The game Stadium Events
I've been reading and it seems this is one of those holy grails for NES collectors. I doubt I myself will ever own the game (not interested), but why is this one so ridiculously rare? Were there only a few copies made and it was discontinued or something?
Comments
-Dain
I cringe to think at what a sealed copy would cost.
Interesting info. I figured stand alone carts wouldn't be quite as hard to get, but still expensive.
I cringe to think at what a sealed copy would cost.
I think Bronty bought the last one for $3,000
I think Nintendo just bought the rights to the game from Bandai and renamed the game to WCTM shortly after its original release...
that's my understanding as well. who knows though. There's a lot of rumor and not a lot of verified fact.
My understanding is bandia came up with the game and the running pad fun family fitness. They started making them and put them out first in Woolworths in new york. As soon as nintendo got wind of it the either sued or threatened to sue bandia for making nes games. Bandia pulled the mat and game shortly after nintendo changed the name and the design of the mat and started selling what is now know as the power pad and world class track meet. This is the story ive heard
That part about the lawsuit can't be right, can it? Chubby cherub, MUSCLE, and ninja kid had already been out for almost a year (as *licensed* titles) when SE came out
Interesting info. I figured stand alone carts wouldn't be quite as hard to get, but still expensive.
I cringe to think at what a sealed copy would cost.
I think Bronty bought the last one for $3,000
Well, I wouldn't call it the 'last' one, there's only been one to hit ebay (the copy sold in 01 was the same copy. I bought it from the 01 buyer).
Besides, I think the more salient point is what will the next one cost. It won't be $3,000, I don't believe. I've had people approach me offering more than that, and I haven't even been offering it for sale (because its not, unless someone wants to bankrupt themselves trying to buy it).
I just wonder if some day someone might run across a whole wharehouse of them. kind of like motorodeo and ikaria warriors for atari
Its possible. In which the $3k purchase won't be looking so hot!
My guess is that NOA looked at Bandai's FFF games in Japan and thought they were the perfect counter to growing parental and media concerns in the US over American kids getting fat and lazy playing Nintendo. I don't know how the test market for SE came about, but it was clearly a case of the two companies being in bed together and making plans that would be mutually beneficial.
Am I correct in saying that there are only around 2000 copies of this game? (NTSC)
I'm also curious to know how many copies are out there. I've heard as low as 300 and as high as 5000 depending on who you talk to.
Am I correct in saying that there are only around 2000 copies of this game? (NTSC)
I'm also curious to know how many copies are out there. I've heard as low as 300 and as high as 5000 depending on who you talk to.
way more than 300 IMO. I think it would definitely be 2-5k. My guess would be 3k. Its easier to find loose than myriad and there were 800+ of those.
Originally Bandai was test marketing it, but I can Garentee there were more than 300. Nintendo made all liscensed carts in the NES era and had minimum production numbers. I'm trying to remember but I think it was 5000 units. It doesn't matter if it was Bandai or whoever...every liscensed cart had to be produced in atleast a the minimum number. In fact these minimum production numbers are what pissed a bunch of developers off. In the SNES days Nintendo lowered the number to 2000.
Now I'm not saying that there's 5000 stadium events out there, but there probably was 5000 made. These are production numbers, not sell through. I would guess that no more than 2000 were probably sold before Nintendo bought the rights and had Bandai recall their stock. The remaining stock was probably destroyed so don't think there's 3000 SE's sitting somewhere cause they're not. It's far cheap to write these off as a loss and destroy them, than store them for 20 years. In fact it may have been part of the deal with Nintendo that the Bandai stock be destroyed.
Really the true question is how many were sold. That's the number you wanna know. 300 seems pretty low to me, even for a test market. I'd think 1000-2000. As for complete copies...what's the rate of boxes surviving? 40%?...10%?...I haven't really haven't done any research arcoss all the titles to see if it's roughly uniform or anything. I do however feel that sealed copies have got to be extremly rare. Most people at that time opened their games...there weren't collectors...most unopened copies were probably pulled and destroyed, and the only sealed ones you see today are the result of a relative buying it for a child and forgetting to give it to them for some reason. something to that effect.
Originally Bandai was test marketing it, but I can Garentee there were more than 300. Nintendo made all liscensed carts in the NES era and had minimum production numbers. I'm trying to remember but I think it was 5000 units. It doesn't matter if it was Bandai or whoever...every liscensed cart had to be produced in atleast a the minimum number. In fact these minimum production numbers are what pissed a bunch of developers off. In the SNES days Nintendo lowered the number to 2000.
The above assumption would only hold true if SE had had a standard blanket release across the US *before* Nintendo decided they wanted to do it themselves, in which case it would not have been a test market at only one chain of stores in one city, but, rather, a nationwide recall of remaining in-store stock. The fact that SE appears to have been released in test market form leads one to believe that the ordeal was premeditated, with NOA's decision of whether or not to license the Pad for themselves being dependant upon SE sales. If this is the case, the test market release of the game would not have been subject to NOA's minimum order quotas; it would've been a number decided on by Nintendo and/or Bandai based upon presumed test market conditions. Bottom line, then, is that the SE production numbers could be anything from 500 to 3000 or more.
Really the true question is how many were sold. That's the number you wanna know. 300 seems pretty low to me, even for a test market. I'd think 1000-2000. As for complete copies...what's the rate of boxes surviving? 40%?...10%?...I haven't really haven't done any research arcoss all the titles to see if it's roughly uniform or anything. .
First... its definitely not uniform. The earlier the production date on the game, the less are around in complete form IMO (hence relatively hard to find the original versions of early release games - way harder to find a hangtab complete smb than a white oval complete smb). Second.... no way are there 40% of the boxes out there for really any title IMO. I'd say the rate of survival is 2-20% depending on the title and more importantly the date of production. Total guess, obviously, but its a low number.
I'd say the rate of survival is 2-20% depending on the title and more importantly the date of production. Total guess, obviously, but its a low number.
I have to disagree with this. About 98% of all Cheetahmen II boxes are still with the cart
I'd say the rate of survival is 2-20% depending on the title and more importantly the date of production. Total guess, obviously, but its a low number.
I have to disagree with this. About 98% of all Cheetahmen II boxes are still with the cart
lol, OK yes, that one title
Now I don't believe all 5000 copies still exist, but It wouldn't surprise me if half of those shipped sold before nintendo bought the rights to the pad and game and had the remaining Bandai stock recalled and destroyed. I don't know if nintendo would have been interested had the test market not been doing well. Now only a certain % of those sold still exist, etc, etc. I can't say at all how many copies are still around just how many were originally made. I could be wrong and the minimum might have been 10k, It was one or the other 5 or 10k. I'm pretty sure it was 5k, but either way those are both very small numbers and a small percentage of those sold through and survive today.
5000 produced, some sold then they were recalled and destroyed
300 - 500 left out there
box and manual extreamly rare probablly less than 50
i was also under the impression that bandi did not have a license from nintendo to make the game or the pad. thats why it was recalled and then nintendo made there own versions.
also there is a pal version with is not as rare.. maby worth $100 - $200 for the bare cart..
last 2 NTSC copies on ebay sold for over $900....
a couple of years ago i saw a sealed copy of it sell for $3000... dont know who bought it though... someone on this site may have it i dont know....
Ultimately though, the number that's more important than the production number is the destruction number. And guessing at that is even more of a crapshoot than guessing at the amount produced.