Reddit user and game collector Twigglesmg just picked up the single rarest licensed Nintendo game in existent at an estate sale– and for only $5! Which game is it, you ask? The 1987 Bandai title, Stadium Events.
In a post made in the r/gamecollecting subreddit, Twigglesmg outlines how they were lucky enough to dig through boxes containing dozens of games.
“So there were a ton of games in the basement of this estate sale. I bought a few boxes of them. Each game was $5″
It may be easy to look at this game and think, “What’s so special about this?” But once you learn the history of the rarity, you’ll quickly understand the significance. Here’s some info from the Stadium Events page on Wikipedia:
The North American, or NTSC, version of Stadium Events is universally accepted as the rarest licensed NES game available for purchase in North America. The reason for its rarity and subsequent high market price is its limited production and sales. At the time of its launch during the holiday season of 1987, Stadium Events was only available from limited stores. In 1988, Nintendo purchased the North American rights to the FFF mat technology and re-released it as the Power Pad.
The two Family Fun Fitness-branded games that had already been released, as well as Bandai’s version of the running pad accessory, were pulled from shelves and presumed destroyed. Because of this odd sequence of events, only 2000 copies are believed to have been produced, of which it is estimated that 200 copies reached consumers before being recalled.
Boxed copies of the game have sold at different prices throughout the years, but the prices are generally astronomically high. How high? A factory sealed copy of the game sold at auction for $22,800 back in 2011, and another copy went for $35,100 four years later.
Congratulations, Twigglesmg! You just won game collecting!
Written by Jason Ganos
Nintendo super fan since birth, Jason is the creator of Amiibo News and editor-in-chief at Nintendo Wire. One of his life goals is to provide the latest Nintendo news to fellow gamers with his natural know-how.
