Retro gaming is more popular than ever… and that’s making it really hard to jump into the hobby right now.
During the pandemic, we saw soaring used game prices. The media started picking up on unbelievable stories about retro games selling at auction for just absurd prices.
The BIG headline that got everyone’s attention was the sealed WATA-certified copy of Super Mario 64 selling for $1.56 MILLION dollars in 2021.
But even years before that, retro game prices were starting to creep up. For some games, prices actually started ticking up around 2012.
So now, with physical copies of retro games higher than ever before, I started wondering: What are the most expensive NES games RIGHT NOW — in 2023? And are any of them really worth the asking price?
So I did some research.
Using PriceCharting.com, I came up with this list of the top 10 most expensive NES cartridges.
I wanted to think about only the licensed games that were widely available, games you might have had in your collection if you had an NES back in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s.
So that means I’m not including variations of games (like the 5-screw Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!) or unlicensed games (like Peek-a-Boo Poker).
I’m also intentionally not including Stadium Events since it was recalled pretty quickly and later re-published as World Class Track Meet… a game that people basically pay you to take off their hands these days.
For this video, I’m only looking at loose copies, so I won’t be covering complete-in-box prices. And because these prices change all the time, prices might be a little different by the time you watch this video.
Okay! Those are the ground rules.
Let’s get started. Here are the top 10 most-expensive NES cartridges you can buy right now.
