Extremely Rare Nintendo DS Development Cartridge Listed on eBay for $9,100
An ultra-rare Nintendo DS development cartridge containing the previously lost 'PokePark Fishing Contest' minigame has appeared on eBay for $9,100. Distributed exclusively at a 2005 Japanese theme park and designed with a self-deleting mechanism, the find offers video game archivists a rare chance to recover a piece of gaming history.
Key points
- A rare Nintendo DS development cartridge for the minigame 'PokePark Fishing Contest' was listed on eBay for $9,100 by a Germany-based seller known as catbearpaws.
- The title was originally distributed only to attendees of the short-lived PokePark 2005 theme park in Japan as a download-only game.
- The software was classified as lost media because it was engineered to erase itself from a handheld console upon powering off or after 12 hours.
- Japanese game archaeology enthusiast Yoshino brought widespread attention to the active eBay auction by sharing details with social media followers.
- The seller acquired the hardware through a private lot and is offering the item as-is without guaranteeing its functional state.
A piece of video game history long considered lost media has surfaced on the online marketplace eBay, drawing intense interest from retro gaming enthusiasts and archivists. A development cartridge containing the elusive 'PokePark Fishing Contest' minigame for the Nintendo DS has been listed for $9,100 by a seller located in Germany operating under the username catbearpaws. The rare item was brought to public attention by Japanese game archaeology enthusiast Yoshino, who shared details of the ongoing auction with their large social media following.
The game itself is exceptionally scarce due to its unique distribution and technical constraints. Originally, 'PokePark Fishing Contest' was released as a download-only title exclusively for visitors attending the temporary PokePark 2005 theme park in Japan. Compounding its rarity, the software was specifically programmed to delete itself automatically from any Nintendo DS hardware once the console was powered off, or after a strict 12-hour time limit.
Photographs accompanying the online listing display both sides of a bulky development and testing cartridge, alongside a functional demonstration showing a Japanese-language high-score ranking communication screen. According to the seller, the rare hardware was obtained as part of an acquired private lot and is being sold strictly on an as-is basis, with no official guarantees regarding its operational functionality or the permanence of the data contained within.
Sources
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