Kotaku: auction

Blank N64 Cartridge Challenges Your Manhood [Updated]

Owen Good — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 16:00:00 MST

Meanwhile, in the make-believe land of eBayia, someone's auctioning a "mysteriously blank Nintendo 64 cartridge" - promising only that the game works and doesn't suck. "Are you man enough to buy a label-less N64 game?" No, but Saxton Hale is!

"Yes, this game is missing its labels, leaving the games identity indiscernible. However, everything else about the cartridge is perfect," says seller urb4nz0mb13. "You are bidding on THE CARTRIDGE WITH NO NAME."

The seller says he left a hint to the game's identity on the page, and we see that - displayed in white text - the clue is " The buy it now price is the year it was released." Well, since the bidding has gone up to $22.01, and I doubt Skynet sent this thing back in time, we no longer know what that is. However, late yesterday he felt compelled to file this update: "NOTE: This game is not shitty." Well, if you say so!

Update: Well, the interest in this item - which likely is Super Smash Bros. as many have pointed out - has driven up the bid price to $77. That's high enough that the seller is promising to send 20 percent of the final sale price to Child's Play, the charity that provides hospitalized children with video games and other toys. The auction ends in about six days.

Mysteriously Blank N64 Cartridge [eBay, thanks Thretris]

Kotaku's Denver Fundraiser: Silent Auction Items

Brian Crecente — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 09:40:00 MDT

Don't forget that we're holding our annual Child's Play fundraiser here in Denver on Nov. 19.

The evening will be filled with Rock Band and DJ Hero up on stage, a mountain of swag that we'll be giving away and a few high-end silent auction items.

We're still gathering up what we will be auctioning off. But I can show you two things that will be available to bid on for those who come:

A box showed up on my doorstep yesterday with a copy of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Fortune Hunter's Edition. No note, or mention of why I received it, so I'm going to auction it off. Thanks to whoever sent it my way. The edition includes those download keycodes as well as a CD of the game's soundtrack and a copy of the Brady Games guide.

Michael James, founder of 8BitVintners, is donating a 3L etched bottle of his wine for the event. These limited run bottles aren't for sale anywhere. Check out this video to see the wine being bottled.

We also have the limited edition Brutal Legend statue to auction off.

I'll be posting more details about our Nov. 19 event as we get closer to the day. Hope you can make it!

First Video Game Ever Sold is Being Sold

Owen Good — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 17:00:00 MDT

Two arcade cabinets for Nolan Bushnell's Computer Space, regarded as the first commercially sold video game ever, have been listed on eBay. The games, which predated Pong by about a year, are currently going for $1,500 and $2,500.

Computer Space was developed and published in 1971 by Nutting Associates, not Atari, although programmers Bushnell and Ted Dabney did found Atari later. It's based on Spacewar!, developed at MIT in 1961, which is itself considered one of the first video games ever.

There's a green and a yellow version for sale. In addition to its cultural impact, the Computer Space cabinet is itself a funky piece of furniture, and a sure conversation starter for anyone visiting your rec room.

Rare Computer Space Arcade Machines Turn up on eBay [Technabob via Gizmodo]

Box Of Old Zelda Games Redefines Definition Of "Case Fresh" [Update]

Luke Plunkett — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 07:00:00 MDT

We don't post about video game auctions very often here. When we do, it has to be something that's pretty amazing. This cardboard treasure trove of Zelda fits that bill.

It's a box of sealed copies of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. The original SNES release. Like the wounded body of 1992 heaved itself upon our doorstep and, with its final, dying breath, left us with its greatest treasure.

There are six copies to be found within, and they've never been played. Never been soiled. Oh, they're also the PAL version, so if that's a problem for you, well, tough. Paradise don't come cheap.

UPDATE - Oh dear. Reader Arin says he read this post then actually went and bid on the box. And won! And apparently got...a single opened copy of Link to the Past (the German version, no less) for his troubles. Let this be a sad, sad lesson to the rest of you (and also explain why we never link directly to the eBay auctions in these posts).

