The 24 Rarest Video Game Collectibles (And What They’re Worth) From Least To Most

It takes a lot of work for someone to become a collector. You have to keep up with the current values, watch for bargains, and on top of that, worry about whether or not what you’re buying is genuine. Collectibles can be found literally anywhere, from the bins of Goodwill or in the garage sale that’s down the road.

You may be wondering what some of the most expensive collectibles are and how much they are worth. Some of these items are even worth thousands of dollars. So, we’ve decided to find some of the rarest video game collectibles and have ranked them from lowest to highest in terms of expense.

24

Panasonic Q

Worth: $500

The Panasonic Q, sometimes referred to as a Game Q, was released only in Japan in 2001, but it never really became popular. It sold less than 100 thousand units worldwide and was pulled from the market in 2003.

The Panasonic Q was manufactured by Nintendo and Panasonic and was a combination of a Game Cube and a DVD player. Because of its sleek look and good features, like an optical sound output, it became a sought-after item by collectors, which places it at around $500.

Worth: $500

The Snake Eater 3DS was released as part of the promotion for Metal Gear Solid 3’s release on the 3DS. Every Metal Gear Solid game has been given what’s called a premium package in Japan, with each one containing a few limited-edition items. For the Snake Eater release, they came out with a limited edition 3DS.

This 3DS is finished and textured with a snakeskin pattern, no doubt in honor of Solid Snake. They were released in 2012 exclusively to Japan, so they’ve become pretty rare, as most have to ship from Japan.

Worth: $700

Special editions are either a waste of money or good fun, which is ultimately up to you, but price and worth do come into play. The box contained a life-sized Pipboy replica, a Vault Boy bobblehead, an art book, a making-of DVD, and a Vault-Tec lunchbox.

It was released exclusively through Amazon and sold for $130 in 2008, at the same time Fallout 3 was released. The Fallout 3: Amazon.com Exclusive Survival Edition was worth it for those who could order one upon its limited release.

21

Ocarina Of Time Game Boy Camera

Worth $850

The Game Boy Camera in and of itself is a weird little thing. A throwback to the times before everyone carried a camera around in their pockets. This version though, well, it’s worth a fair bit of cash.

Only 2,000 of the Ocarina of Time Game Boy Cameras were made. As always, most of these have since been lost to the garbage bins and basements of history, and one of their biggest distinctions is the gaudy gold paint job they have. As such, one in good condition can easily sell for almost a thousand dollars.

20

Pokemon World Championship DS Systems

Worth: $1,000

Only 112 of the Pokemon World Championship DS Systems were made and distributed each year to the winners of the Pokemon World Championships. Coming in a variety of colors, the systems are emblazoned with Pokemon decals and proudly state their origin from the World Championships.

Every once in a while, you see one go up for sale, and they usually go for around a grand. If you’ve got a Pokemon fan in your life, gifting them one of these would make their dreams come true.

Worth: $1,000

The Rockman 20th Anniversary Metal Statues came were released in 2007. There were two types of these statues released, a bronze coated one and a silver coated one. From a bit of research, it appears as if only 200 of the copper statues were made and only 100 of the silver statues were made.

The limited amount of these statues makes them pretty rare and expensive, even more so for those die-hard Megaman fans. There was also a set of statues released for the 25th anniversary, but those aren’t as sought after and expensive.

18

Net Yaroze

Worth: $1,750

No one seems to talk about Net Yaroze anymore, and that’s a shame. It was something of a prelude to the great Indie game scene we have today. Special versions of the PS1 were distributed along with development tools, which would allow one-man crews to develop their own weird, sometimes bad, sometimes incredible video games.

These would then be distributed on demo discs and the like. The consoles weren’t region-locked either, meaning they could play any game from anywhere. The Net Yaroze was released in 1996 and specifically targeted toward computer programmers.

17

Sega Dreamcast Seaman Christmas Edition

Worth: $3,300

Do you remember Seaman? Perhaps you’re lucky if you don’t, but here’s a friendly reminder that it was essentially a Tamagotchi or a virtual pet you could care for on your Sega Dreamcast. Leonard Nimoy also happens to voice the care instructions for your Seaman Pet.

For only ten days, a Christmas edition of a Sega Dreamcast was released that featured the logo of the Seaman game. Only 850 of these were made, so they’re quite an interesting gem to find and they’ve become rather expensive.

16

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, Fortune Hunter Edition

Worth: $3,000-10,000

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves did extremely well upon its release in 2009, and then eventually a special edition set was released, but it was not available in stores and could only be won in competitions or giveaways, which was the Fortune Hunter Edition.

The Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, Fortune Hunter Edition came with a copy of the game, a collector’s case autographed by the Naughty Dog developers, a strategy guide, the official soundtrack, an art book, and an exact replica of the Phurba Dagger. Only 200 of these special edition boxes were ever made.

15

Aztarac

Worth: $5,000

Aztarac is something of a holy grail in the world of arcade gaming, though at the time of it’s release it wasn’t very successful. Created by the short-lived studio, Centuri, and released in 1983. It plays a game that is a mix of Asteroids and Space Duel.

