$50k NES games stolen in robbery crooks took 850 games
In a bizarre turn of events, a family in Washington’s Pierce County discovered that their home had become the site of a high-stakes heist, not for jewelry or cash, but for a trove of nostalgic gaming history. The thieves walked away with a collection of retro Nintendo hardware valued in the tens of thousands of dollars, representing decades of family obsession.
The family recounted how intruders forced entry into their residence, seemingly possessing an intimate knowledge of their home layout. While they were made to part with personal items, including a family member’s tennis bracelet, the real prize was the vast collection of video games.
The stolen haul consisted of more than 850 NES games, items that formed the foundation of a lifelong passion for the family. For the family, this collection wasn’t just property; it was a thirty-year journey of collecting. Roger Holler, a member of the family, began his quest in 1984, spending countless weekend hours driving between game stores to hunt down and carefully clean the cartridges.
This wasn’t a casual hobby; it was a dedicated pursuit. According to the family, the passion involved hours spent traveling just to accumulate these artifacts, turning the pursuit of gaming nostalgia into a demanding, multi-year adventure.
The true worth of the stolen items highlights the incredible value of deep retro gaming collections. While some loose cartridges may fetch less, the market for rare NES titles is explosive. One such item, an ultra-rare NES Gold Nintendo World Championships cartridge, recently sold for a staggering $207,400.
The total value of the games taken from the home was reported to be over $50,000. For the family, the loss extended far beyond mere monetary figures. They lamented the theft of decades of family history and a cherished legacy that they hoped would serve as an inheritance for their grandchildren.
The collection included titles like The Legend of Kage, Ice Climber, Raid on Bungeling Bay, Rygar, and Donkey Kong 3, among hundreds of other beloved classics. What was stolen was more than plastic and circuitry; it was a chapter of family memory worth a fortune.