Link to the Past Factory Case, Computer Space 2p [gameSniped]

WIGI Auctions Off Swag For WIGI

Mike Fahey — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 08:40:00 MST

Women in Games International needs funding, and they're not above selling off their stuff to get it! They're kicking off the WIGI Celebrity Ebay Auction tomorrow, with more than a hundred bits of video game merchandise and memorabilia up for grabs. Items have been donated from Bungie, Microsoft Game Studios, Electronic Arts - even the Cartoon Network team has chipped in items to help fund the international non-profit organization that has been working for years to make sure women get a fair shake in the industry.

The items range from pretty spiffy, like this signed copy of the Xbox 360 Collector's Edition Frontlines: Fuel of War, complete with t-shirt signed by the Kaos team, to the slightly less appealing, such as the book "Mobile 3D Game Development: From Start to Market." Hit the jump for WIGI's press release, or check out their auction page for the full list of swag up for grabs.

Women in Games International Launches Online Auction

eBay Auction Raise Funds for National Games Non-Profit

Thursday, November 20, 2008—Austin, TX— Women in Games International (WIGI) today announced their WIGI Celebrity Ebay Auction, a collection of over a hundred video games and game-related merchandise items - much of it signed by industry leaders - being auctioned to raise funds for Women in Games International.

If there's one thing gamers love more than games themselves, it's awesome game-related merchandise. That's why Women in Games International is happy to announce their 2008 celebrity auction, a collection of over 100 items generously donated by leaders in the video game industry - including Bungie, Microsoft Game Studios, Electronic Arts, and many other game companies.

WIGI auction items include everything from signed blockbuster games to game design books to hard-to-find vintage paraphernalia. You can check out their website for a full list of items. A few items that may pique the interest of bidders include Halo 3 high-quality black messenger bag with Halo figurine, books, and posters, signed special edition Xbox 360 copy of Frontlines with signed Kaos shirt, signed Gears of War messenger bag, Gears of War bottle opener, and An Inside Look at Gears of War 2 book, and much, much more.

To find the WIGI auction items online and starting the bidding process, visit: http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/silvar1_W0QQ_nkwZQQ_armrsZ1QQ_fromZQQ_mdoZ, or just go to eBay.com and search for "2008 WIGI Auction." Bidding for the auction begins Saturday, 11/22, in conjunction with the Philadelphia event VGXPO. All proceeds go to support Women in Games International, a non-profit organization that has been working over the last four years to further the inclusion and advancement of women in the game industry.

Visit www.womeningamesinternational.org to see the complete auction item list. Just in time for the holidays, you can begin your bidding online for unique game gifts on Saturday, November 22.

My Little Master Chief Pony

Michael McWhertor — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 15:40:00 MDT

We're not sure that you're ready to enter the world of custom, one of a kind My Little Pony creations, but perhaps the bitter pill of fandom tucked within a meaty treat will help the medicine go down. This unique pony, decked out in Master Chief's Mjolnir armor, is almost exactly how we pictured it in the many fanfics we've read on the My Little Pony-Halo crossover forums and certainly not too rich for our blood.

Just think, your little Master Pony will always be there right by your side. He'll be there right by your side. Definitely worth dropping $100-plus on to get the promised hand-sculpted assault rifle. Bid early and often, folks.

Master Chief From Halo OOAK My Little Pony Custom [eBay]

Buy Bungie's Halo Soda Machine

Brian Crecente — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 08:00:14 MDT

The Bungie folks are auctioning off the Halo Mountain Dew vending machine that's been sitting in their office forever. The machine is signed and illustrated by the entire team and features Halo's Master Chief from the second game. The machine has never actually been used, so it's in terrific condition. All proceeds for the auction will go to The Make a Wish Foundation. If you're a HUGE Halo fan this is probably a one-of-a-kind get. The auction is currently at a whopping $15,000 and doesn't include the shipping charge, which is likely to set you back another $200 to $2,000 depending on where you live in the U.S.

If Bungie really loved children they'd throw in a steak dinner with Luke Smith.

