Joust Nintendo NES: PSA Pop Report + Loose / CIB / Sealed Prices
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PSA has graded 24 Joust Nintendo NES copies on record — 1 CIB, 23 sealed. PSA tracks 3 distinct production variants separately because they’re priced differently by collectors. Sealed copies trade in the $149 range. This page is the per-game pop + price + grading reference for Joust on Nintendo NES — updated weekly from PSA’s official population data and PriceCharting’s market catalog.
Quick Facts
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Title: Joust
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Console: Nintendo NES
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Variants tracked by PSA: 3
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Total PSA-graded copies: 24 (Loose: 0 · CIB: 1 · Sealed: 23)
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PriceCharting market data: available
Variant Comparison
PSA recognizes 3 distinct production variants of Joust, each tracked on its own population row because collectors value them differently.
| Variant | Loose Pop | CIB Pop | Sealed Pop | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Made in Japan, Oval SOQ TM | — | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| Made in Japan, Round SOQ - EAN Barcode | — | — | 12 | 12 |
| Made in Japan, Round SOQ - UPC Sticker | — | — | 7 | 7 |
PSA Pop by Condition
PSA tracks Joust 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 3 variants PSA recognizes for this title.
Loose Cartridge
PSA hasn’t graded any loose copies of Joust for Nintendo NES yet.
Complete in Box (CIB)
Total graded: 1
| Variant | Pop | Grade Breakdown |
|---|---|---|
| Made in Japan, Oval SOQ TM | 1 | 8.0: 1 |
PSA has not graded the following variants in this condition: Made in Japan, Round SOQ - EAN Barcode · Made in Japan, Round SOQ - UPC Sticker.
Factory Sealed
Total graded: 23
Sealed summary by variant:
| Variant | Total Pop | Top Numeric Grade | Best Seal Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| Made in Japan, Oval SOQ TM | 4 | 9.6 | A |
| Made in Japan, Round SOQ - EAN Barcode | 12 | 9.6 | A |
| Made in Japan, Round SOQ - UPC Sticker | 7 | 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 | NS | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9.8 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 1 |
| 9.6 | 1 | 2 | — | — | 1 | 4 |
| 9.4 | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | 2 |
| 9.2 | 1 | 5 | — | — | 1 | 7 |
| 9.0 | — | — | 1 | — | — | 1 |
| 8.0 | — | — | 3 | 1 | — | 4 |
| 7.5 | — | 1 | — | — | — | 1 |
| 7.0 | — | — | 1 | — | — | 1 |
| <6.5 | — | — | 1 | 1 | — | 2 |
| Total | 4 | 9 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 23 |
Per-variant grade × seal matrices
Click any variant to expand its full grade × seal breakdown.
Made in Japan, Oval SOQ TM (4 sealed pop)
Top observed grade: 9.6 (PSA scale extends to 10).
| Grade | A | B+ | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9.6 | 1 | — | 1 |
| 9.2 | 2 | — | 2 |
| <6.5 | — | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 3 | 1 | 4 |
Made in Japan, Round SOQ - EAN Barcode (12 sealed pop)
Top observed grade: 9.6 (PSA scale extends to 10).
| Grade | A | B+ | B | NS | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9.6 | 1 | — | — | 1 | 2 |
| 9.4 | 1 | — | — | — | 1 |
| 9.2 | 3 | — | — | 1 | 4 |
| 9.0 | — | 1 | — | — | 1 |
| 8.0 | — | 3 | — | — | 3 |
| <6.5 | — | — | 1 | — | 1 |
| Total | 5 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 12 |
Made in Japan, Round SOQ - UPC Sticker (7 sealed pop)
Top observed grade: 9.8 (PSA scale extends to 10).
