The earliest Pokemon games are hard to find in their original packaging and fetch a pretty penny if they have a high rating. That would make it all the more devastating if one of these copies got damaged, and it seems that’s exactly what happened to one hapless fan. Stephen Kick, CEO of Nightdive Studios, shared an image of a broken, formerly sorted copy of the game that belonged to his friend. US Customs apparently broke the Wata seal to get to the game, then ripped the lid off the box to look inside!

An image of the sorted instance of pokemon yellow can be found in Kick’s Tweet embedded below.

Friend of mine received this sealed and sorted original copy of Pokemon Yellow…

US Customs:
Broke the acrylic housing
The seal torn and thrown away
CUT the front of the box off

Maybe they weren’t a fan of it @TheWataGames ? pic.twitter.com/lGs1qC1RIF

— Stephen Kick (@pripyatbeast) January 19, 2023

Many Twitter users were quick to share their thoughts on Wata Games and the controversies surrounding the company, but also expressed disappointment to see the game in this state. Kick didn’t say how much his friend paid for the game, but it would have been worth thousands. Unfortunately, it’s unclear if the buyer has any recourse, and the whole thing is rather sad. Hopefully they still get some satisfaction from their copy of pokemon yellow!

Pokémon Yellow released for the Nintendo Game Boy in North America in 1999, one year after its debut pokemon red and blue. The third version offered several changes from its predecessors, most of which brought it more in line with the Pokemon anime. Like Ash Ketchum, players started the game with Pikachu, which followed them outside the Poke Ball. Gym Leaders got Pokemon that more closely matched the ones they used on the show, and the game even featured multiple encounters with Jessie and James! For all these reasons Pokémon Yellow has been a fan favorite over the years, and it’s easy to see why someone might want a rare copy to keep on their video game shelf.

Have you ever bought a reviewed copy of a video game? Are you disappointed to see what happened to this copy? Pokémon Yellow? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter and on Hive at @Marcdachamp to talk about all things gaming!