Metal Gear Nintendo NES: PSA Pop Report + Loose / CIB / Sealed Prices
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PSA has graded 103 Metal Gear Nintendo NES copies on record — 4 loose, 24 CIB, 75 sealed. PSA tracks 4 distinct production variants separately because they’re priced differently by collectors. Sealed copies trade in the $337 range. This page is the per-game pop + price + grading reference for Metal Gear on Nintendo NES — updated weekly from PSA’s official population data and PriceCharting’s market catalog.
Quick Facts
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Title: Metal Gear
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Console: Nintendo NES
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Variants tracked by PSA: 4
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Total PSA-graded copies: 103 (Loose: 4 · CIB: 24 · Sealed: 75)
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PriceCharting market data: available
Variant Comparison
PSA recognizes 4 distinct production variants of Metal Gear, each tracked on its own population row because collectors value them differently. The variants this game discriminates on: USA-region production code labeling.
| Variant | Loose Pop | CIB Pop | Sealed Pop | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 Screw, Round SOQ - USA Code | 3 | — | — | 3 |
| 5 Screw, Oval SOQ TM - USA Code | 1 | — | — | 1 |
| Made in Japan | — | 24 | 74 | 98 |
| Made in Japan, French Inserts Included [Distributor Seal] | — | — | 1 | 1 |
PSA Pop by Condition
PSA tracks Metal Gear 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
Total graded: 4
| Variant | Pop | Grade Breakdown |
|---|---|---|
| 3 Screw, Round SOQ - USA Code | 3 | <6.5: 3 |
| 5 Screw, Oval SOQ TM - USA Code | 1 | 6.5: 1 |
PSA has not graded the following variants in this condition: Made in Japan · Made in Japan, French Inserts Included [Distributor Seal].
Complete in Box (CIB)
Total graded: 24
| Variant | Pop | Grade Breakdown |
|---|---|---|
| Made in Japan | 24 | 9.0: 3 · 8.5: 7 · 8.0: 3 · 7.5: 7 · 7.0: 1 · 6.5: 2 · <6.5: 1 |
PSA has not graded the following variants in this condition: 3 Screw, Round SOQ - USA Code · 5 Screw, Oval SOQ TM - USA Code · Made in Japan, French Inserts Included [Distributor Seal].
Factory Sealed
Total graded: 75
Sealed summary by variant:
| Variant | Total Pop | Top Numeric Grade | Best Seal Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| Made in Japan | 74 | 9.8 | A++ |
| Made in Japan, French Inserts Included [Distributor Seal] | 1 | 7.5 | 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+ | A | B+ | B | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9.8 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | 3 |
| 9.6 | — | 5 | — | — | — | 5 |
| 9.4 | — | 10 | 3 | 3 | — | 16 |
| 9.2 | — | 2 | 6 | 1 | — | 9 |
| 9.0 | — | 3 | 5 | 1 | — | 9 |
| 8.5 | — | 5 | 7 | 1 | — | 13 |
| 8.0 | — | — | 4 | — | 2 | 6 |
| 7.5 | — | 1 | 3 | 1 | — | 5 |
| 7.0 | — | — | 4 | 1 | — | 5 |
| <6.5 | — | — | — | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| Total | 2 | 27 | 32 | 11 | 3 | 75 |
Per-variant grade × seal matrices
Click any variant to expand its full grade × seal breakdown.
Made in Japan (74 sealed pop)
Top observed grade: 9.8 (PSA scale extends to 10).
| Grade | A++ | A+ | A | B+ | B | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9.8 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | 3 |
| 9.6 | — | 5 | — | — | — | 5 |
| 9.4 | — | 10 | 3 | 3 | — | 16 |
| 9.2 | — | 2 | 6 | 1 | — | 9 |
| 9.0 | — | 3 | 5 | 1 | — | 9 |
| 8.5 | — | 5 | 7 | 1 | — | 13 |
| 8.0 | — | — | 4 | — | 2 | 6 |
| 7.5 | — | — | 3 | 1 | — | 4 |
| 7.0 | — | — | 4 | 1 | — | 5 |
| <6.5 | — | — | — | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| Total | 2 | 26 | 32 | 11 | 3 | 74 |
Made in Japan, French Inserts Included [Distributor Seal] (1 sealed pop)
Top observed grade: 7.5 (PSA scale extends to 10).
| Grade | A+ | Total |
|---|---|---|
| 7.5 | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 1 | 1 |
PSA has not graded the following variants in this condition: 3 Screw, Round SOQ - USA Code · 5 Screw, Oval SOQ TM - USA Code.
