‘The Legend Of Zelda’: Early Production Of First Game Sells For $870K
Image via Heritage Auctions
On Friday at the Heritage Auctions Video Games Event, a sealed cartridge of The Legend of Zelda (1987) was sold for US$870,000. The title of most expensive video game sold was previously held by Super Mario Bros., of which a sealed copy was sold at US$660,000 earlier this year.
Heritage Auctions explains that, due to the cartridge’s extreme rarity, no other copies it had obtained “could even attempt to hold a cndle to this one.” It details that the item is the only surviving copy “from one of the earliest production runs that we’ve ever had the opportunity ot offer.”
The game is one of only two NES TM copies graded by Wata, a company known for objective video game grading standards. The NES TM variant was the first production run, which lasted for only a few months in late 1987 before being replaced by the Rev-A in early 1988. This makes the cartridge one of the first-ever copies of the first game of the iconic The Legend of Zelda series.
”I had a lot of confidence in this game, and, yet, I still feel like the reality of today’s bidding exceeded my vision of how it would play out," stated Heritage Auctions Video Games Specialist Valarie McLeckie in the press release. "Making history is never an easy thing. I'm just really proud we got to be part of this yet again.”
#HERITAGELIVE #WORLDRECORD!! Bidding frenzy drives The Legend of Zelda - Wata 9.0 A Sealed [No Rev-A, Round SOQ, Early Production], NES Nintendo 1987 USA to $870,000 – most ever paid for a video game at auction, at #HeritageAuctions! https://t.co/PRhOICeMlV#LegendofZelda pic.twitter.com/7TSYYmt8Ik
— Heritage Auctions (@HeritageAuction) July 9, 2021
[via Boing Boing, images via Heritage Auctions]
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