$15,000 Pokemon game destroyed by US Customs

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US Customs has reportedly destroyed an extremely rare and valuable copy of Pokemon Yellow valued at over $15,000.

US Customs has reportedly destroyed a rare and valuable copy of Pokemon Yellow worth over $15,000, with apparently no reason given.

Stephen Kick, the CEO of retro game reboot publisher Nightdive, said that a friend of his had ordered a WATA-certified copy of Pokemon Yellow, but it was destroyed by customs.

WATA is an organisation that verifies and certifies valuable video games, trading cards, and more. The organisation’s rating system scores items out of 10, with 10 being an item in perfect, new-in-box condition. Any marks or blemishes detract from the score, and higher scores typically attract high prices when sold.

Kick’s friend had received the graded copy of Pokemon Yellow in the mail, and prior to its destruction by customs, the game had received a rating of 9.2 by WATA. Similarly scored copies of the game have sold for over $15,000 at auction and in private sales, according to Gamesradar.

But the game will probably not be selling for quite that much anymore. The seal on the game was ripped and thrown away, Kick said, and the acrylic case the game was stored in was busted. The cardboard box the game came in was also cut in half.

It’s not known why the game received such harsh treatment from US Customs, but typically invasive searches of packages are conducted when staff suspect they may be concealing contraband material.

Kick didn’t say whether his friend had paid a high price for the copy, or if it was a copy of the game they’d had graded themselves. It’s also not known whether the Customs branch responsible issued a response, or if Kick’s friend will get some kind of compensation for their loss.

The Pokemon franchise has been running continually since 1996, and is the largest media franchise in the world. Picture: Nintendo

It’s not the only expensive video game item making the rounds lately. It was recently revealed in a music video that Drake bought a gold PSP for $30,000. The PSP was custom-made for Grammy award winner Pharrell Williams, and was sold at auction last year.

It also recently resurfaced that Lewis Hamilton gifted his brother a gaming station, sporting a PS4 in a special briefcase containing a screen. The setup is likely to have cost more than $1500, much less than some other setups, but still a sizeable amount for what is essentially just a portable PS4.