How I Got Nintendo World Championships Gold

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

How I Got Nintendo World Championships Gold

I recently bought Nintendo World Championships Gold and was able to reunite the Gold and Gray cartridges together. I'm sure they missed each other. The process of getting the Gold cartridge was actually pretty interesting and full of emotional highs and lows so I thought I would share it with the VGPC readers.

The NWC Gold I bought was the one recently listed on ebay. I contacted him about the condition and the history of it. I wanted to know where he got it and call those people to see if they could verify that it was authentic. After some due diligence and talking to two other people who owned this cartridge, I was confident it was real. I gave him an offer of $17,500, which was quite a bit lower than his asking price of $25,000.

He said he would think about it but wanted more for the game so he was going to wait for some more offers. Over the course of 3 weeks I called or emailed him once a week to see where we stood. A few offers emerged that were higher than mine, but they were bogus (probably just kids using their Mom's email accounts). On May 24th he emails and tells me he is going to sell it to someone else who is going to pay $18.5K in cash and pick it up locally. At this point I figured I would never hear about the game again and had lost my one chance of getting the Gold Nintendo World Championship.

Seven days later on May 31st, the seller emails me again saying the $18.5K offer fell through. It was a scammer trying to pay with Western Union and then have a "friend" pickup the item. My offer was now the best one and the seller decided to accept for $17.5K. I had just come to grips with the fact I wouldn't get the game and then everything changes in an instant. This definitely wouldn't be the last of the emotional highs and lows.

On June 1st we agree to complete the transaction via escrow.com. I wire my money to the escrow service on Monday June 8th (I was at E3 the week before so couldn't send the money any sooner).

The next day I expect shipment, but hear nothing from the seller. I give him a one day grace period and tell myself "maybe he had to work late, don't worry about it".

June 10th rolls around, still nothing. I call him. He says "I will mail it tonight". A FedEx tracking number is emailed to me that night. I get really excited, "I'm finally going to get the game". About 10 minutes later an email comes from FedEx - "Shipment Cancelled".

The next day the seller tells me it finally shipped and gives me the address he sent it to. THE ADDRESS IS WRONG. It is my neighbors place. I call him to see about changing the address and he tells me "Sorry, I've decided not to sell it. I love the game too much."

I tell him I feel cheated because we agreed to the terms, I sent payment, and he's been dragging his feet for more than a month since I first spoke with him. Plus I'm down a couple hundred dollars in escrow fees. We end the call and I am really upset the rest of the night.

The next day, June 12th, I email him saying we have a contract and I will not accept his cancellation. He calls me 15 minutes later apologizing repeatedly saying he felt really bad the rest of the night because he felt like he had cheated me too. He says he will ship it that night via FedEx overnight with guaranteed 8AM delivery. I'm a bit skeptical but double check he has the correct address and pray for the best.

That night FedEx emails with a tracking number again. 1 hour, 2 hours, 3 hours go by with no cancellation email. I refresh the tracking page on FedEx about 100 hundred times and finally it shows it was actually picked-up. I might finally get the game!

The next morning at 7:30AM the FedEx man comes to the door. I'm holding my 7 week old baby, probably have a ridiculously big smile on my face, and sign for the package. I quickly open everything up half expecting some other problem.

Nintendo World Championships Gold is neatly packaged inside with a custom built display case and looks just as good as I imagined it would. I have the "Holy Grail of Gaming" and the emotional ride is finally over.

Creative Common Nintendo World Championships Images

Some readers asked for large images of the cartridges I own with a creative commons license. The images are below and are listed with a Creative Commons license Attribution-Share Alike 3.0. This means anyone can use the images if they want to but you must attribute the source. Please link back to this article as your source if you post these images online.

1990 Nintendo World Championships Gold Large Image

Click for Large Image

1990 Nintendo World Championships Gray Large Image

Click for Large Image

289 comments :

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Anonymous said...: Thanks. It was awesome and something I'll never forget! I remember being at the Finals in California and competing against the other 30 kids in my group. Only 7 could get on stage. I like to think I unofficially came in 8th place since the kid next to me had only 100,000 more points than me and he was the last one to make it to the final 7, ugh!; October 10, 2009 at 2:01 PM
Anonymous said...: Be careful of buying a Nintendo World Championships Golds because one can be easily faked. There are two flaws making this possible.

First, the are not numbered and the carts cannot be told apart from another. This makes it very difficult to prove the original owner and its ownership history.

Second, the only mark on the cart is printed on cheap non-glossed sticker paper with a 360 dpi Xerox printer. Worse yet, the sticker isn't machine cut, nor shaped by exacto knife. It is cut with original scissors by hand. Then sloppily slapped on.

If you have no soul, you can mint your own. You will also walk in the very same steps Nintendo did.

1) Get a gray cart(stay with me here) and remove the circuit board. They are 100% identical.

2) Take a Zelda cart and remove the inside and wash off the sticker. Cut a small sqaure in the upper left hand corner in the same position as the gray. Smooth it out.

