Zelda Prototype Cartridge Changed Hands For Less Money Than Expected

A significant piece of gaming history just changed hands on eBay for a very respectable price. An original prototype cartridge of Nintendo’s Legend of Zelda just sold for the wallet-busting price of $50,000.

That is a lot of money, but not nearly as much as the $150,000 figure that was floating around on the interwebs before, which leads me to suspect that someone experienced a case of buyer’s remorse and bailed on the auction. It would be a worthy addition to any video game collection, but I can’t help but feel that the $50,000 in question would have been better spent… on me.

From the seller:

Hello and thank you for viewing this one of a kind item. This is not a joke, I take listing this item very seriously. This is THE single most impressive item in video game collecting in my humble opinion. I do not take listing this item lightly as it truly is a piece of gaming history. What you are looking at is a Prototype for Nintendo’s Flagship title The Legend of Zelda.

This is a complete version to my knowledge and as far as I know does not differ from the released version. The simple label reads “HP NOA 2-23-87 Legend of Zelda.” The actual release of the game was August 22nd 1987. I can only speculate that the 2-23-87 refers to the date they completed this prototype and being so close to launch is why there are no differences from the released version. Again I’m speculating. If you google NES Zelda Proto you will see the history of this particular cart. I will be happy to add pics, answer questions (to the best of my ability) and field offers for this title. If you look through my 100% positive eBay history you will see I am a regular purchaser and seller of video games. This is without a doubt the pinnacle of my collection and I challenge anyone to come up with anything more important in the video game collecting scene. Stadium Events? How many carts are out there? Hundreds. NWC Gold Cart? Again how many? There is one Prototype in the world for the NES Zelda, one prototype that started the launch of a generation of gamers and you are viewing it.

Please click this link to view the video I shot of actual gameplay, and proving this is an actual prototype and is fully functional http://youtu.be/yDOoChJZutw

Also included is a VGA copy of The Legend of Zelda for Nintendo graded 85. Serial number 76805573. This is a beautiful copy of the actual release of the game. If you would like to verify the authenticity of this game please visit vggrader.com and follow the instructions for how to lookup this title.