Graded Pokemon Game Goes for Big Money at Auction

By Marc Deschamps

The secondary market for graded video games has drastically risen over the last few years, and Pokemon remains one of the most popular video game franchises of all-time. That's a perfect recipe for anyone that happens to have a sealed copy of an older Pokemon game, and one Wata graded game just went for a whole lot of money. Earlier this month, a 9.6 graded copy of Pokemon FireRed sold for $3,109 at auction. It's the first time a Wata 9.6 has appeared at auction, and there were 21 bids before it came to an end.

News of the sale was shared by @GoCollect on Twitter, and an image of the graded copy can be found in the Tweet embedded below.

Pokemon FireRed released for the Game Boy Advance back in 2004. Released alongside Pokemon LeafGreen, the twin titles offered an updated remake of the original Pokemon generation. FireRed and LeafGreen offered new locations for players to visit and wireless trading thanks to the game's pack-in peripheral. Perhaps the most important inclusion for diehard Pokemon fans was the ability to trade with Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire. Notably, Ruby and Sapphire did not allow players to import their Pokemon from previous generations, so FireRed and LeafGreen offered the only way to obtain fan favorites like Charizard, Venusaur, and Blastoise.

The sale of graded video games has become controversial among some gamers. Longtime fans of retro video games have taken issue with the way overall prices have been driven up, and there have been accuations of artificial manipulation of the market. Wata Games in particular has been accused of manipulating the values of retro video games in a class-action lawsuit filed earlier this year. Readers can find out more about that lawsuit right here, but if auctions like this one for Pokemon FireRed have proven anything, it doesn't seem like the value of retro video games will be dropping anytime soon!

Have you purchased a graded video game before? How do you feel about the sale of graded video games like this one? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!

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