Extremely rare Zelda game could sell for more than $700,000 at auction

like Physical video games are becoming more difficult to find because of Never-ending digitizationPeople love collecting tangible items, especially if they are of the rare and sealed variety. A 22-year-old Californian named Kero recently discovered one of these rarities: a sealed copy from 1987 Legend of Zelda, and almost let it go for a measly $17,000 before it was officially appraised. And if you know how this works, you know the vendor is ready to make some serious bread.

according to February 22 CNBC a reportantiques dealer Kero said the vintage game had been in the family since it was purchased from the now-defunct Fedco department store in 1987 for $29.87 (or $82.92 in 2024 when adjusted for inflation). As a regular eBay seller of collectible Barbies dolls and sneakers, Kiro thought he'd put a sealed NES game on the online market to see if he could get a little money out of it. So, he posted it for $17,000 in October 2023, thinking that's all he'd get and he'd be done with it. Sold out, but as he said CNBCmore offers started appearing within minutes.

“I was like 'Yo, that's wild.' “There's no way I was going to sell it that fast,” Kiro told the publication. “A lot of people were messaging me on eBay right away. One guy offered to drive me to where I was and give me $30,000 cash.”

Knowing that people were digitally scanning each other to try to get in-game rewards, Kero canceled the sale and took down the listing. He knew he had something special on his hands, but he didn't know how special a sealed NES game would be. That is, until he received a letter from a collector who told Kiro over the phone that he had a copy of it Legend of Zelda It was one of the first production games, making it more than rare. Within two weeks, Kero went from Florida to professionally grade the game to Texas to meet with multinational auction house Heritage Auctions to handle its sale. It actually is On the site now And as CNBC He will headline Heritage Auctions' signature video game auction Feb. 23-24, he said.

The last time Crooked Zelda A toy like this was at auction That was July 2021. At the time, a sealed copy of the game sold for $870,000. The valuation on this item was slightly higher than Kiro's, but either way, the extremely rare toy owned by the 22-year-old would likely fetch a similar price. Only time will tell. If he did, he surely had a plan for the money he would make, no matter how much it ended up being.

“I sat with A [certified public accountant]”Kero said. “I certainly won't spend it right away. It will be used to build long-term wealth for myself and my family.