Blades of Steel Nintendo NES: PSA Pop Report + Loose / CIB / Sealed Prices
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PSA has graded 58 Blades of Steel Nintendo NES copies on record — 20 CIB, 38 sealed. PSA tracks 4 distinct production variants separately because they’re priced differently by collectors. Sealed copies trade in the $441 range. This page is the per-game pop + price + grading reference for Blades of Steel on Nintendo NES — updated weekly from PSA’s official population data and PriceCharting’s market catalog.
Quick Facts
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Title: Blades of Steel
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Console: Nintendo NES
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Variants tracked by PSA: 4
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Total PSA-graded copies: 58 (Loose: 0 · CIB: 20 · Sealed: 38)
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PriceCharting market data: available
Variant Comparison
PSA recognizes 4 distinct production variants of Blades of Steel, each tracked on its own population row because collectors value them differently.
| Variant | Loose Pop | CIB Pop | Sealed Pop | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Made in Japan, Konami Classic Series | — | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Made in Japan, Oval SOQ R | — | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| Made in Japan, Oval SOQ TM | — | 7 | 15 | 22 |
| Made in Japan, Round SOQ | — | 10 | 17 | 27 |
PSA Pop by Condition
PSA tracks Blades of Steel populations independently for loose carts, complete-in-box (CIB), and factory-sealed copies — collectors price each condition separately because rarity and demand diverge sharply. Tables below show the grade-tier breakdown per condition, aggregated across 4 variants PSA recognizes for this title.
Loose Cartridge
PSA hasn’t graded any loose copies of Blades of Steel for Nintendo NES yet.
Complete in Box (CIB)
Total graded: 20
| Variant | Pop | Grade Breakdown |
|---|---|---|
| Made in Japan, Konami Classic Series | 1 | 8.0: 1 |
| Made in Japan, Oval SOQ R | 2 | 8.0: 1 · 7.5: 1 |
| Made in Japan, Oval SOQ TM | 7 | 9.0: 2 · 8.5: 1 · 8.0: 2 · 7.5: 2 |
| Made in Japan, Round SOQ | 10 | 9.0: 2 · 8.5: 1 · 8.0: 3 · 7.0: 2 · 6.5: 2 |
Factory Sealed
Total graded: 38
Sealed summary by variant:
| Variant | Total Pop | Top Numeric Grade | Best Seal Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| Made in Japan, Konami Classic Series | 2 | 8.0 | A+ |
| Made in Japan, Oval SOQ R | 4 | 9.0 | A+ |
| Made in Japan, Oval SOQ TM | 15 | 9.6 | A+ |
| Made in Japan, Round SOQ | 17 | 9.8 | A+ |
Factory Sealed Grade × Seal Matrix
Rows show PSA numeric grades. Columns show seal grades. Cell values are PSA population counts. Aggregated across all variants. Top observed grade: 9.8 (PSA scale extends to 10).
| Grade | A+ | A | B+ | B | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9.8 | 2 | — | — | — | 2 |
| 9.6 | 1 | 2 | — | — | 3 |
| 9.4 | 3 | — | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 9.2 | 2 | — | 2 | — | 4 |
| 9.0 | 4 | 3 | 2 | — | 9 |
| 8.5 | 1 | — | — | — | 1 |
| 8.0 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
| 7.5 | 1 | 1 | — | 1 | 3 |
| 7.0 | 2 | — | — | — | 2 |
| <6.5 | — | 1 | — | — | 1 |
| Total | 18 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 38 |
Per-variant grade × seal matrices
Click any variant to expand its full grade × seal breakdown.
Made in Japan, Konami Classic Series (2 sealed pop)
Top observed grade: 8.0 (PSA scale extends to 10).
| Grade | A+ | Total |
|---|---|---|
| 8.0 | 1 | 1 |
| 7.5 | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 2 | 2 |
Made in Japan, Oval SOQ R (4 sealed pop)
Top observed grade: 9.0 (PSA scale extends to 10).
| Grade | A+ | A | B+ | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9.0 | 1 | — | 1 | 2 |
| 8.0 | — | 1 | — | 1 |
| 7.5 | — | 1 | — | 1 |
| Total | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
Made in Japan, Oval SOQ TM (15 sealed pop)
Top observed grade: 9.6 (PSA scale extends to 10).
| Grade | A+ | A | B+ | B | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9.6 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 2 |
| 9.4 | 1 | — | — | — | 1 |
| 9.2 | 1 | — | 1 | — | 2 |
| 9.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | — | 3 |
| 8.5 | 1 | — | — | — | 1 |
| 8.0 | — | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 7.0 | 1 | — | — | — | 1 |
| <6.5 | — | 1 | — | — | 1 |
| Total | 6 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 15 |
Made in Japan, Round SOQ (17 sealed pop)
Top observed grade: 9.8 (PSA scale extends to 10).
| Grade | A+ | A | B+ | B | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9.8 | 2 | — | — | — | 2 |
| 9.6 | — | 1 | — | — | 1 |
| 9.4 | 2 | — | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 9.2 | 1 | — | 1 | — | 2 |
| 9.0 | 2 | 2 | — | — | 4 |
| 8.0 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 2 |
| 7.5 | — | — | — | 1 | 1 |
| 7.0 | 1 | — | — | — | 1 |
| Total | 9 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 17 |
Current Market Prices
All prices below are pulled directly from PriceCharting’s public catalog and refreshed each time this article regenerates (typically weekly). PriceCharting computes their values from active and recently-sold listings on eBay + their dealer network — independent of any data on this page. The Sealed column reflects PriceCharting’s “manual-only” / new tier — factory-sealed retail at average condition; specific graded-sealed prices vary sharply by numeric grade + seal letter (use the Sealed eBay browse link below for grade-specific comps).
