, depending on the condition.
Birthday Mania For The Atari 2600 Is Worth At Least $15,000
According to Old School Gamer Magazine, the rarity of this legendary release comes from the small window of time it was publicly available. Each copy of Birthday Mania was custom-made for a specific person and was modified that way according to how many customers answered the company's ad in The Newark Star-Ledger in 1984.
Since only ten people responded to this ad, only ten copies were made, and only one has resurfaced thus far. Unless it's in rough shape, $15,000 is probably on the low end of what someone could receive for this super rare game. Incidentally, anyone can play it because the ROM was made available online with creator Robert Tokar's permission.
Sonic The Hedgehog For The Genesis Sold For $250,000
Although Sonic The Hedgehog for the Sega Genesis is hardly a rare game, the condition that one copy of the game was in was rare enough that Heritage Auctions sold it for $250,000. As the auction house explained, it was not only in mint condition but factory sealed.
That means the only way someone could fetch that kind of value for a copy of this game is if they bought one in 1991 and never used it for its intended purpose. Indeed, it would have to be bought in that specific year, as the copy was part of the original run.
Contra For The NES Sold For $1,320
As with much of Nintendo's classic library, the issue with finding a valuable copy of the original Contra doesn't come down to finding the game itself. It was a beloved part of the company's offerings as soon as it came out and has remained that way ever since.
However, that's exactly why finding a sealed, mint condition copy from its early production runs is so difficult. After all, it's hard to know how good a game is without playing it. For that reason, Heritage Auctions sold a copy for $1,320 on April 21, 2023.
FIFA International Soccer For The Genesis Sold For $1,140
Much like the Madden series does for American football, people can generally expect EA to churn out just as many FIFA games for their international customers. Yet, while none of these modern games have much in the way of resale value, that's not what Heritage Auctions suggested about the original FIFA International Soccer.
Released on the Sega Genesis in 1993, this game sold at auction for $1,140 on January 31, 2023. Of course, it was both sealed and in excellent condition at the time, so be aware of that when coming across an old copy.
Super Mario World Sold For $360,000
Like many popular games from the NES and Super Nintendo's classic library, Super Mario World remains the subject of intense nostalgia. Indeed, that excitement began early, as so many kids couldn't wait to rip it out of the box when it was first released in 1991.
So much so that finding a copy that actually managed to stay sealed in its box for the past 30+ years is a Herculean undertaking. As Yahoo! Finance reported, that's why a mint condition copy sold for $360,000 on July 9, 2021.
E.T.: The Extraterrestrial's Infamy Made It Worth $1,500
Considering that the game was so infamously terrible that a collection of copies were buried in a New Mexico landfill in the mid-'80s, it seems baffling that E.T.: The Extraterrestrial for the Atari 2600 would be worth anything right now. Indeed, most copies aren't and will only fetch someone about $5 if they're lucky.
However, Mashable explained that once the hundreds of copies of E.T. buried in New Mexico were unearthed in 2014, the value of one of those dirty copies shot up to about $1,500. Since all of those copies (and the other unearthed games) are now property of the City of Alamogordo, it's unlikely that anyone else will be able to collect on that fascination.
Superman For The Atari 2600 Could Be Worth $20,000
Although it's often hard to tell the difference between a valuable Atari game and one that can be found for less than ten dollars, Superman for the Atari 2600 seems to have crossed this threshold. Although Heritage Auctions indicated that it sold for a fairly modest price, it's still more than any retail price when it was released.
That said, the price this copy commanded during a 2021 auction was from an original 1978 release that wasn't in mint condition. That speaks to the rarity of this game, for sure. If a factory sealed copy comes along, it could sell for $20,000 at the very least.
Mike Tyson's Punch-Out Could Be Worth $330,000
When a legal dispute leads to a hasty change in a game's design, that only makes the original version all the more valuable. While so many kids remember growing up playing Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!, still others don't recall Iron Mike's involvement at all. Instead, the final boss of their game was a guy named Mr. Dream.
As Tim Weeks of Wessex Auction Rooms told The Sun, an original copy of the NES game could be worth as much as £260,00, the equivalent of about $330,000.
Resident Evil Could Be Worth $280,000
Although Resident Evil has been subject to multiple remakes that make the first entries in this mega-successful run more smoothly with improved graphics, there's still a lot of charm to be had in the original game. That charm breeds nostalgia, and nostalgia can be a powerful motivator for some people.
So much so that a sealed, mint-condition copy of the original PlayStation game from 1996 could fetch £220,000, according to Tim Weeks of Wessex Auction Rooms. In American dollars, that would be $280,000.
Final Fantasy Could Be Worth $215,000
Although it ended up spawning a world-conquering franchise, nobody in 1987 could have predicted that Final Fantasy would turn out to be so much more than a role-playing game with eye-catching character designs. Naturally, the spread of word-of-mouth once it was clear that this game was something special would make it hard to leave any copies unopened.
Indeed, that's why sealed copies in excellent condition like this are so rare. As Tim Weeks of Wessex Auction Rooms told The Sun, that rarity means that the game in this photo could be worth as much as £170,000, or $215,000.