A sealed copy of the first The Legend of Zelda is up for auction for more than $100,000

The crazy world we live in is also inhabited by people who buy hard-to-find retro game cartridges for exorbitant amounts of money. Recently, a rare sealed copy of 1987 classic The Legend of Zelda for NES was put up for auction, reaching a bid of $110,00.

After the copy of Super Mario Bros for NES sold for $660,00, it’s Zelda’s turn. Contextualizing, the lot we’re talking about is called the NES R variant. This version of the game was only produced for a few months in late 1987, as Rev-A replaced it in early 1988, ending its production.

The only version considered more valuable than this is an NES TM, the first true production run. Only one sealed copy is said to exist of this one, which has never been seen and probably never will be seen on the market. Heritage Auctions’ auctioneer has described this piece as “a true grail among games.”

Of all the games we’ve offered in our auctions, this sealed, first production copy of the first game in the groundbreaking Legend of Zelda series is undoubtedly the apotheosis of rarity, cultural significance, and collectible centerpiece. A proverbial trifecta of collectible perfection that only one will have the honor of calling their own.

He adds that it can not be compared with any of the copies sold so far in the same series: in short, priceless. And those who know they do not have the opportunity or simply be interested in shelling out a similar amount for this piece can certainly be satisfied playing the new The Legend of Zelda: Skyword Sword HD, coming to Nintendo Switch from July 16, 2021.