A gaming console that was once sent to Queen Elizabeth II has made its way to eBay, and is expected to fetch quite a pretty penny. The golden Wii has a pretty interesting story, but perhaps it was not fit for a queen.
How this golden Wii got its royal imprimatur
In a stroke of brilliance in terms of marketing ploys, one games company decided to make the queen the recipient of their new console a few years back. Alas, the delivery was rejected by Buckingham Palace, likely before Her Majesty even saw the box it came in.
It eventually made its way to the shelf of a Dutch video games collector, who has now put the item up for sale, for a cool $300,000 (USD). The system is known, formally, as the “Golden Wii of the Queen of England.” The console does indeed have 24K gold plating.
The pending sale has generated quite a bit of media coverage, as the item is deemed rare, even “legendary” by gaming types worldwide.
When asked by reporters why he decided to put the console up for sale, the owner, who gave his name simply as Donny, said, “I’m moving on with life.” Could that imply he’s begun to find his obsession with all things video gaming tiresome?
Although he didn’t say that, he did acknowledge that he needs the funds to move to a new place and start over. Donny is a co-founder of Console Variations, a website dedicated to gaming.
Although friends and colleagues encouraged him to list the prized item on e-Bay for half a million dollars, or even a million, Donny rejected that notion for several reasons. He doesn’t want or need that much money to buy a new place, he says, and he wanted to keep the price within reach of lots of collectors, not merely the super-rich.
Nonetheless, $300,000 is not a small sum, and it may take an individual with deep pockets — and a similar obsession with gaming and collecting — to pony up that amount.
Since he chose to put the console on e-Bay and has added OBO — or best offer — in the listing, there is a slim chance the system will not fetch what Donny is hoping. But he felt putting it on that platform would give an opportunity to a wider audience of potential buyers, and he is prepared to stick to that choice, even if it means selling the Golden Wii console for much less than the original asking price.
But those in the field suggest Donny will indeed get at least what he’s asking, and that he may get considerably more if a bidding war breaks out.
Collectors of all objects — books, spoons, war memorabilia — are a unique breed, and Donny is no exception. He readily admits that he finds it very difficult to let go of the things he has accumulated, and he struggled with the decision to sell the Golden Wii, but he decided it was time to get on with a new way of life.
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In collectors circles, some find the decision mystifying, while others applaud it. Like so many others who fanatically collect, Donny seems to have grown into a new phase of maturity, and perhaps he’s also just run out of space. Add to that his need for money to start over, and it’s easy to see why he’s selling the console. How much he will actually get for it remains to be seen.