Celtics vs. Lakers for the Mega Drive might sound like an irrelevant sports activities title from the early 90s, however it’s really a “Holy Grail” collector’s merchandise, prized for its rarity. By no means formally launched within the EU, solely 13 PAL copies are confirmed to exist, and one simply offered for an eye-popping quantity. A duplicate was bought on eBay for $9,800, which is wonderful since NTSC copies might be discovered for less than $5-$10.
Prepared for launch, Digital Artwork’s warehouse was already stocked with copies on the market when Celtics vs. Lakers was cancelled. Licensing charges for the NBA had been oppressively excessive on the time, and as a substitute of rebranding the title to one thing extra generic, like “EA Basketball,” the choice was made to scrap it utterly and watch for Bulls vs. Lakers the next 12 months. Just a few copies leaked out, with EA documentation exhibiting almost 200 copies in existence, however solely 13 have been confirmed.
The sale for almost $10,000 is spectacular, however it’s nowhere close to the most important quantity a uncommon recreation has offered for, with a sealed and graded copy of Tremendous Mario 64 promoting for $1.56 million and a pristine copy of Tremendous Mario Bros for the NES going for an astonishing $2 million. What separates Celtics vs. Lakers from these two gaming relics is that it’s solely the packaging that makes the EA sports activities title a collector’s merchandise.
Inside the case, the precise Mega Drive cartridge is not any completely different from the NTSC copies accessible for a couple of {dollars}. It’s the packaging, and the distinctive case with PAL markings, that makes Celtics vs. Lakers so costly. Any copy with out the packaging wouldn’t be price even a fraction of the whole worth, making this one of many rarest, most unusual collectibles on the earth of gaming.
