Rare Nintendo 64 controller to sell for around $1,200

News
By Cat Bussell
published

Spot the difference

Nintendo 64 Foxdata Silver Leopard customised controller
(Image credit: Hansons)

A rare Nintendo 64 controller found in an attic is set to sell for up to £1,000 in the UK. 

Liam Clousdale discovered that a controller gifted to him for his birthday back in 1998 was, in fact, a rare Foxdata gamepad. The controllers came in Desert Storm, Red Rain, Purple Forest, and Chrome Leopard varieties and are now highly sought after by collectors. 

Hansons Auctioneers has valued Clousdale's Chrome Leopard customized controller between £700 and £1,000 ahead of an upcoming auction - for U.S. readers, that's between roughly $850 and $12,000 (via Eurogamer). 

David Wilson-Turner, head of Hansons’ Toys and Video Games Auction elaborated on the controller's value on Hansons' website, stating that the Foxdata series is "increasingly sought after in the video game market. Though information is limited, it’s believed Foxdata produced around 800 of these customized controllers across the four designs, meaning there could be less than 200 examples of Liam’s controller in the world."

Though it pales in comparison to modern-day hardware, Clousdale spoke fondly of his time using the controller: “I used it a fair amount and loved having the craziest-looking pad. Though the N64 has long since been packed away, I’m still an avid gamer.

"One of my friends spotted that a Foxdata pad had sold for a decent amount of money and remembered I had one. He asked me about it so I unpackaged my old pad from a box in the loft where it had been carefully stored away. I then contacted Hansons as I found an article about a previous gaming sale they held. I was very surprised by how much it was potentially worth. I’m happy to pass it on to a proper retro collector."

As the games industry continues to mature, the cultural cache afforded to retro memorabilia has only seemed to grow. Though there have been successful modern efforts to recreate the feel of retro gamepads, such as the 8BitDo NeoGeo Wireless Controller, there's no substitute for the original article. 

The Chrome Leopard will be going up for auction on October 17, when collectors will bid on the controller.

Looking for something more modern? Check out our list of the best Nintendo Switch games and best Nintendo Switch controllers.

Cat Bussell
Cat Bussell
Staff Writer

Cat Bussell is a Staff Writer at TechRadar Gaming. Hailing from the crooked spires of London, Cat is an experienced writer and journalist. As seen on Wargamer.com, TheGamer.com, and Superjumpmagazine.com, Cat is here to bring you coverage from all corners of the video game world. An inveterate RPG maven and strategy game enjoyer, Cat is known for her love of rich narratives; both story-driven and emergent. 


Before migrating to the green pastures of games journalism, Cat worked as a political advisor and academic. She has three degrees and has studied and worked at Cambridge University, University College London, and Queen Mary University of London. She's also been an art gallery curator, an ice cream maker, and a cocktail mixologist. This crash course in NPC lifestyles uniquely qualifies her to pick apart only the juiciest video games for your reading pleasure. 


Cat cut her teeth on MMOs in the heyday of World of Warcraft before giving in to her love of JRPGs and becoming embedded in Final Fantasy XIV. When she's not doing that, you might find her running a tabletop RPG or two, perhaps even voluntarily.