The cabinet is beautiful and all, but it’s not the game or the cabinet’s looks that make it rare. It is thought that fewer than 500 were made, making each cabinet very rare indeed. Finding one of these is the dream of arcade fanatics everywhere.

14

Life-Sized BioShock Big Daddy Statue

Worth: $7,000

Have you decided whether or not you want to survive the Rapture? Well, if you do, there are life-size Big Daddy statues from Bioshock that will likely aid you in your quest. These statues were given away during competitions around the release of BioShock, but they were not sold.

They were produced by Oxmox Studios and made out of fiberglass and are incredibly detailed. They are about 6.5 feet and 155 pounds, so it’s definitely something that most people don’t just have laying around, but consider yourself safe if you do.

13

Elemental Gearbolt Assassin Case

Worth: $8,000

Elemental Gearbolt is an older PlayStation 1 game from the late 90s that has an anime-like art style. It was never an official item placed on the market to buy, which means they were only given out.

The Elemental Gearbolt Assassin case comes with a copy of the Elemental Gearbolt game, either a gold or a red memory card, a gold GunCon, a letter warning those with sweaty hands to handle the gun minimally, and of course the briefcase that it comes in. Only around 50 of these sets were made, so they are quite rare.

12

Link Statue From E3

Worth: Around $8,000

The Link Statue statues were displayed at E3, or the Electronic Entertainment Expo, in 1997 to promote Ocarina of Time. There had been some frustration about the way Link is posed, since it wasn’t iconic to Link. But the pose is important, as it was inspired by Miyamoto, who is one of The Legend of Zelda’s creators.

They’re very hard to find, as only 300 of these statues were made, and they are quite fragile, which means not every one of those statues probably withstood the tests of time. These Link Statues are one of the rarest Legend of Zelda collectibles.

11

Tetris For The Genesis

Worth: $15,000

Because of some confusion over a licensing issue between Tetris, Sega, and Nintendo, Sega never got the chance to do a full release of a new Tetris game they had created. Instead, Nintendo secured the rights, but, there are a few copies of Tetris for the Genesis. There are thought to only be ten copies, making them extremely rare.

The Tetris game for the Genesis was supposedly based on Sega’s Japanese version of Tetris, meaning it was different from the normal Tetris we all know today. A signed one of these copies went for one million dollars.

10

Nintendo Campus Challenge Cartridges

Worth: $20,000

Nintendo Campus Challenge was a video game competition that toured the US and Canada back in the early 90s. The cartridge was composed of minigame versions of familiar video games, including Super Mario Bros. 3, Pin*Bot, and Dr. Mario. The players’ scores would be tallied together to give an overall score, with prizes including new cars and scholarships.

Unsurprisingly, it was pretty popular. Only one cartridge remains, and it was found at a garage sale by a collector, who sold it for $13K. Three months later, that buyer sold it again, this time for $20,000. Not bad, huh?

9

PlayStation 10 Million Model

Worth: $20,000

When Sony hit the ten millionth mark of units produced, they decided to create a special console in celebration of their milestone. But they wouldn’t release these new consoles onto the market, they would be exclusively given away.

Only 100 units of the ten million PlayStation models were created, and they were modeled after the PlayStation 1. They have a rather cool marine blue coloring and they also came with a matching controller and a memory card. It’s a pretty neat set, keep your eyes peeled because this may be something you stumble across at a garage sale.

8

Super Mario Bros. (Asian Version)

Worth: $23,000

The Super Mario Bros. Asian Version is special because only a handful were made when they were first produced. This means there likely aren’t many surviving today, which is why this version of the game is expensive.

The game cartridge’s box is identifiable because of several little details. One, there has to be a circular Nintendo seal, not an oval one. There has to be “Asian Version” along with Chinese lettering beneath it in the bottom corner and a label that states “Action Series.” All very specific stuff, but very important if you’re collecting rare editions.

7

Birthday Mania

Worth: Up To $40,000

Now here’s an interesting little time capsule: a made-to-order game, which means these games were specially designed for people’s birthdays, each one customized to include the birthday boy or girl’s name.

Only ten copies were ever released, and a handful more were distributed to friends of the developer. There is just one verified copy in existence, and it has been valued at $40,000. If any more copies show up, you can expect them to be similarly valuable. Whoever got it got a birthday present for the ages.

6

Air Raid

Worth: $40,000

Air Raid is another incredibly rare old Atari 2600 game, Air Raid is, like Gamma Attack, so it’s not exactly special in gameplay. It’s a shoot-em-up of the retro variety, tasking players with saving Manhattan from enemy bombers. It was released in 1982 and has a unique shape from the usual cartridge and is also blue.

There are thought to only be just a few copies of Air Raid in existence. One, complete with a box, sold on eBay in 2010 for $31,600, while one complete with the instruction manual as well as the box, sold for over $33,000.

5

Stadium Events

Worth: Up To $45,000

Stadium Events is a Bandai game that Nintendo released in 1986 but then recalled to rebrand it as a first-party game to promote one of their new peripherals. It is thought that only 200 copies were sent to the public. After Stadium Events was recalled, it was renamed World Class Track Meet and released as the exact same game except under a different name.

The original cartridges are super rare as a result, with loose copies going for around $10,000 and boxed, sealed copies, costing anywhere up to $45,000.