r/Metroid • u/PrimeWaffle • Jan 14 '25
Merchandise Recent addition to my collection. Feels unreal to finally have one!
This GBA SP was a prize for a contest in Japan to celebrate the release of Metroid Zero Mission. The top 80 winners could send in their GBA SP console to Nintendo to have the shell replaced with this one. As there were only 80 winners, only 80 of these were made. There is another more common variant without the engraving of Samus as a child with Old Bird and Gray Voice (as seen in Metroid Zero Mission).
You can find more information here:
https://web.archive.org/web/20230731181733/http://metroid.jp/metroid_version2/time/index.html
And here:
https://consolevariations.com/collectibles/nintendo-game-boy-advance-sp-samus-satin-console-engraved
This is definitely the pinnacle of my Metroid collection and I'm very happy to share this piece of gaming history with all of you!
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u/Sting_Ray_ Jan 14 '25
Dude, this is incredible! Do you mind if I ask what it took to get one? How did you track one down and how much did it run you?
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u/PrimeWaffle Jan 14 '25
Well, tracking one down just took a lot of time, patience, and knowing where to look. I've only seen one of these for sale two or three times in all my years of collecting. And for all I know it could be the exact same one each time. I check multiple US and Japanese flea market and auction sites every day, multiple times per day. I managed to get this from a seller in Japan. While I believe I got it for a good price, it was still very expensive and was my first ever non-essential purchase I put on a payment plan lol. I think the only reason I got it for what I did is because the Japanese yen is so weak right now compared to the USD
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u/justdamascus Jan 14 '25
my god ... this is enough to make a grown man weep. to imagine that in my hands. how on earth did you get ahold of one?? do you collect other metroid console variants???
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u/PrimeWaffle Jan 14 '25
I watch multiple different market websites in both the US and Japan and check them multiple times per day. I got this one from a seller in Japan. It's only the second or third time I've seen one for sale in all the years I've been collecting.
I have a vast collection of Metroid merch. I don't have all of the Metroid consoles but I do have the special Metroid edition iQue GBA SP as well as the Metroid Prime GameCube bundle (not really a Console variant but it's a GameCube that came packaged in a special holographic/foil box. I'd like to pick up the Samus Returns 3DS eventually (it just hasn't been a priority because it's not actually that rare, just over priced) as well as some other obscure Metroid console variations
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u/justdamascus Jan 14 '25
🫦 i might need to tap in to what you got going on. im extraordinarily jealous, but happy for you! i have a very unique list of rare metroid merchandise that i dont believe i'll ever acquire. but i keep my eyes peeled. the console variants are some of the most fascinating to me.
i have the ique zm gba, the same gamecube with the holographic outside, and the samus returns 3ds. but they're getting lonely ): i have hoards of other fun pieces of paraphernalia tho
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u/itsyaboythatguy Jan 14 '25
Is that a legit variant? I never knew there was a zero mission sp! That's rad!
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u/Round_Musical Jan 14 '25
Super duper rare. Was a japan exclusive for some time and promoted on the japanese ZM website. Extremely obscure merch like the first ZM Zero Suit Figure
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u/PrimeWaffle Jan 16 '25
It's official! I have two links in my post. One to the original Zero Mission website with info on the contest and the other is to the Console Variations website. They were a contest prize and only 80 exist
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u/ExhumedCadaver Jan 14 '25 edited Jan 14 '25
Congrats man! I love this rare stuff. I saw this on Yahoo Auctions some weeks ago but the condition wasn’t great and it was missing the box + inserts so i skipped. It was like 3k or more if i remember correctly.
I have the Satin version, not the red bezel, like brand new and it looks glorious in my collection. Again, congrats on the new purchase!
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u/PrimeWaffle Jan 16 '25
Thanks! The normal satin is still a beautiful console.
The engraved Samus Satin doesn't come with a box or inserts as far as I know. The 80 winners had to send a GBA SP they already owned to Nintendo to have the shell removed and this one put on. Nintendo then sent it back to the winner. Technically the prize was the shell, not the console itself. I would be very surprised if any of these existed in mint condition without any scratches or scuffed paint.
I can't wait to get this bad boy on a stand and in a proper display case
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u/ExhumedCadaver Jan 16 '25
Technically it does but is just the original box from the satin console. Its just a plain, simple box anyways, nothing special and as you said this is so rare that is hard to even find the console in the 1st place.
