_Brink_

Here were the 5 Screw owner totals on the rare variant thread on the defunct NA site: (just interesting for reference) Star Force 11 Gotcha! 15 Mega Man 17 MTPO 18 Jaws 31

Love and agree with most of this list. One adjustment in my opinion: Star Force is more rare than Gotcha/Jaws - definitely a 9. You're lists are so helpful and amazing - you do so much for the community - thanks for all that you do!! The Super Pitfall glut was my fault, unloaded 10+ on ebay in 2023. I couldnt stop buying them over the years when they were cheap. Finally had to punch myself in the stomach and say ENOUGH!

Totally agree! If the sale doesn't involve a grandma or a widowed mother (with or without cancer), you gotta pay $10 for a $30k game and sleep easy. That average wanker would've spent the money on an overpriced used Jeep anyway.

Beckett certified signatures, nonetheless. Well, CASE CLOSED!

While browsing WATA population reports, I noticed under LOOSE: Maybe this has already been discussed, but Id love to hear the backstory on the person grading these. This is a feel-good story, surely to warm hearts across the globe!!

I'm the new owner of this cart Previous owner had it WATA graded as "GEN" & sold on Goldin.

Finally have the three double labeled/relabeled games now. Question: what label is hiding under the Pit Fighter game? Its clearly different than the one on top.

Quick update. I now have found a 3rd Kid Niki 5 Screw with the floating "O" on the SOQ. All chips the same, "12" punched on the back label.

Glorious!!!

I wasnt including double labels. I do have the NHL 95 & Race Drivin though - missing Pitfighter. Currently am 17 away on the complete CHN set as well (not FCO yet) - really feels like Im all alone pursuing this over the past few years with very little competition. Im a sucker for condition, otherwise Id be much closer. Hopefully will finish it within a few more years. I'll check out the rom variant list for sure. Thanks

Yes, I actually received it today. It arrived in a 6x6x6 box, just rattling around, lol. Seller definitely has a questionable ebay rating. Best of luck!

I won the SML -2. Only 12 away from completing the variants list on this thread now (not including NFR's - havent gone for those at this point). Thanks for the collective info over the years guys!!

Cars, Art, Coins, Sportcards, Comics and pretty much all collectible markets will have a downturn at some point - its healthy and normal. Most of us dont remember or didnt live through the mid 70's / early 80's or true hardship times earlier than that, so its hard to imagine prices plummeting - similar to stocks & crypto right now.

Yes, definitely harder to find.

Hey Hybrid, you can put me down for the DK Jr Math 3 Screw and the Gyromite 3 Screw - top right in the photo. You have my others listed already. Thanks!

Per my recent thread - I now have two Kid Niki's with the floating "o" on the SOQ.

Here they are. Thanks

About five years ago, I found a NES Kid Niki with a "o" on the seal of quality - seemed like a one-time error. After years of searching all Kid Niki 5 screws for sale on various websites, I was able to just find another one and purchased it. So the question is: Is this now an obscure variant or a two-time error? Would love to hear some thoughts on this.

Ahh yes, the NES variant rabbit hole. In loose Black Box games alone, I have 131 variants and know of at least 3 I'm missing. For all 5 screws loose, I have 141 label variants - not including 9 factory mismatches & 1 upside down... and I know of 4 I'm missing (SE, MM, Tyson orange bullets) - so at least 145 out there. It will never end! Diving Ninja probably has a higher list amount. I do have an extra Silent Service 5 Screw CIB, Gotcha, Jaws & Super C - all in nice condition - but looking for variant trades. Would take a fair chunk of change otherwise - not really looking for cash. The only Star Force I have seen for sale was on eBay six years ago and I couldnt sleep for days until I won it. Best of luck - its a fun journey!

One time I bought Treasure Master for NES everyday for 2 months. So 61 copies. So if my neighbor buys a $90k truck that he will never truly use, I cannot judge him. Sometimes being a collector gives clarity in other aspects of life. There are tradeoffs everywhere in life. Owning yours adds to your authenticity. I would love to meet someone in real life that understands my collection and gets it. However, I dont really tell anyone about it for fear of bragging, etc. I'm not worried about the opposite judgment of it being silly.

