An ultra-rare video game from the 90s, with only 50 copies ever produced, has reportedly been destroyed after arriving in the United States with severe damage.
The item is a trial version of Tsukihime, a visual novel originally sold at Comiket 57 in 1999 for just 100 yen, roughly $0.70 at the time.
Only 50 copies were ever made, and it was released long before TYPE-MOON became a global name through the popular Fate series.
Because of its extremely limited run, the trial disc is considered one of the rarest gaming artifacts ever produced by the studio. So, when a fan managed to finally track down this grail from the gaming world, they should have been excited, but sadly, they were only met with shock and confusion.
Devastating damage to rare gaming artifact
On February 26, a X user called Keripo uploaded an image showing the devastating state that the rare game was in. The floppy disk had been completely shattered, with the plastic casing being both severely bent and broken. Even the promo poster that came with the game had been crumpled, leaving the collector utterly shocked at how their parcel had been handled.
“My Tsukhime Trial Edition finally arrived, one of only 50 copies in the world. Only to discover that US Customs had removed all the bubble wrap and physically destroyed the floppy disk. Will file a report but literally crying right now,” reads the post.
Keripo was keen to point out that the sender had gone to great lengths to keep the contents safe, wrapping the item in bubble wrap and even going as far as to sandwich the floppy disk between cardboard sheets so it would not bend or move during transportation.
However, the unpacking video shows that all these protective measures had been removed, with sticky tape stating the box had been “opened and resealed by customs.”
The incident has since gone viral among commenters, with some sharing in Keripo’s frustration and sadness over the loss of such a rare gaming artifact.
“Not only is the Tsukihime Trial Edition one of the most famous visual novel relics, it served as the progenitor of a series that catapulted Type-Moon to become the company it is today, inspiring so many creators. A tremendous loss to see one of the very few copies left destroyed,” wrote one commenter.
We were unable to find any public listings for the trial version of Tsukihime, and with only 50 ever produced, it’s incredibly hard to tell how much the game is worth. Either way, it’s an incredible loss for fans and collectors looking to preserve a piece of video game history.
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