If you’ve spent any time scouring garage sales or digging through dusty cardboard boxes in your parents' attic, you've probably dreamed of finding a small, gray plastic cartridge that's worth more than a mid-sized sedan. For most people, that dream is just a daydream. But in the world of the Nintendo Entertainment System, one specific title makes that fantasy a reality. We’re talking about Stadium Events, a game that has become the definitive "holy grail" for collectors worldwide.
It’s a weird story. Honestly, the game itself isn't even that great. It’s a fitness simulator. You plug in a giant plastic floor mat, you run in place, and your digital avatar runs on the screen. It was part of the Family Fun Fitness series. But because of a corporate rebranding decision by Nintendo of America back in the late 1980s, this specific version of the game was pulled from shelves almost as soon as it arrived. That blink-and-you-missed-it retail window created a scarcity that defies logic.
Most people don't realize how close they might have come to owning one.
The Day Bandai Became Nintendo
In 1987, Bandai released Stadium Events in North America. It was designed to work with their "Family Fun Fitness" mat. It featured four Olympic-style events: the 100m dash, 110m hurdles, long jump, and triple jump. It was clunky. It was loud. It was a workout.
Then Nintendo stepped in.
They saw the potential of the floor mat peripheral and decided they wanted it for themselves. Nintendo bought the rights to the technology and the game from Bandai. They rebranded the mat as the "Power Pad" and the game as "World Class Track Meet." To make sure there was no brand confusion, they ordered retailers to pull all existing copies of the Bandai-branded Stadium Events from the shelves and return them to be destroyed.
Only a few hundred copies actually made it into the hands of consumers before the recall happened.
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Expert collectors like Pat Contri (better known as Pat the NES Punk) have spent years documenting the exact nuances of this North American release. While the European (PAL) version of the game is relatively common and can be snagged for a few hundred bucks, the NTSC North American version is a different beast entirely. We are talking about a game where a loose cartridge—no box, no manual, just the plastic—can easily fetch $10,000 to $20,000 at auction. If you have the box? You're looking at a down payment on a house.
Why Stadium Events is the Ultimate Collector's Flex
The market for rare games is volatile. Prices for games like Super Mario Bros. or The Legend of Zelda fluctuate based on grading scores from companies like Wata or VGA. But Stadium Events is different because its value isn't just about "clout" or "hype." It's about a verifiable, historical mistake.
It’s the scarcity.
Estimates vary, but most serious historians in the gaming space believe there are only about 200 copies of the North American version in existence. Out of those 200, maybe 20 are "complete in box" (CIB). And factory-sealed copies? You can count those on one hand. In 2017, a high-grade sealed copy sold on eBay for nearly $42,000. By 2026 standards, considering the way the high-end collectible market has matured, that number looks like a bargain.
But here is the kicker: people still find them.
Every couple of years, a story pops up about someone finding a copy at a Goodwill or in a bulk lot from a local estate sale. Because the label looks so generic—just some athletes running on a track with the Bandai logo—it’s easy for the untrained eye to mistake it for a $5 sports game. It doesn’t have Mario on it. It doesn’t have Link. It’s unassuming. That’s exactly what makes the hunt so addictive for the community.
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Spotting a Real Copy vs. a Reproduction
Because the stakes are so high, the market is flooded with fakes. If you see a copy of Stadium Events for $100 on a marketplace, it’s a fake. Period. No one is that lucky.
- The Label: Genuine labels have a specific semi-gloss finish. Repros often look too shiny or too matte.
- The Board: You have to open the cartridge. A real Bandai board will have specific chip identifiers (like the NES-NT-USA markings). If you see modern wiring or a "glob-top" chip, it's a counterfeit.
- The Weight: Real NES cartridges have a specific weight. High-end collectors often use precision scales to see if the internal components match the expected mass of an 80s-era PCB.
The "World Class Track Meet" Misconception
You've probably seen the "Power Pad" bundle in your life. Maybe it was in your basement growing up. That bundle came with a game that had World Class Track Meet, Super Mario Bros., and Duck Hunt all on one cartridge.
That is NOT Stadium Events.
Even though the gameplay in World Class Track Meet is virtually identical to the original Bandai release, it holds almost zero collector value because Nintendo produced millions of them. The price difference between the two is staggering. You can buy the Nintendo version for the price of a burrito. You buy the Bandai version for the price of a luxury car.
It’s a classic case of supply and demand. The supply of the Bandai version was artificially choked off by a corporate decision, while the demand is fueled by every single person who wants a "full set" of licensed NES games. You cannot have a complete North American NES collection without this game. And since there are only 200-ish copies, there can only ever be 200 people at a time who own a complete set.
That’s a lot of wealthy collectors fighting over a very small pie.
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The Human Element of the Hunt
There is a famous story in the collecting world about a woman who bought a copy at a thrift store for $7.99. She didn't even know what it was; she just thought her grandkids might like a sports game. When she eventually looked it up and realized what she had, it changed her life. It paid for her retirement.
This isn't just about bits and bytes or old plastic. It’s about the "Lottery Ticket" aspect of retro gaming. It keeps the hobby alive. It makes people go to the flea market at 5:00 AM in the freezing rain. They aren't looking for Madden. They are looking for that Bandai logo.
Is it Actually Fun to Play?
Honestly? No. Not really.
The mechanics are incredibly simple. You drum your feet on the mat as fast as you can. If you're playing the hurdles, you have to time your steps to "jump" over the barriers. It’s exhausting. It’s glitchy. If you use your hands instead of your feet—which every kid did—you can beat the world record in about five seconds.
But you don't buy Stadium Events to play it. You buy it to preserve it. You buy it because it represents a specific moment in 1987 when the gaming industry was the Wild West. Companies were suing each other, rebranding products overnight, and throwing thousands of cartridges into landfills.
What You Should Do If You Think You Found One
If you are staring at a cartridge that says Stadium Events right now, do not put it in your NES. Do not try to clean the pins with a Q-tip and rubbing alcohol yet.
- Check the Region: Make sure it says "NTSC" or has the Bandai logo without the "PAL" designation.
- Document Everything: Take high-resolution photos of the front, back, and top of the cart.
- Consult an Expert: Reach out to established auction houses like Heritage Auctions or specialized NES communities. Do not take the first offer you get in a Facebook message.
- Get it Graded: If the condition is decent, sending it to a professional grading service is the only way to "lock in" the value and prove to a buyer that it hasn't been tampered with.
The reality is that as the years go by, more of these will succumb to "bit rot" or physical damage. The number of working, clean copies is only going to shrink. Whether you're a hardcore collector or just someone who likes weird history, the saga of this game is a reminder that sometimes, the most valuable things in the world are the ones that were never supposed to exist in the first place.
Actionable Next Steps for Collectors
- Check your "Track Meet" cartridges: Flip through any loose NES games you own. Specifically look for the Bandai logo instead of the Nintendo logo on any sports-themed labels.
- Verify the product code: The rare North American version carries the code NES-SD-USA. If your cartridge has this code, you are sitting on a gold mine.
- Study the "Family Fun Fitness" mat: Sometimes the original mats are found without the game. While the mat itself isn't worth $20k, a Bandai-branded mat (not the Power Pad) is still a high-value item for enthusiasts.
- Join specialized forums: Sites like NintendoAge (now archived) or VideoGameSage are the best places to see "finds" in real-time and learn the granular details of label variations that separate a $10 game from a $10,000 one.