4 Video Game Collectibles That Could Make You Thousands
Being a gamer can bring you all sorts of online accolades, rewards and even some money. Outside of the digital playground, there are thousands to be made in buying and selling video game collectibles: everything from original game cartridges or even consoles to merchandise ties with your favorite franchises.
You don't have to be someone who plays video games to make thousands of dollars with these items-just a good eye and ability to evaluate what your memorabilia is worth.
Here are four video game collectibles that could make you thousands of dollars, possibly more:
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Virtual Boy Console
Estimated Value: $1,000
Released by Nintendo in 1995, the Virtual Boy is a red-and-black 3D gaming console that didn't last long, but has beloved history and value over 30 years later. It's not just the console that can earn you some big bucks-the games can as well, with Racket Boy finding that some, like "Virtual Bowling," can go for as high as $1,800.
'Legend of Zelda' Early-Production Cartridge
Estimated Value: $288,000 to $870,000
The "Legend of Zelda," as it was first released for the NES in the U.S. in 1987, is a prize like no other. The game was one of just a few NES cartridges to come in a different plastic color than gray, with gold for most of its production runs. Mint editions of these early game units can fetch staggering golden sums themselves.
In 2024, a first-production copy of "The Legend of Zelda," graded by CGC Video Games had a $288,000 sale by Heritage Auctions, but the truly mind-blowing figure was a few years earlier in 2021 when a very early iteration of the cartridge, still sealed, went for $870,000 by the auction house, according to Robb Report.
PlayStation Prototype
Estimated Value: $360,000
The original PlayStation can fetch some good money on the open market, however, it's the prototype that really earns bank. Only 200 Playstation prototypes were manufactured in the early 1990s during a brief partnership between Nintendo and Sony. Only one is known to exist today and it was sold by Heritage Auctions in 2020 for $360,000.
Sealed Super Mario Bros. Cartridge
Estimated Value: $660,000 to $2,000,000
One name in videogames stands out as iconic above most others and that is "Super Mario Brothers." Even better, if you have a sealed "Super Mario Bros." cartridge from 1985 for NES, you could be selling it for $660,000, which is what it went for in 2021 and according to Polygon, was the highest price for a video game sold at auction in history. That is until, later that year, it was bought again for $2 million by an anonymous purchaser as reported by the New York Times.
This article was provided by MoneyLion.com for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, legal or tax advice.
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