Category: Rare Game Showcase

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Rare Game Showcase: Atari Jaguar Developer’s Cart, 3 SNES M.A.C.S., and a Mario Pipe Phone

There are some real gems on eBay right now. Check out the life size Halo 2 statue and Atari Jaguar developers cart. My personal favorites: Patapon promo magnets and the Mario pipe phone…

GAMES

MACS~ The Multi-Purpose Arcade Combat Simulator ~SNES~ (label damage) Currently a live auction on eBay with 0 bids given its near total label damage and starting bid of $39.95 USD.

M.A.C.S. Multi-Purpose Arcade Combat Simulator Version 1.1e 1993 SNES Game (label damage) Sold Sept. 30, 2010 for $71.01.

MACS Multi-Purpose Arcade Combat Simulator Version 1994.0 SNES Game Sold Sept. 30, 2010 for $71.01.

This is the “Basic Rifle Marksmanship Program” game used by the US Army to train soldiers using a low cost virtual shooting range before bringing them to a real shooting range. It’s interesting to see two of the version variations appear on eBay. I’d be curious to know how they differ.

Vectrex Homebrew Game V-Hockey

Atari Jaguar: Official Developer’s Flash Card Cart Currently at $245.03 GBP (Approx. $389.35 USD) with 4 days remaining on auction.


This is an auction for a screamingly rare Atari Jaguar Flash Cart. These were originally developed for a trial program Atari ran in Florida that was to allow gamers to ‘download’ games broadcast over the cable TV network. The games would then be downloaded to one of these cartridges, plugged into the Jaguar and played. Unfortunately this never amounted to anything due to the stupidly expensive hardware required (on top of the Jaguar, cart, TV and cable box!) – however the official developers realised how useful a reprogrammable cartridge could be and started using them internally. They were often used to take demo and beta games to trade shows, or to send to gaming magazines as review copies. When Atari folded at the end of the Tramiel era all remaining flash carts and development kits were recalled to Atari for destruction – only very few survived, and this is one of them!

For those of you interested in more recent gaming history, this is the flash cart on which I discovered the finished beta of Total Carnage – this game has now seen a widespread commercial release through Carl Forhan of Songbird Productions.

In use the flash carts are plugged into a computer with a parallel port cable and programmed with a game image using a program called FLASH.COM (which I will provide on request to the winning bidder). The cart contains 4MB of Flash memory (very, very expensive at 1994 prices!) – as there are no games larger than this, it allows any ROM to be loaded onto it. They are fantastic tools for testing out prototype, beta and unreleased games.

COLLECTIBLES

Super Metroid 1994 Promo Standee 6′ Samus Display Currently at $320.00 USD with 3 hours remaining on auction.

1990 NINTENDO SUPER MARIO BROTHERS Phone TELEPHONE Currently at $14.99 USD with 9 hours remaining on auction.

Vintage 1980’s Nintendo Service Sign

Nintendo NES 1983 Punch Out Winter Gloves These are pretty rad, but I keep on wondering why they’re gloves rather than red boxing glove shaped mittens.? Perhaps that was a safety call by Nintendo…

Patapon Promo Magnet Set Sold Oct. 2, 2010 for $4.99 USD. Being a huge Patapon fan, I love seeing stuff like this! And what could be cooler than setting up a Patapon battle scene on your fridge!

HALO MASTER CHIEF LIFE SIZE STATUE, ULTRA RARE 6+ FEET Sold Oct. 1, 2010 for $850.01 USD (+freight shipping).

IT IS A 1:1 SCALE REPLICA OF JOHN-117 WIELDING TWIN M7 SMGs. IT WAS CAST FROM AN ORIGINAL PROTOTYPE SCULPT DONE BY MARC AND GABY KLINNERT AT STUDIO OXMOX IN AUSTRALIA. IT WAS THEN PRODUCED BY MUCKLE MANNEQUINS IN GERMANY AND ONLY AVAILABLE TO EXCLUSIVE RETAIL LOCATIONS IN EUROPE THAT WERE PREPARING FOR THE LAUNCH OF HALO 2

THE STATUE IS CONSTRUCTED OF STURDY FIBERGLASS AND RESIN, WITH TOUGH STEEL CONNECTION JOINTS. THE ARMS MAY BE POSITIONED UP OR DOWN AND IT DISASSEMBLES INTO 8 PIECES PLUS A VERY LARGE BASE (NINE PIECES TOTAL).? HEAD, HANDS/GUNS, ARMS, LEGS, MAIN BODY(HUGE).

NOS Nintendo Super Mario Bros.2 Rare Wind Up Toy MOC Mouser Sold Sept. 27, 2010 for $22.70 USD.

