Item 989. A golf cart featuring the image of Michael Jackson as Peter Pan. Estimated price $4,000-$6,000 Between April 22 and April 25, a large amount of Michael Jackson's belongings (and I believe the Neverland Ranch itself) will be auctioned off, no doubt to help prop up the King of Pop's dwindling finances as it has been rumored for some time than he is nearly bankrupt. As the auction draws near, prospective auction-goers can find information about the auction and the items offered on the
official website of Julien's Auctions. The auction catalogue is divided into 8 different auction sessions, session 5 and 6 of which are denoted as
Amusements, Arcade Games and Disneyana, and is of great interest to video gamers, particularly those into the arcade experience of the 1990s. Below I'll try to highlight a few particularly interesting video game related finds although I encourage everyone to browse the catalogue themselves as it is quite a nice trip back to a gaming era gone with the wind.
Item 692: Crazy Taxi III arcade. Estimated price: $1,000-$1,500
Item 698: Darkstalkers arcade. Estimated price: $800-$1,200
Item 700: Ms. Pacman / Galaga cocktail table game. Estimated price: $2,000-$3,000
Items 703 and 791: The Simpsons arcade. Estimated price: $1,200-$1,500 I really really want one of those. :)
Item 713: Super Street Fighter II arcade. Estimated price: $800-$1,200
Items 725, 726, and 727: N64, 3DO, and Ps1 console with store display rack. Estimated prices: $100-$150, $100-$150, and $200-$300 respectively Man, I haven't seen these since my childhood times in Toys 'R Us.
Item 731: VirtualBoy system and store display rack. Estimated price: $100-$150. Do want!
Item 754: X-Men arcade game. Estimated price: $1,500-$2,500. Again, really do want!
Item 772: Donkey Kong. Estimated price: $800-$1,200
Item 773: Terminator 2: Judgement Day arcade game. Estimated price: $800-$1,200 Another fun arcade game. Do want!
Item 792: SNES console with store display rack. Estimated price: $200-$300 I would like to point out that this picture of the item, taken from the actual item, shows the title screen to
Final Fantasy IV for the SuperNES. Obviously the King of Pop has some good taste in video games. :P
Item 793: Dance Dance Revolution. Estimated price: $1,000-$1,500
Items 794 and 795: Sega Genesis and Game Gear console with combined display rack and Sega Dreamcast console with store display rack. Estimated prices: $200-$300 and $200-$300 respectively. Interesting. A combined Sega Genesis and Game Gear rack? I don't recall seeing these in stores.
So that's some of the more interesting video game items I found. There is much more of course for auction. I kind of expected something
Moonwalker related but I suppose seeing as Michael Jackson is actually a part of those games, I doubt he would auction them off until his finances take another tumble.
So if anyone is interested and very rich, I suppose the main auction site has more information about this event. As far as I can see, the items I have posted here will be auctioned off on April 24 at 9 AM PST in the morning. Best of luck to any rich video game fans or collectors.
P.S. With regards to the Michael Jackson himself, I will only say that regardless of how one feels about him, I think we can all agree that it is sad to see one of the few truly talented music artists of the 20th century toss his career and life down the drain. I have personally never been able to believe the child molestation allegations against him. However, consider his bizarre behavior, warped personality quirks, and his massive overuse of plastic surgery, I could definitely see how people could see him as a child molester. Ultimately, I think these things destroyed his career far more than any allegations could.