DALLAS, TX.- The offering of nearly 400 lots in Heritage Auctions' Nov. 19-22 Comics & Comic Auction makes it the largest such event the world's leading video games auctioneer has held. And within that trove is a selection of 35 sealed NES games that went unsold decades ago at a Kmart. This group, aptly referred to as the Kmart Collection, has been exceptionally preserved for almost 30 years, waiting to find new owners who appreciate their significance and importance in the history of video games.

Among the top draws in both the Kmart Collection and the auction as a whole is Metroid - Wata 9.4 A+ Sealed [Rev-A, Round SOQ, Mid-Production], NES Nintendo 1987 USA. This title marks the first in the series as well as the first appearance of one of Nintendo's "perfect attendance crew," intergalactic bounty hunter, Samus Aran, Nintendo's first playable female protagonist. The offered copy is tied for the highest Wata-graded round seal of quality variant.

"The Kmart Collection offers a beautiful variety of unsold NES games, the most notable of which is undoubtedly the Wata 9.4 A+ round Nintendo seal of quality copy of Metroid; which marks the introduction of a major Nintendo intellectual property," Heritage Auctions Video Games Director Valarie McLeckie said. "Aside from the sequencing of the certification numbers, the most visible indicator that a game is part of this collection are the vintage Kmart price stickers that adorns each game."

Nintendo World Championships 1990 Grey - Wata 5.0 Cart [#105], NES Nintendo 1990 USAis believed to be one of fewer than 100 grey "NWC" cartridges left. These unique cartridges were created to provide contestants in the Nintendo World Championships with the lineup and challenges for the contest. As such, they were likely originally intended to be scrapped following the competition. It is widely believed that Nintendo gave these cartridges to the tournament finalists as a sort of consolation prize to keep them in good spirits after investing all of the time and effort to participate. Today, this may considered to be one of the best prizes of all!

Pokémon Red - Wata 9.8 A++ Sealed [Rattata, Pixel ESRB, Mid-Production], GB Nintendo 1998 USA is far and away the highest-graded copy of this title that Heritage has offered to date. Pokémon Red is one of two games used to introduce the Pokémon franchise to U.S. audiences, and it has a reputation among collectors of being the hardest to find from the first generation of Pokémon games.

Super Mario Land - Wata 9.8 A++ Sealed [Yellow Screenshots, Mid-Production], GB Nintendo 1989 USA is the first Super Mario game for a handheld system, and this copy was produced before the title received a "Player's Choice" designation. This copy's pristine condition is remarkable, given that it is nearly three decades old.

Super Mario Bros. 3 - Wata 9.2 A+ Sealed ["Bros." Left, First Production], NES Nintendo 1990 USA. is a copy previously unknown to collectors with "Bros." formatted to the left in the title Super Mario Bros. 3. This small feature indicates that the offered copy is from the earliest production run of the game. Heritage Auctions recently sold a Wata 9.0 A copy of the same variant in July for $38,400, and the currently offered Wata 9.2 A+ copy is expected to be quite the contested lot.

The offered Kid Icarus - Wata 8.0 A Sealed [Rev-A, Round SOQ, Mid-Production], NES Nintendo 1987 USA, marks only the second time a sealed copy has been offered through Heritage Auctions, and the first managed to make headlines. Given how few previously unknown copies have surfaced since that story first made waves, it is expected that collectors will be anxious to lay claim to this copy.




The highest-graded copy of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Wata 9.8 A+ Sealed, NES Ultra 1989 USA, ever offered by Heritage Auctions is expected to spark fiercely competitive bidding. In March, a Wata 9.6 A+ copy of this title sold at Heritage. Since then, collectors have reached out repeatedly through Heritage's Make Offer to Owner program, offering well over twice what was paid for it earlier this year.

Among other highlights, the auction also offers a wide array of PlayStation longboxes, the earliest packaging type used for games on the first PlayStation, which are being offered for the very first time. These include, but are not limited to: the elusive Twisted Metal - Wata 9.0 A Sealed [Ridged Longbox, Early Production], PS1 Sony 1995 USA, Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors - Wata 9.0 B+ Sealed [Ridged Longbox, Early Production], PS1 Capcom 1996 USA and Gex - Wata 9.0 A Sealed [Ridged Longbox, Early Production], PS1 Crystal Dynamics 1995 USA.

Other auction highlights include, but are not limited to:

• Grand Theft Auto - Wata 9.8 A+ Sealed [Sony Security Label, Early Production], PS1 Take-Two 1998 USA

• Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! - Wata 7.0 B+ Sealed [Oval SOQ TM, Later Production], NES Nintendo 1987 USA

• Chrono Trigger - Wata 9.6 A++ Sealed, SNES Squaresoft 1995 USA

• Shantae - Wata 9.8 A+ Sealed, GBC Capcom 2002 USA

• Final Fantasy VII - Wata 9.8 A+ Sealed [Realistic Violence ESRB, First Production], PS1 Squaresoft 1997 USA

• Golf - Wata 9.8 A Sealed [Rev-A, Round SOQ, Mid-Production], NES Nintendo 1985 USA