3)Place the gray board in the gold and put in the screws. Since the corner is gone and the right size, the dip switch will face out nicely.

4) Scan the Nintendo World Championships logo in and match to size of any gold cart you've seen in Photoshop. Print in 360 dpi on ordinary non-gloseed sticker paper. Best if you have a color inkjets could do the trick.

5) Cut with plain scissors and place by on the front as a gold would.

BAM! You have yourself a gold.

Once again, DO NOT DO THIS. THIS IS FRAUD. This is to prove the golds are not a wise investment.

Why would Nintendo make it so easy. The golds were a promotion and an afterthought and they used what they had at the time, the official grays.

Be safe and be careful what you buy. You might be purchasing a gray in disguise...

--What am I saying, the Golds are the grays in disguise.; October 28, 2009 at 3:08 AM
christmas shopping said...: I know that what it felt like to part with $1500 for one game and that hurt bad enough. I can't imagine tossing $17,500 at one game. No matter what i see.]; November 2, 2009 at 12:09 AM
Anonymous said...: I know what it felt like to part with $1500 for one game and that hurt bad enough. I can't imagine tossing $17,500 at one game. No matter what it.

r4; November 5, 2009 at 10:49 PM
Harry said...: How much will you sell both carts to me for?; November 8, 2009 at 1:57 PM
Anonymous said...: Pathetic.

PS: Oi VT.; November 9, 2009 at 3:09 AM
Harry said...: If you 'disguised' a gray cart as the gold cart then while it would seem the same as the gold one, it would still be the gray one. It's the thought that you have a gold one that counts. You wouldn't buy the gold one just to sell it. It's a collectors item.; November 10, 2009 at 10:00 AM
Maximilien said...: "You can go to the Louvre and buy a 99 cent postcard of the Mona Lisa too, but there is nothing that beats the history and importance of actually owning the original !"
Quote from a well-known record collector but I think he says everything :); November 11, 2009 at 12:48 PM
Anonymous said...: it says nintnedo! I bid 10,000!!! lol dumb high end collectors; November 13, 2009 at 6:25 PM
Anonymous said...: Dude,that story was awesome. Great job on geting the rarest nes game. Tell me:is it fun? I would give my balls for that. Not to mention the right to brag. Go ahead, I don't care.; November 29, 2009 at 8:30 PM
Anonymous said...: that's pretty kool and all, but what happens when your kid gets old enough and breaks it cause you spent 17.5grand on it, instead of buying him or her a car. Or being able to send them to college. Or just breaks it cause it was an accident, cause that shit would be funny. I think if you really want to have some fun with it, is you use it as some target practice with a shotgun. You know, just yell pull and send that shit flying into the air and bang... you just shot and destroyed 17.5 thousand dollars worth of stuff in a single instances. You should be that guy.; December 12, 2009 at 2:23 AM
Anonymous said...: VOice of Turth...

No, people actuall get here now following links that point and laugh at such a LOSER that would pay such a price for a nickles work of plastic. And, uh, this WONT appreciate. It is not ART. It is not ARTISTIC. Crap like htis is peaking now, and as fanboys get older, even though they have MORE money to WASTE, they will grow WISER and find better investments than this JOKE and WASTE of money. Sad.; December 12, 2009 at 1:30 PM
Anonymous said...: nice grab on the cart JJ i think u should take lots of pictures of it since i doubt you will see one of the other 11.

and as for all of you Dumbasses saying hes stupid for spending money on a game GET A F***ING LIFE YOU BUNCH OF @$$hOLES!!! he spent it on something that is going to rise in price indefinately and hes even selling it to mak a hole lot of hungry families happy for a long time so keep you long winded oppinions to yourselves and do us all a favour, SHOVE IT UP YOUR F***ING @$$ YOU MORONS

again JJ congrats; December 15, 2009 at 6:31 PM
Anonymous said...: Unfortately for JJ, he tried selling the GOLD cart this year and it sold for far less. He bought it for 17,500 and sold for 13,600.

It was a charity auction yes but the writeoff is not the full amount.

Hopefully the free market is beginning to determine the TRUE value of the NWC golds.; December 21, 2009 at 3:54 PM
JJ Hendricks said...: I definitely wouldn't say "unfortunately for JJ" for that auction closed at $13,600. I would say unfortunately for World Vision and world hunger.

The more the auction sold for the more I would have given away. Here is an example and an explanation of "writeoff" that I hear many people using for this auction.

Scenario 1:
I paid $17,500 for the game
I then sell it in an online auction for $13,600
On my taxes I claim $3,900 as a loss (item sold for less than I paid) and $13,600 as a charitable gift.
If my income were $25,000 these would lower it to $7,500.

Scenario 2:
I paid $17,500 for the game
The auction sells for $20,000 this time
I make $2,500 on the game and donate $20,000 to charity
My $25,000 income increase by $2,500 because of the profit on the game so it is now $27,500. Minus my deduction of $20,000 and my total income would be $7,500.

