Former Sonic boss expresses disbelief as Wata-certified game sold for $430k Eurogamer.net If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy. Former Sonic boss expresses disbelief as Wata-certified game sold for $430k "That's a scam, right?" News by Tom Phillips Deputy Editor Updated on 22 Sep 2021 81 comments Yuji Naka, former boss of Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog team, has expressed surprise at the $430k sale price for a copy of the original Sonic on Sega Genesis. The auction is the latest in a string of eye-opening prices for vintage games rated by controversial quality-assessment service Wata. Earlier this month, Wata co-founder Mark Haspel was accused of breaking his own company rules on selling graded stock for a profit, in a detailed report which alleged a "serious conflict of interest". Watch on YouTube Has Yuji Naka been keeping up to date on all this? Last night, seeing word of the sale on Twitter, he replied: "[Hedgehog emoji] What's this" and "Is it a scam?" "That's a scam, right?" he continued. "I wondered if it was time for Sonic to reach a high." ?What's this https://t.co/U6BkQaWgHz- Yuji Naka / 中 裕司 (@nakayuji) September 21, 2021 To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Manage cookie settings This particular copy of Sonic the Hedgehog had been rated with a quality of 9.4 by Wata. Anything above a 9.0 rating is suggested by Wata to be "investment grade", and will likely only increase in value. But while the vintage video game market has long been viewed as an investment, there have frequently been suggestions that prices are now being artificially driven up by collectors and other interested parties to in turn drive up the value of their own collections. In July 2020, a sealed copy of Super Mario Bros. rated 9.4 by Wata sold for $114k, a record at the time. Fast forward to this April, and a sealed 9.6 Wata-rated copy of Super Mario Bros. sold for a whopping $660k. In July, a sealed 9.0 Wata-rated copy of The Legend of Zelda sold for an even-higher $870k. Ken Goldin, founder of the auction site Goldin Auctions which was used to sell this copy of Sonic the Hedgehog, has now replied to Yuji Naka on Twitter with the following: "Naka San - we can assure you that this is a genuine sale to a real buyer on Goldin. Our customers trust us because all of our auctions are fair and for authentic items. We also vet all of our bidders on high end items such as this. "The video game market is heating up and we are thrilled to be a part of it, this was our 1st venture into the category. Just as millions of fans from around the world have purchased Sonic games, they also want to own the original Sonic, a piece of history. As a founder, I would love to talk to you about our company and the market to ensure you we do business the right way. I have also DM'ed you with my contact info." Become a Eurogamer subscriber and get your first month for £1 Get your first month for £1 (normally £3.99) when you buy a Standard Eurogamer subscription. Enjoy ad-free browsing, merch discounts, our monthly letter from the editor, and show your support with a supporter-exclusive comment flair! Support us View supporter archive More News Google announces cloud gaming Chromebooks less than a fortnight after Stadia shutdown GeForce Now preinstalled. 4 Atari will hold RollerCoaster Tycoon rights for another decade Ups and downs. 7 Lady Dimitrescu will be a tad smaller in Resident Evil Village's Mercenaries DLC Level the playing field. 1 Overwatch 2 suffers another DDoS attack and character roster bugs Mei Mei. 13 Latest Articles Digital Foundry Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090: a new level in graphics performance The Digital Foundry video review - and how the new GPU champion delivers for 4K 120fps gaming. Google announces cloud gaming Chromebooks less than a fortnight after Stadia shutdown GeForce Now preinstalled. 4 Feature Evercore Heroes wants to wind people up the right way "There's less rage at them, because they didn't end your fun." Genshin Impact Path of Gleaming Jade dates, login event rewards Including other anniversary rewards and how to claim them. Supporters Only Premium only Off Topic: Take a minute to appreciate Cookin' with Coolio's incredible scallops recipe. What a great book. Premium only Off Topic: Reading City of Glass in comic form "Where exactly am I going?" Premium only Off Topic: Il Buco is a transporting film about a really big hole Underlands. Off-Topic Netflix handled Sandman brilliantly It was Dreamy. 9 Buy things with globes on them And other lovely Eurogamer merch in our official store! Explore our store