NWC 3DS XL Auction Tops £16,000

In the retro gaming market, a prize console with a clear story can go a long way, and this one has both. John “Numbers” Goldberg’s Nintendo 3DS XL from the 2015 Nintendo World Championships is currently up for auction on eBay, with bids already passing £16,000.

The handheld is signed by Shigeru Miyamoto, and Goldberg announced the sale on X, saying he had been thinking about it for some time. He also shared photos confirming his identity, including his Nintendo World Championships trophy, though he said the trophy itself is not for sale.

At the time Polygon reported the story, the auction had 52 bids and seven days left. Goldberg has also said he may deliver the system in person to the eventual winner, to avoid any shipping problems.

The value here is not just the hardware, it is the provenance. Polygon noted that runner-up Narcissa Wright also received a Miyamoto-signed 3DS, but that has not stopped Goldberg’s winner’s console from attracting strong interest. For collectors, the fact that this was the actual prize awarded to the champion appears to matter more than scarcity alone.

The Nintendo World Championships have a long history in gaming culture, with official events held in 1990, 2015 and 2017. The original 1990 competition used a custom NES cartridge built around Super Mario Bros., Rad Racer and Tetris, and one of those cartridges later sold for over £80,000. Goldberg’s 2015 win came in Super Mario Maker, and the series has since returned in Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition.

For more retro gaming news, see our News tag, and keep an eye on the wider collecting scene as official hardware with a documented history continues to command attention. This is a good reminder that in retro collecting, the story behind the item can be just as important as the item itself.

Originally reported by Polygon. Read the original article here: Polygon.