VTG Nintendo Super Mario Bros. Ice Capades 50th Flag Sold Sept. 29, 2010 for $12.50 USD.

… from the 1989 Ice Capades 50th anniversary.

 

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Rare Game Showcase: Sachen, Panesian, Mystique and other Obscure Games Distributors

Obscurity is the essence of collecting.? Sometimes it seems that the worse a game is, the more valuable it is to a collector.? After all, low production numbers mean future rarity.? Naturally, these fetch astounding prices on eBay.? Here are some of my favorites from the past couple weeks.

NES Sachen Full 67 Game Collection Sold Sept. 17, 2010 for $3500.00 USD.

NES collectors are generally indifferent to the existence of Sachen games.? Their substandard gameplay and low distribution in the US means that most of us have never heard of their games.? Yes, Sachen’s games will generally play in a NTSC Nintendo; however, those few of us who have played a Sachen game will probably tell you that these are about as bad as the Action 52.

5 Zelda Games NES Gold Yellow Test Cartridge SNES RARE Sold Sept. 23, 2010 for $305.00 USD.

Vectrex Sean Kelly Multi-Cart 2.0 Rare 60+ games lot Sold Sept. 22, 2010 for $238.00 USD.

TurboGrafx 16 Bonk doll prototype one of a kind Sold Sept. 17, 2010 for $394.99 USD.

This auction is for a one of a kind Bonk Doll prototype. It is hand made by an art director for TZD in the mid 90’s for a potential promotion campaign. It was never developed but stayed in the office of Turbo executives as decoration until I got it as a gift in the final days of TZD.? The left ear is showing some wear but can be fixed otherwise it is in great condition.

Nintendo Mario Mania Hanging Mobile Sign Display Sold Sept. 26, 2010 for $125.50 USD.

This was set up by Nintendo of America employees in department and toy stores as an advertisement. As you can see from the pictures it includes the original box from Nintendo of America in Redmond, Wa.

Nintendo NES Counter Tester Service Center Sold Sept. 26, 2010 for $305.00 USD.

The seller noted that the test unit had some issues:

Everything works. I tried all tests, and found them working. The RCA video/audio out only works when using “External Control Deck Inputs”, and the internal NES only outputs via RF/coax. The unit has some scratches in the black paint, but everything else is in good shape, especially for something 16 years old.

I’m sort of curious to know who would buy an adult video game back in the early 80s.? Then again, when haven’t geeks loved pixelated nudity?? One might say that Mystique was a pitiful video game distributor.? They didn’t sell nearly as many copies of their games in comparison to mainstream distributors.? There games were notoriously horrible to play and only seemed to have success because of the controversy surrounding their content.? Despite the fact that their games may have been garbage, as a video game collector, it’s hard not to take notice of obscure games like these.? Especially when they garner values in the multiple hundreds of dollars.

X-Man Atari 2600 CIB Sold Sept. 28, 2010 for $461.78 USD.

Custer’s Revenge Atari 2600 CIB Sold Sept. 28, 2010 for $76.00 USD.

Bachelor Party Atari 2600 CIB Sold Sept. 28, 2010 for $35.00 USD.

Beat ’em and Eat ’em Atari 2600 CIB Sold Sept. 28, 2010 for $70.00 USD.

Ironically, complete in box copies of some Panesian adult NES games also just appeared on eBay as well.

BUBBLE BATH BABES Nintendo NES – Rare/ADULT Video Game Sold Sept. 17, 2010 for $610.00 USD.

HOT SLOTS Nintendo NES – Rare/Valuable/ADULT Video Game Sold Sept. 17, 2010 for $586.87 USD.

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Rare Game Showcase: Lifesized Metroid Samus Statue

It doesn’t get much better than having a full sized statue of your favorite video game character. (If anyone out there has a life sized ToeJam & Earl, you’d be my personal hero…and I’d probably die in envy.)

First off, I love that the seller levelupvideogames started this auction at a penny. That means we’ll get to see a fairly realistic value and, hopefully, some fevered bidding. My only complaint about this auction is its geography. The seller is located in the Netherlands, and this is a large item and will be expensive to ship. Perhaps Samus comes with her teleporter, which will magically deliver her to…hmmm.

Here’s a great description of the item dirrectly from the seller:

This is probably a “once in a lifetime” auction. There were only a handfull of these statues ever made, and exclusively made for Nintendo Europe to promote the first Metroid Prime Nintendo Gamecube game. Since we’re reorganising our shop and need the space she has to go.

