Heritage Auctions took the first step into a new area of collectibles during their January 13, 2019 Sunday Internet Comics, Animation and Art Auction, when 25 video games were sold. The games were graded, certified, and housed in protective casing by Denver-based Wata Games, which helps to offer consistency and objectivity that can be achieved only through independent third-party grading.

“A lot of collectors are just as passionate about their childhood games as their childhood cards or comics,” Heritage Auctions Vice President Barry Sandoval said. “We thought these certified games would do well, and we weren’t disappointed.”

More than 30 collectors pursued The Legend of Zelda Wata 9.4, B+ until it ultimately sold for $3,360 to claim the top lot honor. The Classic Series version of this legendary Nintendo title was the last release of the game on the original Nintendo Entertainment System, and the copy offered here includes the grey, three-screw version of the cart. Sealed versions of this NES title are remarkably difficult to locate, especially in high grade.

Two other classic NES games saw a large volume of bid activity: Excitebike Wata 8.5, A and Dragon Warrior Wata 8.5, A. The former is a racing title designed by Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto, while the latter was originally released in Japan as Dragon Quest and is one of the most popular RPG series of all time. Excitebike ended at $1,140, while Dragon Warrior brought in $660.

“These were just the tip of the iceberg,” Sandoval said. “We’re going to auction more every week, and we have some real rarities on tap for our February signature auction.”

For more information about Wata Games grading services, look to our previous feature and review on Scoop.