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This sealed copy of the 1989 Prince of Persia was $5 at Sears and got donated to Goodwill - now it's sold for $2,000 on eBay
A sealed copy of the original Prince of Persia for Apple II was recently sold on eBay for $2,000, highlighting the value of rare retro games and reminding gamers to check the worth of old games before discarding them.
Prince of Persia originally launched in 1989 on the Apple II, and over the course of numerous ports, sequels, and reboots would eventually become one of the most influential games of all time - one whose legacy continues all the way through the Assassin's Creed series. Don't tell that to whoever just donated a sealed copy of the original game to Goodwill, though, because they just missed out on the opportunity to become $2,000 richer.
For notable collector's items, which are less likely to find the enthusiast collectors who are willing to pay big money for them when they're languishing on a thrift store shelf, Goodwill often sells donated goods on eBay. That, of course, includes old video games.
Last week, Digital Eclipse's Chris Kohler noted on Twitter that one Pennsylvania Goodwill branch listed a sealed copy of the original Prince of Persia for Apple II with a starting bid of 9.10 shipping and handling, on eBay. This copy appears to be in pretty much pristine condition, since it's basically new old stock, and it even still features the original $5 Sears price tag from back in the day.
Clearly somebody picked this game up for five bucks at a department store, and it likely sat unopened for ages in some closet before it ended up donated to Goodwill decades later and eventually hit eBay with a $2,000 asking price. It appears somebody was willing to pay that price, too - the auction ended with one bidder buying, and while it's possible that's some troll bid that will eventually be withdrawn, this bidder has a solid feedback record that indicates they're not likely to try a 'joke' buy.
Is a sealed copy of Prince of Persia for the Apple II actually worth two grand, though? I have no idea! The market for retro games on the various PC platforms of the '80s is not nearly as well documented as that for console games, and this original version of the game is rare enough that there are very few sales listings to compare it to. There's one other Apple II Prince of Persia - complete, but not sealed - listed on eBay with a 'buy it now' price of $2,000, but nobody's bit on that one.
This copy did apparently sell for $2,000, so it's worth that price to somebody. Just take this as a reminder, folks - double-check the potential value of any old video games you might wanna get rid of. They probably won't command a four-digit price, but you never know.
Here's how to play the original Prince of Persia games in 2024.