Many people often forget that the history Nintendo stretches much further back across the ages. Beginning in 1889 when it primarily made and sold playing cards, it was in the late 1970s that it actually started to dabble in electronic entertainment. Given the sheer number of years the Japanese conglomerate has been dominating the video game market, it's not surprising that some items become extremely rare treasures. For example, a sealed copy of Super Mario Bros. set an auction record. Now, however, there is something that's gone on sale which is considered even rarer.
According to a recent YouTube video hosted by super-fan Florent Gorges, one of the rarest Nintendo items to ever be found has been making headlines in Japan. Appearing on Yahoo! Auctions, the item in question is the Nintendo Game and Watch handheld system, originally developed in 1980. Given how rare of a find it is, the presenter in the video has expressed uncertainties as to whether or not it's genuine, but, the host and author of the History of Nintendo series of books believes it could be real.
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One of the interesting things about this particular Nintendo Game and Watch is the image of three men drawn on, with the name Donkey Kong written underneath, as well as a note saying that the company had sold 20,000,000 units as of December 1982. The three men in question have been identified as Gunpei Yokoi, K. Momose and T. Ishida. While Yokoi is something of a Nintendo legend, having been instrumental in creating the Game Boy, the other two names appear to be more of a mystery. For this reason, many have doubted the validity of the Game and Watch being sold at auction. Gorges explains in more detail in his video, which is in French but has English subtitles that can be enabled.
After some digging, Gorges concluded that the other two men, although not employees at the company like Yokoi, were partners who helped in the production of the Nintendo Game and Watch, providing the aluminum plates for the device, and generally keeping in contact with the Japanese gaming giant. Despite attempting to purchase the item from the site, Gorges was outbid, and it eventually sold for ¥1,001,000.
It goes to show just how many different products Nintendo has put out over the years, and how valuable they've become. With the Nintendo e-Reader fetching thousands of dollars recently, and now the Game and Watch being a very rare find, it's entirely possible that someone reading this is sitting on a goldmine of gaming paraphernalia that could be worth a lot of money at some point.
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