Sign in with
Sign up | Sign in

Ghosts 'n Goblins NES Cart On eBay for $5,000

By - Source: Tom's Guide US | B 47 comments

Would you sink five grand on a mint-condition NES cartridge?

Gamers looking to sink a (big, big) wad of money into a bit of nostalgia can find Capcom's Ghosts 'n Goblins for the Nintendo NES over on eBay for a whopping $4,999. The game cartridge is listed as "NEW SEALED MINT VGA 85+," and apparently has never been opened or removed from the manufacturer's sealing.

According to the auction, VGA stands for Video Game Authority, an organization that provides a universal standard that "convey the condition of original and un-tampered with collectibles, thereby creating a safer collecting environment." The grade of 85+ is considered "gold," a rare grade that seemingly renders a collectible as a "true museum piece."

In essence, the NES cartridge is considered 1st-class mint, but is it worth almost $5,000? The game originally hit the market back in June 1986, making it just over 24-years-old. Currently the bid has already racked in two offers, so apparently someone out there believes the NES cart is worth the hefty pricetag.

Discuss
Ask a Category Expert

Create a new thread in the Streaming Video & TVs forum about this subject

Example: Notebook, Android, SSD hard drive

This thread is closed for comments
Top Comments
  • 23 Hide
    JasonAkkerman , August 27, 2010 7:09 PM
    Still, for that price, big spenders could simply ignore the need for 8-bit nostalgia and buy a smoking-hot gaming PC... and just play the ROM on an NES emulator. Sounds like a better buy, honestly.

    Did Toms just advocate piracy?
Other Comments
  • 23 Hide
    JasonAkkerman , August 27, 2010 7:09 PM
    Still, for that price, big spenders could simply ignore the need for 8-bit nostalgia and buy a smoking-hot gaming PC... and just play the ROM on an NES emulator. Sounds like a better buy, honestly.

    Did Toms just advocate piracy?
  • 7 Hide
    XZaapryca , August 27, 2010 7:11 PM
    Some of us 30somethings with cash to burn might still be interested in having a bit of our childhood back. Why was this game so hard? lol
  • Display all 47 comments.
  • 9 Hide
    mp562 , August 27, 2010 7:12 PM
    Some people just have too much money to spend.
  • 2 Hide
    jimmysmitty , August 27, 2010 7:12 PM
    There are collectors for everything. Its why Action Comics #1 in mint condition is worth $1 million+ or a 1943 D mint copper penny is worth over $1 million.

    If only....
  • 5 Hide
    liquidchild , August 27, 2010 7:13 PM
    I have Zelda still in the box.....wonder how much that will get me 20 years form now? My mom was a double buy freak cuz I use to break stuff a lot and I'd cry (lol) I have gi joe f-14's and a tie fighter in the box too. For some odd reason though I could never keep the cobra "a10" from breaking...i must of had 8 of those glass objects lol.
  • 0 Hide
    jplarson , August 27, 2010 7:13 PM
    I've seen plenty of grading services for sports cards, autographs, other sports collectibles. This is the first I've ever heard of a video game grader. It makes sense for sports collectibles, aside from looking at it there isn't much else to do with it. But a person could open that NES box and play the game. Now that it's sealed, it won't be possible unless you break it out. VGS sounds like a marketing gimmick to me.
  • 0 Hide
    mavroxur , August 27, 2010 7:14 PM
    This game isn't even one of the popular collectible games.... I'd understand if it was a rare / low production game or something, but this game was ported and released on a half dozen platforms. But I guess to the right person, it's worth it. I've got a Final Fantasy NES with the original box, book, and fold-out map. Maybe I should hit up eBay and see what it might go for :-P
  • 1 Hide
    TommyV , August 27, 2010 7:15 PM
    I agree with the writer. I just don't understand why people will pay so much money for something like this. Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.
  • 1 Hide
    meat81 , August 27, 2010 7:16 PM
    TommyVI agree with the writer. I just don't understand why people will pay so much money for something like this. Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.


    Plus this game wasnt that great either.
  • -4 Hide
    Dirtman73 , August 27, 2010 7:17 PM
    JasonAkkermanStill, for that price, big spenders could simply ignore the need for 8-bit nostalgia and buy a smoking-hot gaming PC... and just play the ROM on an NES emulator. Sounds like a better buy, honestly.Did Toms just advocate piracy?