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: $16
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Complete in Box (CIB): $120
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Sealed: $337
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 Metal Gear 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) | CGC 9.4 A+ | $1,251-$2,250 range | Mar 28, 2026 | 2 |
| Factory sealed (Rev A Round Soq) | WATA 9.2 A+ | Last sale $2,125 | Mar 20, 2025 | 1 |
| Factory sealed (Rev A Round Soq) | CGC 9.4 A | $1,312-$1,500 range | Jan 22, 2026 | 2 |
| Factory sealed (Rev A Round Soq) | CGC 9.0 A+ | Last sale $550 | Feb 25, 2025 | 1 |
| Factory sealed (Rev A Round Soq the Carolina Collection) | WATA 9.8 A+ | Last sale $38,400 | Jan 28, 2022 | 1 |
| Factory sealed (Rev A Round Soq Carolina Collection) | WATA 9.8 A+ | Last sale $28,800 | Apr 5, 2021 | 1 |
| Factory sealed (Rev A Round Soq) | WATA 9.8 A++ | Last sale $25,200 | Feb 24, 2024 | 1 |
| Factory sealed (Rev A Round Soq) | WATA 9.6 A+ | Median $9,600 | May 25, 2024 | 4 |
| Factory sealed | WATA 9.4 A | Last sale $3,600 | Nov 30, 2021 | 1 |
| Factory sealed | WATA 9.2 A | Last sale $3,600 | Sep 14, 2021 | 1 |
| Factory sealed (Rev A Round Soq) | WATA 9.4 A+ | Median $3,500 | May 25, 2024 | 3 |
| Factory sealed | WATA 9.4 B+ | Last sale $3,360 | Oct 19, 2021 | 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 42 Heritage sale records
| Date | Sold For | Grader / Grade | Format | Variant Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 28, 2026 | $1,251 | CGC 9.4 A+ | Factory sealed | Rev A Round Soq | Lot 7452-28151 |
| Feb 10, 2026 | $74 | CGC 9.8 | Loose | Rev A Round Soq | Lot 312606-67010 |
| Jan 22, 2026 | $1,500 | CGC 9.4 A | Factory sealed | Rev A Round Soq | Lot 44343-79022 |
| May 24, 2025 | $2,250 | CGC 9.4 A+ | Factory sealed | Rev A Round Soq | Lot 7415-28201 |
| Mar 20, 2025 | $2,125 | WATA 9.2 A+ | Factory sealed | Rev A Round Soq | Lot 44300-79018 |
| Feb 25, 2025 | $550 | CGC 9.0 A+ | Factory sealed | Rev A Round Soq | Lot 312508-69012 |
| Jun 20, 2024 | $1,312 | CGC 9.4 A | Factory sealed | Rev A Round Soq | Lot 44253-79026 |
| Jun 18, 2024 | $212 | CGC 8.5 | CIB | Rev A Round Soq | Lot 312425-68022 |
| May 25, 2024 | $7,500 | WATA 9.6 A+ | Factory sealed | Rev A Round Soq | Lot 7372-28029 |
| May 25, 2024 | $3,500 | WATA 9.4 A+ | Factory sealed | Rev A Round Soq | Lot 7372-28155 |
| Feb 24, 2024 | $25,200 | WATA 9.8 A++ | Factory sealed | Rev A Round Soq | Lot 7359-28029 |
| Jul 28, 2023 | $2,400 | WATA 9.4 A+ | Factory sealed | Rev A Round Soq | Lot 7349-28039 |
| Jul 28, 2023 | $2,040 | WATA 9.2 A | Factory sealed | Rev A Round Soq | Lot 7349-28171 |
| May 25, 2023 | $1,920 | CGC 9.2 A+ | Factory sealed | Rev A Round Soq | Lot 44196-80054 |
| Feb 21, 2023 | $149 | WATA 6.5 | CIB | Rev A Round Soq | Lot 312308-68041 |
| Jan 21, 2023 | $2,160 | WATA 9.2 A | Factory sealed | Rev A Round Soq the Plattsburgh Collection | Lot 7348-29019 |
| Apr 23, 2022 | $1,800 | WATA 8.5 A+ | Factory sealed | Rev A Round Soq | Lot 7286-29038 |
| Mar 29, 2022 | $1,020 | WATA 8.0 A | Factory sealed | Rev A Round Soq | Lot 312213-70042 |
| Mar 15, 2022 | $154 | WATA 6.5 | CIB | Rev A Round Soq | Lot 312211-68043 |
| Jan 29, 2022 | $1,920 | WATA 8.5 A | Factory sealed | Rev A Round Soq | Lot 7284-29037 |
| Jan 28, 2022 | $38,400 | WATA 9.8 A+ | Factory sealed | Rev A Round Soq the Carolina Collection | Lot 7284-28031 |
| Jan 28, 2022 | $11,400 | WATA 9.6 A+ | Factory sealed | Rev A Round Soq | Lot 7284-28032 |
| Dec 14, 2021 | $480 | WATA 6.0 B+ | Factory sealed | — | Lot 312150-67021 |
| Nov 30, 2021 | $3,600 | WATA 9.4 A | Factory sealed | — | Lot 312148-70032 |
| Nov 16, 2021 | $2,160 | WATA 9.4 B+ | Factory sealed | Rev A Round Soq | Lot 312146-68027 |
| Nov 2, 2021 | $2,880 | WATA 9.4 B+ | Factory sealed | Rev A Round Soq | Lot 312144-66031 |
| Oct 31, 2021 | $5,280 | WATA 9.4 A+ | Factory sealed | Rev A Round Soq | Lot 7263-29065 |
| Oct 29, 2021 | $11,400 | WATA 9.6 A+ | Factory sealed | Rev A Round Soq | Lot 7263-28044 |
| Oct 29, 2021 | $2,340 | WATA 9.2 B+ | Factory sealed | Rev A Round Soq | Lot 7263-28045 |
| Oct 19, 2021 | $3,360 | WATA 9.4 B+ | Factory sealed | — | Lot 312142-68039 |
| Sep 14, 2021 | $3,600 | WATA 9.2 A | Factory sealed | — | Lot 312137-67039 |
| Jun 8, 2021 | $312 | WATA 8.5 | CIB | Rev A Round Soq | Lot 312123-66037 |
| May 25, 2021 | $1,200 | WATA 7.5 A | Factory sealed | Rev A Round Soq | Lot 312121-69044 |
| Apr 6, 2021 | $2,640 | WATA 7.5 A | Factory sealed | