Not every NES game will fetch you a $1000 on eBay.
Did you know that there is actually a Nintendo game (NES game more specifically) that you can sell for a massive $27000?
While it’s certainly true that video games depreciate in value after you have purchased them, but this set of NES games can actually make you money while you enjoy them to your heart’s content.
So if you still have access to your mom’s basement (or live in your mom’s basement, then it’s even better) and have any one of these NES game cartridges then we have some great news for you.
You can become rich by selling these old-timers off one by one.
On the flipside, if you live in your mom’s basement and couldn’t find any NES games, including your all-time childhood favorites, I’d venture over to oldschoolgamevault for a quick look around. You may find that NES classic that occupied so much of your formative years. Queue the warm, nostalgic feelings!
Let’s have a look at which NES games can make you a ton of money without you having to expend any sort of effort, except finding them that is.
1- 1990 Nintendo World Championships
If you have the gold 1990 Nintendo World Championships NES cartridge lying around then you’re essentially sitting on a gold mine.
The cartridge contains three games, namely, time trials of Super Mario Bros, Tetris, and Rad Racer.
You may not know this but this extremely rare version was bought for $27000 on eBay in 2014.
2- The Collectible Cart From Pawn Stars
These famous cartridges were owned by a YouTube uploader who goes by the name of Pat the NES Punk.
Google Pawn Stars to see how these two cartridges were revealed in the season 7 of that program.
It was revealed, back then, that Pat was able to buy these cartridges from another owner who had been a Nintendo Power contest winner. Not sure how that is relevant but there you have it.
Pawn Stars’ expert Johnny Jimenez, who is also a Toy expert and the owner of Toy Shack, approximated the price of the cartridges to be around $22,000.
3- Ultimate NES Tournament Cartridge
If you were blown away by the first two titles, then you’d be glad to know that there are many other NES titles, or cartridges, that can make you a similar amount of money.
The ultimate NES tournament cartridge was used in the 1990 Nintendo World Championships. It is actually a uniquely numbered and grey-colored cartridge that can fetch you around $8000.
This cartridge is also pretty rare because it has a cool feature of adjusting the time each player gets to play. It does that using physical switches which are located at the top.
Understandably, cartridges of this sort are incredibly difficult to find and collect. According to Jimenez, this cartridge can be bought or sold for anywhere between $5000 to $8000.
Nintendo NES games can literally turn you into a rich man. If you have enough of them that is.
4- The NES Stadium Events
By now it should be clear to you that you won’t be making a ton of money from any games that have been released in the past decade or so.
This NES game was released in 1987 by Bandai but was recalled quickly because Nintendo wanted to rebrand the “Bandai Family Fun Fitness” accessory, a floor pad accessory to be precise, to “the Power Pad.”
Wondering what that does to the value of a game?
Well, let’s put it this way: because of the recall, the original Stadium Events cartridge has become one of the most sought after collectible games in NES’s history.
All that happened because of a simple recall from Nintendo.
Right now, if you have the cartridge and are willing to sell it then you can probably get around $1000 if you know how to find the right buyer.
5- NES game, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Tournament Fighters
1994 wasn’t exactly a friendly year when it came to demands from consumers for 16-bit fighting games that were jammed into 8-bit packages. In other words, the demand for these type of packages was not high by any means.
Now the situation has reversed to some degree. If you happen to have the NES version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Tournament Fighters cartridge and want to sell it then it can get you between $125 and $200.
Not bad for a game that is 22 years old now.
6- Super Star Fox Weekend Cartridge for the SNES
You might have noticed a pattern here. Most of the highly valued NES games are the ones that are related to competitions of any sort.
This one, though rare, is also a competition cartridge.
Super Star Fox Weekend cartridge is basically a time-trial version of Star Fox. It was shipped to dealers who handled Nintendo games around the country for the purposes of a weekend event that took place in 1993.
Later, these same competition edition Star Fox cartridges were available for the public to get their hands on it in a Nintendo Power contest.
You can head over to eBay right now to get one of these (or maybe sell one of these) for around $1000.
Old is gold couldn’t be truer in this case.
7- Mega Man 5 for the NES
Old games won’t make you much money. Very old games will almost always deliver.
Let us be the bearer of bad news here: you won’t find games like Battlefield 4 or even the original Assassin’s Creed going on sale for anywhere close to the amount of money most of these really old NES games can fetch at any time.
If you were expecting any of the recent AAA titles on this list then get ready for more disappointment because it will probably be another fifty years before some of your favorite games, from the current generation of console games,are sold on sites like eBay for more than $100.
This Mega Man game was released about 24 years ago, in 1992, and was primarily aimed at gamers who played games on 16-bit console gaming systems such as the Super Nintendo.
Needless to say, not many people bought this game when it was all shiny and new.
But if you are one of the lucky ones who did buy this relatively unknown NES title then you stand to earn about $100 for this NES title.
You may also be able to get more than $250 for Mega Man 5 if you have the original box intact and also have the instruction booklet that came with the original game.
