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How much would you be willing to pay for a New Nintendo 3DS XL in 2026? How about one signed by Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto himself? Within the next week, someone's going to be the proud new owner of one, as the winner of 2015's Nintendo World Championships has put his prize system up for auction.
The 2015 Nintendo World Championships winner was John 'John Numbers"'Goldberg, who came out victorious after competing in a number of games, including Splatoon, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, Mario Kart 8, and Super Mario Maker (the latter of which hadn't actually been released at the time). As we reported back then, his prize wasn't just a trophy, but a signed handheld – the newest model, at the time – presented by Mario and Zelda creator Miyamoto.
On the eBay listing for the 3DS now, John Numbers reminisces on his win, while saying: "It's been over a decade now, and I thought it might be cool to put the system up for auction. I figure someone might like to get their hands on a national treasure like this."
The listing is full of pictures of the champion posing with the 3DS and his trophy to prove its legitimacy, and as for the condition of the prize itself, he says that "the box has obviously been opened a few times, and has a bit of wear on it, but the 3DS itself is largely in perfect condition, and appears to be working properly (I checked this on the same day of posting this listing)."
Alright, this is a big one, and I have thought about this for a while, but I've went and put my prize 3DS, from the 2015 Nintendo World Championships, up on eBay. It was signed by Shigeru Miyamoto himself!Here's the link: https://t.co/TdIVKlcG6G pic.twitter.com/Y0EmAAZfDLMay 25, 2026
For what it's worth, the system itself doesn't appear to have a custom design for the tournament like the old Pokemon World Championships Nintendo DS consoles that were given out to a number of winners, but that autograph from Miyamoto, plus the significance of where it came from? I can understand why John Numbers calls it a "national treasure," and folks bidding on it clearly think the same thing.
At the time of writing – with a full week to go before the auction ends – bids for the 3DS have already reached a whopping $15,100, and I highly doubt that it's finished climbing yet. How high it might go is another matter, but I can only imagine console collectors will be going feral trying to secure the one-of-a-kind handheld.
John Numbers has clarified that the trophy he won isn't included in the listing, but he will throw in "some 'official' trading cards of myself, made by Walter Day back when the World Championships had concluded." If you're interested in making a bid, though, it should be noted that "I won't be able to do international shipping for this piece" – according to a post on his Twitter page, he's planning to deliver it by hand, which makes sense given the value of the system. So, if you're outside of the US, you're apparently out of luck.
As for the price it's reached, well, the 2015 champion was already blown away when it passed $11,000. "I gotta say I really wasn't expecting this to pop off the way it did," he wrote at the time. "I was sitting here perfectly ready for it not to get any takers, or for me to part with it for close to what the starting bid was."
And apparently, the bidding war is fierce. One person in the replies shares a screenshot from a "high-end" video games Facebook group, in which one apparent bidder (whose name has been redacted) writes: "Just a public service announcement. Whoever is outbidding me on the first place NWC prize on eBay. Expect to pay through the roof. As I'm not quitting. That is all." …Best of luck to anyone who wants to compete with them.
Be sure to check out our ranking of the best 3DS games of all time.