Signed Halo Mountain Dew Vending Machine! [eBay]

Sega Dreamcast - NIB!

Drew Crecente — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 17:00:00 MST

Wow. You certainly don't run across these every day. Goodwill Industries is auctioning off a NIB Sega Dreamcast. The system comes with the system CDs and an extra controller. No games are included but those aren't too tough to find - even Amazon has a wide variety from third-parties.

My Dreamcast is still running beautifully and Soul Calibur still looks great on it so I can attest to the longevity of the system. I am curious however to know the story behind how this wound up at Goodwill in the first place. I hope that some college student doesn't go home at Spring Break to find that his collection of vintage gaming systems has been cleared out to make room for Christmas decorations by Mom.

Gamertell [Thanks to Jenni for the tip]

Buy Every Single Japanese Dreamcast Game At Once

Luke Plunkett — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 03:30:00 MST

I don't normally like posting eBay auctions. I find something about them inherently tragic. But this one, oh boy, this one is just nice to look at. Some bloke in France is selling every Japanese Dreamcast game ever made. Every single one. 606 of them. Even awesome rare stuff like De La Jet Set Radio. Oh, and did I mention they're all sealed? They're all sealed. All 606 of them. Sure, bidding starts at $20,000, but for the entire Japanese Dreamcast collection, sealed, that may well constitute a bargain.
Dreamcast Collection [GameSniped]

Rare Atari Game For Sale, Got Half A Mil Handy?

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 03:30:00 MST

Ever hear of Gamma Attack? Was put out by Gammation for the Atari 2600 back in the day. It's bright, it's colourful, and it's also very, very rare. Someone who's claiming to own a copy of the game has just put it up for auction. Starting bid? Oh, $499,999. And ninety-nine cents. Is the game even worth that much? It's definitely rare, but...who knows. Probably not. That's an awful lot of money. At least you'll save on shipping, though: the seller will only part with the game if you arrange a face-to-face meeting with him. Which all sounds a bit fishy, but then, would you write a cheque for half a mil? No. Because when a chance pops up that you can fill a briefcase full of cash, meet a stranger in a deserted car park and exchange the goods under the watchful eyes of hired goons, you take it. Especially when it involves an Atari game, and not something more serious, like biological weapons, high-grade narcotics or, I don't know, your daughter.
Atari 2600 Gamma Attack [GameSniped]

Halo "Mister Chief" Painting Fetching Over $4000 On eBay

Michael McWhertor — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 15:40:07 MST

Bungie's community manager, content monkey and, now, accomplished pastel artist Frank O'Connor's piece "Here Lies the Last Sip of the Bourgeoisie Malaise Consommé" featuring the infamous Mister Chief from Halo (sort of) is currently going for thousands on eBay. Price tag at time of publish? An impressive $4150. With three days to go, there's plenty of time for the original artwork to skyrocket in price.

Why should you care? Proceeds from the auction will go to the Brian Morden Foundation to help fund Ewing's Sarcoma and childhood cancer research. Bust out your checkbook and your goodwill if you've got the cash. If not, read the artist's statement at Bungie.net. It will haunt you.

Heart of Dorkness [Bungie]
Bungie Charity: Original Mister Chief Art [eBay]

Sealed Copy of Chrono Trigger Auction Closes at Over 1k

fdemarco — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 16:00:00 MST

The auction for the sealed copy of Chrono Trigger I wrote about yesterday has closed and the coveted game went or a whopping $1,217. The winning bidder will be a bit poorer but will have one hell of a piece of game history in their hands. If you're itching to drop a load of money on a sealed SNES game and missed out on this one, you can still get a bid in on this copy of MegaMan X2. Opening bid is $1,000. I'm truly amazed... I guess it's true that things are ultimately worth whatever someone will pay for them.