| Grade | A+ | A | B+ | B | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9.8 | 1 | — | — | — | 1 |
| 9.6 | 1 | — | — | — | 1 |
| 9.4 | 1 | — | — | — | 1 |
| 9.2 | 1 | — | — | — | 1 |
| 8.0 | — | — | — | 1 | 1 |
| 7.5 | — | 1 | — | — | 1 |
| 7.0 | — | — | 1 | — | 1 |
| Total | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 |
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: $11
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Complete in Box (CIB): $46
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Sealed: $149
All 3 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 Joust 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 UPC Sticker) | WATA 9.8 A+ | Last sale $780 | Mar 21, 2024 | 1 |
| New / no seal (Rev A Round Soq) | WATA 9.6 NS | $360-$600 range | Mar 29, 2022 | 2 |
| Factory sealed (Oval Soq Tm Later Production the Plattsburgh Collection) | WATA 9.6 A | Last sale $408 | Mar 21, 2023 | 1 |
| Factory sealed | VGA 85+ | Last sale $396 | Aug 23, 2022 | 1 |
| New / no seal (Rev A Round Soq) | WATA 9.2 NS | Last sale $360 | Dec 9, 2021 | 1 |
| Factory sealed (Rev A Round Soq No Barcode Sticker) | WATA 9.2 A | Last sale $288 | Oct 11, 2022 | 1 |
| Factory sealed (Rev A Round Soq) | WATA 9.2 A | Last sale $192 | Jan 24, 2023 | 1 |
| Factory sealed (Rev A Round Soq) | WATA 6.0 B | Last sale $192 | Dec 14, 2021 | 1 |
| Factory sealed (Rev A Round Soq No Barcode Sticker) | WATA 8.0 B+ | Last sale $180 | Oct 11, 2022 | 1 |
| Factory sealed (Rev A Round Soq Early Production) | WATA 7.5 A | Last sale $180 | Jul 13, 2020 | 1 |
| Factory sealed (Oval Soq Tm Later Production) | CGC 9.2 A | Last sale $169 | May 9, 2023 | 1 |
| Factory sealed (Rev A Round Soq the Hawaii Collection) | WATA 9.0 B+ | Last sale $139 | Jan 31, 2023 | 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 14 Heritage sale records
| Date | Sold For | Grader / Grade | Format | Variant Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 21, 2024 | $780 | WATA 9.8 A+ | Factory sealed | Rev A Round Soq UPC Sticker | Lot 44238-79024 |
| May 9, 2023 | $169 | CGC 9.2 A | Factory sealed | Oval Soq Tm Later Production | Lot 312319-67027 |
| Mar 21, 2023 | $408 | WATA 9.6 A | Factory sealed | Oval Soq Tm Later Production the Plattsburgh Collection | Lot 312312-68043 |
| Jan 31, 2023 | $139 | WATA 9.0 B+ | Factory sealed | Rev A Round Soq the Hawaii Collection | Lot 312305-70024 |
| Jan 24, 2023 | $192 | WATA 9.2 A | Factory sealed | Rev A Round Soq | Lot 312304-69030 |
| Oct 11, 2022 | $288 | WATA 9.2 A | Factory sealed | Rev A Round Soq No Barcode Sticker | Lot 312241-67041 |
| Oct 11, 2022 | $180 | WATA 8.0 B+ | Factory sealed | Rev A Round Soq No Barcode Sticker | Lot 312241-67042 |
| Aug 23, 2022 | $396 | VGA 85+ | Factory sealed | — | Lot 312234-69032 |
| Mar 29, 2022 | $360 | WATA 9.6 NS | New / no seal | Rev A Round Soq | Lot 312213-70038 |
| Jan 29, 2022 | $600 | WATA 9.6 NS | New / no seal | Rev A Round Soq | Lot 7284-29035 |
| Dec 14, 2021 | $192 | WATA 6.0 B | Factory sealed | Rev A Round Soq | Lot 312150-67019 |
| Dec 9, 2021 | $360 | WATA 9.2 NS | New / no seal | Rev A Round Soq | Lot 44151-79036 |
| Aug 17, 2020 | $114 | WATA 6.0 B | Factory sealed | Rev A Round Soq Early Production | Lot 122033-15763 |
| Jul 13, 2020 | $180 | WATA 7.5 A | Factory sealed | Rev A Round Soq Early Production | Lot 122028-13830 |
Listings
Each link below opens an eBay search filtered to that condition, scoped to Joust 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 Joust Matters for Grading
With 24 PSA-graded copies on record, Joust sits in the mid-rarity tier for Nintendo NES — graded copies surface periodically on eBay but command meaningful premiums over raw. The sealed condition dominates submissions (23 of 24, ~95%) — a strong signal that’s where most collector value sits for this title. The sealed-to-loose price ratio is roughly 13× — sealed copies trade at $149 while loose carts move around $11. That spread means a fresh sealed find is the move; raw cart flips have thinner margins after grading fees. Because PSA tracks 3 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 Joust Nintendo NES worth grading?
Mostly for sealed copies. The sealed-state population (23) outweighs CIB and loose for Joust, 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 Joust?
PSA tracks 23 graded sealed copies of Joust 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 Joust?
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 Joust?
PSA recognizes 3 distinct production variants of Joust 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.