LINCOLN, Neb. (KMTV) — In the late 90s, a video game store shut down and everything went into boxes and was stored. After the boxes sat in storage for more than 20 years, the owners finally decided to do something with all those games.
What's the catch? All that merchandise could potentially be worth millions.
Some of the games include "Final Fantasy 3," "Cool World Turtles in Time," and "Runsaver."
These are hundreds, possibly thousands, of video games that are both sealed and opened.
"It sat in storage for twenty-something years and the owners decided to do something with it. The evaluation of the games is highly speculative. It has changed immensely. They needed help navigating to understand really what they had, what it was worth. And they came into the Gameroom in Omaha and instigated a conversation," said Chris Thompson, owner of the video game store, Gameroom.
Thompson is also serving as a liaison for the collection owner, who wants to remain anonymous.
"I got a chance to have contact with the owner and we spoke. And the story unraveled a little further and we started talking about the dynamic and some of the complications with it. They allowed me to take a little bit of footage and release a teaser just to see what would happen. To see if there was a lot of interest. We've had a substantial amount of interest. And now we're here," Thompson said.
Thompson says it's "highly speculative" to put an estimate on what these games are worth but it's safe to call them priceless.
"When you sell a Picasso, you think you know it's worth a bunch. But you don't know until a sale and these are one-of-a-kind one-time sales," he said.
For Thompson, this one-of-a-kind situation speaks to the relevance of pop culture and games.
"I have never ever seen anything like this. Nor do I expect to get to see anything like this again and to have somebody walk in my front door and ask for help was a certain privilege," he said.
What happens next? Thompson says the owner will make a decision on what they want and how they want to see it happen. Thompson can't guarantee a sale, but their priority is to "do right" with the collection and community.
To see the collection, click here.
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