A man has accused U.S. Customs and Border Protection of breaking a rare copy of Pokémon Yellow.
On Twitter, Night Dive Studio CEO Stephen Kick said his friend, who goes by the online handle of The_Master_Of_Unlocking, had an original sealed, near-mint copy of the classic Game Boy title estimated to be worth around $10,000 USD (about $13,300 CAD).
Friend of mine received this sealed and graded original copy of Pokemon Yellow…
US Customs:
Broke the acrylic case
Ripped and discarded the seal
SLICED the front of the box offMaybe they weren't fans of @TheWataGames ? pic.twitter.com/lGs1qC1RIF
— Stephen Kick (@pripyatbeast) January 19, 2023
“Friend of mine received this sealed and graded original copy of Pokémon Yellow,” Kick tweeted. “U.S. Customs: Broke the acrylic case, ripped and discarded the seal, [and] sliced the front of the box off. Maybe they weren’t fans of Wata Games?” Wata is a company that grades and certifies games for collectors.
Interestingly, The_Master_Of_Unlocking told Kotaku that he bought the game from a seller in Canada for $3,800 USD (about $5,080 CAD). It was en route to him when the incident is said to have occurred. He added that he wasn’t sure why U.S. Customs agents were so rough with the product, noting there were less damaging ways of opening it up for screening.
Based on the images shared by Kick, it sadly doesn’t look like there’ll be anyway to Full Restore the game.
Image credit: The Pokémon Company
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