Limited edition consoles have been around since consoles were first made. I mean, when you have the chance to sell more consoles for only a little extra work, who wouldn’t make them? Because of this, the gaming world has seen all sorts of artistic variations and designs of our favorite consoles.
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And no one has made quite as many limited edition consoles as Nintendo, only making more and more as their newer consoles are released. And with that many limited editions, it’s only natural that some of them end up a lot rarer and harder to get than others. From ones you still have a tiny chance of obtaining to the absolutely priceless, here are some of the rarest Nintendo consoles ever made.
10Advance Wars DS
While sometimes limited editions can have unique and detailed designs, others can simply be color swaps or simple patterns, but even these designs can be saved with the right presentation. TheAdvance Warslimited edition DS was a DS with a simple camo pattern printed over it.
What makes this variant interesting is everything surrounding it, the variant was made and sent to the press to promote Advance Wars: Dual Strike. But the variant was sent in a fun way, using an actual army ammunition box to hold it, the game, and a special mug. Sadly, this bundle was for press only and only 50 were ever made.
9MTV Gamecube
Although not too many of them are all that interesting, brand deals are a common form of limited edition console especially back in the day, versions of the console with a logo just slapped on it. But sometimes, they’re a little more interesting such as the MTV Gamecube, a series of specially painted Gamecubes made as a deal to promote the Gamecube’s release.
29 of these were made and given away through the month of December in 2003, one for each day except for Christmas and New Year’s Eve. There were several variations on the design, making each variant even rarer. The cherry on top to all this is that the Gamecube was the least fitting console for MTV as it couldn’t play CDs or DVDs, unlikeits competitors, making it impossible to use for the music and video MTV was known for.
8The Art of Wii
Do you want rare consoles? Well, how about 6 different one-of-a-kind Wii designs all part of the same contest? The Art of Wii was a contest for Canadian Nintendo fans where they could enter one of six giveaways for a uniquely designed Wii.
Each of the 6 Wiis was given a unique artistic design by a different artist ranging from cutesy to comic book style to abstract and more. The contest made sure to give all the credit and promotion to these artists as the site gave a quick biography for each artist, giving them their time to shine.
7Gold Zelda GBA
Rarity usually also implies a level of monetary value to something and while that’s not always true, it’s definitely true when the item in question is made of gold. One limited edition console possibly lost forever is the limited edition 24k Gold Minish Cap GBA SP.
These special GBAs were made for a magazine contest where readers could find a golden ticket inside a Minish Cap GBA bundle to earn a console plated with 24k solid gold. Though despite the stakes of the contest, these consoles are mired in mystery. Despite claiming to have been discovered, many are still skeptical saying these are fakes due to being made of plastic instead of the claimed gold, some even wondering if the consoles were made at all. Alas, it’s a mystery that may never be solved.
6Chibi Robo Wii U
There are plenty of ways limited edition consoles get passed around whether through limited sale, as gifts, through giveaways, or through contests. While the last is a bit rarer to see, the results are almost always interesting due to the surrounding circumstances. Such is the case for theChibi RoboWii U, a special Wii U with a little logo plastered on it in commemoration of those who won it.
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This is another that was only distributed in Japan and barely distributed at all as it was only given to three winners of a contest. This contest was done as a way to promote the new Chibi-Robo! Photo Finder game as the game regularly held contests for the Nostaljunk mode, one of the prizes being this unique console! 5 of these are said to have been given away but only three have been found so far.
5Hot Summer Donkey Kong DS
Usually, a limited edition design makes sense with it either just trying to pretty up the console in general, advertising a specific game, or being a deal between some company… But sometimes these designs require a bit more explanation to make sense. The Hot Summer event was a Club Nintendo event in Japan to encourage more sales and membership with prize giveaways for members.
The highest prize was the Hot Summer DS’s, DS consoles with wireframe designs of Nintendo characters’ heads with the words “Hot Summer”. The rarest and strangest currently recovered of these is the Donkey Kong version, made as a second wave in Europe with Hot Summer replaced with “special limited edition 2005” and these were only given to celebrities to get some press. The other 4 special limited editions have not been found.
4Mario 64 DS
One-of-a-kind console variations are perhaps the most coveted type, not just by collectors for their rarity, but also by archivists because they are the only one of their kind. Dealing with these can be stressful as they can be so easily lost to the sands of time. Such was the case for theMario 64DS.
This DS with a design of N64 Mario swimming with bubbles over the console was meant to be a prize for the N-Zone magazine’s 10th anniversary giveaway. But, the Mario 64 DS was thought lost for a time as the giveaway for it was canceled due to issues in the company. But eventually, the console was rediscovered as former members of the magazine had it in their possession and it was given away to be preserved and kept safe.
3Link’s Awakening Switch
Sometimes a limited edition console doesn’t need some gimmick to it or a ridiculous backstory to be wonderful, sometimes just a solid console design is all that is needed to make it irresistible, and make the rarity all the more painful. Because anyZeldafan would likely want to pay extra for this beauty of a limited edition Nintendo Switch themed afterLink’s Awakening.
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Going further than the paint jobs of a lot of Switch variants have, this limited edition turns the small docking station into a large statue with Link standing on the beach in front of the mountain up to the giant egg, the Switch itself nestling nicely between the steps, and the controllers while mostly unchanged have a nice finish and extra designs. Sadly, only one of these was ever made as part of a contest by the French store brand, Micromania.
2Nintendo Playstation
While limited edition consoles are often just redesigns of existing consoles, the Nintendo Playstation is truly a limited edition console. The Nintendo Playstation was originally a partnership between Nintendo and Sony to make a CD add-on to the SNES, an uneasy deal worked out between them, but just before release, the project collapsed.
The president of Nintendo at the time realized the deal would give Sony total control and most of the profits over this new Super Disk format. So in response, Nintendo formed a deal with Phillips to take over the development of this CD console before ending the Nintendo Playstation project. While the project was thought to be lost forever, the only existing prototype was found in 2015, leaving it as perhaps the rarest console in the world.
1The Queen’s Golden Wii
Another one-of-a-kind variation, this Wii with solid gold plating has quite the story behind it. As part of THQ’s marketing to promote their new game Big Family Games, they decided to send a copy to the royal family and Queen Elizabeth herself alongside a Wii plated in 24k solid gold. Now, while it would be fun to spread stories of how the Queen was an avid Nintendo fan because of this, there is no proof of this besides rumors.
Instead, the console was actually shipped right back to THQ due to palace regulations and the console was left to rot in the company until it went bankrupt in 2013, but this didn’t leave it lost time as the console ended up passed between collectors, spending the most time with a man by the name of Donny Fillerup until finally it was sold a final time in 2022. Fillerup finally parted with the console for 26,000 dollars, saying that he wished to “move on with life” and wanted just enough money to get his own place and live comfortably, not wanting to gouge people with the estimated 1 million price tag he could have put on it.
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