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There’s a pretty cool and rare controller up for sale at Nintendo Age.
To give a background of the controller: At the 1990 Nintendo World Championships, players played on special competition game stations. On the tour, some of these stations had special NWC control pads. These controllers were like a normal NES pad, except the face featured a design with the Nintendo World Championships logo, and a large number in the upper right corner: 1, or 2. Presumably this was done so that the tour crew would be able to easily tell which controller the player would use (#1) and which one the crew could use to start the game on a game station (#2). As the tour progressed, these controllers became increasingly rare as pads broke down after public use and normal ones replaced them on the game stations.
By the time the tour hit my state of Califormia, only a handful of stations still had the special controllers. Personally I remember trying to get onto the stations with the special ones since I thought they looked cool and it felt more special . So, I had an idea. The tour was packing up, and since I had become the city champion, the staff was pretty cool with me… So asked one of the crew about the controllers, and begged for one – I was about ready to do anything to get one. I was glad I did, and was given the ultimately rare item seen here, and it happened to be in really nice condition (unlike most of the ones used on the tour) It was the coolest thing ever to have, especially after Nintendo sent me my NWC cartridge, I could re-live the NWC experience by playing the actual competition game with the controller it was meant to be played with.
To give you an idea of a start basis for offers, the high one from a year ago was $1000.
Its hard to say what it is worth. Is it just a controller? Or should it be even higher because of the ridiculous rarity, condition, and ties to NWC? I’ve been told it should be valued higher than a gold cart since its apparently rarer, and an item that receives physical abuse by its very nature that is still in good condition. To me, it is a prized possession that I hate to part with, that I have precious memories associated with – but the bottom line is that I could use the money now to better my future. And ultimately it will become worth whatever people – you guys – are willing to pay for it. I’ll be taking offers here and from past interested parties until Wednesday before deciding to go with one, or if I should list it on ebay. If you give me an offer I can’t refuse – more power to you!Check it out here.
Also:
Sealed 1981 Donkey Kong Action Figures, Mario Pauline and Donkey Kong. (Thanks Brett!)
Super Mario 64 Original Soundtrack – Another Item From the Nintendo Power 100 Super Power Supplies Catalog(Thanks Will!)
Sony PlayStation Gamer Advisory Panel – Membership Kit
