Long-Lost Pokémon Game Apparently Pops Up on eBay After 20 Years — Though You’ll Need $9,000 to Buy It
A Nintendo DS test cartridge that may contain the long-lost Pokémon Fishing Contest DS has appeared on eBay, with an asking price of €7,999 (about $9,145). The game was distributed only briefly at Japanese events and Pokémon Centres in 2005, so a playable copy could be significant for preserving previously inaccessible Pokémon software.
Pokémon Fishing Contest DS was a Download Play title available from May to August 2005 for a high-score competition, and it disappeared when players switched off their consoles because it could not be saved. The German seller says the cartridge boots to a Japanese high-score ranking communication screen, but its origin is undocumented and it remains unclear whether it contains the full game or only server-related code; no bids had been placed when IGN reported the listing.
In short
- Possible lost Pokémon game cartridge listed for about $9,145.
- The 2005 game was only temporarily distributed in Japan.
- Fans hope a preservation-minded buyer shares its contents.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
The cartridge could offer a rare chance to recover and preserve a Pokémon game that was available only briefly and otherwise vanished when players switched off their consoles. If it contains playable software, a collector or preservation group may see the high asking price as justified by its scarcity and historical value.
The case against
The cartridge’s origin is undocumented, and its seller’s description does not establish that it contains the full game rather than only communication code. At nearly €8,000, buyers may reasonably see the price as difficult to justify without verification, especially when the listing had attracted no bids at the time of reporting.
Explained simply
Pokémon Fishing Contest DS was a downloadable game distributed exclusively at Japanese events and Pokémon Centres between May and August 2005. It was a competitive fishing game that allowed players to compete for high scores.
The game had a critical flaw that made it virtually impossible to preserve: it could not be saved, so it would disappear whenever a player switched off their Nintendo DS console. Once the distribution period ended in August 2005, the game was lost.
Finding a working cartridge of lost software matters for gaming preservation, as it allows researchers and historians to study and archive games that would otherwise exist only in memory or documentation. Such discoveries help ensure pieces of gaming history are not lost forever.