25 Most Expensive Video Games #15 – #6

Back in the days of cartridge gaming, special competition cartridges were manufactured in small numbers for specific contests. This contest, held at Blockbuster stores nationwide, featured a cartridge with unique versions of NBA Jam and Judge Dredd. As it is with most gaming competitions, you had to rack up as many points as you could in the allotted time. Since these types of cartridges were produced in such limited numbers, they command a huge price in the collectors market, a.k.a. eBay.

This rare little beauty is the exact same game as the Caltron 6 in 1. That’s right, it is the same game, but when the original company was bought by Myriad, they slapped their own label right over the original and started selling it. If you look hard enough, you can even see the original label peeking out from under the new one. But, Myriad didn’t last all that long and went under after only about 100 of these reissues were shot out the door.

Quality doesn’t always coincide with value. Ultravision Karate was by far one of the worst games ever for the Atari 2600, but that doesn’t stop game collectors from forking over hard earned cash for each abysmal cartridge. The original game was released under the Ultravision banner before the company was bought by Froggo. The Froggo versions were widely available, but if you happen to have a copy with Ultravision on the label, then you could find yourself with some extra cash. What else would you do with it? Play it?!

What in the hell is a current gen game doing in with all these venerable Atari games of old? Well, you couldn’t actually purchase the Uncharted 2: Fortune Hunter’s Edition. Naughty Dog reserved these copies for only the luckiest of fans chosen to win one of the few contests they were running before the release of the game. Featuring a full size replica of the much sought after dagger from the game, the Fortune Hunter’s edition is a worthy addition to any collector's treasure trove of gaming paraphernalia.

This is a rare mail order game that didn’t even come in a box. You played as a boy trying to gain his manhood by going through a series of tribal tests in order to prove himself. Thankfully for the Atari, these only involved running and jumping. Even though this is a game about a guy running through a gauntlet, obtaining this game is sure to put your wallet through one. Hopefully it can come out the other side with some change left inside.

Remember the Power Pad for the NES? That silly mat you’d plop on the floor and use to control your little players in fitness games? We don’t either, but one of the games that utilized the Power Mat weighs in on our list of the 25 Most Expensive Video Games. The game wasn’t widely available or played and that is what makes it so rare and expensive. You got to compete in various track and field competitions against opponents of varying speed. Let’s just hope you don’t get into a bidding race on eBay for this game. Depending on the condition of one, you may be a winner, but you’ll also be in debt.

While not quite as rare as it’s gilded companion that you’ll see later, the 1990 Nintendo World Championships game is still a rare and expensive item to add to your collection. This game was also used in the 1990 Nintendo World Championships competition. Unlike its more expensive sibling, this cartridge featured Super Mario Bros., Rad Racer, and Tetris. A special formula was used to calculate the score and determine the lord of all that is Nintendo. Hopefully, with that title, you’d have enough money to now purchase the damn thing since it is the price of a decent used car.

You might not believe that a platforming game based on the crossing of the red sea by Moses would make for a sought after game. Red Sea Crossing was only available from the manufacturer by mail and that wasn’t the most convenient way to buy Atari games in the '80s. Understandably, not too many of the things were sold and very few survived to this day. But, there are a few floating around if you have $10K to spare for a game with Moses jumping over snakes.

Tetris is a legendary game. It was how a lot of gamers were introduced to the medium. Sure, original copies are rare and there are more knockoffs than falling bricks. But when you find one of the most rare Tetris games in the world, that is something to be proud of. There were around 6 copies of Tetris made for the Japanese Megadrive. These games are now worth a pretty penny. So treasure that cartridge if you have one, and don’t pretend it’s a real life tetris block and drop it on the floor.

One of the many games to capitalize on the brilliant Space Invader formula, Atlantis was one of the most enjoyable experiences on the Atari 2600. This cartridge is something special though. Only ten of these games were made for the top contestants in the Defend Atlantis competition. It was created to help whittle down the competition to the top four players in the world. Unfortunately, those talented individuals never got a chance to compete in Bermuda because the developer was sold to Activision. All that remains of the failed competition are those 10 bits of plastic.