    Errm...most emulators aren't against the law.
  • 2 Hide
    hellwig , August 27, 2010 7:25 PM
    JasonAkkermanStill, for that price, big spenders could simply ignore the need for 8-bit nostalgia and buy a smoking-hot gaming PC... and just play the ROM on an NES emulator. Sounds like a better buy, honestly.Did Toms just advocate piracy?

    I think all those old ROM sites used to have some sort of disclaimer about how they were for backups only and had to be deleted after 24 hours blah blah blah.

    Still, this is obviously a collectors item, not for playing with. Suggesting an emulator would be like telling someone to just go buy MLB 2011 and an XBox with the money they spent buying an autographed Babe Ruth baseball.
  • 5 Hide
    Trialsking , August 27, 2010 7:30 PM
    liquidchildI have Zelda still in the box.....wonder how much that will get me 20 years form now? My mom was a double buy freak cuz I use to break stuff a lot and I'd cry (lol) I have gi joe f-14's and a tie fighter in the box too. For some odd reason though I could never keep the cobra "a10" from breaking...i must of had 8 of those glass objects lol.


    I bet you are millionaire and didn't even know it! Your mom is a genius, she was actually creating your trust fund.
  • 0 Hide
    BulkZerker , August 27, 2010 7:36 PM
    No kidding for 5 grand you could make an arcade box filled with an low power processor and a sutable display. Or a vintage arcade unit even!
  • -2 Hide
    jerreece , August 27, 2010 7:48 PM
    JasonAkkermanStill, for that price, big spenders could simply ignore the need for 8-bit nostalgia and buy a smoking-hot gaming PC... and just play the ROM on an NES emulator. Sounds like a better buy, honestly.Did Toms just advocate piracy?


    LOL Wake up dude! NES games (the originals) have long since had their Patents/Copyrights expired. NES ROMS are actually quite legal these days.

    Next time you're in Wal-Mart or some cheesy electronics 'gift shop' look around. A couple years ago companies were making NES rip offs that you hooked to your TV and already had like 100+ games pre-installed on the system itself.
  • 2 Hide
    jerreece , August 27, 2010 7:52 PM
    Interesting tid-bit: According to "Nintendo" their Copyrights are not expired. They claims US Copyright laws give them 75years. I was pretty certain I'd seen a news article 2-3 years ago about how all the old NES games were up for grabs. I guess Nintendo disagrees.

    http://www.nintendo.com/corp/legal.jsp#roms
  • 1 Hide
    tokenz , August 27, 2010 8:02 PM
    I bet if it was the first gen ipod Parrish would be all over it.
  • 0 Hide
    maestintaolius , August 27, 2010 8:15 PM
    meat81Plus this game wasnt that great either.

    Yeah, it's also a great game for illustrating the 'nintendo hard' trope.
  • 2 Hide
    Ramar , August 27, 2010 8:20 PM
    Unfortunately, thanks almost entirely to Disney, Nintendo's copyright on those games is NOT expired. Every time Disney's copyright runs out on their original cartoons, they pay off congress to extend copyright, which encompasses all forms of intellectual property.

    tl;dr Disney is insane, congress is corrupt, and thanks to copyright don't expect ROM immunity.
  • 0 Hide
    cletus_slackjawd , August 27, 2010 8:48 PM
    Ahh, I remember a certain glitch when the key dropped after defeating a boss, you catch it while ducking and jump to the left to catch your foot on an object, then you would be dragged through the door and skip to a level higher. Sort of like a Super Mario (warp to level X). I see the emulator comment was dropped. This was one of my favorite games, I have the *newer PSP version. The original arcade was far ahead of it's time too.
  • -1 Hide
    rollerdisco , August 27, 2010 8:49 PM
    tokenzMy mom used to buy 2 of every Masters of the Universe action figure for me. We put most of them on garage sale. I still wish I had some of those in mint.


    Well if she was a fan of collecting, that is one thing, but if she did it because she wanted you to stop crying when you broke it, and not teach you to not break it in the first place. That is something entirely different. And that is want i was saying.
Display more comments
Tom’s guide in the world
  • Germany
  • France
  • Italy
  • Ireland
  • UK
Follow Tom’s guide
Subscribe to our newsletter
  • add to twitter
  • add to facebook
  • ajouter un flux RSS