I saw the advert on social media. A video of a few seconds where a console with the shape of a Game Boy Color. The design was more or less the same, but inside it was completely different. The video showed how with that device you could access thousands of video games published over the years. Perhaps a commercial initiative not entirely in line with Italian copyright regulations. Before buying it I tried to see how much the old ones cost Game Boythose who crowded the corridors of primary schools during recess in the 90s. I discovered that the collecting.
Let’s start from the first data. At this moment the most expensive model of Game Boy which you can find on eBay is a device offered for sale by the-collector0a user with a fairly varied sales showcase. In addition to the Game Boy, it also put on sale a Monopoly with the team logo Borussia Dortmundvarious commemorative coins and a can of Esso Tiger petrol. The Game Boy is the most precious piece of the collection: we are talking about an edition First Printtherefore the first version of this console distributed in the United States. It dates back to 1989is sealed and certified. The introductory price is 125,000 euros.
Certain. Everyone is free in this market to ask for the price they want but the proposal in this case seems a bit exaggerated. The same model, still sealed, in slightly worse conditions is sold by the user thexperfectxgame for approx 11,500 euros. But these are just the peaks of a much bigger iceberg. Collecting linked to Game Boys is a very large phenomenon. There is a dedicated reddit forum with 202,000 visitors per week.
The first Italian auction of old video games: 50 titles sold for almost 70,000 euros in Vercelli
Because the Game Boy is well suited for collecting
Nostalgia. Variants. Complex searches for the best models. In fact, the Game Boy market lends itself well to being a playground for collectors. Let’s see some coordinates. The Game Boy is a portable console, sold by Nintendo. The first appearance was the April 21, 1989a few months later it arrived in the United States, in 1990 it was also sold in Italy. In total they were sold approximately 118 million specimens.
The first models had a gray cover, with a screen that it oscillated in tones between green and black. It had directional keys, i A and B buttons and the keys Select And Start. It ran on batteries. Then came the lighter models, like the Pocket and the Light. In the 1998 the advent of has arrived Game Boy Colorsmaller and with a color screen. The latest version of this device arrived in 2001 with the Game Boy Advance: Here the design was completely different, with the keys moved to the sides of the screen. Also noteworthy is a reduction in design in the 2005 with the Game Boy Micro.
Now the brand is no longer used by Nintendo: in 2017 was launched Switchesthe new model of portable console which has already reached the Switch 2 version. In the years in which the Game Boy was the flagship product for portable video games, however, it collected a number of variants tending towards infinity. All distributed in different ways, also because Nintendo has chosen to collaborate with dozens of brands for this product. Some could be obtained by winning a competition, others by going to eat at the restaurantothers were simply limited editions that only arrived in certain chain stores or for the release of certain games. Let’s throw in some too unclear data on scarcity and the market is served.
The rarest Game Boy models, starting with the one made by FIAT
The platform Console Variations keeps track of all the consoles released over the years. Each model is cataloged with photographs, data, distribution channels, estimated copies and rarity level. Of course, as in all collectors’ markets, the condition of the devices also counts. The rules are the same: the more similar an object is to the condition of purchase, the more value it has. If you were already thinking of going to your parents’ house to recover that old model with which you played three hours a day for five years, just stop. A Game Boy Classic in fair condition is found peacefully around the 100 euros. Be the first to preserve it together with the related memories.
On Console Variations you can find them catalogued 266 Game Boy variationsdivided into five rarity levels: Common, Uncommon, Rare, Epic and Legendary. Obviously the most interesting ones are the Legendary ones. Here we find the Gulf War Game Boya console that survived a bomb that exploded during theOperation Desert Storm in the Gulf War. It was on display at the Nintendo Store in New York, with the entire cover burned and the screen still working. It was retired in 2023: It should currently be stored at its headquarters in Redmond, Washington.
And again. There is a Milka Game Boythe well-known chocolate brand. It is a device that looks very similar to the Game Boy released in the early 90s, with a variation: just below the screen is the logo Of Milkawith a purple-colored cow on the green meadow. Also noteworthy is the Game Boy Soyuz TM-17a Game Boy Color device with a transparent green cover that Console Variations notes was sold to Moscow Cosmonaut Museum for an event of 2003. Day and month are unknown.
But perhaps the most curious model tracked on Console Variations is a manufactured Game Boy Classic in collaboration with FIAT. It doesn’t have a Legendary rarity but an Epic one. This device would have been put up for grabs in a competition: there should be approximately one 100 specimens. It is completely black, with red writing and keys that from the photos appear to have a purple hue. At the bottom left, in white, you can see the old FIAT logo.
