If you fancy playing video games like a member of the British Royal Family, then you might want to get your hands on a golden Nintendo Wii.
That’s right; a golden Nintendo Wii exists, and it was made for none other than Queen Elizabeth II, the United Kingdom’s reigning monarch and head of the British Royal Family, .
Now, I know the idea of Queen Liz boxing as a Mii of herself or going head to head with Prince Charles in some of the best Nintendo Wii games might be too much for you to comprehend, so let’s take a little breather before moving on.
I’ll throw a little title and a picture into the mix so you can compose yourself, ok?
The Story Of Queen Elizabeth’s Golden Nintendo Wii
Let’s figure out what this Golden Nintendo Wii is all about and where it came from, shall we?
Back in 2009, a games publishing company called THQ sent the British Monarch a rather spectacular gift.
That’s right; the team behind Croc for the GBC and WWF Smackdown, arguably one of the best PS1 games ever made, sent Queen Elizabeth a golden Nintendo Wii.
They didn’t just do it because they were feeling friendly, however. This was a marketing stunt for their Wii title ‘Big Family Games’.
If you’re from the US, you might know this title as ‘Neighbourhood Games’. It’s basically a bunch of the activities that you might have played with other kids in your neighbourhood as a child; tennis, basketball, football, lawn darts, etc.
And who better to advertise Big Family Games in PAL territories than the most famous family in Europe. A golden Nintendo Wii for the Royal Family.
That’s a pretty high profile stunt right there!
What Happened To The Queen’s Nintendo Wii?
It turns out that the Queen isn’t as fond of gaming as THQ first thought. Either that or she was too busy playing Sneak King, one of our best selling original Xbox games and decided not to let the UPS driver into Buckingham Palace.
Here’s the thing though; the golden Wii never actually made it inside the Queens house. And with THQ going bankrupt not too long afterwards, the console remained lost for almost a decade.
That is, until a collector got their hands on it, as all collectors do with lost things.
If we count the Queen as the first intended owner, then the current seller is the third person that this Wii has found its way into the ownership of.
In many ways, it’s a little like the Ring of Power from Lord of the Rings.
And no, I’m not calling THQ or the Queen of England Sauron before any starts writing us angry letters!
Is This The Real Golden Nintendo Wii Sent To Queen Elizabeth II?
The Queen’s golden Nintendo Wii is on sale for $3,000 at the time of writing with 12 days left on the auction. On the surface, this looks to be the real deal, the actual console THQ made back in 2009.
But the seller isn’t 100% sure.
In the listing, the seller claims that they are ‘very confident’ that this was the console sent to Queen Elizabeth II.
‘Very confident’ isn’t exactly the seal of authenticity I would be looking for if I were to spend $3,000. THQ haven’t been able to identify the serial number on the console, and because of a plastic component in the casing, jewellers haven’t been able to specify whether the console is in fact plated in 24K gold.
Is it likely that this is the only golden Nintendo Wii out there? I would imagine so; I can’t see many other people going to the trouble to make one.
Still, that thought has to be in the back of your mind as you go to purchase should you be the lucky bidder.
If not, this is a genuine slice of gaming and THQ history!
Now, I wonder if the Queen would fancy a golden Analogue Pocket?
Check out the official golden Nintendo Wii auction over on Goldin!
Seb Santabarbara has bought every Nintendo console that has ever been released in his 33 years on Planet Earth. His favourite game franchise is Zelda, and he’s patiently waiting for Banjo-Kazooie to come back to the fold. When he’s not playing games, he’s travelling the world in his self-converted camper van.
