Much like baseball cards, some older video games have a way of increasing in value as time passes by and the years start to add up. For sports titles, those that are considered primitive because they were played on consoles that were popular generations ago can sometimes become hot commodities unexpectedly.
As with anything that people collect, the amount that someone might be willing to pay to obtain an older sports video game is all relative to how rare the game in question is now and how hard it might be to track it down in the wild. All you need to do to understand just how scarce and difficult to obtain these games can be is have a quick browse on eBay to see how high their prices are soaring at any given moment.
If you want to invest in owning a forgotten piece of gaming history, you’ll need to be willing to shell out a pretty penny unless you had the foresight to hang on to these relics from the past and have them collecting dust in a drawer or closet somewhere. So which older games are most in demand when looking through auctions? Here’s a look at a handful of titles that regularly fetch a lot of money on the open market and some reasons why that might be the case for each one.
Dusty Diamond’s All-Star Softball (NES)
What separates Dusty Diamond’s All-Star Softball from some of the other NES baseball games like RBI Baseball or Baseball Stars, aside from the fact that it obviously involves softball rather than baseball, is the environments. I have fond memories of the game that involve breaking the windows of the schoolyard field and struggling to throw a ball back into the infield while trying to navigate some trees that could get in your way of your tosses in the outfield.
Estimated Value: A mint condition copy of the game within its original box could net as much as $800 on eBay while even just an old copy of the game minus a box are going for as much as $100.
Mutant League Hockey (Sega Genesis)
While Mutant League Football has experienced a recent revival that brought the Sega Genesis title to modern consoles, Mutant League Hockey remains confined to the past. Because there’s no other way to experience all of the mayhem of what the series brought to the game of hockey, which included weapons strewn about on the ice and a giant slug that cleans the ice between periods, you’ll need to pay more to get your hands on a physical copy of the game.
Estimated Value: A near-mint condition of the game can be yours on eBay for roughly $200 though you may be able to secure a more worn version of the cartridge for as low as about $40 or $50.
Stadium Events (NES)
Part of a small group of games that were ahead of their time by attempting to introduce fitness into video games by way of the NES Power Pad, Stadium Events is one of the most expensive games to purchase online. The game itself functioned as a track-and-field meet of sorts by having you compete in such events as the 100-meter dash, hurdles, long jump, and triple jump. Your movements on the Power Pad were translated to the game, as you used its sensors to bring you to a desired speed on the track and then to allow you to jump when the moment called for it.
Estimated Value: It’s not unusual to see the game in its original box, minus the Power Pad though, sell for thousands of dollars on eBay, with one auction currently priced as high as $55,000 (good luck with that).
Pro Sport Hockey (NES)
While most people probably remember Blades of Steel and Ice Hockey as the biggest hockey games from the NES days, Pro Sport Hockey was released in 1993 when many people had already moved on to the 16-bit consoles (the game was also available on Super NES). Pro Sport Hockey attempted to compete with the early EA hockey games by including real NHL teams and players, with the teams divided not into conferences but six random groups as if it were international hockey.
Estimated Value: Because of the game being decidedly more rare than Blades of Steel or Ice Hockey, its prices on eBay climb as high as $350 and while that price may include a box, you may not even get a manual.
Bases Loaded 4 (NES)
Bases Loaded 4 marked the end of a venerable baseball series on the NES and this has propelled it to a coveted status for those who enjoy retro sports gaming. Released in North America in 1993, the game didn’t have actual players or the kind of realism you’ve come to expect from something like MLB The Show, but the formula had been honed enough in the three previous installments to make this a worthy culmination.
Estimated Value: The cartridge on its own generally is auctioning for $60-75 on eBay and a near-mint edition in its original box can cause that cost to balloon up to $250.
Nascar Racing 2003 Season (PC)
For a PC game that was released back in 2003, the shadow of Nascar Racing 2003 Season still looms large among some circles of racing game fans. Some of this is due to the fact that the game that was developed by Papyrus Design Group won the PC Gamer US award for the best racing game of the year. However, a lot of its value among collectors has to do with how the game was ultimately pulled from shelves in March of 2004 when EA acquired the exclusive Nascar rights, thereby all but ensuring the game’s rarity.
Estimated Value: Nascar Racing 2003 Season doesn’t command quite the kind of exorbitant prices as some of the others on this list, with copies of the game ranging anywhere from $20-90 on eBay.
Tecmo World Cup Soccer (NES)
Tecmo Bowl was a staple for most football fans with an NES back in the ’80s, however soccer enthusiasts might have preferred the lesser-known 1988 title Tecmo World Cup Soccer. A Westernized updating of the Japanese computer game Captain Tsubasa, which was itself adapted from a manga series, Tecmo World Cup Soccer used elements from RPG’s to have the player you control ascend all the way from junior league to the World Cup finals.
Estimated Value: A copy of Tecmo Cup Soccer can fetch as much as $300 on the eBay market, while just a pre-owned cartridge sells for about $100.
Disney Sports Basketball (Gamecube)
An arcade basketball game in the vein of NBA Jam, Disney Sports Basketball inserts all of your favorite Disney stars onto the hardwood instead of the Looney Tunes like in Space Jam. Aside from the appeal of the cartoonish graphics from 2002, there’s also the added novelty of seeing classic characters like Mickey Mouse and Daisy Duck dominating the paint by throwing down some truly animated dunks.
Estimated Value: The best quality versions of the game that have been sealed in their box can climb up to as much as a whopping $1,500 on eBay with even pre-owned copies selling for as much as $1,000.
NCAA College Basketball 2K3 (Gamecube)
Sometimes a game accrues value solely because of the scarcity of similar titles on the platform and such is the case with NCAA College Basketball 2K3 on the Nintendo Gamecube. The simple fact that it was the only game in the NCAA College Basketball series to be released on the Gamecube can’t help but make it more attractive to collectors. With former Duke guard Jay Williams gracing the cover, it doesn’t hurt either that college basketball games remain pretty much nonexistent among all of the modern consoles.
Estimated Value: A near-mint copy of the game in its original box can be found on eBay usually selling for somewhere in the realm of $550 at any given time.
PGA European Tour (N64)
Other games benefit from being released in low numbers late in the natural lifespan of a specific console and such is the case with PGA European Tour for the N64. The golf simulation may not have the kind of graphics or presentation of modern consoles, but what it does have going for it is a relatively deep tour mode that has you qualifying for and competing in tournaments in your quest to become the best golfer on the tour.
Estimated Value: Should you be looking to procure a good quality copy of the game in its original box, it will likely cost you somewhere close to $200 on eBay. That number drops to about $100-125 if you don’t mind getting just the N64 cartridge.
Published: Feb 27, 2024 04:56 pm