Both scenario's yield the same result for me in the end, but World Vision gets much less.; December 21, 2009 at 4:55 PM
Anonymous said...: I am very happy you thought thus through but mixing charitable contributions with a lose on a single sale might trigger an audit.

The IRS also looks for the size of the contribution in relation to your income. If the income was $25,000, then you are more likely a high roller.

Even 30,000? Still risky.

An exact percentage of danger is unknown. I do say even 20% will attract unwanted attention. And you probably would win an audit. You probably have terrific documentation and you are smart.

My mother went through the experience years ago, for claiming head of household, and they were nasty. They challenged everything. They even might go back several years. So I hope you don't get targeted.

I am happy for World Vision and they aren't doing bad at all. They will receive a generous $13,600. You did a good thing.; December 22, 2009 at 12:44 AM
Anonymous said...: That must be a hell of a game. I would say that was a good investment if in ten years you are able to sell it for more. Personally i would not pay more than $1000 for an UNOPENED classic game. But hey some people have too much money to spend. I would have put that money down on a classic car instead but, video games can make some people happy. Once again, good investment overall.; January 4, 2010 at 5:05 PM
Anonymous said...: As you well know, the highest bid of 13,600 fell through. JJgames supposedly sold in a privately a short time later. So what happened to the proceeds going to charity? JJ has not shown ANY PROOF the money went to World Vision.; January 25, 2010 at 11:20 PM
Anonymous said...: Sorry for the typo:

As you well know, the highest bid of 13,600 fell through. JJgames supposedly sold privately a short time later. So what happened to the proceeds going to charity? JJ has not shown ANY PROOF the money went to World Vision.

I want to say something else. We live in a time charities are taken advantage of. Suppose the cart sold on ebay as a chartiable auction, JJ would have to provide proof to ebay. Since the auction ended with lucky bad bid, JJgames receieves the benefit of publicity for his business and is not obligated in any way to donate the money he promised he would.; January 25, 2010 at 11:49 PM
Rob said...: I can't believe you sold this game!! I love the NES but my hearts desire is the translucent red Code Veronica Dreamcast. I believe it goes for about $2,500. I hope to be playing one during my retirement, lol.; February 13, 2010 at 6:19 AM
Anonymous said...: i just want to say that about less than one year ago i held one of the Nintendo World Championship Gold in my hand at a thrift store ''goodwill" in oxnard ca, for $3.99 and held it for like 4 mins trying to figure out why this game had an on and off switch thing on the side. I set it down to think bout buying it... and forgot to buy it with the rest of the games i got. I feel like shit now that i found out how rare that game is.... but i guess the game choses the buyer not the other way around; February 17, 2010 at 2:48 PM
Brock said...: Dude your lucky! I went to a Pawn shop in Delaware and found a grey cartridge but then some kid took it out of my hand and ran to the counter and bought it. MAN WAS I PISSED OFF!!!!!!!!!; February 18, 2010 at 4:50 PM
Nintendo Lover said...: COOL! I wish my mom bought 1 when she was young because when i saw a gold cartridge on Ebay and my mom had one in our attic but were still lookin. Maybe i'll sell it if we find it. HEHEHEHEHEHEHE i'll be RICH!!!!!!!!!; February 18, 2010 at 5:16 PM
Anonymous said...: Hello Gamers! I was one of the people who made a legit offer. My offer was to put a down payment and make payments for 1 1/2 years in equal payments. I own a video game store and even offered to put my store title on the line for the cart. ( an inventory base of over $300,000. ) unfort. the seller of this game declined only due to how long it would have taken me. I don't blame him. It a very tuff choice to make. However I do state my offer was legit and I would had it paid off by now because business is great even more so now. I am the only game store in my area now and the biggest store in central pa. I retail old school and new age games and consoles. My name has been on web sites and mags for selling some of the rarest games. Atari - Gardian sold to jason wilson (the proto type king) for a whooping $475.00. My stores name carry alot of history. Est. 2005. D&D Game World. I am a active member of digit press and few other sites. If anyone has any questions or is interested in business with my company, email me at ddgameworld@aol.com. Recently 2010 my store opened a studio to create our own games. Our first release will be around june 0f 2010. It's called, Nightmare In Icecream Land. Released for Pc, but plan to port over to NES formate. Making this from scratch. It's a challenge building games. For more information on our devolopement team, email us. Nightmare in ice cream land is copyright of d&d game world studios. All right reserved.

thank you all for reading my post and hope to see yall around!; March 31, 2010 at 12:15 AM
Randy B said...: JJ great story! After I read your blog, it makes me want to go out and see if I can find a game at a thrift store or garage sale!

I just don't understand the comments from some people. If he wanted to sell the game and keep the money or if you wanted to give the money to charity, what do these people commenting care?

