It is not very often in the
video game collecting world that you get to show off an item that is truly rare.
A lot of supposed “Rare” games were sold by the thousands, tens of thousands, and in some
cases hundreds of thousands. These games get called rare erroneously, or because
they are rare in comparison to major titles that sold a million plus.
Some people say rare when what they should say is expensive; this is common in
video game collecting. Today's post is not about addressing the issue of “Rare
vs. Expensive” or to put a spotlight on the false rarity claims volleyed back
and forth by collectors. Today is a day to show off a real jewel. Today I proudly present The Blockbuster
World Video Game Championships 2 cart for the Sega Genesis.
How This Landed In My Lap
The how is pretty straight forward, it was posted that it was for sale on the SegaAge.com forum. The forum post linked to a 10 Day Auction on eBay. The auction had a few things leaning in my favor, the seller was new and the item was in Canada, also during it's first run, no pictures of the board were taken and the label is not in the best shape. These factors kept interest in the auction low and doubt high. When the dust cleared I was the high bidder at $1631, but I didn't meet the reserve. I contacted the seller immediately and let him know I was still interested. My eBay message lead to a Skype call, where we discussed the price. We did not come to terms so the item was relisted on eBay. Something happened in the relisting though because the auction wasn't easy to find, for instance if you typed Blockbuster and Genesis on the US eBay site the auction didn't come up, at least not for me. The auction format had also been changed to BIN / BO with the price at $4000, it was lowered to $3500, and eventually $3000. After about two weeks an only a few offers the seller and I spoke again and came to terms at $1900. The Seller was Game Hoard a retro game shop in Ontario Canada. They do not have a full online presence yet but you can check them out on face book, the store looks great. Paul of Game Hoard was easy to work with and fair, and the transaction couldn't have gone smoother.
So is Your Genesis Collection Complete Now?
In the world of set collecting people are constantly trying to tell you what is necessary for a set, even if you specifically let them know the parameters and the rules you are following. This Cart is a competition cart with modified versions of NBA Jam Tournament and Judge Dredd on it, and was never sold or given away like it's Nintendo counter parts. Given that this cart was never sold, I do not count this as necessary for a complete Sega Genesis set. When I posted my complete Genesis set I had some people insist this cart was necessary, I didn't agree then and I still disagree now, owning it has not changed my mind. I consider this to be more of the Ruby or Emerald Weapon of the Genesis set,not necessary but an awesome bonus.
I am really happy I got the opportunity to add this to my collection, it is estimated that only 67 or so were made, and that most were destroyed because Acclaim, the maker of this cart, asked that all of them be sent back after the competition in 1995. Acclaim is said to have wanted the carts back so that they could repurpose the parts and or destroy them, both of those scenarios are horrifying. As of now the confirmed number of these carts known to be in collectors hands is 10 or less.
The story of the Blockbuster Video Game World Championships is pretty interesting and I really want to share it with you guys here, but instead I am going to talk about it on our next episode of Collector's Quest so please take a listen Episode 4 is up now and hopefully Episode 5 the Blockbuster one will be up by next week.
Full disclosure, I had originally written about 4 pages on the history of the Blockbuster Championships and compiled some really good info. I was going to post but I decided I had a few more pages I could write to expand its scope and also I wanted to do a bit more research before I posted it, but through a series of silly mistakes I saved over it. Like a true novice I didn't save any back ups. I am unsure if I will find the will and time to rewrite it.
I am posting pretty frequently on Instagram (Johnny.Iucci) I find it a really good way to show off parts of my collection that don't warrant a whole post, and also to show the games I am currently buying.
Listen to Collector's Quest on iTunes or if you prefer you can find us on SoundCloud
Thank You for Reading, Listening, Viewing
~Johnny~
I am really happy I got the opportunity to add this to my collection, it is estimated that only 67 or so were made, and that most were destroyed because Acclaim, the maker of this cart, asked that all of them be sent back after the competition in 1995. Acclaim is said to have wanted the carts back so that they could repurpose the parts and or destroy them, both of those scenarios are horrifying. As of now the confirmed number of these carts known to be in collectors hands is 10 or less.
The story of the Blockbuster Video Game World Championships is pretty interesting and I really want to share it with you guys here, but instead I am going to talk about it on our next episode of Collector's Quest so please take a listen Episode 4 is up now and hopefully Episode 5 the Blockbuster one will be up by next week.
Full disclosure, I had originally written about 4 pages on the history of the Blockbuster Championships and compiled some really good info. I was going to post but I decided I had a few more pages I could write to expand its scope and also I wanted to do a bit more research before I posted it, but through a series of silly mistakes I saved over it. Like a true novice I didn't save any back ups. I am unsure if I will find the will and time to rewrite it.
Listen to Collector's Quest on iTunes or if you prefer you can find us on SoundCloud
Thank You for Reading, Listening, Viewing
~Johnny~
