Nintendo Fan Loses Nearly Complete NES Collection in Heartbreaking Theft

The Nintendo collection was worth up to $100,000

Physical video game collections can feel increasingly like relics. Sony recently announced plans to stop producing physical PlayStation discs beginning in 2028, raising concerns about game ownership, resale and preservation. Physical games can still serve as a safeguard when digital titles disappear from online stores or become inaccessible.

But physical discs and cartridges come with their own risks, including damage, loss and theft. Roger Holler knows that firsthand. Someone broke into Holler’s home in Puyallup, Washington, last week and stole more than 860 classic Nintendo Entertainment System games, according to KING5.

Holler and his family were out of town when the burglary occurred. When they returned Sunday evening, they found that someone had forced their way inside and cleared out the shelf where Holler kept nearly 40 years of collecting.

The collection was worth an estimated $50,000 to $100,000, Holler said. He was also just three games short of completing the entire NES library.

The games had sentimental value beyond their price tags. Holler said his mother gave him his first NES console when he was 11 years old, setting him on a collecting journey that took him through stores, gaming conventions and trips across Washington. Over the years, the hobby became something he shared with his family, including his son, Chris Sterling.

“I shake, I get headaches,” Holler told KING5. “I don’t even want to look at them — the shelf.”

Holler had planned to pass the collection on to his grandchildren, with the hope that it might eventually help pay for their college education. Sterling said he grew up joining his father in the search for the next game.

“To watch that essentially lifelong collection just ripped out is heartbreaking,” Sterling said.

Interest in Nintendo’s classic games remains strong since the NES's initial release more than 40 years ago. In June, a sealed copy of Super Mario Bros. sold for a record $3 million at Heritage Auctions. Classic NES games dominated the auction’s top lots, including a copy of The Legend of Zelda that sold for $375,000. Heritage Auctions said the event generated more than $5 million in sales.

For players who want to revisit Nintendo’s history without tracking down expensive cartridges, Nintendo Switch Online offers libraries of NES and SNES games, including Super Mario Bros. 3, The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario World.