You bought the game with your hard earned cash in the first place. Whether you wanted to sell it for personal gain or if you just wanted to give the proceeds to charity is your decision.; April 8, 2010 at 3:32 PM
Chris said...: I sat there and watched some random person buy the gray cart of NWC for $0.50 at a garage sale. I'm not sure if it was an original, or a reproduction, but I honestly wanted to murder the guy who bought it.; July 1, 2010 at 4:39 PM
Anonymous said...: Are you people kidding me???? Congrats on buying the holy grail of gaming I own at least 1000 games for verious systems and spend well over $20K and I do not regrat it for one minute video games cost millions of $ to develop and I am glad that now some of them ARE now reare and collectable it's better then buying a stupid baseball card of a player for $100.000 and then finding out that he is a drug addict and a cheat and your $100.000 card is now worthless I have never heard of Nintendo personel being drug addicts all I have ever heard of them making millions of children happy with their high qulity games but of course some one gets some stupid game signed and thinks that thats valuble it's not in game colleting it's the number and the lost licenses that make games collactable not stupid signatures??? Any way the people here with their opinios have no reason to be on this blog and one day maybe when I am broke you can make me an ofer on the 50 sealed and rare Nintendo games that I will not say which ones at this time....LOL; July 25, 2010 at 1:07 AM
Alex said...: Haha , pretty funny all those '' omg you wasted 20k on a piece of plastic '' , are they saying the same thing about famous painting like picasso's and such '' omg you paid 50 millions for old paint and a piece of paper ''

Retards.; September 18, 2010 at 10:13 PM
Anonymous said...: it seems to me that people should be allowed to pay whatever they want for whatever item they want. i don't run around telling people not to spend money on their cigarettes or alcohol(a vice) and why should i tell people not to spend money on their video games(another vice). whatever is your interest,hobby,or vice you have the choice to spend your money on whatever you want. you can tell who has money and who doesn't because those talking trash are obviously poor. 17.5k doesnt sound that much to me. my rolex yachtmaster costs 7.5k more than that game. it's not our place to judge others. quit being bad sports and learn to DWIAA!( a saying from childhood we told each other) Deal With It And Adjust and quit being little shits about it. everyone has the right to become whatever they want to be. some chose wisely and got ahead in life and have money to enjoy. some mortgaged themselves to the gills or chose to play instead of concentrating in school and college and they are bitter the game he bought cost more than their trailer. I say ignore them dude and fuck them. they are worthless trash anyway, why should you pay their bills just because you have the money. pathetic and without honor is how they act. they have no pride in themselves or they would be content with their lot in life or work to change it. instead they gripe, complain, and say negative things to you. these are the same sort of people who are the first to grab a rock in a stoning. same mentality. to all you haters....well fuck you. fuck you a lot.; October 5, 2010 at 8:31 PM
online auction said...: the original nintendo is simply the best gaming console ever made.; October 19, 2010 at 3:15 PM
Anonymous said...: A lot of you are very ignorant you act like the value is going to decline to nothing and as he said it will just increase it only makes sense.

Obviously if he is spending that much on a game he must have money to spend on this game which I'd also call an investment as he said like a painting, Old fashioned car etc. But to sit there and talk about his family and blame people like him for being the problem with the economy etc is rubbish as it has nothing to do with him buying a game.

That's like saying a Dr that went to college over a decade and bought a Ferrari is to blame for the economy and your lack of education.

American is the land of free and opportunity, You are free to go back to school so that you can eventually make enough to buy one of these as well.

Or

You could just continue to be Jealous. That's what this really boils down to otherwise the majority of you wouldn't be picking away at this guy and his family trying to justify why you too shouldn't get up off your computer, get an education and buy nice things instead you just make excuses and put down successful folks.; November 29, 2010 at 3:47 AM
Anonymous said...: my name is felix moreno from baldwin park ca. I think this is a great find and i can imagine the excitement to hold a piece of history that no one else can touch or have. If u get people here talking shit, its one, there r jealous, or 2, they wish they had it but i believe both because they have taken taken the time and effort to leave there tasteless and meaningless comment. I have been looking for that cartridge for a while but have gotten other rare games but that is the stepping stone of collecting nintendo history. Put it in a safe man.; December 15, 2010 at 3:00 AM
Anonymous said...: You sir, are a fucking freak.; March 31, 2011 at 12:44 PM
Inverted said...: NES Rare tshirts :)

http://invertedfailure.spreadshirt.co.uk/i-m-epicly-rich-platinum-A15918807/customize/color/85; May 10, 2011 at 4:15 PM
Paul Lockwood said...: Truely a fantastic story and happy you managed to get this in the end, it does kind of make you smile knowing you have a piece of video game history one which you know not alot of people have alot. Anyways hope you enjoy it and keep the collection growing :D

Regards
Locky; May 14, 2011 at 9:04 AM
Anonymous said...: So your rather give about 17.5k on a stupid nes game then your own child for collega or something else, kinda feel sorry for your the child.; August 26, 2011 at 3:36 PM
Heywood Floyd said...: I really enjoyed reading about the story leading up to the purchase and the WNC cart itself. People who comment about 'a piece of plastic not being worth 17.5k', well they obviously aren't aware of the market. As a hobby I buy/sell items in an online game. When new items arrive on the scene there's a huge demand for them even though they are common items. People pay ridiculous amounts for these items that i know will be worth a tenth of what they're paying for it in a matter of weeks. Same goes for the rare items, when there are new kids on the block there's a resurgence of demand for the rare items, shooting the value of the item up. The same can be said about the WNC Gold cart; as more collectors appear on the market, the value will increase as demand increases.

