The Nintendo World Championship contest consisted of eight rounds, all separated into three age groups. Contestants entered by going to one of the 30 competitions held at different cities across the country (which were all part of Nintendo's "Power Fest 1990"). On the first two days of the contest, contestants would play in groups of up to 50, and the 7 players with the highest scores would than go onto the main stage to compete against each other. The game cart's timer was set to 6 minutes and 21 seconds for the competition.
There were 90 finalists total (30 in each age group). The championship was held at Universal Studios, Hollywood...where each of the age group's finalists competed simultaneously. The top seven highest scorers were brought on stage for the semi-final round. It finally came down to the top two players, who competed head-to-head for the title of Nintendo World Champion. They were Rich Ambler and Thor Aackerlund. Thor ended up being crowned the champion...with 2,800,000 points scored in the final round.
The 90 Nintendo World Championship carts that were used in the competition were given away to the 90 finalists. The carts were gray...but there were also 26 gold colored versions of the NWC cart that were given away to the winners of a contest Nintendo held in Nintendo Power Magazine (25 to the second place winners, and 1 to the first place winner). So, there are 90 known gray NWC carts, and 26 gold ones. Now, are you ready to cancel the down payment on your new house so you can afford to buy one of these babies? A gray cart will usually sell for $3,000 - $6,000...and the even rarer gold cart will sell for (are you ready for this?) $15,000 - $20,000!! At least collectors who want to buy an NWC cart don't have to worry about finding it complete...as this game does not have a box or booklet.
Now, it would be pretty cool to own a copy of this competition cart to play against your friends and see who can rack up the highest score...or even just to see how you stack up against the NWC's champion, Thor Aackerlund. Sadly, it's most likely impossible that you'll ever get your hands on one of them...cause after all, this is the "Holy Grail" we're talking about here. Luckily though...a website that has one of the original carts in their possession started making these reproduction carts:
For just a measly $55, you can own a reproduction of The Holy Grail. The cart may look different on the outside from the originals...but the game on the inside is the EXACT SAME. The cart even has the dip switches for setting the time, just like the original ones had. Still, many collectors loath reproduction carts such as this one, the same way many gamers loath emulation...but for someone who doesn't have a few thousand bucks lying around for the real thing, it's a pretty nice deal.
So, there you go...the most rare and sought after game on the NES.
99% sure this is a picture of me meeting Howard Philips onstage at the Dallas Nintendo World Championships in 1990. I was sitting stage left at the semifinals when he would've been there (and I do remember meeting him), it looks like me and my curly hair in the back, the player's name is John, and I wore t-shirts over a long red shirt because I thought it looked cool at the time. Do you have a better scan of this or any other pictures??
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