Someone sent me a picture of their Castlevania III 5 screw, responding to my WTB Post about 2 yrs ago, maybe it was "Armegeddon Potato". Either way, the game was not even close to being a legit 5 Screw. It appeared someone tried to remove a real label and paste it on a 5 screw cart. It was rough around the edges, very crooked and glue residue everywhere. I will try to dig up the pictures. Its nearly impossible to remove an NES label intact - even one that is starting to peel.

Yes, I am the owner of the 5 screw Track & Field II. It is in near perfect condition and has a the back sticker with no "Rev A" and is stamped with a "12". Purchased this from Laketown two years ago. Pics below:

So he still owned at least two of the controllers as of 2018 to your knowledge? I tried reaching out to him to get more background info on how he came to own four NWC controllers but I did not get a response. There must be an interesting story on how he managed to attain them. Given all of the pictures Ive accumulated as well as the sales history online, etc, it appears that less than 15 of these have appeared to have survived at this point. Any one person owning four of them is fascinating.

A WATA Facebook post a few months ago featured a pair of two NWC Competition Controllers used in the actual 1990 event - #1 & #2. This was my first glimpse of WATA graded NWC controllers, as opposed to the VGA graded versions, which were, in my opinion, not the most flattering way to display them. I really fell in love with the WATA setup so I decided to get one of my controllers graded & protected. This has also caused me to resume researching NWC Controllers, their backstory and how many actually survived the competition and somehow escaped into private hands. Personally, I was browsing Goodwill online back in 2016 when I first laid eyes on one of these controllers being offered in a typical NES lot. After years of collecting and even acquiring a complete set of loose NES carts at that point, I had never seen or heard of one of these controllers. I quickly went onto NA and found proof of existence, some of which is detailed below, and bid hard on it. I ended up winning the lot from Goodwill Santa Ana, CA, and to my surprise when unboxing, not one but two #1 NWC Controllers were in the lot! In all of the listing pictures only one was visible. However, when reexamining the listing, the pictures showed two controllers plugged into the console. I wish I knew the interesting story leading to this donation. I spent a lot of time visiting various sites and compiled a rough timeline of when these controllers have popped up and their corresponding commentaries. I am aware this is incomplete and I am confident some VGS members know much more, firsthand or otherwise. - Can anyone fill in the gaps or provide additional insights/knowledge to the timeline below? - Do any current VGS members own NWC Controllers? - How many exist? I know it is a small amount and after compiling pictures and backstories. Some that were VGA graded were regraded with WATA and many of the same controllers changed hands multiple times over the years. Timeline: NWC Controller 2 first documented sales: · Oct 2007 – EBay sale of NWC controller 2 for $226. · Dec 2007 – Digipress trade of controller 2 for $300 worth of games by ‘Kentuckyfried’. Note: the D-pad and buttons were restored to red and black colors from the florescent aftermarket colors. o NintendoAge Forum conversation regarding Digipress article: § Bunnyboy:"As far as anyone knows, it is a controller from the real NWC contest. That is completely unconfirmed but there isn't another explanation. There have been a couple found and it isn't just a homemade thing. The NWC and 2 are silk screened / painted onto the plastic, not stickers. Its possible the 2 means those are controllers that started the contest instead of being used by the contestants." § Dain Anderson: "The last one that sold on eBay, if I recall correctly, went for an insane amount of money " ($226) § Bunnyboy response: "Only controllers with 2 on them have been found (about 3 total?) so it is not likely a contestant or station number. I have heard stories that a custom box was used to start all the NES systems at once, but it might have just been done with a few of these controllers and someone pressing them instead." NWC Controller 1 first documented sales: o 2011 – eBay sale of first known NWC controller 1 for over $1600 o Chris Tang, 1 of 90 city champions (LA), user name VicViper573 on NintendoAge, announced controller #1 for sale on 1/22/11. He originally tried to sell it in Oct 2009 but had a change of heart. He was also selling #183 NWC grey cart. o Conversation cited the last controller sold was a year earlier for controller #2 for $236. § "Several have turned up in the past, but they've all been the 2nd controller. There was some speculation that a 1st controller didn't exist because the second is needed on start up, I guess this kind of settles it." § "It's also nice to see that #1 controller. Something I've heard for years that SHOULD exist... but was never discovered”. § “Last controller I saw on ebay was a