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Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Nintendo’s 1991 Campus Challenge used a custom cartridge combining Super Mario Bros. 3, Pin Bot and Dr. Mario in a timed, multi-game contest. A known surviving cartridge turned up at a New York garage sale in 2006 and sold on eBay for $20,100 in 2009, according to Guinness World Records. The evidence supports calling it a known survivor—not proving that exactly one cartridge escaped destruction.
What was on the Campus Challenge cartridge?
The cartridge brought three games together for Nintendo’s 1991 Campus Challenge: Super Mario Bros. 3, Pin Bot and Dr. Mario. Brian Parker’s 2009 NintendoAGE account describes it as a custom cartridge made for the event, rather than a standard retail release. NintendoAGE, “Nintendo Campus Challenge” (2009).
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How did the competition work?
According to NintendoAGE’s account, competitors moved through a timed sequence spanning all three games:
- Super Mario Bros. 3: Collect 25 coins.
- Pin Bot: Reach 100,000 points.
- Dr. Mario: Score as many points as possible before time ran out.
This format made the cartridge a purpose-built event game: players had to complete the first two objectives and then use whatever time remained to score in Dr. Mario. NintendoAGE reports the event was held at 58 college campuses; that figure comes from the 2009 collector account, not an official Nintendo history page. NintendoAGE (2009).
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- New entries in the main series of Pokémon RPGs arrive on Nintendo Switch simultaneously in late 2019
- The Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield games take place in the newly discovered Galar Region
- Galar is an expansive region with diverse environments - an idyllic countryside, contemporary cities, thick forest and craggy, snow-covered mountains
- Fans will have the opportunity to visit Gyms in the Galar region in their quest to become Champion
- Newly discovered partner Pokémon join in this new iteration of the games - Grookey, Scorbunny and Sobble
How was the surviving cartridge found and sold?
Guinness World Records reports that a Nintendo employee had retained the copy later found by collector Rob Walters at a New York garage sale in 2006. Walters resold it on eBay in 2009 for $20,100, the sale amount Guinness records for the rare Super Mario videogame. That is a documented historical sale, not an estimate of the cartridge’s current market value. Guinness World Records, “Rarest Super Mario videogame”.
Did Nintendo destroy every other cartridge?
The claim that Nintendo destroyed all but one is stronger than the surviving evidence establishes. NintendoAGE says most competition cartridges were destroyed. Parker’s article also quotes the event organizer estimating that three or four might have survived, while only one was known at the time. The careful distinction is therefore between one known survivor and exactly one surviving cartridge: the sources do not establish the total number made or account for every copy.
Was a reproduction made?
NintendoAGE reported in 2009 that a reproduction cartridge was available from RetroZone. That historical note does not establish that it is still available, and a reproduction should not be mistaken for an original cartridge used in the competition.
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