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Loose cartridge: $8.49
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Complete in Box (CIB): $34
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Sealed: $441
All 4 PSA-tracked variants share the same PriceCharting prices because PriceCharting indexes at the title level, not the variant level. Variant-specific pricing surfaces on eBay sold-comp data — check the Sealed / CIB / Loose browse links below for variant-aware market signals.
Heritage Graded Sales
Heritage Auctions sold results below are real auction transactions for Blades of Steel on Nintendo NES. They complement the PriceCharting loose / CIB / sealed benchmarks above; they are not estimates and they are not blended into PriceCharting’s ungraded market prices.
Summary rows are title-level Heritage sale signals, sorted by format, recency, and realized-price signal. PSA production variants can price differently, so the sale records keep Heritage’s own variant notes visible instead of pretending every auction lot maps cleanly to a PSA variant row.
High-grade games can trade years apart, so older auction records stay visible; treat the latest-sale date as part of the comp, not just the dollar amount.
| Format | Grade | Sale signal | Latest sale | Comps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Factory sealed (Rev A Round Soq Early Production) | VGA 85+ | Last sale $2,875 | Nov 22, 2025 | 1 |
| Factory sealed (Oval Soq Tm Later Production) | CGC 9.4 A+ | Last sale $1,188 | May 24, 2025 | 1 |
| Factory sealed (Oval Soq Tm Later Production) | WATA 9.4 A+ | Last sale $1,188 | Jan 21, 2025 | 1 |
| Factory sealed (Rev A Round Soq Early Production the Indiana Collection) | WATA 9.0 A | Last sale $1,125 | Jun 20, 2024 | 1 |
| Factory sealed (Konami Classic Series) | WATA 8.0 A+ | Last sale $875 | Oct 1, 2024 | 1 |
| Factory sealed (Rev A Round Soq Early Production) | WATA 9.2 B+ | Last sale $656 | Nov 11, 2025 | 1 |
| Factory sealed (Konami Classic Series) | CGC 7.5 A | Last sale $588 | Jun 20, 2024 | 1 |
| Factory sealed (Rev A Round Soq Early Production) | WATA 8.0 A | Last sale $538 | Aug 14, 2025 | 1 |
| Factory sealed (Oval Soq Tm Later Production) | VGA 85 | Last sale $500 | Oct 8, 2024 | 1 |
| Factory sealed (Oval Soq R Later Production) | WATA 9.0 B+ | Last sale $444 | Jul 23, 2024 | 1 |
| Factory sealed (Oval Soq Tm Later Production) | VGA 80+ | Last sale $375 | Jul 16, 2024 | 1 |
| Factory sealed (Rev A Round Soq Early Production) | CGC 8.0 A+ | Last sale $350 | Oct 22, 2024 | 1 |
Showing the top 12 Heritage sale signals; the sale-record table below includes every Heritage auction sale used on this page.
