August 12, 2011 11:00 AM | Eric Caoili



Video games are popping up all over A&E reality TV shows lately! There was that episode of Hoarders a few weeks ago featuring an obsessive arcade collector, and now we have an NES appearing on the latest Storage Wars (full episode streaming here).

If you've never seen the program, it centers on storage lockers that renters have failed to make monthly payments on, and thus are sold to auction hunters, who then sift through the locker's contents for valuables to sell and make a profit on.

In this episode, high-roller Mark has paid $925 for a locker, and finds it's mostly filled with junk like cell phone accessories, a propane stove, guitars, and audio equipment. But then he thinks he's struck gold after discovering an old NES "001" model.

He brags to the camera, "NES-001, guys. I want you to look at this very carefully. This is the first Nintendo DS built. The last one that sold with five games in the internet for $13,000." I'm sure any gamer watching this episode was cracking up over this.

The auction he's referring to actually did happen last year, when a woman sold an NES and five games for $13,105 on eBay -- but it just so happens that one of those five titles was a complete-in-box copy of super rare game Family & Fitness Stadium Events.

Before Mark can try to hawk the NES-001 for that kind of money, he decides to have it looked at by an expert at a game shop, who's skeptical that any NES console could fetch $13,000 unless it was a prototype or some other kind of unique version.

In the end, the expert not only determines that it's definitely not worth $13,000 (he estimates its value at $10), he tests out the NES and finds out that it won't even power on. The disappointment on Mark's face and in his voice -- priceless!

[Via Winroba]