number 2 one, and that went for $226. Never seen a number 1 controller for sale tho” – Penguin – NintendoAge. o From Chris Tang’s listing: “To give a background of the controller: At the 1990 Nintendo World Championships, players played on special competition game stations. On the tour, some of these stations had special NWC control pads. These controllers were like a normal NES pad, except the face featured a design with the Nintendo World Championships logo, and a large number in the upper right corner: 1, or 2. Presumably this was done so that the tour crew would be able to easily tell which controller the player would use (#1) and which one the crew could use to start the game on a game station (#2). As the tour progressed, these controllers became increasingly rare as pads broke down after public use and normal ones replaced them on the game stations. By the time the tour hit my state of California, only a handful of stations still had the special controllers. Personally I remember trying to get onto the stations with the special ones since I thought they looked cool and it felt more special. So, I had an idea. The tour was packing up, and since I had become the city champion, the staff was pretty cool with me... So asked one of the crew about the controllers, and begged for one - I was about ready to do anything to get one. I was glad I did, and was given the ultimately rare item seen here, and it happened to be in really nice condition (unlike most of the ones used on the tour) It was the coolest thing ever to have, especially after Nintendo sent me my NWC cartridge, I could re-live the NWC experience by playing the actual competition game with the controller it was meant to be played with. Its hard to say what it is worth. Is it just a controller? Or should it be even higher because of the ridiculous rarity, condition, and ties to NWC? I've been told it should be valued higher than a gold cart since its apparently rarer, and an item that receives physical abuse by its very nature that is still in good condition. To me, it is a prized possession that I hate to part with, that I have precious memories associated with - but the bottom line is that I could use the money now to better my future. And ultimately it will become worth whatever people - you guys - are willing to pay for it.” o April 2013 eBay sale of VGA graded 85 Set of 2 NWC Controllers - #1 & #2 by ‘Eatengovcheese’ o From his listing: “I am the original owner of these 2 NWC controllers. I got them when I attended the NWC in 1990 in NJ. My father's friend who worked for the stadium where the event was held, was able to get these for us through a contact within Nintendo that day. I thought they were a really cool keepsake at the time and used them until 92 or 93. Pretty much the time I was done with my NES. My true passion was and still is vintage GI Joes. I ended up packing these guys away in the early 90's. After speaking with a colleague at work about the NWC recently, I remembered I still had them. I located the NWC controllers and tested them both. They worked perfectly! I sent them away to the VGA to get graded and cased up. I took a picture of them before sending them off, and left the polybag on the case when taking the pictures after they returned from the VGA with 85 GRADES. (It looked like it would be a real pain getting them wrapped up nicely again so I just left them in it) When doing research on these controllers I could not find a COMPLETE SET like them anywhere, and even more so in NEAR MINT condition. Just to put the grades into perspective, the NWC World Champion's personal #1 Controller scored an 80 with the VGA. Based on the rarity of this possible one of a kind set, this may be your only chance to acquire these pieces of gaming history as a whole!” o April 2013 eBay sale of ungraded Controller #1 for $1500 Public Sales/Offers of NWC controllers since 2013 (that I could find) o Jan 2014 ebay sale of VGA Graded #2 Cart 85+, badly coiled – by ‘Earlyworm’ o June 2014 NintendoAge sale of 4 controllers – by ‘Gwyndion’ o 1) Brand New! #1 NWC Controller- $3,000 o 2) Used NWC #1 Controller - $2,200 o 3) Used NWC #1 Controller - $2,200 o 4) Used NWC #2 Controller- $2,200 Wata Facebook May 2020 o These unique controllers were made specifically for the 1990 Nintendo World Championships to be used by players at each of the kiosks for competition. They are numbered as “1” and “2,” and while both are extremely rare and difficult to come by, the number 2 controller is even more so. From THOR: (polygon.com) o The number 1 controller was actually used in the touring NWC and a few have surfaced over the years. The majority have been the “number 2” version. This number 1, is only the second one I have seen. The grade is silver, but that is understandable since these gems were used by thousands of kids in numerous cities.

Still interested to hear the opinions on if some of these rare variants should be Wata graded to verify authenticity and to preserve. I keep all of my variants in a dark room but Id love to be able to display them in a main area of my house. (without the fear of my kids destroying or sun damage)