Sale records:
View all 24 Heritage sale records
| Date | Sold For | Grader / Grade | Format | Variant Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 22, 2025 | $2,875 | VGA 85+ | Factory sealed | Rev A Round Soq Early Production | Lot 7428-28002 |
| Nov 11, 2025 | $656 | WATA 9.2 B+ | Factory sealed | Rev A Round Soq Early Production | Lot 312545-67002 |
| Aug 14, 2025 | $538 | WATA 8.0 A | Factory sealed | Rev A Round Soq Early Production | Lot 44321-79004 |
| May 24, 2025 | $1,188 | CGC 9.4 A+ | Factory sealed | Oval Soq Tm Later Production | Lot 7415-28181 |
| Jan 21, 2025 | $1,188 | WATA 9.4 A+ | Factory sealed | Oval Soq Tm Later Production | Lot 312503-68008 |
| Oct 22, 2024 | $350 | CGC 8.0 A+ | Factory sealed | Rev A Round Soq Early Production | Lot 312443-69004 |
| Oct 8, 2024 | $500 | VGA 85 | Factory sealed | Oval Soq Tm Later Production | Lot 312441-67006 |
| Oct 1, 2024 | $875 | WATA 8.0 A+ | Factory sealed | Konami Classic Series | Lot 312440-66019 |
| Jul 23, 2024 | $444 | WATA 9.0 B+ | Factory sealed | Oval Soq R Later Production | Lot 312430-69011 |
| Jul 16, 2024 | $375 | VGA 80+ | Factory sealed | Oval Soq Tm Later Production | Lot 312429-68013 |
| Jun 20, 2024 | $1,125 | WATA 9.0 A | Factory sealed | Rev A Round Soq Early Production the Indiana Collection | Lot 44253-79005 |
| Jun 20, 2024 | $588 | CGC 7.5 A | Factory sealed | Konami Classic Series | Lot 44253-79006 |
| Apr 22, 2023 | $1,200 | WATA 9.4 B+ | Factory sealed | Rev A Round Soq Early Production | Lot 7307-28167 |
| Feb 9, 2023 | $5,280 | WATA 9.4 A+ | Factory sealed | Rev A Round Soq | Lot 44176-80007 |
| Jan 21, 2023 | $960 | WATA 9.0 A | Factory sealed | Oval Soq Tm Later Production | Lot 7348-29007 |
| Jan 20, 2023 | $5,040 | CGC 9.6 A+ | Factory sealed | Rev A Round Soq Early Production | Lot 7348-28004 |
| Nov 4, 2022 | $9,600 | WATA 9.8 A | Factory sealed | Rev A Round Soq Early Production the Plattsburgh Collection | Lot 7290-28011 |
| Sep 1, 2022 | $18,000 | WATA 9.8 A+ | Factory sealed | Rev A Round Soq the Plattsburgh Collection | Lot 44168-79006 |
| Aug 9, 2022 | $1,140 | WATA 9.2 B+ | Factory sealed | Oval Soq Tm Later Production the Carolina Collection | Lot 312232-67019 |
| Jun 14, 2022 | $960 | WATA 9.0 B+ | Factory sealed | Rev A Oval Soq R | Lot 312224-67026 |
| Apr 23, 2022 | $5,040 | WATA 9.4 B+ | Factory sealed | Rev A Round Soq Early Production | Lot 7286-29008 |
| Feb 8, 2022 | $840 | WATA 8.0 A | Factory sealed | Oval Soq Tm Later Production | Lot 312206-67018 |
| Mar 9, 2021 | $2,160 | WATA 9.4 B | Factory sealed | Rev A Round Soq | Lot 312110-67033 |
| Nov 30, 2020 | $360 | WATA 7.0 A+ | Factory sealed | Oval Soq Tm | Lot 122048-19651 |
Listings
Each link below opens an eBay search filtered to that condition, scoped to Blades of Steel on Nintendo NES. “Sold” pulls completed/sold listings (use this for price research). “Listings” pulls current active listings (use this to find a copy to buy).
Why Blades of Steel Matters for Grading
Blades of Steel is one of the more heavily-graded Nintendo NES titles, with 58 PSA populations on record across loose, CIB, and sealed. Strong submission volume signals collector demand — and grade premiums are the market’s vote on which copies are scarce. The sealed-to-loose price ratio is roughly 51× — sealed copies trade at $441 while loose carts move around $8.49. That spread means a fresh sealed find is the move; raw cart flips have thinner margins after grading fees. Because PSA tracks 4 variants separately, production-code identification matters before submission. The pop-by-variant breakdown above tells you which variant is the rarer find.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Blades of Steel Nintendo NES worth grading?
Mostly for sealed copies. The sealed-state population (38) outweighs CIB and loose for Blades of Steel, indicating sealed is where collector capital concentrates. CIB and loose grading is viable but margins are thinner after fees.
How rare is a graded sealed copy of Blades of Steel?
PSA tracks 38 graded sealed copies of Blades of Steel for Nintendo NES. The grade-tier breakdown above shows how those split across PSA’s numeric grades — top-grade copies (9.4+) are the scarcest and typically command the strongest premiums.
Should I buy a graded or raw copy of Blades of Steel?
Depends on your goal. Graded copies cost more upfront but come with PSA’s authenticity + condition guarantee — the right move for buy-and-hold collectors. Raw copies are cheaper but require condition assessment yourself, and the grading lottery means a $50 raw cart can come back as a $25 PSA 7 OR a $200 PSA 9.4. Use the per-condition pop and price data above to calculate expected value before you commit.
Why does PSA track multiple variants of Blades of Steel?
PSA recognizes 4 distinct production variants of Blades of Steel on Nintendo NES. Variants reflect real production differences — different factories (Made in Japan vs Made in Mexico), packaging die changes, ESRB-rating retrofits added partway through the console’s life, or Players Choice reissues from later runs. Collectors price them differently because rarity diverges, and PSA tracks each on its own population row so the data reflects the real market structure.
Sources
Pop counts pulled weekly from PSA Video Games population data. Prices from PriceCharting. PSA acquired WATA in July 2021 and completed the rebrand to PSA Video Games on October 20, 2025. PSA Video Games population data is the continuation of WATA’s population history. Heritage graded-sale comps come from Heritage Auctions sold archive lot pages linked in the sale-record table.
Related Resources
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Nintendo NES Game Library (forthcoming) — every variant PSA tracks for this console.
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Retro Video Game Collecting — pillar with broader strategy, market dynamics, and grading economics.