Sealed Chrono Trigger Fetching a High Price on eBay

fdemarco — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 15:00:00 MST

How much is a really good old game worth to you? What if it was still in it's original shrink wrap? According to eBay, the right game can be worth quite a bit to the right people. A seller is currently hosting an auction for a sealed copy of Chrono Trigger for the Super Nintendo that has shot up to an amazing $420.55. With thirty bidders and a day and a half still left to place bids, something tells me it will go even higher. My question is, what will the winner do with their expensive prize? Will they open it and play with it or will it become a pricey knick-knack that will take up shelf space and no doubt garner the envy of hardcore Chrono Trigger fans.

[via GoNintendo]

Win A Copy Of Grand Theft Auto III, Signed By Jack Thompson

Michael McWhertor — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 18:00:00 MST

We've seen people go to extreme lengths for both charity and eBay auctions, but this particular item, a copy of Grand Theft Auto III allegedly signed by fan fave Jack Thompson at VGXPO, combines the two in an attractive package. According to the listing, the PlayStation 2 version of the game can be yours (we think) for the low, low price of $4,000, the proceeds of which will be redirected in full to the Child's Play charity. There's even a picture of the signee and auction lister—who we're told is not TV's famous Wil Wheaton—to aid in the proof of authenticity.

What is suspect, however, is whether you actually get the signed copy of the game for your four large, seemingly the entire point of dropping this much cash on a used PS2 game. The eBay listing comes with the unclear note "Please note: I do not actually want to sell this. I am just listing it for show and to hopefully win a contest. However, if you want to spend $4000 on this then I will donate 100% of the proceeds to Child's Play Charity." The seller does have a 99.9% positive rating, so I wager you'll be satisfied. If you do decide to give up the cash, let us know when (and if) you get it.

Grand Theft Auto III Signed By Jack Thompson (PS2) [eBay - thanks, Rick!]

Ready at Dawn's Child's Play Auction

Brian Crecente — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 08:00:12 MST

Ru Weerasuriya, Ready at Dawn co-founder, dropped me a line to let me know that his studio has put two eBay auctions up to hlp raise money for Child's Play.

The studio managed to get their hand on one of the last Daxter PSP Entertainment packs around and then had everyone at Ready at Dawn Studios. As if the cool autographed, hard-t0-find PSP weren't enough, the Ready at Dawn folks are throwing in an autographed piece of original production art from the game.

All proceeds go to Child's Play. Hit up the link for the U.S. auction, and check out Ready at Dawn's other auction if you live in Europe.

Ready at Dawn eBay Auction

Win a Wii... and a House... and a Car... Wait, WHAT?!

fdemarco — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 14:00:00 MST

We've all seen some crazy auctions on eBay before. Organs, porn, super rare vintage games, entire gaming collections and overpriced gaming console bundles, but this Wii bundle really takes the cake. How would you feel if I offered to sell you a Wii for a mere $9,876,543.00? Ok, now what if I threw in a fully furnished, two story North Carolina house and a BMW?

This is exactly what eBay auctioneer kyleselectronicsplus07 is doing at this very moment. It is made quite clear in the description that the price is for the Wii ONLY and the rest of the goodies are free bonuses. The seller seems to have a good reputation and 10% of the sale goes to Charlotte ReStore - Habitat for Humanty. Certainly an admirable cause, but could this truly be for real? And what exactly is the story behind someone willing to give up their entire life over eBay, although at that price I suppose you could afford an all new one a couple times over.

The auction has nine days to go and in news that will surprise no one, it currently has no bids. I'm going to continue watching this just to see exactly what happens with it and I'll report back on it next weekend as it gets closer to the end of the bid. Check below for the full description.

