A 20th-Anniversary PokePark Fishing Contest DS Cartridge Sold for a Record Price
PokePark Fishing Contest DS has caught the attention of Pokémon collectors thanks to an unusual Nintendo DS cartridge that surfaced after nearly 20 years. The developer cartridge, auctioned off, sold for a very high price, but it’s still unclear whether the software inside is actually the lost game or another tool used in the event.
PokePark Fishing Contest DS Cartridge Sold for $11,000
With the completion of the auction, the rare Nintendo DS developer cartridge sold to an anonymous buyer for €9,505. This amount is approximately $10,965. It is unknown whether the new owner will examine the contents of the cartridge and share them with the public. Therefore, whether the software is the lost PokePark Fishing Contest DS game remains a mystery for now.
The PokePark Fishing Contest DS was a small fishing game distributed locally in 2005 at the temporary PokePark theme park, Pokémon Festa events, and Pokémon Center stores. Players earned points by catching fish of varying sizes and rarities, and submitted their results to ranking machines located in the centers. The game only ran for 12 hours and was erased when the Nintendo DS was turned off.
The cartridge sold was reportedly opened on a retail Nintendo DS and displayed a ranking dialog screen in Japanese. However, the translation of the text on the screen as “ranking transfer” strengthens the possibility that the cartridge contained the event software that managed player scores, rather than the game itself. Nevertheless, this software is considered an important piece of Pokémon archival material as it has never been publicly shared before.
Pokémon collectors want the cartridge to be backed up and its contents released online, rather than being lost in a private collection. The exact origin of the cartridge remains unclear as the seller lacks additional documentation to verify its history. If the PokePark Fishing Contest DS is indeed found in the cartridge, one of the most interesting Pokémon games, considered lost for years, will have been rediscovered.
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