Highlights
- A lucky Nintendo fan finds a working copy of Mario Party 7 in a $30 GameCube console, a great find for old-school video game hunters.
- Mario Party 7 was the last sequel in the series released for the Nintendo GameCube and can cost upwards of $60 or $70 online.
- Used GameCube consoles are typically expensive, but sometimes lucky fans stumble upon incredible bargains with hidden surprises like this.
A lucky Nintendo fan came across an unlikely find inside their recently-purchased $30 GameCube console: a working copy of Mario Party 7. The Nintendo GameCube was released in 2001 as part of the sixth console generation, and while it ultimately didn’t take the world by storm as much as the PlayStation 2 and original Xbox did, fans still have fond memories of the box-shaped system thanks to its nostalgic library of first-party titles like Super Mario Sunshine, Metroid Prime, and Luigi’s Mansion.
These fans have sought out working Nintendo GameCube systems through yard sales and online outlets like eBay, with some managing to find incredible bargains along the way. Normally, used GameCube consoles run at inflated prices, but every so often an unknowing relative will bring home a large collection of GameCube titles alongside the system or a lucky fan will stumble across the “holy grail” that is the Metroid Prime/Zelda: The Wind Waker combo bundle of old.
Sometimes the Nintendo GameCube console itself might include a hidden surprise, as was discovered by Reddit user Ish_Kibble earlier this weekend. They had managed to secure a used Nintendo GameCube for a surprisingly cheap $30 at their local Goodwill store, but the real jackpot came when the console was opened. Inside was a still-working copy of Mario Party 7, which other users in the comment section of Ish_Kibble’s post consider to be a great find at the discounted price they paid for the system that housed it for so long.
The Mario Party series spans back to the Nintendo 64, and no less than four installments were released for the Nintendo GameCube during its run. Mario Party 7 was the last sequel to come out before the launch of the Nintendo Wii a year later, and like all entries in the series featured a wide assortment of colorful minigames and playable characters from across the Super Mario universe. It retained the previous game’s use of the GameCube’s microphone peripheral and introduced support for eight players in a variety of different gameplay modes.
While it wasn’t the most warmly-received entry in the long-running Mario Party series, used copies of Mario Party 7 can cost upwards of $60 or $70 online - and that is just for the game itself. In contrast, Ish_Kibble managed to get a working copy for free with their $30 Nintendo GameCube, a truly impressive find when it comes to old-school video game hunting amid the various yard sales and secondhand stores of the world.