We're no strangers to collectable NES junk and completely
bonkers auctions, but learning about this piece of Nintendo history makes us glance, ever-so-slightly, to our own boxes of dusty cartridges in the hopes that we might one day become millionaires after a forgotten NES relic turns out to be a gold mine.
Stadium Events is apparently the single rarest "officially released" NES cartridge in history. Why? Well, it was first introduced to the USA by Bandai, and the game made use of the
Power Pad (formerly known as
Family Fun Fitness). Nintendo subsequently purchased the rights to the
Power Pad, wanting a piece of the hot sporting action. After the purchase, Nintendo renamed the actual game itself to
World Class Track Meet, and copies of
Stadium Events were pulled from the shelves. Hence, they are now rarer than a lion's steak dinner.
While the history of such a
probably awful game is mind-numbingly complex,
Stadium Events goes on existing as a rare collectible. And guess what? You can bid on it
here, costing you only a couple ... thousand dollars. Not to worry, the seller is offering a discount on the $7.95 shipping cost if you buy multiple rare games from his collection. Thrifty buyers take note of this saving.
For reference, a sealed copy of the game sold in 2006 for
this much.