Hello Mac One of the Rarest and Most Collectible N64 Controllers

The world's most expensive sticker.

Hello! What exactly am I looking at? Why it is the Hello Mac N64 controller, of course! Ok, now what is it? A special, two-toned (black in front, grey in back) N64 controller with a little lion mascot sticker in the center. Below the lion is 'Hello Mac' in Japanese. Alright then, what makes it so special? Uhm, hype and rarity?

N64 controller design was... "innovative".

So the Hello Mac controller first came into the game collecting limelight when one of them popped up on eBay around the end of 2011 being sold by Jack "luick555". During this time, Jack was traveling between Japan and Malaysia and needed to finance his trip so he was started listing huge amounts of crazy rare items that he had picked up over the years. One of them just so happened to be the Hello Mac controller. The auction was pretty innocuous to start with but then community started realizing just what this was and it ended up selling for $739.51.

I don't know what I'm looking at, a temple? Oh no wait, it's a Hello Mac store.

This controller is so rare that less than 40 have ever been found in the hands of collectors. It was sold exclusively in Hello Mac stores, a Japanese toy/computer superstore very similar to Toy'R'Us. Hello Mac was a chain owned by the Chiyoda corporation that first opened its doors in 1985 but went under during the Great Recession of 2009 (which hit worldwide FYI). They were then turned into shoe stores (because shoes are recession-proof). Hello Mac is fondly remembered as interesting chain known for having a lot of charm and character. It was well-loved by its customers, even inspiring an entire fan album dedicated to it.

It was also was heavily featured in the Japanese anime, Idol Tenshi Yōkoso Yōko, a series about a young girl and her pet flying squirrel going to Tokyo in hopes of becoming an idol singer who meets another girl who wants to become an actress, and together they work to achieve their dreams. 

Hello Mac made 21 cameo appearances throughout the 43-episode series.

Enough of the minutia, the controller is VERY, VERY rare and was sold only at the tail end of the N64's lifetime. It was an exclusive and it sold poorly. What really boosts the value of the controller is the box. Only around three boxes have ever been located.

Hundreds of dollars of cardboard.

This rare piece of gaming and Japanese history sells for around $150-300 dollars now after the initial hype of the luick555 auction but the price with the box is easily double, if not triple that, at $600-800. This is a rare piece but the only thing that makes it any different from any other N64 controllers is the little sticker and the two-tone color scheme (which it shares with Japanese Mario Kart 64 controller). In my opinion, it just ain't worth it. Cool history, though!

The Rarest/Only Easter Game

Ah, Easter, a time of rebirth, hope, and candy. I love the holiday. I love the spring air, the green grass, the rabbits in my yard, and my dog going insane at the sight of them. What better way to spend this day then to turtle up inside and shut out family, the outdoors, and life itself. Want to experience all the razzle-dazzle of the big day without the mess (and human interaction), then you should stay indoors and play Easter Bunny's Big Day on the PlayStation 1. Developed by Seven Computerized Generations (their only game) and published by Mastiff, LLC. (not their only game) on March 17th, 2003, EBBD takes us to the nadir of gaming experiences.

You don't even play as the Easter Bunny in this game.

You play as the Easter Bunny's robotic friend, Robo-Rabbit, on the primal quest to reclaim eggs for all the good boys and girls because according to legend, on Easter day, if you've been good since Christmas, a rabbit will give you eggs. This is how Easter works, right? The in-game way of helping the Easter Bunny acquire said eggs is to put together simple puzzles, catch falling eggs, play matching minigames, and put together more simple puzzles. This game is so mundane it is art. The beautiful MIDI quality music, the top-notch 3D renders ala 1995, the pastel colors; they all work together in discordant harmony to bring you a game experience that can only be compared to a cacophonous masterpiece. It is the beginning and the end.

What this game actually has going for it is that it is an extremely uncommon game and is rumored to be released in a quantity numbered only in the hundreds. The small San Francisco-based publisher ensured that only a few stores actually received copies for retail release, the most notable being Toys'R'Us. What really makes this game stand out among other PS1 titles is the unique purple spine color. This is the only game in the entire PS1 catalog that have a purple spine. Also it is important to note the late release date of 2003, this is incredibly late in the lifespan of the PS1. Late life games usually turn into collectibles later on since so much of the market is focused on the next gen. The game also sold so poorly that Mastiff doesn't even list it on their website nor does the game have a dedicated Wikipedia page [go ahead and make one, quote me, make my day].

Right now this game is dirt cheap, usually selling for around $5. I'd suggest that if you have an extra fiver lying around, you might as well buy a copy and torture yourself and your friends while embracing the true meaning of Easter.

Whatever that may be.

January 11 is Skylander's Day at GameStop!

Today is Skylander's day only at GameStop! Yay, I love Skylanders. I don't know why but it is probably the fact that it combines collecting, video games, and copious amounts of fun. I went ahead and posted the flyer for the event but there are also some additional bonuses that aren't advertised. 

Additional Discounts

50% off any Skylanders Accessories (Saturday, 1/11, only)

Trade Offers

30% extra trade-in credit towards Skylanders SWAP Force Starter Packs

50% off all Accessories! Woah, you could probably make a nice profit reselling some of the figures. Well, I may have been a little late with letting you all know but GameStop is open for another four hours so I better get a move on. Good luck and make sure to pick up all four mini Skylander figurines and don't worry, they are still available after today but you can only receive one after spending $30 on Skylanders merchandise.

Pokemon Distribution Carts Pulled from eBay

Pokemon Collectors everywhere let out a collective gripe earlier this week as eBay has seemingly pulled all Not For Resale Distribution cartridges from their online auction site. Some background on these distribution cartridges is that these are special DS carts that are given to stores such as GameStop, Toys'R'Us, Walmart, etc. for event distributions of items and Pokemon. These carts are not sold commercially nor are they made available to the general public. They only contain information for the things being given away and have no actual game data, distributing via the DS Wireless Communications. After they are used for a certain amount of time, they are returned to Nintendo where they are destroyed or stored but occasionally they fall into the hands of collectors.

Collectors prize these items because of their rarity, association with Pokemon, and their practical use, as they can endlessly generate rare Pokemon and items for competitive use. They often fetch prices in the $100's of dollars but expect prices to skyrocket as they can no longer be publicly sold on eBay. I expect them to still turn up on sites like NintendoAge.com but you can also still get them through eBay, only if you buy them from International Sellers for INSANE prices ($400+). 

Begin hoarding now.