'Holy grail' of Nintendo consoles could be worth $6,400 as collectors scramble to find them
It's not uncommon for gadgets and tech items to increase in value after a certain age, yet a select few increase exponentially due to their rarity, leading collectors to consider them 'holy grails' among the hobby.
Like most valuable collector's items these are typically rare due to their low initial production numbers, as demand far outweighs supply that's increasingly dwindling as time goes on.
Getting your hands on something like this is difficult enough as it is but it makes versions in good condition even more valuable, and you'd be shocked at quite how much some of these old consoles can go for on the market right now.
Among the most valuable is one version of the Nintendo 64 that many collectors have been scrambling to get their hands on in recent years, and it sells for as much as $7,300 under the right conditions.
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One post on Reddit sees a collector finally get their hands on their very own 'holy grail': a limited edition gold version of the Nintnedo 64 that was sold exclusively in Toys "R" Us in the United States at launch.
"Very happy to scratch this one off the list, I have been searching for a nice, complete in box copy for a very long time," they note, adding that it's taken them years to find one suitable for their own collection — and even that isn't perfect due to a sizeable dent in the box.
"Been collecting Nintendo 64 and others for over a decade now. This has definitely become my holy grail of my collection," they add, sharing images of the seven additional N64 variants they own.
According to value tracking website Price Charting, the cost of picking one up yourself can be as low as $225, but you'll have to settle with it being loose and that's not something that most collectors would be happy with as a prerequisite of the hobby.
A 'complete' version not unlike the one shown in the aforementioned post can go for as much as $2,150, with a 'New' price over tripling up to $6,665.
That increases even further if you manage to get the product 'Graded', which involves an official check from a certified company to professionally assess its condition, meaning you can sell it for as much as $7,331 providing there's a buyer.
Outside of its lavish colorway, the main reason why this specific version of the console is so expensive is down to its scarcity, as it wasn't just exclusively sold by a single retailer, but only an estimate of between 10,000 and 50,000 copies were ever made.
It's now been three decades since the Nintendo 64 first released, and the chances of one of these coming up on the market are growing smaller by the year. If you've plans to start (or complete) a collection of rare consoles, you might want to bite the bullet now before things get even more expensive.