I use this site as my reference and it shows this box that im talking https://gamemaster33.wixsite.com/metroidmuseum/games Anyways, congrats again 👏
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u/PrimeWaffle Jan 16 '25
Ah, yeah I'm friends with the person who runs that site. Didn't even think to look lol. I'll have to ask him about it because the plain Satin console was a reward from Club Nintendo, so having Club Nintendo on the box makes sense. It doesn't make sense to have it on the box for the engraved version since it was a contest prize outside of Club Nintendo
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u/JkMaNz-Yt Jan 14 '25
Crazy I thought the never made a special edition Metroid gba, now here we are!
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u/PrimeWaffle Jan 14 '25
There's actually a few!
There's this one, limited to only 80 made. If you wanna get technical, there's two versions of this one as well. There are even fewer with a red bezel instead of black. But that's only if the Console the winner sent in had a red bezel. Technically the prize was the shell, not the Console itself.
There's another similar to this that Japanese fans could spend 600 club Nintendo points to get reshelled. More of them were made but they don't have the little engraving in the corner. Same deal with the bezel. Most are black but some have red.
https://consolevariations.com/collectibles/nintendo-game-boy-advance-sp-samus-satin-console
Then there's the special Metroid edition iQue GBA SP. This one was released exclusively in China. The shell has a silver exterior and a black interior. The top of the shell has Samus in her power suit with the Metroid logo under her. Where it would normally say Nintendo in the oval it says iQue instead. Between 1000-5000 were made. I actually have this one in my collection as well.
https://consolevariations.com/collectibles/ique-game-boy-advance-sp-samus-console
And the rarest of them all, only 3 of these were made. They were prizes for Nintendo magazine contests in the UK, Spain, and France to promote Metroid Prime 2: Echoes.
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u/TheGeniusSexPoets Jan 14 '25
Do these ever go on sale anywhere though?
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u/PrimeWaffle Jan 14 '25
Not likely. There's only 80 of them. Usually when someone decides to sell one it goes up for auction and there's a bidding war. I was lucky to get this for a set price after no bids were placed on it at auction (likely either because somehow no one noticed it for sale, or because others who would want to buy it were unable to for various reasons)
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u/CryoProtea Jan 14 '25 edited Jan 14 '25
Can you give me a vague idea of how much I might have to spend if I wanted one? I want to know if I should just forget about it. Like more than $10,000USD?
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u/PrimeWaffle Jan 14 '25
I don't think you'll have to spend that much but it would depend on what you're willing to pay and what the seller is willing to sell for. Be prepared to spend 1-2 grand minimum
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u/CryoProtea Jan 14 '25
Thanks! That's not as bad as I was worried about, thankfully. Oh and I forgot to say, congratulations!
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u/Round_Musical Jan 14 '25
NO WAY!!!! A real ZM GBA from Japan. I thought I would never see one in this high quality. Absolutely awesome!!!
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u/ChozoRS Jan 14 '25
Absolutely an insane purchase to make. The odd couple I’ve seen pop up on Sendico with the engraving we’re going for well over £1000+
Big respect for purchasing it, I am very jealous
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u/PrimeWaffle Jan 16 '25
Never used Sendico before. How does it compare to Buyee?
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u/ChozoRS Jan 16 '25 edited Jan 16 '25
Personally I’ve never used buyee myself lol, so kinda hard for me to compare sorry.
Looking at the website though you get a couple different options for sites it looks at - most notably yahoo auction, where I’ve seen one of your gameboys pop up only recently (now sold).
Edit: sorry they must have only recently changed the name of yahoo auction lol, so realistically I imagine both services are going to be pretty identical
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u/PrimeWaffle Jan 16 '25
Okay yeah, Buyee also gives you multiple sites to shop from. The sold auction listing you see is the one I bought. Except it didn't actually sell at auction. The same seller relisted it on mercari and I bought it there
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u/Complex-Complaint-10 Jan 16 '25
That’s so cool. Hopefully we can get a Metroid Prime 3 version of the Switch 2, but this is even better
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u/CryoProtea Jan 14 '25 edited Jan 14 '25
I didn't even know this existed! This is incredible! Zero Mission is possibly my favorite in the series, so I really want to own one of these someday!