8- Ducktales 2 for the NES
No, we’re not talking about the game titled Ducktales remastered that was released in 2013 and has an overall rating of 88% on Steam right now.
We’re talking about the original Ducktales series.
While the first Ducktales for the NES was met with much fanfare and instantly became a Capcom classic, the sequel to that game, Ducktales 2, didn’t quite receive the same appreciation.
In fact, it is questionable if anyone even knows about a sequel to the original Ducktales NES game.
But now the ugly duckling has come of age and can be sold or had for as much as $350 if you know what you’re doing. By that, we mean that if yo have in an acceptable condition and have the complete package including any booklet or box.
9- Little Samson for the NES
Little what?
You probably don’t know much about this game. Probably because it didn’t sell well at all. In fact, it wasn’t even manufactured in an acceptably large quantity either.
Why?
Well, the primary reason for the game not being made in a large amount was that it was released at a time when most gamers had left NES and had moved on to the newer SNES, Super Nintendo Entertainment System.
The game was released by Taito in November 1992. If there was one game Little Samson resembled a lot, then it was Mega Man.
But, as mentioned before, since NES had just become redundant, this NES game never got the exposure it, perhaps, deserved.
Now, however, the NES game has reached the status of “rare” and if you’re one of those old gamers who still has a piece of Little Samson left in your basement, complete with a box and booklet, then you can sell it on eBay for as much as $2,900.
Not bad for an NES game that nobody wanted to play a mere 25 years ago.
Some games can fetch you as high as $27000 while others can consistently earn you $500.
10- Donkey Kong Country Competition
More specifically, Donkey Kong Country Competition cartridge for Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES).
This isn’t just your average Donkey Kong Country cartridge we’re talking about here. We’re talking about the real time-trial version of Donkey Kong Country that was conceived for the Nintendo PowerFest ‘94 gaming competition.
Much later, it was also utilized in the Blockbuster World Video Game Championship II.
Needless to say, the NES game was not sold in large numbers and hence now is in high demand because of its limited supply.
If you bought one of the few Donkey Kong Country Competition edition cartridge then you should count yourself either lucky or smart because a single piece of this cartridge can earn you around $1500 these days. It may even get you as high as $2,800 if you have the right buyer and a decent package.
11- Book’s Adventure
Again, this NES game wouldn’t be on the list of Top 5 games of all time on any website in the world.
Bon’s Adventure was released for the NES and its main character was Bonk.
Bonk played as a mascot for NEC’s doomed Turbografx-16 gaming console. But he did make it to the NES with a much lower quality of graphics.
The TurboGrafx-16 version of Bonk’s Adventure won’t get you much these days. But if you happen to have the NES version of Bonk’s Adventure then you stand a chance to make a lot of money.
Right now, you can sell this NES game for around $850. Again, you’ll only get this price if you have the complete box package.
12- The Flintstones : The Surprise at Dinosaur Peak!
Remember, popular old games will make you money. Unpopular sequels to those popular games will make you a ton of money.
The Flintstones: The Surprise at Dinosaur Peak was known to have been released in 1994 by Taito but no one can confirm if the NES game actually reached video game stores around the country.
According to Gamespot, the NES game was essentially a direct-to-rent video game which was a Blockbuster Video exclusive.
It doesn’t take a genius to guess that there wouldn’t a whole lot of copies of this NES game lying around nowadays.
In other words, this NES game has officially become rare. In fact, The Flintstones: The Surprise at Dinosaur Peak has become one of the most scarce NES cartridge game of all time.
A number of copies of the NES game have been sold on eBay for as much as $1,200.
13- The Jetsons: Cogswell’s Caper
This was another 8-bit NES (Nintendo Entertainment System) game that didn’t sell very well. It was released in December 1992 by Taito and hence didn’t do well because gamers had already moved on to 16-bit gaming consoles from the older 8-bit consoles.
So if you are one those kids who bought The Jetsons: Cogswell’s Caper in 1992 because your parents didn’t give you the money for the newer console then you should thank them now.
Because if you still have this cartridge game today and want to sell it on eBay then it can fetch you up to $1200.
Moreover, if you have the complete-in-box copy of the game then you can easily make even more money by selling it on sites like eBay.
14- Bubble Bobble Part 2
We know, you have noticed a clear pattern with these highly valued NES games now. That pattern is that each flop or unpopular sequel title of a popular NES game has become very valuable now.
In other words, sequels of NES games that were considered fun back in the day are worth a lot of money today.
For Bubble Bobble 2, an NES game, one can get around $600 for a complete-in-box version.
15- Chip N Dale Rescue Rangers 2
There are always those games which don’t get caught on because of strange circumstances. Chip’ n Dale Rescue Rangers 2 is one of those games. It was released in 1994 for the NES and maybe the developers behind it wanted to piggyback on the popularity of Chip ‘ n Dale Rescue Rangers, a show that got canceled from Disney TV’s schedule sometime before.
And since nobody noticed or even cared about Chip N Dale Rescue Rangers 2, the NES game has become quite a commodity in 2016.
It can be had or sold on eBay for around $175. Some might even get $250 if the package is complete.
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