This auction is for one (1) Brand New Never Opened Nintendo Wii Console Sports Edition with 5 Games. This also includes Wii Play Bundle that comes with an extra Remote and 9 Wii Play Games. With the purchase of the Wii console, we will also throw in for free our Charlotte, North Carolina 2-story, single-family home. This house was built and purchased new in 2006 for $240,000 and is within walking distance to major attractions such as Bank of America Stadium (Carolina Panthers) & Bobcats Arena (Charlotte Bobcats). You are also only minutes away from the Charlotte Douglas International Airport, I-485, I-85, I-77, and many uptown restaurants. Everything in the house is yours if wanted, including a Brand New 46" Sony Bravia Full 1080p LCD HDTV along with all the furniture and appliances. We will personally drive and deliver this Wii with all the accessories listed once payment has been received and cleared. Once we hand you the Wii, we will also hand you the car keys and house keys to both our home in Charlotte and a 2002 BMW 330i. We will even have you(1) and up to 5 other family members or friends (for a total of 6) flown in to see the house and city and will also pay to have you moved up to Charlotte from anywhere in the continental United States. This is to be the most DELUXE and EXCLUSIVE listing for any Wii that there will ever be on eBay. If you choose, you will have nothing to do but to hop on a plane with 5 of your closest friends or family members. We'll handle all the rest for you. We will personally deliver these items to the winning bidder on the day of his/her choice, including Christmas Day, December 25, 2007.

[via Megatonik]
[Thanks, Kevin]

Fancy Up Your Kingdom Hearts Cosplay For Charity

fdemarco — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 16:00:00 MST

Currently up for auction on eBay is this rather fine recreation of the Kingdom Hearts Ultima Keyblade. It is made out of wood and embellished with metallic paint weighing in at about fifteen pounds. 35% of the profits from the sale will go to benefit Child's Play. Be sure to check out the bottom of the auction page for a great video of various AMA 2007 cosplayers taking the Keyblade for a spin.

Ultima Keyblade from Kingdom Hearts [eBay]

The Ultimate eBay Auction: 30 Years of Videogames

geoff — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 11:20:00 MST

So you think you're a hardcore gamer? Try again. Someone on eBay is selling their personal 30-year video game collection. The bidding starts at $9,000 and includes 1,8000 items. Keep in mind that you'll also need to pay up to $1,500 in UPS fees just to have the collection shipped to you. If you want a complete list of every game and item in the collection, check out this site where everything is fully detailed. It definitely skews toward the old systems, as the seller is only offering up 6 Xbox 360 games including Perfect Dark Zero. But you do get a VM Labs - Nuon as part of the deal!

Giant Game Auction
http://videogames.neocurve.com/list.aspx

Slightly Suspicious Sneaky Snake Statue

fdemarco — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 12:00:00 MDT

We've received word that there is a life-sized Solid Snake figure for sale on eBay but unfortunately, the description is slightly confusing as to what is actually available. Now we here at Kotaku certainly have no room to complain about spelling and grammar, but the person that wrote this might have wanted to get someone with a firmer grasp of English to help out with their translation.

To the best of my ability, I was able to determine that there is a life-sized Snake statue available that was originally created to promote MGS 3: Snake Eater (Pardon me while I giggle behind my hand at that title again). Where it gets fuzzy is the reference to the photo. It seems to say that the accompanying image is actually of a different statue than the one being offered. The item ships from Switzerland and will cost 430 USD to ship to the US and Canada or 635 USD to Mexico, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Australia. No mention is made of shipping costs to Europe which seems a bit odd. The bid is currently at the low, low price of $51 with only two bids and six hours to go. If you decide you simply must have this Snake for your very own, good luck and Caveat emptor.

SNAKE EATER 3 METAL GEAR SOLID LIFE SIZE STATUE [eBay]
[Thanks, Gamelord]

Psst! Wanna Buy A Halo 3 Friend?

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 17:20:00 MDT

Calling all losers! Calling all losers! Your new Halo 3 friend is waiting for your PayPal funds to clear! That's right, socially awkward gamers who need an Xbox Live wingman, your future best friend is currently whoring himself out on eBay right now, promising a "lifelong gamer friendship!" to anyone willing to pony up the cash. The best part? If bidding reaches $1,500.99, he'll even throw in a signed, sealed, delivered copy of Halo 3. That's value!

Don't worry, it's all on the up and up. In fact, it's for a good cause. According to the auction, proceeds from the winning bid will go "to help raise money for the losses which a lawyer messed me over when I was entitled to a lot of money from being hit in a car accident." Harrowing, I know.

I Will Be Your X-Box Live Friend On Halo 3 [eBay via Destructoid]