A new category of slabbed collectibles has debuted at Heritage Auctions: vintage video games.  Heritage ran its first auction including certified and graded collectible video games on January 13.  The video game grading is by Denver-based Wata Games, which offers a variety of grading and testing services for video games.

The top lot in this first auction was The Legend of Zelda (NES, Nintendo, 1987), which Wata graded as a 9.4 B+ (Seal Rating).  This copy includes the gray, three-screw version of the cartridge.  Sealed versions of this game are extremely difficult to locate, especially in this condition, according to Heritage.  It sold for $3,360.

A second game also sold for over $1000:  Excitebike (NES, Nintendo, 1985), which Wata graded as an 8.5 A (Seal Rating).  While Excitebike was a launch title for the Nintendo Entertainment System, this copy was a Revision-A game with a round Seal of Quality, indicating that it’s a later revision of the title.  The copy sold for $1,140.

Other items in this auction included:

  • Dragon Warrior (NES, Nintendo, 1989) Wata Games 8.5 A (Seal Rating): $660
  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (NES, Nintendo, 1989), Wata Games 8.5 CIB (Complete in Box): $312
  • Super Mario Bros. (NES, Nintendo 1985), Wata Games 8.0 CIB (Complete in Box): $312
  • Wario's Woods (NES, Nintendo, 1994), Wata Games 9.4 A+ (Seal Rating): $228
  • Mega Man 5 (NES, Capcom, 1992), Wata Games 6.0 CIB (Complete in Box): $216
  • Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES, Nintendo, 1990), Wata Games 6.5 CIB (Complete in Box): $210
  • Double Dragon (SMS, Sega, 1988), Wata Games 9.6 CIB (Complete in Box): $204

Heritage plans to continue including video games in upcoming auctions, so it seems likely that this new category is here to stay.