I was saddened to read you sold it, especially at only 13.6k but i'm sure you had your reasons for selling it.

Also as a side note, the AVGN (Angry Video Game Nerd) has just released a video about the WNC grey and gold carts so expect to see a sharp increase in hits and possibly comments. After all that's where i came from and prior to his video i had no idea about the WNC carts.; August 26, 2011 at 4:48 PM
Promontorium said...: To the hilarious comment about the Geo Metro convertibles, I think the only way they appreciated is when the winners sold theirs for a couple grand and used the money towards a real car.; August 26, 2011 at 8:30 PM
Anonymous said...: Yes he spent a lot on this but just like a house the value will go up if he ever chooses to sell it.17.5k was a bargain for what the market is willing to pay fo rit .Good investment and im glad your happy .Like I said it will just go up and he can get the cash back if he WANTED TO; August 28, 2011 at 7:14 PM
Daniel Padilla said...: Warning: Long post but I think I wrote this well.

Wow 8/31/11 and this story still lives on. I am Daniel from San Diego, Ca. and I consider myself a huge video game enthusiast and I’ve dedicated all of my free time to playing video games since age 5. (I have a nice collection and a lot of gaming achievements to back up my statements) I'm 30 years old and I can relate to a lot of people collecting older games for the simple fact that as children we didn't have our own income and relied on our parents to buy us things. Now that us 70s and 80s babies are older we have the ability to buy whatever makes us happy.

About JJ's purchase: I've read almost every comment and most people or split on this purchase either praising it or saying it was a bad buy because of his responsibility as a parent. I could not justify the 17.5K but here's my attempt.

If you look at the purchase from an investment/financial point of view for this son’s college fund, I think it was a wise investment. Let's say that when JJ decided to buy the game his intention was to put it away for 18 years and once his son was ready to start college he said to his son it was time to exchange the game for a college education. As a gamer I think that would have been the ULTIMATE FATHER move! Cherish the game for 18 years then trade it for his child's education. If any of you take a minute to think about that, basically the story goes from a selfish gamer making a crazy purchase to a father using his hobby and love for video games better the life of his child. Really give that idea some thought people.

That is legendary, front page news, yahoo story of the week and something that gamer or any person to admire. If he built up some good press and marketed this story that way I could see a private buyer or auction netting anywhere from 30 to 40K. 18 years from 2009 (The year the game was purchased and his son was born) would be 2027. So 40K and more as very realistic.

JJ your son was 7 weeks old at the time to bought the game right? You should of thought of this and stood strong in your purchase instead of letting all the negative people around you and bad comments take away from what you love. I don't have an update to this story but letting it go for 13K in an auction was a bad move, I think trading the game in to pay for your son’s education would have cemented your LEGACY and added SO MUCH value to that single cartridge. I think that’s what ignorant people can’t understand about collectables. I run NESter emulations with my 1,000+ nes games on my PC so yeah I can play this game is well see any other rare game in my 7,000+ collection but it the story/history behind an item as well is the rarity that your pay for and to let other person own this version of your story with your son now 18 in 2027 and attend college because of a single game would had been the PEREFECT ENDING for me as a fellow father of a son and a lifetime gamer.; August 31, 2011 at 12:46 PM
JJ Hendricks said...: @Daniel - Great comment. I definitely don't regret the purchase and could care less about the negative comments people posted. Its the internet. Its to be expected.

The site got quite a bit of publicity for the article as you said which is worth a lot.

Your idea of paying for college with this one game is great. I hadn't thought about it because I was planning on selling it when I initially bought it. I will have to save the old fashioned way I guess :); August 31, 2011 at 1:14 PM
Daniel Padilla said...: JJ. Thanks for the reply man.

I didn't know it was a buy for quick profit plan and I know my post was something made for Hollywood. I was just fascinated by the story and tried to come up with what I thought was the best solution for the story. I know the beauty of the internet is the ability for everyone to have an opinion but I can't stand negative people in real life or in the cyber world.

If you did indeed hang on to the game and put the money earned towards college I believe it would have inspired many people. Feel good stories and dedication is what makes living in America (or anywhere I guess) great and yeah it comes with sacrifice. I have a collection that wouldn't nearly net that much money so I liked that idea of passing along for collection/fortune to the next generation.

