Are You Sitting on a Gold Mine?
We all know nostalgia costs a pretty penny nowadays—and who wants to spend thousands of dollars on a now-defunct console from the ‘80s? As it turns out, a lot of people! From collectors to longtime gamers, steep price tags won’t scare devoted fans away, so let’s dive into 20 of the rarest and most expensive consoles around.
Matt Grommes (MattGrommes) on Wikimedia
1. Nintendo Wii Supreme, $372,000
It’s rare. It’s expensive. It’s covered in gold and only costs several hundred thousand dollars. Yes, it’s the Wii Supreme, one of the most expensive consoles in the world with a $370,000 price tag. With 2,500 grams of solid 22-carat gold, only three were ever made.
2. PlayStation 1 10-Million Edition, $29,000
PlayStation didn’t take long to sweep the nation, and they celebrated a huge milestone with their 10-million edition console—a rare version of the PS celebrating ten million units sold. Only 100 were made and it’s said they were only ever given away, not sold to the public. That didn’t stop them from appearing at online auctions where they raked in a solid chunk of change.
3. Dreamcast Limited Console S.T.A.R.S., $18,000
This limited edition Dreamcast had it all. A cool video game (Resident Evil—Code: Veronica), an I.D. card, and a S.T.A.R.S logo on the front. Getting one, even in 2000, was hard enough with only 200 available, and today’s price tag reflects the rarity. If you’re looking for it in mint condition, it’s currently being auctioned for a cool $18K.
4. Gold Xbox One, $10,000
When something’s gold, you know it’s game over for us normal folk. Specialty retailer Harrods sold one of these bad boys back in the day for about $10,000. To think we thought the Xbox Live Gold account was asking too much.
5. Shadow of the Tomb Raider Xbox One X, $8,300
Xbox strikes again, though with a lady’s special touch this time. Lara Croft slapped her name on this guy, complete with an intricate console design and a stunning controller wrapped in vines. People were just as excited as we were—only they had way more money.
6. Atari Cosmos, $7,500
This 1978 console practically never was. Though the release day was scheduled, it never quite achieved its dream as a holographic thrust into the future, and its near nonexistence jacked up the rarity and the cost today. One of its working consoles was actually sold in the States for nearly $8,000.
The Conmunity - Pop Culture Geek from Los Angeles, CA, USA on Wikimedia
7. Maziora Dreamcast, $6,400
It’s rare enough to get your hands on one of 500 consoles from 1999—it’s even rarer to get one of 200 signed by Tadahiko Taira. Either way, you’ll need to cough up some serious dough. Today’s online auction prices soar into the thousands, with costs ranging from $6,400 to $13,000.
8. Halcyon, $5,000
RDI Video Systems had a dream, dang it. It was a “go big or go home” situation, a two-in-one system complete with a LaserDisk player and a built-in computer. However, what we got was less than a dozen manufactured consoles with a hefty price tag, all before the company went bankrupt. It was $2,500 back in 1985, but today’s auction costs are nearly double.
9. Pikachu Game Boy Color, $4,800
You might think that that Game Boy isn’t rare (and it isn’t really, compared to other consoles on this list), but that doesn’t mean you won’t rake in your month’s rent from one sale. Of course, that depends on whether it’s new. Open boxes cash in several hundred dollars whereas those unopened Pikachus sold for nearly $5,000 in 2024.
10. Magnavox Odyssey 2, $4,750
It shouldn’t shock you to see costs this high—not when a Magnavox Odyssey sits in the National Museum of American History! Now, the Odyssey 2 may have sold millions of units, but its unopened self still boasts a pretty penny in online auctions. So, the question remains, how much are you willing to pay for a piece of history?
11. N64 Pokémon Stadium Battle Set, $4,500
If you’re a fan of Pokémon Stadium, the N64, or everything about your childhood, Nintendo has a surprise for you. Well, they did anyway, back in 2000 with their incredible battle set complete with an atomic purple controller and trainer set. But we all know the cost of nostalgia and today’s players are looking at costly prices anywhere from $900 to $4,500 new.
Mboverload~commonswiki on Wikimedia
12. Nintendo 64DD, $2,800
For such a notable failure, you wouldn’t think this clunky console still demands thousands of dollars. You’d be wrong, of course, with today’s online auction prices starting from $3,000 in-box. Not bad for a “DeaDD” console Nintendo practically banned its employees from mentioning.
13. Mother 3 Game Boy Micro, $2,000
Limited edition consoles always have a gnarly price tag, but it’s worse when you throw in added rarities like a Japan-only release. That’s probably why 2024 bids climbed into the thousands. Currently available versions aren’t any better, most of which cost between $500 and $1,600.
Bryan Ochalla from Seattle, WA, USA on Wikimedia
14. Panasonic Q GameCube, $1,500
We all remember the iconic Gamecube intro, but do you remember the hybrid DVD player from 2001? We sure do, and online auctioneers do too. It was around for about two years and only sold a piddly number, making this console pretty rare nowadays. This little number easily costs about $1,500 online.
15. Zeebo, $1,500
Despite the attention Zeebo garnered from Disney, Capcom, and Activision, this poor console never really went anywhere. It was initially pitched in 2008 as a family console but was soon discontinued due to low sales. Sales probably aren’t any higher today, but the price sure is, and online auctions have these guys listed around $1,500.
User:Lordstrahler on Wikimedia
16. Atari Jaguar CD, $1,400
The Atari Jaguar was already pretty established before its overzealous cousin came out—the twofer weirdo with a CD-ROM stacked on top. It sold about 20,000 units and remains fairly rare today; most price tags climb well past $1,000.
17. N64 iQue, $1,200
The iQue was the console that could, or at least the console that wished it could. To bypass China’s video game ban, Wei Yen from iQue teamed up with Nintendo for their hybrid version of the N64. It didn’t have as good a run as Yen predicted, instead only selling between 8,000 and 12,000 units. It lasted until 2016 before its discontinuation and collectors can still nab one online, so long as they have an extra thousand dollars.
18. Nintendo Deluxe Set with R.O.B the Robot, $1,000
There was a time when Nintendo tried the whole AI thing—an adorable robot with an uninspired name, R.O.B. Okay, so technically it stood for Robotic Operating Buddy, and technically he was more of an accessory than AI, but he still stands tall as a beloved 1980s relic and can even be found in Smash Bros. He can also be found online for a steep price.
Rob DiCaterino from Clifton, NJ, USA on Wikimedia
19. Apple Bandai Pippin, $800
After all these other consoles, $800 might not seem that bad anymore. It’s a good thing too because that’s what it’ll cost you to score this poorly selling multi-technology console from the mid-90s. To be fair, it sold better internationally, but this tech never really took off here. Of course, that doesn’t mean people are willing to let it go.
20. Sega Saturn, $600
We close our list with the end of the Skeleton Saturn line. Roughly 30,000 of them were made, all branded with the reminder that “this is cool”. Hopefully you think it is because online auctions list this see-through console for several hundred dollars.
