Games

Do you own the most expensive game ever?

We run through some of the most collectable video games of all time.

By Damien McFerran

6 min readPublished on 08/02/2016 · 10:09 AM UTC

Do you own the most expensive game ever?
© Aaron Norton

As we move into the world of digital downloads, the concept of collecting game cartridges and discs is soon going to become a distant memory. However, like all physical media, video gaming has seen a massive growth in second-hand trading, with online auction sites and dedicated forums encouraging a sharp rise in prices for the rarest and most sought-after titles.

Below, we've dug up some of the most exclusive games on the planet. If you happen to have one of these tucked away in the loft then you might want to dust it off and put it up for sale - or alternatively, lock it away in a protected vault to watch its value steadily increase as the years roll by.

Darius Alpha (PC Engine) - Approximately $1,400

Better known in North America as the TurboGrafx, the NEC PC Engine was a rival to the NES and featured some amazing arcade conversions - one of which was Taito's Darius. Darius Alpha is basically a "boss rush" game where the player faces one end-of-level guardian after another, and was never actually sold at retail - a small number of copies were produced, each of which was given away in a prize draw, while others were awarded as competition items in Japanese magazines at the time. The low print run and unorthodox nature of distribution keep this game's value in the stratosphere - prices have been known to go well over $1,000.

Tetris (Mega Drive) - $1 Million

Nintendo's acquisition of the console rights to Tetris sounds like the plot of some kind of thriller novel, and one of the many twists in the tale is that Sega produced its own domestic port of the game for the 16-bit Mega Drive - known as the Genesis in the US. The game never made it to retail, with Nintendo's legal team preventing it from ever going on sale - but physical copies were produced, and a tiny amount made their way into the hands of collectors, like the copy signed by Tetris creator Alexey Pajitnov which was sold for an eye-watering $1 million in 2011.

Suikoden II (PlayStation) - Approximately $150

The value of this acclaimed RPG has dropped in recent years since being re-released digitally on the PlayStation Network, but it still fetches a pretty penny whenever it comes up for sale. Something of a commercial failure upon launch, the game's stature has grown over time, which has forced the limited number of available physical copies to increase in price. Even with the digital edition available, hardcore collectors are always keen to get their hands on what is regarded as one of Konami's best releases.

Exertainment Mountain Bike Rally/Speed Racer Combo (SNES) - $1,400 or more

The odd thing about this insanely rare combo pack is that the two games included aren't especially collectible (or worth playing, for that matter), but together they're dynamite. Exertainment Mountain Bike Rally is a game designed to be used with a special "LifeFitness" exercise bike, while Speed Racer in My Most Dangerous Adventures is a fairly forgettable racing title. It's not known how many copies of this cartridge actually made it into the wild - some experts are convinced that it was never sold in stores - but loose variants have sold for around $1,400. Possibly the most expensive SNES game of all time, the low-key nature of this pack means it could well be sitting at the back of someone's cupboard gathering dust (and value) without them even knowing.

Panzer Dragoon Saga (Sega Saturn) - Approximately $200

Panzer Dragoon Saga was supposed to be the Saturn's Final Fantasy VII, and while the game lived up to that promise in terms of quality, the fact that Sega's 32-bit console was on life-support when it was released in 1998 meant that it could never hope to repeat the sales figures of Square's famous PlayStation RPG. Its critical standing - twinned with the low number of copies published in North America and Europe - has ensured that its value is only going one way. Rumor has it that Sega has lost the source code and therefore cannot re-release the game digitally, so expect this to remain something of a collector's item for the foreseeable future.

Gamma Attack (Atari 2600) - Estimated $20,000 - $50,000

Once thought to be the most expensive video game of all time, Gamma Attack is as rare as they come - only one copy is known to exist. The only Atari 2600 game released by publisher Gammation, the sole known copy is owned by Anthony DeNardo, who tried to sell it for $500,000 back in 2008. No one bit at that lofty price, but even so, the game is believed to be worth between $20,000 and $50,000 - putting it in the upper echelons of video game collecting. The title has since been made available on PC by Gammation and reproduction carts are available online, but DeNardo can rest easy - the super-exclusive nature of the item should ensure that it maintains its value for many years to come.

1990 Nintendo World Championships Cartridge (NES) - Approximately $18,000

This super-rare cartridge - only made available to participants in Nintendo's 1990 World Championship - doesn't even come with any proper packaging or a manual. These carts were used in the competition, and feature limited versions of classic NES games which can be toggled with the switches on the front. Just 90 carts were handed out in total, but only 26 of these were coated in gold. Unsurprisingly, these are the ones which fetch the most among collectors: one recent auction ended at just over $100,000. The bog-standard grey version is only worth around $18,000 in comparison - hardly chump change, but not quite as spectacular.

Kizuna Encounter (Neo Geo) - Approximately $10,000

This 2D fighter proves that sometimes it's what comes with the game - rather than the game itself - which makes it rare. Only 12 copies of the European version of Kizuna Encounter are believed to exist, but the Japanese version is much more common and therefore not worth anywhere near as much. Prices have been known to shoot past the $10,000 mark - even though the game code is exactly the same on both versions.