Nintendo, a company that is struggling a bit as of late with the poor sales of its Wii U console, is often reminded of the GameCube recently, because it was not a sales darling. While the original Wii was a huge success, the GameCube, even though not a failure, was not exactly the most successful console ever released by the inventors of Mario, Zelda, and so many other beloved franchises.

That being said, the GameCube had a solid library with plenty of games that are both fun to play and sought after by collectors today. While the rarest of GameCube games are not worth anywhere near the amounts of the most valuable NES and SNES games, there are some that, if you have them, sitting around in your closet, you are going to want to display them with pride!

Metroid Prime & Zelda Wind Waker Combo

During the holiday season we often see console makers release special bundles in an attempt to drive sales. Most of the time, the games packed in are incredibly popular games that are already flooding the market, so they hold almost no value to collectors. While these two games are both popular and not worth a ton by themselves, the fact that this bundle was only offered for a very limited time means there are not a lot of them out there. Couple that with the fact that it features two games that are positively adored by Nintendo fans, and you have yourself a pack in with a value of just under $200. Not too shabby when the system with which it came didn't retail for much more than that at the time of release.

Pokemon Box

Anytime you slap the Pokemon name on something, it seems to find a foothold with collectors. This Pokemon Box is no exception, coming with a value of $300 for a complete in box copy. The craziest thing about this game is that it's not even a game at all. Instead, it's a utility for Pokemon Sapphire and Ruby that allows trainers to store their Pokemon. So why is it so valuable? Well, in the US, it was only available at the Pokemon center in New York City, and in Europe it was briefly offered as a bundle with the GameCube. Because it's availability was so limited, not many were sold, and as such, it's a hard package to come by today. If you happen to find yourself among the lucky few to have picked one up at launch, you are sitting on a piece of GameCube gold that will only go up in value as time does on.

Gotcha Force

This game is something of an anomaly when compared to the other ones on the list. It was not some elusive pack in, nor was it only sold at certain stores. Instead, it's just a game that was met with mixed critical reviews on release, and it didn't sell well. However, it developed a small cult following who wanted the game after release, and they were willing to pay a premium to get it. Because of that, its complete in box value skyrocketed to $150, where it has remained. Is it a great game? No, most certainly not, but for the serious GameCube collector, this is one you must have on your shelf in a place of prominence just because of how sought after it is.

NCAA College Basketball 2K3

How in the name of video games does a sports game make a list of the most valuable games? It's actually not that shocking, with some sports games out there pulling in massive values on the market. In this case, the GameCube version of the game saw an extremely limited release, so unlike most sports games, it didn't flood the market with thousands upon thousands of copies. That automatically makes it a collector's item, and add in the fact that it happens to have seen the limited release on a Nintendo platform, and it's easy to see how this game commands up to $110 for a boxed version.

Zelda Wind Waker and Ocarina Master Quest Combo

Here we have another combo game released for the GameCube, and these always seem to be rare. In this case, we are looking at a boxed value of $100, which isn't bad for a game that isn't that old. Wind Waker by itself is nothing special, but add in a never before released version of Ocarina, and you have a game collector's and fans would love to own. Just like the previous double disc, this one was a pack in with the GameCube for a very limited time, and as such, not too many people have it. If you can find this in your closet, or even at your local video game store, it's worth owning both as a showpiece and game you'll actually want to play!

Conclusion

In addition to these rare games, did you know that there is also an alternate GameCube console from Panasonic? That's right, the Panasonic Q is a console that plays all of your GameCube favorites, while also functioning as a DVD player. It currently sells for around $300, which is quite a bit more than a standard GameCube, which can usually be picked up for around $30. In spite of how new the system is, there's some real value there for collectors, as long as you know what to look for.

Do you own any of these rare and valuable GameCube games? Hit the comments section below and tell us how you found them! We'd love to hear some cool collector stories!

Image Credits: luftholen Via Flickr