In today's world of cutting edge technology and endless possibilities for game design and development, some may have forgotten about the hidden gems from the past. These retro games are some of today’s rarest and most pricey video games! It would be amazing if you found one of these treasures hidden away, because they are worth a great deal more today than when they were originally produced. Take a look at the top ten rarest and most expensive video games!
10. King of Fighters 2000 (English version) - Estimated Value €3,500 - €5,000
Created for the the rare NeoGeo console, as well as a few others, this game was the 7th in the series of fighting games that began in 1994. It was produced by SNK and released just before they went bankrupt. There are only 100 confirmed copies of this game in the world, making it very unique and sales very rare.
9. Red Sea Crossing - Estimated Value: €9,636 - €12,971
This game for Atari 2600 was developed in 1983 by Steve Slack and released by Inspirational Video Concepts, but it was only noticed by collectors once it emerged at a garage sale in 2007. Reportedly there were only 100 cartridges of Red Sea Crossing ever made, each of which included a video tape and a colouring book. To this day only two of them have been seen again, without the accessories however. One of them was sold at auction for €12,971 and the other for €9,636.
photo credits: racketboy.com
8. Atlantis II - Estimated Value: €4,632 - €16,678
Atlantis II has a similar concept to the original Atlantis game for Atari 2600, but Atlantis II was developed exclusively for the Atari Defend Atlantis competition. The aim of the game is to protect the city of Atlantis from the evil Gorgon spaceships. The differences between Atlantis II and the original are that the game is sped up and the scoring system is altered because enemy spaceships are worth less when taken down. The top players from the contest all received a copy of Atlantis II, while the four best were sent on to the next round with the final prize of €9,265.
7. 1991 Nintendo Campus Challenge - Estimated Value: €12,974 - €18,627
The Nintendo Campus cartridges were produced for a gaming tournament by Nintendo. The idea as to tour college campuses and popular spring break places. The cartridges combine three games: Super Mario 3, Dr. Mario and PinBot. The initial plan was to destroy all of the cartridges after the competition, but in 2006 an ex-Nintendo employees stumbled upon a copy in his garage. This copy has reportedly been sold and resold for €12,974 and €18,627, respectively.
6. 1990 Nintendo World Championships: Gold Edition - Estimated Value: €13,901- €19,461
The Gold Edition of the 1990 Nintendo World Championships was designed as a prize for a gaming tournament held by Nintendo in 1990, in Los Angeles, California. The grand prize winner and 25 runner-ups all received a copy of this exclusive cartridge, so there were only 26 copies ever made. The game itself included three games: Super Mario Bros, Rad Racer and Tetris, customised with a special timer for the gaming tournaments.
5. Stadium Events - Estimated Value: €2,433 - €38,661
Stadium Events was a rare early example of "gamercising" as it was played with a soft plastic mat controller that the player would run and jump on. Nintendo bought the rights to the game and controller just one year after its release and remade the game as World Class Track Meet. To avoid confusion they pulled all copies of Stadium Events from store shelves and destroyed them, however approximately 200 copies had already sold. It is rumoured that only 20 copies are left in existence. At least one factory sealed copy was found and sold at auction for an impressive €38,661.
4. Air Raid - Estimated Value: €12,974 - €30,950
Air Raid was the first and only game developed by MenAvision and the cartridge design is quite different than any other for Atari 2600. It sports a blue design with a T-shaped handle. The game play is quite simple - to protect the city from an air raid by commanding your own spacecraft. It is believed that only 12 official copies of this game were ever made, two of which have been sold in auctions in recent years for €13,901 and €32,435, hence the estimated price range.
3. Tetris (Senga Genesis/Megadrive) - Estimated Value: €2,800 - €14,970
Tetris is a pretty easily accessible game, so you may be wondering why it made our top 10 rarest and most expensive games list. The reason boils down to legal issues. Nintento owned the exclusive rights to Tetris, so it unfortunately was never released for the Senga Genesis. There were 10 copies produced however and one unlicensed copy signed by Tetris creator Alexey Pajitnov made headlines when it was put up for sale with a massive price tag of one million dollars.
2. Birthday Mania - Estimated Value: €13,901 - €32,435
During the rapid growth of the video games world in the 80s, Birthday Mania was a game developed for Atari 2600 with the purpose of being the perfect birthday gift. To surprise a certain someone with this game, however, you had to order it in advance. Each game then arrived with a personalised title screen and space in the front to write the name of the birthday girl or boy. The game allows the player to virtually blow out candles and pop balloons. Unfortunately for the company which distributed Birthday Mania, Personal Games, the concept did not really catch on in the way they expected. Therefore very few cartridges were produced. Reportedly, there are only two copies of Birthday Mania existing today, one of them in the hands of a well known Atari collector - Jerry Greiner.
1. Gamma Attack - Estimated Value: €18,534 - €46,337
Unsurprisingly, the rarest and most expensive video game known to exist in the world today is again one for Atari 2600. Programmed by Robert L. Esken, Jr., and released by Gammation, Gamma Attack only released a few game cartridges. What makes it the most expensive game ever you may wonder? Simply put there is just one remaining copy of Gamma Attack known to exist today. Reportedly, this copy currently belongs to collector Anthony DeNardo, who put the game up for auction in 2008 for the amount of €463,370. So in case you were wondering how much it would cost you to own the world’s rarest video game, now you know.
We hope this list has inspired you to take a look at your in your parents’ attic or basement and perhaps you will find one of the games listed above! If so, you can make some extra cash by selling it here, on Catawiki! As for growing your own video games collection, don’t forget to pay a visit to out weekly video games auction and see what we have to offer!