The word record for the highest price paid for a video game was smashed recently when a mint copy of the Nintendo classic Legend of Zelda dwarfed the price previously paid for another Nintendo title – Super Mario Bros.
Retro games are now big business, with bidders from around the world competing to add the rarest titles to their collection.
So if you you have a box of old NES or Atati games in the loft it’s worth dusting them off and seeing if you have any of the most valuable titles.
Sadly the big bucks tend to be paid for mint editions that have never been opened or played, but you never know…
Here are 10 of the games that could make you a fortune, as identified by the experts at TouchCasino.com.
. Games
These games could be worth tens - or even hundreds - of thousands of pounds if you happen to have a mint and sealed copy. Photo: Contributed
. Legend of Zelda
Late last year an original sealed copy of the Nintendo NES role playing game Legend of Zelda sold for an incredible £720,708.78. Don't get too excited - it was a super-rare early production copy described by the auction house as 'the holy grail of video games'. The one you have in a drawer somewhere is likely to be worth significantly less. Photo: Contributed
1. Legend of Zelda
Late last year an original sealed copy of the Nintendo NES role playing game Legend of Zelda sold for an incredible £720,708.78. Don't get too excited - it was a super-rare early production copy described by the auction house as 'the holy grail of video games'. The one you have in a drawer somewhere is likely to be worth significantly less. Photo: Contributed
2. Super Mario Bros.
Also sold in 2022, and the previous record holder, was a pristine copy of another Nintendo NES classic - Super Mario Bros. Originally released in 1985, it reached a pixel-watering £546,744.59. Photo: Contributed
3. Nintendo World Championships
At £233,338, the 1990 game Nintendo World Championships is the most valuable vintage video game currently available that isn't a special production copy. Created as part of a promotional US-wide Nintendo competition, this prized collectible is highly desirable. If you were able to get your hands on a copy, you would find a selection of three adapted minigames based on Tetris, Super Mario Bros. and Rad Racer, made especially for the 1990 Nintendo Championships. Photo: Contributed
4. ClayFighter: Sculptor's Cut
The Nintendo 64 title ClayFighter: Sculptor's Cut, released in 1998, is valued at £127,275. With only 20,000 copies ever made for former rental giant Blockbuster, this update of ClayFighter 63⅓ was difficult to source even when it first came out. If you had, you'd be sitting on a fortune now. Photo: Contributed