The Nintendo Entertainment System is one of the best-selling consoles of all time. With over 60 million units sold, it remains unchallenged as its generation’s highest-selling video game system. There are over 700 licensed titles for the NES, many of which are becoming increasingly scarce as collectors snap them up. Recently, prototypes for two unreleased NES games were offered for sale on eBay. These games are so rare they have never been seen by the public, nor have they ever been digitized. Keep reading to learn more about this unprecedented event in the world of gaming!

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What Are Unreleased NES Games?

Unreleased NES games include any game titles that were never released to the public. Most of the games ultimately end up being cancelled. It is not unusual, however, for a game to resurface under a different name. This is the case with the classic SNES sports game NBA Hangtime, which was released under this name after another company acquired NBA Jam.

Even with promotional campaigns already underway, games will often remain unfinished due to monetary, licensing, or other undisclosed reasons. Some unreleased but publicized NES games include Star Trek V, Hellraiser, and Kung Fu 2. In an unusual turn of events, two unreleased gems have recently turned up on eBay — Battlefields of Napoleon and Scanner.

Battlefields of Napoleon

The first game is a war simulation game called Battlefields of Napoleon. The game was released in Japan under the title Napoleon Senki, but it was never released elsewhere.

According to the auction listing, the prototype for Battlefields of Napoleon was rescued from a dumpster when the publisher, Brøderbund, was acquired by the Learning Company in 1998.

The auction included the WATA-certified prototype with development board, two CHR ROMS, the box layout board, documentation layout boards with transparencies, the entire manual, and transparencies for the creation of assets. Battlefields of Napoleon is considered to be complete, as the game even includes the packaging. With all of the files available, video game historians can easily create digital versions for preservation.

The auction closed on October, 17, 2022 with a high bid of $28,877 USD. At the time of writing, it is unknown whether the prototype was sold to conservationists or a to private collector.

Scanner

The second unreleased title is a demo of the game Scanner, which was developed by Rare Ltd. for use with Mattel’s Power Glove. The Power Glove was created as a virtual reality accessory for NES, but consumer reception was poor due to the glove’s faulty mechanics.

According to the auction listing, the game was in the early stages of development when the Power Glove was discontinued. Scanner was therefore never completed. The game is one of only three games ever designed to take advantage of the Power Glove, making the demo even more of a rarity. Fans may recognize the legendary developers, Rare Ltd., who produced a number of titles for Nintendo, including Donkey Kong Country.

The auction listing included the demo cartridge and a letter of authenticity from the developer. The demo showed four different backgrounds for gameplay, including an alien planet, space slime, a star field, and a tower. Unlike Battlefields of Napoleon, this game is only a short demo with no interactive gameplay.

The auction closed on October 14, 2022 with a high bid of $11, 245 USD. The game was sold to the Video Game History Foundation, a non-profit organization that focuses on preserving the history of video games.

The Most Valuable NES Games

While it’s no surprise these one-of-a-kind prototypes sold for thousands of dollars at auction, other hard-to-find NES games have also sold for significant amounts. In August of 2021, a sealed copy of Super Mario Bros. for NES sold for a staggering $2 million USD. The 1985 game was purchased by an anonymous collector via the collectibles site, Rally. The game currently holds the world record for highest price ever paid for a video game.

Another NES game, The Legend of Zelda, previously held the title for most valuable game. The game sold for $870,000 USD through Heritage Auctions in July of 2021. The auction was for a boxed copy of the game’s first printing. It was part of a rare 1987 production run stamped “NES R” that was released prior to wider production. (This record was broken only days later by a sealed copy of the N64 title, Super Mario 64, which sold for $1.56 million USD.)

The Rarest NES Games

Although not as valuable as the previous titles, there are some rare NES games that consistently sell in the thousands at auction. One of the rarest NES games is Stadium Events, which appears to be a forerunner for Wii Sports. Stadium Events is reportedly coveted by collectors because it is the original Bandai-created game — before Nintendo re-branded it as World Class Track Meet. The game regularly sells on auctions sites for between $4,000 – $10,000 USD.

Another rare NES game is Nintendo World Championship. The game was a collection of timed stages from an assortment of NES titles that was created for a 1990 Nintendo-based competition. The trials from this competition were housed in a limited run of cartridges to be used for future contests. About 400 grey cartridges were made, with even fewer gold Zelda-themed cartridges manufactured. The gold version regularly sells for between $13,000 – $18,000 USD.

Nintendo Campus Challenge is arguably the rarest NES game to ever be released. There is currently only one known copy. It was created by Japanese developers for their tour of American colleges in 1991-1992. The game is reportedly made up of small segments of Nintendo games used for special events. The last time the game surfaced, it sold on eBay for over $20,000 USD.

While there is certainly a market for NES games, not all of the games in your closet are going to sell for as much as these titles. Although it is It is unlikely that most of us have any of these treasures hidden away, it is still worth preserving our older games and consoles for future generations to enjoy.