In 1986, Bandai released a game called Running Stadium for the Famicom. The game used a strange floor mat peripheral known as the Family Fun Fitness pad. The next year, the game was brought over to America and renamed Stadium Events.

Stadium Events was test marketed at select Woolworth's department stores. Very shortly after it's limited release, the rights to the Family Fun Fitness pad were bought by Nintendo, who rebranded it the Power Pad. Nintendo also purchased the rights to games made for the Power Pad, including Stadium Events. Nintendo decided to rebrand Stadium Events as well, renaming it World Class Track Meet. All unsold copies of Stadium Events were pulled from shelves and re-released with the new name.

Only a small handful of Stadium Events sets were purchased before the recall, making copies very rare and valuable. Last month, a complete boxed set of the game sold for an amazing $7500! This time around, only the game cartridge was up for auction. In the end, the loose cart sold for $860. Not nearly as much as it's complete cousin, but still a very impressive amount for a loose cart.

However, Stadium Events was just the warmup for the main event, the NES Championship Cart. Although it was only a "common" grey variation, it was still expected to sell for at least a few thousand. The seller had placed a reserve of $2500 on the auction, so if it was to sell, it would at least net that much. The real question was, could it beat the mark of $4213 set by the recently sold Famicom title, The Gentle Physics and Science of Hazardous Materials.

In the first few days of the auction, the price hovered around the $1000 mark as few buyers were testing the waters. Slowly but surely, the price inched higher and higher. Like any good marathon, the real players were hiding in the shadows, biding their time and waiting for the right moment to strike. Suddenly, with the auction half over, the price surged to $2500, meeting the reserve and guaranteeing that the cart would be sold. Someone had made a bold move by raising the bid so high this early. Perhaps he or she was trying to scare away the competition with a strong early showing.

When the auction reached it's final day, the real action started. The price shot higher and higher, however the same buyer managed to keep the top bid. Multiple challenges were beaten back as this one determined buyer held on to the high ground. Unfortunately, this was not their day as their high bid of $3200 was surpassed by more determined foes. As the last few minutes ebbed away, the price suddenly catapulted to $4210, an increase of $1000 in just one bid.

Victory was certainly in this final bidder's grasp. However, as all veteran Ebayers know, it's not over until it's over. With just 13 seconds left on the clock, the auction was sniped. The final selling price was an astonishing $4260! In the end, the NES Championship cart beat out The Gentle Physics and Science of Hazardous Materials by a meager $47.

With the economy reeling, you can expect more and more collectors to start selling off prized rare items to make ends meet. It will be interesting to see whether or not the high selling prices will continue, or if the recession will bring the price of these holy grail games down to a more reasonable level. Keep checking the PG blog, as we will continue to report on big ticket auctions as they surface.