Since E3 2002, Nintendo had been promoting its new e-Reader platform by handing out prize cards in the showroom. The winning cards were all presumed to have been lost or destroyed, but one has (apparently) just popped out of the void and is for sale on eBay.
As this story from 2007 recalls, Nintendo representatives at E3 2002 were handing out e-Reader card packs to participants, and among them were some Kirby cards whose sole purpose was to serve in a contest. . There were three different results you could get from these otherwise identical cards; a result “without price” on the most common cards, 100 “second prize” cards and only ten “first place”.
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If you ever got a ‘first place’ card, you had to hand it over to Nintendo to claim your prize, and those cards were then destroy, which led to the “first place” Kirby cards supposedly becoming the rarest E-Reader card, both because of their numbers but also because participation in E3 in 2002 was so limited.
A word of warning before we go any further: While the seller has a long-standing account dating back to 2005, with a 100% seller rating, this card has not been independently verified, nor has its card been verified. assessed state.
That said, they claim the card was swiped into an e-Reader to confirm it was a winner, and have provided photos of a configured Game Boy Advance and e-Reader showing the congratulatory message. There’s even a video of the card being swiped:
As such, if it is proven to be genuine, it will not be. mint, but considering the origins of the card and the need to be tested for verification purposes, that would be a bit of an expectation.
The card currently costs $ 1,500 at auction, but if you’re feeling both lucky and relaxed with your money, there’s an unopened e-Reader card pack from E3 2002 (which may also contain a Kirby winner). for $ 4,400.