Made by Studio Oxmox Australia for Nintendo Europe. Very tough fiberglass material with iron connectors for arms, head and legs. When taken apart you have the following pieces: Head/Helmet, Arms left and right, Legs left and right and the torso. (Easier to ship when taken apart.) Putting her back together will take no more than 5 minutes and is not hard to do. The iron connectors are really firm and everything pieces together brilliantly. Looks very, very good. Real 1:1 scaled. They can’t get any better than this. After all these years she has been with us she’s still in very good condition, just some minor surface scuffs that were there when we bought her. The only things really noteworthy is a very small piece is gone (about 1cm) right above her knee (see photo). There’s a small hole on top of the left arm and some small damage in her neck. Most can be fixed easily by someone handy.
Please note that I do not have a stand!

Measures a massive size of 190 cm and weighs about 50kg fully assembled.

This is truly a nearly impossible to find item you’re bidding on, and deserves a true Nintendo/Metroid Collector.
Take this chance to own a masterpiece and a TRUE collectors item!

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Rare Game Showcase: Stadium Events and a Can of Snake Meat

As per usual, there are a good number of fantastic rare video games and collectibles on eBay.? So which will be more valuable, can of snake meat or a custom portable NES?

Games / Systems

Stadium Events NES NTSC Cart Sold Sept. 8, 2010 for $1255.00 USD.

I met the owner of this cart at the Tetris World Championship where he gave me the inside scoop on finding this game. I’m going to respect his confidence by not disclosing exactly where he found it. However, he did find it as a random retro video game shop. According to him, he got it for something like $10. Bringing it up the the register, he was sure that the owner, who was plenty game savvy, would recognize the game as being rare and reprice it. Apparently the title had just slipped under owner’s radar, and the guy sold him the game. He, it does sort of look like a worthless sports game, doesn’t it? Moral of the story, go check your local video game shops…you never know.

Entex Adventure Vision Arcade Cartridge System Complete in BOX Currently at $710.00 USD with 17 hours to go

Uncharted 2 Fortune Hunter Edition Playstation 3 Game This listing is currently active with $620.00 in bids. It’s a bit fishy that the seller is using a stock photo.

Wood Custom Portable Nintendo NES Apparently, guys in Turkey make fantastic looking NES handhelds.

CONTINUUM SERIES 1 – THE INFERNAL TETRAMORPH Vectrex Game Boxed Set Sold Sept. 1, 2010 for $212.51 USD.

Given the cool $1,026.51 USD that someone recently spent on an another Vectrex homebrew…all I have to say is, homebrewers…keep on brewing!? Here’s a bit of info from the game’s author:

LIMITED EDITION BOXED SET – 10 SETS ONLY!
Each boxed set is numbered: __ of 10 on the back of the box.
The game is also numbered in the program, matching the box.

BONUS PUZZLE!
Each special edition cartridge contains one bonus puzzle!
The Series 1 bonus puzzle is: THE INFERNAL TETRAMORPH

BONUS ITEM!
Each set contains a Sector-X/Continuum themed bonus pack-in item!
The Series 1 bonus item is: THE SECTOR-X NIGHTLIGHT SET*
2 awesome collectible nightlights from the Sector-X tetralogy!
1 CONTINUUM NIGHTLIGHT + 1 ADDITIONAL NIGHTLIGHT (chosen randomly)

PRINTED BOXES!
A deviation from our normal stock labeled boxes, these are ultra high
quality sturdy shiny retail boxes complete with bonus item window display!

more info

CONTINUUM SERIES 2 – THE 7 PILLARS OF PURGATORY Vectrex Game Boxed Set Ended Sept. 9, 2010 at $330.51 USD.

LIMITED EDITION BOXED SET – 10 SETS ONLY!
Each boxed set is numbered: __ of 10 on the back of the box.
The game is also numbered in the program, matching the box.

BONUS PUZZLE!
Each special edition cartridge contains one bonus puzzle!
The Series 1 bonus puzzle is: THE INFERNAL TETRAMORPH

BONUS ITEM!
Each set contains a Sector-X/Continuum themed bonus pack-in item!
The Series 1 bonus item is: THE SECTOR-X NIGHTLIGHT SET*
2 awesome collectible nightlights from the Sector-X tetralogy!
1 CONTINUUM NIGHTLIGHT + 1 ADDITIONAL NIGHTLIGHT (chosen randomly)

PRINTED BOXES!
A deviation from our normal stock labeled boxes, these are ultra high
quality sturdy shiny retail boxes complete with bonus item window display!

more info

Action 52 NES Game New Sealed Sold Sept. 9, 2010 for $234.47 USD.

