An extremely rare game for the original Nintendo Famicom (the NES) has just fetched a bank-breaking ¥401,010 (some $4,250) at auction.
The game in question is the fascinatingly titled 危険物のやさしい物理と科学 / Kikenbutsu no Yasashii Butsuri to Kagaku, or “The Tender Physics & Science of Explosive Materials”; as you might guess from the title, the game relates to handling volatile materials.
It was in fact a training tool (part of the “Space College” series) jointly developed between Konami and industrial end-user Idemitsu Kosan Ltd. (one of the world’s largest petroleum refiners) in 1990, and intended for employee educational use only.
Its rarity, and subsequent popularity with collectors, stems from the fact that is what is called a 非売品 / hibaihin, a game never offered for sale publically, of which there are a great many for the NES, ranging from normal games unreleased for some reason to training products such as this.
For NES maniacs, or possibly shrewdly speculating collectors, the game clearly represents an irresistible draw.
So much so that, in the Yahoo auction, its initial asking price of ¥1,000 was soon inflated drastically, attracting 50 bids in four days, ending at ¥401,010. The special adapter required to play the game (Q-ta) was included in this price, though shipping was not.
The game was confirmed by the seller, who “tested it at a friend’s place”, to be in working order after five years in storage, and to be in reasonable condition. Let us hope so.
Sadly, images of this fascinating game in operation are extremely rare, so we are left to imagine what wonders of safety training delight it must hold.
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That's at least 5 in a half months worth of rent for me.
Where do these otaku keep getting their money from?
I'd like to know myself, because my ass is always broke!
Honestly, I'm more curious about the reason for a converter than I am about the game.
Using consoles to train employees. The Japanese truly are a generation or two ahead of the rest of the world.
Can it be considered abandonware?
Forgottenware?
That game is downloadable in a rom site. I dunno if it's still up though...It was way back 1999.
Really? May I see the site pls? (*interested)
I highly doubt that. I've spent quite sometime searching for a rom and have come up blank.
I couldn't even find a screenshot.
Sorry to disappoint you budding petroleum handling safety experts, but I think this one is going to slip by...
It must have cost a bomb!
hahah nice one :P but wow.. o.O 4000 u could buy a lot of butter with that
You could buy lot of butter with that money.
Isn't there even a rom in circulation?
I guess not since it's a game unreleased to the public.
And...this is why I just like emulators and roms, in instances where I can. Or where it just makes sense.
If I can't buy it in a way that'll support the company, I'll just emulate it. This stuff is nice and all if you're a collector, but it doesn't support the companies at all. It's sad that some people would want to make downloading this as a rom illegal and not want to release it for re-buy on Virtual Console. It's unethical.
Did you miss the part where people were saying you cant even find a ROM for this?
I think everyone missed the part where we heard that this is a hazardous materials safety training tool, written in Japanese.
Or are there really that many budding safety experts wanting to learn Japanese procedures, 20-year-old ones at that?
Ah yes, I supposed I commented before reading other comments is why. I also just skimread the article.
Well then we can only hope that someone who does own the cartridge does upload the rom onto the internet. For archival purposes. Don't want to see a single game disappear from history.
Sure, start taking up a collection like they did to dump the English NES Earthbound cartridge. I'm pretty sure the buyer isn't going to have a ROM dumped (which would erode much of the value) unless there's financial incentive to protect against that.
To be honest, if I was that person, I would still be more worried about it disappearing from existence than keeping it's value.
Call me a good Samaritan you might. Or an idiot of no caring for money. But I believe in gaming, and the preservance of gaming history, not collecting.
But then again I suppose if you wanted to be so sharing, you could make the auction paid via a paypal through a site that hosts roms. And have everyone pitch in who wants the sucker. Instead of pay for the whole thing yourself.
I wonder how much other games are near forgotten to history. I shudder the thought.
holy shit that's awesome but shit $4000 @@
GET THIS MAN A ROM DUMPER!