Either way your story is still an inspiration to me and I intend on passing my collection on to my son the same way my father introduce me to the Intellivison at a young age.; August 31, 2011 at 1:49 PM
Haopee said...: I just read your story and i know how you feel. Especially knowing that you've paid for something and it doesn't come through. Glad to hear you finally got your baby reunited with your other baby.; September 1, 2011 at 8:13 AM
Anonymous said...: Hmm, the movie this game came from was not all that good, so I do not know how come this is so valuable. even if there was only 12 copies... It's not much history if the movie this game came from was not memorable.; September 4, 2011 at 1:23 AM
Anonymous said...: You... are one of the luckiest people to be alive. But whatever you do, DON'T LOSE THAT GAME OUT OF YOUR SIGHT, you never know what may happen...; September 14, 2011 at 4:07 PM
Anonymous said...: if he bought a car it would be worthless in 10 years...this think will be worth more in 10 years

idiots; September 23, 2011 at 11:24 AM
Anonymous said...: Congrats to you fellow collector and game historian.; December 2, 2011 at 5:25 AM
Odin said...: The NWC Gold is a fantastic piece of gaming history. It must feel amazing to possess a treasure so valuable.
Your story makes me imagine you as a wolf. The person you bought the cart from must love it just as much, or maybe even more, and you nag at him after he wanted to cancel the deal. Excitement, yes, but spare the selfish greediness. It takes time to sell such a thing, and I'm sure he could've got more then $17k.
But he most likely did then same thing to the owner before him, so why bother this. I envy your gem!; December 16, 2011 at 5:21 PM
Anonymous said...: I actually had a chance one time to get this game. Needless to say I felt it would be better to use the money elsewhere. So I've been using the money I had for this one game to help my father with the bills. Maybe when I have a good job instead of just lottery money ($15,000) which is now down to about $1900, I'll check up in the future with NWC. I /am/ jealous, but. I always say "Responsibilities come First", That's my story.; January 2, 2012 at 3:42 PM
Trey Yancey said...: Leave him alone... No one here knows if this purchase even affected him. Some people are richer than others and can afford such luxuries. If you got it, flaunt it. You see it, you want it. Buy it, own it. That's what Slim Thug told me. I hope you entrust this and your other treasures with your son when he gets old enough.; January 20, 2012 at 6:51 PM
Anonymous said...: 4 years later and the value has definitely shifted...too bad for you, it's not the way you expected. An expert who OWNS a video game museum and retail store appraised the cartridge around $12k. In the digital age, no one cares about cartridges. As time goes by its only gonna dip lower.

At least you were able to tell your compelling tale of a fed ex mixup and your valiant battle with an eBay seller who tried to back out of a sale (white people problems). You're a modern day Beowulf.

I hope you got all that photo credit you wanted, Ansel Adams, complete with links back to your site so every one can hear your bard's tale. God forbid someone NOT know that YOU own this piece of history.

You're a douche and you write like a smug prick.; February 21, 2012 at 9:54 PM
Anonymous said...: Has America sunk so low that we can compare a Picasso to a fucking video game without sarcasm?

Chances are real good that the piece of shit doesn't even work, and it's not something that gets by on it's look.

I never had to blow on a Picasso in order to enjoy it.; February 21, 2012 at 10:08 PM
Anonymous said...: Cool story .

Did you try the game tho ?

Must be wondefull to have that game; April 1, 2012 at 11:46 PM
Anonymous said...: Congrats Man! I dont see how ppl cant think of this as an investment? i collect a few things (magic cards and vintage games)and i have 2 kids. My friends thought i was crazy for spending $700 on a black lotus,or at least they did... My black lotus is now worth $1100 and i can sell it when ever i want but if its gonna keep going up there is just no need.; May 1, 2012 at 9:15 AM
The Kingfisher said...: You're obviously rich, so grats.. you can have any game you want. I would think that takes away from the feeling somewhat. Now for a person who has to truly struggle, trading one sentimental thing for another in an effort to get something they want even more, etc. it would be a much greater sense of achievement. Instead of saying hey I'll give you 17 thousand dollars, k? Deal. Cool let me throw this in my Scrooge McDuck style gold vault complete with diving board.

That's my opinion at least.; May 16, 2012 at 9:28 PM
Anonymous said...: I hate to break the news to you but nes world championship campus edition is the holy grail there is only 1 known in existance and was sold at a new york auction; May 24, 2012 at 2:55 PM
Anonymous said...: WELL DERPTY DERP DERP DERP!; June 1, 2012 at 6:59 PM
Anonymous said...: guys on ebay there auctioning a NWC gray and its about to end in 3 days and the price right now is 510.00 theres another for 9.999.00 lol; July 10, 2012 at 1:52 AM
Anonymous said...: I like what the guy did, it's his right to do what he wants and as an investment it is better than keeping the money in the bank, no doubt about that.

But, it's very possible that cartridge won't work in 17 years from now as the chips essentially expire and go kaput. You might want to investigate the longevity of the chips inside that cart and sell at the right time.; July 21, 2012 at 6:35 AM
Chris said...: Wow, this thread is still getting comments!

