DALLAS, TX.- Serious bidders will zero in on the highest-graded sealed copy of one of the most popular NES games of all time when it is offered in Heritage Auctions' August 5-7 Video Games Signature® Auction.

Some of the most iconic NES games are among the launch titles for the console. When first offered, the NES Deluxe set included the console, all "necessary" accessories, and one copy each of Gyromite and Duck Hunt. Duck Hunt is the second best-selling game on the console, and has roughly 10 package variants. This context puts into perspective how extraordinary the Wata 9.2 A++ Sealed [Matte Sticker, First Production], NES Nintendo 1985 USA copy of Duck Hunt offered in this sale is.

"The matte Nintendo sticker sealing the game indicates this copy is from the first production run offered exclusively during the New York NES test market launch in 1985," said Valarie Spiegel, Managing Director of Video Games at Heritage Auctions. "Frankly, it's incredible Wata has graded a sealed copy of this variant at all. The number of known, unopened NES games from the 1985 event is negligible, at best. In fact, there are no known surviving sealed copies for roughly half the titles offered at the test market launch. Since this copy was meant for that event, one could say its historical significance rivals that of all the other existing copies of Duck Hunt, and it's the only one we know about."

Despite being 37 years old, it looks virtually new. This is the only known copy from the Manhattan test market that's never been opened.

Speaking of early NES launch title variants, this auction also features the highest-graded sticker-sealed copy of Excitebike - Wata 9.0 A Sealed [Gloss Sticker, Second Production], NES Nintendo 1985 USA, a beloved dirt bike racing game. This copy sports a gloss sticker, indicating it was among the first copies of any NES games released outside the initial NYC test market. The rarity of this copy cannot be understated. Wata has only graded one other factory-sealed copy of Excitebike of this variant, and this is the highest graded of the two.

Sourced directly from the family of Jim Kurland, the first editor of Sega Visions magazine, a Sonic the Hedgehog [NTSC Prototype], Master System Sega 1991 USA would have been used for development, production or demo purposes. The 1991 game is more commonly associated with Sega's 16-bit console, the Sega Genesis, but this 8-bit port that was released that same year was the final Master System game to release in the U.S. This prototype game features EPROM chips and is not housed in a cartridge; it has been tested and is confirmed to work. This item is protected by Heritage's NFTrust+, a digital fingerprint that photographically authenticates it as the original, recorded permanently in Heritage archives and in an NFT.

The auction also includes a selection of 10 unique NFTs minted from the notorious game – Night Trap – that incited the 1993 U.S. Senate hearing on video games. Each token is a complete scene, and only one token of each scene exists; there will never be another token minted of any of these video clips, and each is signed by the game's producer, Tom Zito. All of the NFTs were minted using the original Sega CD digital video files encoded for the game in 1992 by Digital Pictures. The Infamous Shower Scene referenced in the Senate hearing as well as The Night Trap Theme Song, are among the offered scenes.




Other top lots include, but are not limited to:

• Super Smash Bros. - Wata 9.8 A++ Sealed, N64 Nintendo 1999 USA - Single highest-graded

• Super Mario Bros. 3 - Wata 9.8 A++ Sealed [Oval SOQ R, "Bros." Right, Later Production], NES Nintendo 1990 USA – the first Wata 9.8 A++ copy of the retail release ever offered at Heritage

• Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! - Wata 9.6 A+ Sealed [Oval SOQ TM, Later Production], NES Nintendo 1987 USA

• Sonic the Hedgehog - Wata 9.6 A Sealed [Printed in Japan, Early Production], Genesis Sega 1991 USA

• Tom DuBois Top Gun: Guts and Glory Nintendo Game Boy Video Game Original Box Art (Konami, 1993). – Original artwork of the Game Boy game cover

• Tomb Raider - Wata 9.8 A+ Sealed [Sony Security Label], PS1 Eidos 1996 USA

• Resident Evil - Wata 9.6 A+ Sealed [Ridged Longbox, First Production], PS1 Capcom 1996 USA

"This auction's lineup fringes on overwhelming the number of significant finds that were 'unearthed' just before our consignment deadline hit," Spiegel said. "We are immensely grateful to our consignors because we couldn't have put this auction together without them. We hope collectors of every level will enjoy browsing through and bidding on this remarkable selection of games."