The Legend of Zelda, sealed copy emerges from the attic and sets a new record
The Legend of Zelda
The first, historic chapter of The Legend of Zelda is about to be auctioned at a record price. It is not the first time, this is true, that a game we call "retro" reaches impressive figures but in the specific case of Link's first adventure, dated 1987 and appeared exclusively on the NES, it is about to reach the highest peak ever reached by series.The copy, which is sold at auction but not on eBay, but on Heritage Auction obviously has some requirements that are not easily replicable. And that's right, also considering the value of the work and the object. First of all, the copy of The Legend of Zelda has never been opened and is still sealed and in addition it is part of the very first production batch. In detail, the game is part of the NES R lot, replaced a few months later by the Rev-A lots, which went to press in 1988. This means that the title in question is the rarest copy in the world to be found in a sealed version. .
At the time of writing, The Legend of Zelda is being auctioned and has a bid of $ 110,000. How difficult is it to track past sales records? A lot, but we can still try thanks to Price Charting, which however only takes into account some eBay listings. The highest price is currently $ 1750. It is therefore clear that the object in question, present on Heritage Auction, will win an incredible new record.
We are clearly referring to the US versions. In Europe, The Legend of Zelda has a slightly lower value for graded (which certify the failure to open and have a score on conditions), complete and sealed versions. The historic Nintendo game is in fact sold at much lower figures, except for the loose version (ie without manual and cardboard packaging). In the US, the average figure for the latter type is about 20 Dollars, while the Europe version is sold for 60 Dollars. Different markets, different prices but one thing seems very clear: if you want to rebuild the collection (or start a new one) it would be good to hurry up: the market in fact always shows an upward line.
Playing with Super Power, book dedicated to the legendary Super Nintendo, is available on Amazon.
Rare copy of ‘The Legend Of Zelda’ listed for auction
A rare sealed copy of Nintendo‘s 1987 game The Legend Of Zelda is currently up for auction for £72,000 ($110,000 USD).
The auction lot, which is for a sealed “NES R” copy of The Legend Of Zelda 1987 is available via Heritage Auctions. (thanks to Eurogamer)
The site describes the listing as “the apotheosis of rarity, cultural significance, and collection centerpieces” due to its rarity.
Collectible game graders Wata rated the copy as 9.0 for condition and A for the seal-quality, which is towards the top of its extensive grading system.
This particular “NES R” copy of The Legend Of Zelda was only produced for a few months in 1987, with the “Rev-A” variant replacing it in early 1988.
According to the listing only one production run exists prior to the “NES R” variant, which is the “NES TM” version.
These names refer to the symbol after the Nintendo Entertainment System logo, the earlier variant having unregistered trademark symbol, and the later versions featuring the registered trademark symbol.
The auction also states that it is “widely believed that only a single sealed “NES TM” example exists, and there is no telling whether or not that copy will ever come to market.” This makes the currently available “NES R” version the single rarest copy currently available.
Earlier in the year a similarly rare copy of Super Mario Bros for the NES sold for £477,000. The copy was rated by Wata as 9.6 and A+.
Like today’s listing, the available copy of Super Mario Bros was produced during an extremely short production window which saw the game box printed without the trademark symbol.
In other Nintendo news, the gaming giant has reported that it is is considering the production of future Mini consoles.
Speaking about the future of their products, Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa said “We will continue to examine the possibility of offering classic content, such as with the NES and Super NES Classic Mini series”.
