You Could Own Queen Elizabeth II's 24 Karat Gold Wii
Nintendo officially said goodbye to the Wii in 2020, making the console something of a collector's item in and of itself. However, one special edition of the console might have a lucky fan feeling more majestic than normal. One rare console collector has recently listed a golden Wii on eBay, and it turns out this shiny masterpiece has royal origins.
In 2009, as explained by Kotaku, THQ crafted a 24 karat gold plated Wii to promote "BIG Family Games," a collection of digital versions of classic lawn games like bocce ball and lawn darts. THQ shipped the golden Wii to the Queen of England herself, but there's no reason to believe she ever actually played it.
At the time, THQ project manager Danielle Robinson said, "'BIG Family Games' is the ultimate Wii game to get all family members ... playing together. The Royal Family is arguably the most important family in the country so we felt that they had to have a copy of the new game. But we thought that Her Majesty the Queen wouldn't want to play on any old console, so an extra-special gold one was commissioned."
In other words, in order to promote the idea that "BIG Family Games" was created for families of all kinds, THQ wanted to gift the game, along with a promotional console, to the Royal Family. It was a big swing for THQ, and it's not clear if it really made a difference in the sales numbers of "BIG Family Games."
Then, things took an interesting turn. First of all, the Queen probably didn't receive the console proper, as described in an episode of "People Make Games." However, that wasn't the end of the golden Wii's journey.
According to the gold Wii's eBay listing, Donny Fillerup from "Console Variations" eventually came into possession of Her Majesty's Wii. "In 2017 I was lucky enough to buy this Wii," Fillerup said in the listing. "However, I kept it very low profile for 2 years. Then, in 2019 the producers from 'People Make Games' investigated and came to interview me regarding the golden Wii." Fillerup also stated that the golden Wii will soon appear in a new documentary. Winners of the auction will also receive authentication paperwork framed and ready for display.
Fillerup has set the asking price at $300,000, but potential buyers are welcome to make another offer. For many fans, this might be one of very few chances to combine one's love of the Royal Family and one's love of the Nintendo Wii. While the golden Wii might not have looked out of place in any of the Royals' fabulous homes, it might seem a little odd in the average American's household. Then again, whoever can shell out $300,000 for this special edition Wii is probably rich enough to afford plenty of ridiculous things.