Video games are an expensive hobby, but the average gamer will spend nothing compared to the typical collector. There are hundreds of rare video games that fetch crazy prices online, but not many can measure up to a sealed copy of Kid Icarus for the NES. Sealed copies of the game are exceptionally rare, as only a few are known to be out in the wild, which is why one man that found a copy in his attic is so lucky.
Scott Amos of Reno, Nevada, was lucky enough to find the still-sealed copy in excellent condition, with the video game grading service Wata Games giving it an 8.0 out of 10. What’s particularly crazy about the game is that it was found alongside the original receipt, dating all the way back to December 8, 1988, for the humble price of $38.45. The game is now expected to sell for as much as $10,000 in an online auction, which makes it a pretty worthy of the initial investment. However, no one in Amos’ family actually recalls purchasing the game, though it was likely intended to be a Christmas gift given the date on the receipt.
Rare games like this pop up pretty frequently online, each with its own unique story. Most recently, a copy of the Atari game Extra Terrestrials, one of the rarest games on earth, entered an online auction for $90,000, though it has yet to find a buyer as of this writing. Of course, there are many other games like this and there will almost certainly be more in the future.
If Kid Icarus does manage to sell for $10,000, it’ll put it pretty close to one of the most expensive vintage games ever, which should be a pretty decent surprise for Amos and his family- especially for something they stumbled upon in their attic. It also helps that Amos originally thought the game would only go for a few hundred dollars.
While this auction doesn’t quite compare to the sealed copy of Super Mario Bros. that recently sold for $100,000, it is a great find for both collectors and game preservationists. The auction will likely land the game in the hands of a private collector, but it’ll be interesting to see if the game ever finds its way to a museum.
Source Gamerant