According to a new report from Kotaku, Donny Fillerup, a Dutch collector and founder of Console Variations, recently officially listed a 24-karat gold-plated Nintendo Wii console on the auction platform. Although this special edition console sounds quite luxurious on its own, the story behind it is even more interesting. As recently as 2009, THQ, a game developer on the verge of bankruptcy, tried to present this special console to Queen Elizabeth II of England in an attempt to promote a collection of somatosensory mini-games that ended up being rather dull. Big Family Games. However, the console never made it to Buckingham Palace, let alone the Queen’s hands, from start to finish, due to various strict regulations related to the royal gift itself. In the end, this special edition Wii console was returned to THQ’s hands.
In 2017, the special edition console was in the media again, when an unnamed collector successfully bought the solid gold Wii console from THQ, and the collector after a while. It was resold to Donny Fillerup from the Netherlands.
As recently as October 2021, Donny Fillerup tried to put the ill-fated solid-gold Wii console on eBay for an auction with a reserve price of $300,000. However, the eBay platform officials just amended the relevant policy at that time, stipulating that the account should not sell products with a price exceeding a reasonable range, and the product was officially removed from the shelves accordingly. As for this auction, it will be held on the Goldin platform, which has no similar restrictions on commodity prices.
This top grade has been officially listed on the platform for bidding, and any player who is interested and has sufficient financial resources canParticipate in the bidding. Bidding for the console is currently at $2,200, and while it’s possible to hit a higher price before bidding officially closes on May 21, it seems that it’s shy of the $300,000 Donny Fillerup last expected. There will be a small difference.
It is worth noting that the preservation quality of this host does not seem to be very perfect. From the display pictures, you can see some signs of slight peeling of the gold on the edge of the fuselage. Considering that Nintendo has officially shut down the Wii console’s online play and store services many years ago, this luxury special edition console seems to be purely for collection and viewing.
Regardless, the console still seems to be attracting the attention of some collectors. Unlike many other special edition consoles, this is a pretty special console with a pretty interesting story behind it. Like Nintendo World Championship and other fantasies in the eyes of collectors, these collectibles represent a microcosm of a period in video game history. The 24K solid gold Wii represents a time when the gaming industry still used bolder methods to promote and market its games, and collectors who end up buying this console will surely remember this story.