Physical copies of rare video games sell for tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of dollars. Just this past February, an ultra-rare copy of The Legend of Zelda on the NES went for over $700,00, while a mint-conditioned copy of the OG Super Mario Bros. game sold for $114,000 in July 2020. Collectors will slam their wallets onto the table for anything that’s rare, sealed, and vintage, so it shouldn’t be much of a surprise to anyone that a rare, sealed, and vintage copy of 1987's Castlevania just sold for a very pretty penny.
As spotted by GamesRadar, a NES copy of Konami’s OG Castlevania in brand-new condition from its first production run sold for $90,100 on eBay on March 23. According to Digital Eclipse’s editorial director Chris Kohler, the game was reportedly found in a Texas estate sale. Interestingly, the listing started at $37,000 before skyrocketing to over $90k. While it’s unclear how many folks placed their best bets, two people came forward on Instagram to chat about the war: bidders Frank “Grailmonster” Giaramita and Tom “minus_worlds” Curtin.
Giaramita, who posts a lot about rare collectibles he’s either seen or won, said on Instagram on March 25 that “this is the most a raw game has ever sold for,” referencing the fact that it hasn’t been certified or graded yet (which is what makes it “raw”). He clarified that he knew the person who won the Castlevania auction, explaining that he “deserved it way more than me.” Giaramita also said it could be worth up to $250k.
Curtin, who bid against Giaramita for the sealed copy of Castlevania, explained in a March 30 Instagram post that “everything just came together for a childhood friend and I this week as we were able to obtain this absolute beauty.” He said that “after 23 years” of searching, he was finally able to add the OG Castlevania game to his collection. With this addition and based on Kotaku’s scrolling through his account, he now owns at least five copies of the game.
“This was the first game my mom ever bought me,” Curtin said. “I still remember the phone call we made to buy it. It’s a core memory. […] Thanks to [Nintendo collector] the1uppedcollection for her support throughout the week and for Grailmonster for his graciousness in defeat in our battle over this amazing, historical, piece.”
Kotaku has reached out to Curtin and Giaramita for comment.
With video games becoming increasingly more digital, especially as console makers like Xbox gear up for an all-digital future of releases and vintage games slowly disappear as time marches forward, it’s nice seeing these old games find new homes so that they may (ideally) be preserved for generations to come. I wouldn’t spend that much on a game, but hey, kudos to the collectors that do.