Rare Pokémon game that deletes itself found 20 years later
A rare Nintendo DS cartridge connected to the 2005 Pokémon game PokéPark Fishing Contest DS has appeared on eBay, drawing bids of more than $9,000. The game matters to preservationists because it was designed as a temporary Download Play experience and effectively deleted itself after limited use, making original material exceptionally scarce.
Players caught Pokémon and earned scores based on size, level and rarity, which could be submitted at Pokémon Centre locations in Japan. The game first ran at a Japanese theme park for six months, then at events and shops, but became inaccessible after 12 hours or when the DS was switched off; while fans recreated it in 2021, the original ROM is not publicly archived, and it remains unclear whether the auctioned cartridge contains the full game or only score-submission data.
- A rare self-expiring Pokémon DS game cartridge is bidding above $9,000.
- Preservationists hope to prevent it disappearing into a private collection.
- The cartridge may not contain the complete original game.