One of the Rarest Sealed GoldenEye 007 Copies Has Surfaced (And It’s Already a Major Collector’s Find)

For a spy that’s ideally supposed to stay under the radar, there sure is a lot of talk about James Bond. The rumor mill has been working overtime, spinning stories about who will take up the 007 mantle after Daniel Craig retired from the movie role five years ago. We’ve heard all kinds of theories, from Idris Elba to a female actor becoming the next 007, but it seems Amazon either hasn’t decided yet, or just isn’t yet ready to announce who the next Bond. But in the world of video games, things are a bit better for Bond. IO Interactive‘s 007 First Light gave fans one of the best Bond experiences in a long time, with fans even throwing actor Patrick Gibson’s name into the mix for big screen consideration.
However, even with how great 007 First Light is, there is one Bond game  that is undoubtedly the best of the best and a rare copy has just surfaced.

Originally released in 1997 and based on the 1995 film GoldenEye, GoldenEye 007 is widely considered by fans to be the best Bond game ever as well as one of the great first-person shooter games. While copies of the game in general are fairly elusive not unlike the famous spy himself, this particular copy is very rare. It’s a 1997 original release edition of the Nintendo 64 game with a PSA 9.8 A++ rating. There’s only one other copy like this known to be in existence, Now, this newly surfaced copy is up for auction at Heritage Auctions and is already proving to be a major collector’s find.

An Ultra-Rare N64 Copy Of GoldenEye 007 Could Break Records

While popularity of a game definitely contributes to its value when it comes to collecting, this copy of GoldenEye 007 particularly stands out. It isn’t that GoldenEye 007 in general is an impossible game to find. the “Players Choice” version of the game is relatively common when it comes to game collecting and there have been several copies of that particular version of the game that have sold somewhat recently for lower amounts. It’s the ultra-rare nature of this particular game. A copy in similar condition went up at auction in 2020 and sold for $19,200 and then another sold in 2021 for an incredible $192,000 — a huge jump in just one year. Given that it’s been five years since a copy this good has surfaced, It’s expected that this GoldenEye007 could top out at $300,000 or more.

Of course, the real legacy of GoldenEye 007 isn’t how valuable it’s become, but how well-regarded it remains all these years later. The third highest selling Nintendo 64 game of all time, the game was unique at its time for offering a first person shooter style game with a mission-based campaign. Add to that the use of Bond’s legendary gadgets and a split-screen multiplayer mode, and you had a game that was truly unique, very well-developed, and not only set the standard for games after it, but also created core memories for many gamers. It’s that quality and nostalgia that, when paired with the rarity of this copy sets it up to be an absolute collector’s grail — and it is sure to sell for a huge amount.