World's Largest Video Game Collection Sold for Over $750,000

Michael Thomasson

Winning bid for 11,000-title collection was $750,250, which works out to around $68 per game.

The auction for the world's biggest video game collection has ended, with a mystery bidder taking the 11,000-title lot for three quarters of a million dollars. The winning bid, after 56 offers, was $750,250 by a GameGavel bidder going by the username "peeps_10091970."

Auction holder Michael Thomasson launched the auction earlier this month so that he could address the needs of his immediate and extended family. He said previously that he thought his collection was worth between $700,000 and $800,000, so it looks like he got exactly what he was looking for. The collection includes the 10,607 titles needed for the world record as well as an additional 400+ obtained since.

$750,250 for the entire 11,000-game collection works out to around $68 per game.

According to the bid history, two main bidders--"peeps_10091970 and "catch123"--were locked in a tight bidding war. "catch123" submitted a $750,000 bid on June 11 at 9:36 a.m. EDT, before "peeps_10091970" offered $750,250 just two seconds later. The auction officially ended June 15 at 10:30 p.m. EDT.

A December 2013 profile of Thomasson revealed that his trek to the world record featured two start-overs. He sold his collection first in 1989 to raise money for a Sega Genesis and again in 1998 to pay for his wedding. Thomasson teaches courses on 2D animation, game design, and video game history at Canisius College in Buffalo and has time to play games for around three hours per week.