The Rarest Game Boy Console Costs More Than $95,000
There are plenty of rare or special edition consoles out there for video games systems of all shapes and sizes, like the Orange Pikachu Nintendo 64 or Nintendo's PlayStation prototype. Very few of these cost as much as $100,000 — but one special edition Game Boy console comes close. This console is so rare, in fact, that reports indicate only seven copies of it exist in the entire world. Specifically, this rare device is the gold-plated version of the special edition gold Minish Cap Game Boy Advance SP. That's right; a "Zelda" GBA system made with actual gold.
This hand-held Nintendo console has a bit of a legend behind it. Multiple investigations from gaming outlets and internet sleuths have yet to find a concrete example of one in the wild. However, all indications say these systems do exist. At the time of this article's publication, one listing for the device even exists on eBay for a whopping $95,000, while another is sitting at $79K. However, it's not immediately clear if these are the gold-plated editions. So what's the story behind this device? In short, it was a Willy Wonka-esque reward hidden among 25,000 devices.
The golden Game Boy
An investigation conducted by Nerdist sought to uncover one of the fabled devices, but mostly failed. According to the outlet, the console was announced in 2004 as a U.K.-exclusive promotional tie-in for "The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap." 25,000 of the golden (in color only) Game Boy Advance SP's were produced and can be found all over the internet for exorbitant prices. However, according to Nerdist, seven other consoles exist that were actually made of real gold. Everyone who ordered one of the 25,000 gold-colored special edition SPs had a chance of receiving a device plated with real gold along with a golden ticket of authenticity.
According to the Nerdist investigation, a winner of the contest has yet to come forward. One of the only pieces of evidence that the device even exists is a set of photographs posted to a Spanish blog site. Despite the console's rarity, it appears that one person was able to snag it in 2013. YouTuber LSuperSonicQ discovered a listing for the Game Boy Advance SP on a website called EStarLand. Although now out of stock, one lucky buyer apparently bought the device for around $100. It's safe to say that these near-mythical versions of the gold SP are priceless at this point.
These Game Boys are among the rarest consoles in the world, and even the ones that aren't made with actual gold are worth a small fortune.