The Nintendo Wii, as a console, is a pretty old piece of tech by now. But a very unique and interesting model has been put up for auction. And it’s a console that’s plated with 24 karat gold.

Kotaku reports that the gold Nintendo Wii is listed on the auction house Goldin. And with the listing is a very interesting story behind the unbelievably and unnecessarily expensive console. As it states, the now-defunct publisher THQ (which has since resurfaced as THQ Nordic) commissioned for the console to be gold-plated and sent to Queen Elizabeth II. But with Buckingham Palace’s strict policy when it comes to gifts, the console never made it to Her Majesty’s hands.

Gold Nintendo Wii controller — Source: Goldin.

Instead, it changed hands a couple of times, with the current owner looking to get rid of it. According to Kotaku, the current owner previously tried to auction it off on eBay with an initial bidding price of US$300000 (~RM1.3 million). But a recent change in eBay’s auction policies meant that the auction was removed before it was completed, which explains it being on Goldin now.

At the time of writing, the golden Nintendo Wii has gotten five bids, with the highest being US$1900. (~RM8300), which is a far cry from the initial eBay listing. Though this may have something to do with bits of the gold having been chipped off from the Wiimote from being handled. Bidding closes on 22 May.

(Source: Goldin, Kotaku)