Legend of Zelda prototype sells for $55,000

A prototype version of the all-time classic The Legend of Zelda grabbed many headlines over the past week. Now it looks to have grabbed a record price for a Nintendo game collectible.

The eBay auction for the rare cartridge has ended with the accepted offer of $55,000, setting a record for the highest sale price ever for a Nintendo Entertainment System title. According to seller Tom Curtin, the offer price was not the only factor in his choice to sell.

“I care about the collecting community and giving it a good home was important,” he said. “I feel as though that was accomplished. It was also important getting prototype video game collecting into the news. It is amazing what is out there in released and unrealesed protos.”

According to Curtin, he is under a non-disclosure with the anonymous buyer, who obtained the item for just over a third of the original listing price of $150,000.

“I am satisfied,” said Curtin. “Do I think it’s worth more? Yes. There was no way I was taking less than the previous world record. The fact that it remained in tact over the last 25 years is amazing. The legacy of this cart and how it came into the hands of the previous owner is incredible.”

While the prototype Zelda cartridge may now reside at a new address, Curtin says he is happy to have owned it while he did.

“Amazing to play something that was in the hands of the Zelda dev team,” he stated. “I simply cannot describe it. I played this with my brother as a kid, for hours and ours as many of us did. To own the cart that brought this to America was a dream.”

Curtin also wished to express his gratitude for those who have worked to preserve these unique pieces of Nintendo history.

“I definitely cannot thank Jason Wilson, Mark Nolan, and Matt Nolan enough,” he added. “They had the foresight to go after these prototypes years and years ago. They preserved important pieces of gaming history. I think between this and the release of Ecstasy of Order the video game community is getting some much needed love. We are not a bunch of geeks sitting around glued to the boob tube, we are normal everyday people celebrating something that makes us happy.”

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