Accessories

Sega 3-D Glasses New Complete Sold on Sept. 8, 2010 for $202.56 USD.

Collectibles

Metal Gear Solid 3 – Promotional Can of Snake Meat This auction is still live and has bids up to $117.00 USD.

Only the Metal Gear franchise can boost a game’s success by handing out cans of snake meat.

Wolf medallion from The Witcher – Rare This auction is still live and has bids up to $67.00 USD.

World of Nintendo Neon Sign 1987 This item didn’t sell for the seller’s steep asking price of $800 USD; however, it’s a pretty gem none the less.

Death Race by Exidy Arcade Game Flyer Sold Sept. 4, 2010 for $14.99 USD.

If you’ve never played Death Race, it’s an experience in itself. You drive a car using an arcade steering wheel with the purpose of running over skeletons.? Each time you do, it leaves behind a tomb stone.? The skeletons are pretty quick little guys, so its trickier than it sounds.? As innocent as that sounds by today’s standards, when I played it for the first time, it was undeniably creepy.? I can only imagine the reaction when this game first came out.

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Rare Game Showcase: Valuable Vectrex Homebrew & Mario Shoelace Biters!

It seems that rarely a week goes by without someone dropping a cool $1,000 on a video game. Check out the rare and interesting items that popped up on eBay this past week.

Games

VeCaves Spikes Spree CGE 2002 Vectrex Homebrew Sold Sept 7, 210 for $1,026.51 USD! Seriously? I had no idea that there was such a market for Vectrex homebrew. The seller states that there were only 20 of these made and that this was number 4. This game was sold complete in box.

Vec Sports Boxing CGE 2002 Vectrex Homebrew COMPLETE Sold Sept 7, 210 for $174.60 USD.

Cube Quest CGE 2002 Vectrex Homebrew COMPLETE Sold Sept 7, 210 for for $137.50 USD.

Collectibles

21″ Game Boy Color Display Unit Sold Sept 5, 2010 for $31.00 USD + shipping.

4 Foot Tall Super Mario Statue Sold Sept 3, 2010 for $663.54 USD.

New Super Mario Bros Shoelace Bow Biters Sold Sept. 6, 2010 for $12.38 USD.? Let’s fact it, these are probably the coolest item on this list.

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Rare Game Showcase: Atari Music Machine SEALED!

I was a game developer at Epyx where I worked on Summer Games, Winter Games, California Games for the 2600. When Epyx folded, it was bought out by Bridgestone Media Group. I went with that purchase. Bridgestone had some video projects with the Agapeland people who made the Music Machine songs and such. I was creating educational software using Agapeland intellectual property (specifically the mouse characters from the Amazing Book). I discovered an old box of sample items from Agapeland including a child’s bowl, cup, organizer, stuffed animals, and the Music Machine cartridge. When I eventually left the company, I was allowed to keep these items as memorabilia.? That was 10-11 years ago. I guess I’ve kept it (aside from my natural pack-rat tendencies) because it has historical value aside from its rarity. It’s the world’s first religious video game. I several years ago I took pictures before and posted them on the net (you can see them on AtariAge in the rarity section). Back then it still had a store sticker on it that read: “For Display Only”. That sticker has since fallen off and been lost. I’m not sure why I never opened the box. Mostly because I had heard about the value of “unopened” and I was able to download an emulator ROM that satisfied my curiosity about the game. I guess that’s a moral about how emulation can help preserve history: it keeps historical items from getting used up.

How it surfaced now: I’m in the process of moving, and we’ve been going though our stuff looking for what to get rid of. My teenage son went on eBay and Google to see what we could get for some of our old video games, and discovered the information here at AtariAge (Thanks!). Needless to say we were pretty excited! However, we couldn’t find it! No matter how we searched, it was nowhere to be found. We searched literally every box in every closet and still couldn’t find it. We has almost come to the conclusion that it had been thrown away. We were looking through the boxes under my bed one more time, when I asked my son Andrew if he could see any other boxes under the bed. He said yes! There was one small box that had been pushed back behind the others that we had never searched. He pulled it out and there it was!

The seller has gone above and beyond by creating a page that gives background on the Music Machine. He even does a little comparison between this game and Kaboom. It’s well done and is definitely a good read for anyone interested in gaming history.

Overall this should be a great auction to watch. Will it hit $5,000.00 like the last sealed one? Let’s watch and see!

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Rare Game Showcase: Mr. Boston & Entex Adventure Vision

Check out these fantastic gems! Each could easily be the centerpiece of a video game collection. It’s amazing to see so many rare items appear on eBay within such a short time frame.