I think it's worth noting that even if these cartridges are worth less (based on sales) than they were a few years ago, that in no way means that the value has declined absolutely. That's just the ebb and flow of the market, and come on, we're still deep in recession. NWC carts, gray or gold, could easily soar in price at any time now or in the future based on so many variables. Onlookers would be wise to watch what happens without making hasty assertions or predictions.

JJ, I do believe I've sold games to you on eBay before :) Anyway, thanks for sharing the story and for your solidarity and levelheadedness.; July 28, 2012 at 12:21 AM
NWC For Sale said...: someone is selling NWC right now on kijji for $20 lol i offerd them $40 for it.
http://windsor.kijiji.ca/c-buy-and-sell-video-games-consoles-older-generation-Old-nintendo-games-for-sale-W0QQAdIdZ412155934; September 9, 2012 at 7:13 PM
Unknown said...: Ive Searched for 15 years Tirelessly for that Cart
Still am searching everyday, Enjoy it I would trade my entire life for it. And I'll probably never even See one let alone own it. Good Luck J Harris; October 30, 2012 at 2:12 AM
Anonymous said...: I wouldn't even play it. And, come next week, I may be the owner of a grey cartridge. Not as valuable as gold, but still a treasure!; November 15, 2012 at 9:31 AM
L_RO said...: Happy to hear about your success! I know this is probably bumping at this point, but I was just curious what the game was going for these days and your story answered that. Even though I was just looking for information, this was a great story! Congrats and hope your collecting is going well.; February 7, 2013 at 8:41 PM
Bindol said...: Scusate se scrivo in italiano.. innanzitutto sono contento per te JJ Hendricks.. la cosa importante è che tu sia felice! La cosa che mi stupisce sono i detrattori e la gente che critica il tuo acquisto.. pensavo che in America la gente fosse diversa e meno invidiosa e/o cretina.. invece è uguale agli italiani.. (ovviamente non tutti, parlo dei commenti negativi/heaters)un detto italiano: "tutto il mondo è paese"

Enjoy!; February 9, 2013 at 4:10 AM
Jcub said...: so i saw you tried to sell it pawn stars.... ya didn't sell it in the end though ! how cool just save it for 2015 already ! its too important not too !; February 14, 2013 at 10:23 AM
Watson said...: I am very happy that you got this. I think it is a good investment, and a fun collectors piece. Now that we are a few years in the future I think you have gained 5-10K on your investment. There is currently one up on Ebay, but the person dismanteled and slabbed it. I don't like having this game taken apart or slabbed. http://www.ebay.com/itm/1990-Nintendo-World-Championships-Competition-NWC-Gold-Cartridge-VGA-85-NearMint-/140909876381?pt=Video_Games_Games&hash=item20cee2149d; February 19, 2013 at 9:36 PM
Anonymous said...: The game collecting world is back ass words. You pay more money for some of the worst games out there just because they are rare. You can't compare it to sports cards because by doing that you are saying the worst sports players cards is worth my than a hall of fame players cards. So i could make a sports card of with you on the card. Only make a few so it's rare and it will sell for big $$$. Lol i don't think so. You pay big $$$ for three of the worst games made that are cut up and no event full games. Lol. The only reason people like the first mario brothers is because it came with just about ever system sold in the U.S so they played it. Radracer when you play it for the first time you think cool game but after about an hour. It's clear its an atari pole position game with better graphic with levels that are pretty much the same from first to last boring. Tetis sucks the only reason it was big was because of game boy and you bought then for big $$$ come on think about it lol. I tell you what if you are so despite for those game sent me $$$ and i will sent you a website where you can play all three of the full games or i will mail you the three games. I now i now how it works the only reason why it is worth money is because idiots will pay money. Here is the big problem with the value the next generation is going to just laugh at those game prices so the value is going to drop to almost nothing. Its already starting when my son was 9 years old he did event know what nintendo was till i told him. Then he ask me to buy him a nintendo so i did. He started playing it and just laugh about how bad it is to today system. About a day late he was done with it and it still sits in the bottom of the closest. Lol That is another reason you can compare it to sports cards. There will always be sports generation that love the history of sports to keep the value. Event better point if you pick games like that. I would hate to see what kind dogs in women world you have picked up. So it means the woman you put your money on most be the holy Grail of dogs. Lol god dame with this speech i could be the president, I doubt it though because 1) i am not black 2) i am a United States citizens 3) i don't rig votes to win. I how this helps you make better choices in life. First choice i would do if i were you is leave the gate open so your dog woman will get out an run off or just drop it off on a side road miles away better yet go to the vet an have her put down then you know she want comeback but what do i know. I would never put myself in that situation. Good luck lol; February 28, 2013 at 10:50 AM
Anonymous said...: Lol if you pick your women like you pick your games then you have the Holy Grail of dogs lol; February 28, 2013 at 11:44 AM
Anonymous said...: Yeah someone wanted to make profit off of that picture.