Sega Wondermega megadrive/ genesis mega CD console Ended Aug. 21, 2010 for ?261.00.

Here’s a bit of info from the seller.

This auction is for the ultra rare Victor Sega Wondermega console. It’s an all in one Megadrive and Sega CD combo, and being produced by the sound specialists Victor, it utilises superior audio and video capabilities to the regular console. The machine also does a lot of stuff besides play games. It has a visualsation program from music cds (a big deal in 1993,) also built in Midi capabilites allows users to attach any Midi device along with keyboards and additional software to create thier own music. And since this is the Japanese we’re talking about there is of course a built in Karaoke function.

The console is in great condition as you can see, it’s also been modded to play (region free) pal games. It is bundled with a Japanese psu, s-video cable for superior picture quality, and comes with Sonic CD, Night trap and Gunstar Heroes.

Entex Adventure Vision Mini Arcade Game Console 1982 Ended Aug 23, 2010 for $1,176.00 USD.

This one also has a great writeup by the seller. I love it when sellers are collectors!

The Adventure Vision was a self-contained (no external monitor required) cartridge-based video game console released by Entex Industries in 1982. The Adventure Vision uses a single vertical line of 40 red LEDs combined with a spinning mirror inside the casing to simulate 150 vertical rows (thus making it 150×40 resolution).

Estimates are that only about 50,000 of them were sold, and only about 100 of those still exist today. Our auction today includes the game unit, 3 game cartridges and 2 original game boxes. The game has always been well-cared for and is still operational.

Mr. Boston Vectrex Game Complete in Box Ended Aug 15, 2010 at $3,827.00 with a “Reserve note met.” It seems the seller (vectrex.com-net-org) was hoping for $5,000+.

Ultra rare, there are only a handful of these known to exist, and the seller states this is only one of two complete copies known. That makes this way rarer than a Nintendo World Championships cartridge. The only difference is that very few people collect Vectrex stuff, so even something this rare doesn’t garner the same demand as a Nintendo icon.

Myrian Games Six in One 6-in-1 NES Panesian Nintendo Game Ended Aug 30, 2010 for $710.00 USD.

Hot Slots Complete NES Panesian Nintendo Game Ended Aug 30, 2010 for $797.77 USD.

Peek-A-Boo Poker Complete NES Panesian Nintendo Game Ended Aug 30, 2010 for $810.00 USD.

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Imagine This Dumpster Find! Imagic Atari 2600 Kiosk & Atlantis II Cart

There’s something fantastic about video game kiosks, and Atari ones seem to be among the rarer ones. I was quite excited to see this Imagic kiosk pop up on eBay! Did I mention it includes an Atlantis II cart?

Atlantis II + Imagic Atari 2600 Kiosk LOT

The seller has a pretty interesting story to go with it. Not only was he lucky enough to make it to the tie breaker round for the Atlantis II contest, but he randomly found the Imagic kiosk being thrown out. Included in the lot is his original letter that he received in advance of receiving the cartridge in the mail.

Here’s the seller’s background story:

Background Story:

I entered the contest when I was 13 years old and was part of the tie breaker round. I was sent the package that contained the game and paperwork. I don’t have the box because, well, let’s face it I was 13! The only reason I still have the cartridge was because I was proud to have been able to get into a contest others could not. And the only reason I have the paperwork was because moms like to keep that kind of stuff. 😀 I tucked this game away and have moved it around with me over the years.

About 10 years ago I was taking out some trash for a job I was at and saw an interesting thing poking out of a nearby dumpster. I went to take a look and say that it was an old Imagic store display that let’s you choose a game locked in a case to play in the store. I took it home and found that it didn’t work. I took off the back and after examining it found that the power connection had come loose. I fixed that plugged it in again and it worked! I was excited and thought what can I do with this since I didn’t have an Atari system anymore. I decided to go find one and fix it up for a mothers day present (my mom loved to play those games with my brothers and me).

I shopped around and some garage sales and some flea markets and came across 2 systems that were both not working. I was able to fix one cannibalizing the other. I put the display and the system together and they worked perfectly! I then gave it to my mom on mothers day with cartridges she used to play, with the one rule that she had to give it back to me when she didn’t want it anymore. This is where it stayed for the next 10 years.

My mom passed away about 8 months ago and I was going through her stuff and found the original paperwork from Imagic. Needless to say this brought back memories. I decided to look up this game and the display on the Internet, again in reminiscing about the past, and found that there are collectors for this I never new existed. I decided I would sell it since my son is into the newer systems and does not take an interest in Dads old guy stuff.

Oh, by the way, I didn’t win the $10,000 in gold that Imagic was giving away in the contest. L