-Banjokuzooie on YT; May 9, 2013 at 5:13 PM
Anonymous said...: Just curious if you bought the gold cart from a guy in Western PA? If so I once played your cart back in 99. I thought the guy was mad when he told me back then he paid $1000 for it.; May 17, 2013 at 12:19 AM
JJ Hendricks said...: @anonymous - The seller was not from PA. I don't know where he was originally from, but he wasn't living in PA when I bought it.

Cool that you got to play it though.; May 17, 2013 at 7:49 AM
Anonymous said...: Haha people are sooo dumb he isnt holding a real baby, he is refering to the game as his baby.....; June 2, 2013 at 10:49 AM
Anonymous said...: Man.. I've been searching one for 3 years now you are one lucky guy.. 17.5k is a bit much though for a shared game, I'd go for 15k or so, but who knows if I saw the chance I might've bid 17.5k myself lol :( hopefully I can get my hands on one of these babies someday, I'm sure you'll never sell it though :(; June 16, 2013 at 6:21 AM
Anonymous said...: Nice story, glad you didn't get cheated and got the gold....

GREAT JOB!
Spot on!
and... Game on!!!; July 26, 2013 at 6:39 PM
Anonymous said...: Good Lord...you can buy a car with that kind of money...; November 7, 2013 at 9:32 AM
DENNY LEWIS said...: Actually to adjust this story correctly, i was one that put the offer on the table for $18,500. however i didnt have it all at once. i own a game store now for 9 years. i offered $18,500 being $5,000 upfront, with payments set up with the seller putting my store up as collateral. then another guy put a $17,500 off all cash on the table. the owner debated and declined my offer. that's the truth to the story. and damn i wish i did get it. but ive since then manage to obtain a grey version so im still happy though. i just wanted to clear up some of the story.; December 3, 2013 at 11:07 PM
Anonymous said...: Wow! Touching and awesome story. Hope you enjoy it. Amazing how there's only 26 in the whole world! :-); December 27, 2013 at 11:30 PM
Bob Bobson said...: Why is there no mention of whether or not it actually worked. Did you not plug it in and test it? That would be the first thing I would do because no matter how rare it is, whether or not it works is a critical part of its condition which determines its value.; January 1, 2014 at 4:41 PM
Anonymous said...: Balls; January 2, 2014 at 10:58 PM
Unknown said...: Are you fucking retarded you do know that not everyone makes 8 bucks an hour some people can actually afford this stuff; January 10, 2014 at 3:27 PM
Unknown said...: Why is it so hard for some people to understand that 20k isnt a years worth of work for some people im sure his kid has a better life then the kids of the people bitching about money on here believe it or not some people make more then 8 bucks an hour; January 10, 2014 at 3:33 PM
Joey said...: How do you feel seeing the latest cart on eBay? Looks like it'll break $100k and it's grey and missing the label; January 25, 2014 at 11:37 AM
JJ Hendricks said...: @Joey - Great question. I think it is great that there has been so much publicity around the sale for the latest NWC cartridge. The price is not "real" because the high bidder has backed out. The seller has confirmed this.

I am very glad I got to own a piece of gaming history for a while, but I don't regret selling my copy either.; January 27, 2014 at 8:15 AM
Anonymous said...: Im going to randomly guess that 3.5 years later it will be worth over 100K. Oh snap I am from 2014 and Ebay has them selling for 100K now. Wow we just jumped to the future boys. The purchase was damn well worth it!; January 27, 2014 at 11:30 PM
BC said...: My god, all you whiners about him spending money need to get a freaking life.; June 3, 2014 at 9:06 PM
Anonymous said...: i have 2 nwc gold carts.; July 5, 2014 at 1:33 PM
BigMack said...: Interesting read for all 287 post.......... I must say this, December 31,2014 a confirmed sale took place for 26,677.00....... simple math states that's a 9,177 gain in appox 5 years or 52% increase in the investment. Call me stupid but I think that's damn good. I don't know why some people would complain about another person's investment but I guess that's the glass house view...... not your lost and not your gain...... "Scared Money Don't Make Money" way to go, JJ #nwc; March 4, 2015 at 12:04 AM
Anonymous said...: I don't see the issue here, we all spend money on things we like, whether it be a sports car or luxury car, or a vacation, how about drugs, alcohol, cigarettes. Maybe you go out once a month to a nice restaurant, maybe you party every weekend, maybe you go on vacation with your family once a year and sit on a beach. Lots of hobbies can be expensive, skiing/snowboarding, golf, biking, motocross, etc.

Hopefully most will see my point by now, not only did this guy make a smart investment, but he achieved something most gamers and collectors can only dream of. And instead of drinking it away, putting it up his nose or in his lungs, he decided to purchase something he's passionate about.

It will never decrease in value, not only that but unlike partying or going on vacation, it's a physical object that he owns. Maybe he will decide to pass it on to his kid when the time is right.

Anyone who says he has no right to buy it is a moron and a hypocrite, that's it.; March 30, 2019 at 6:00 PM

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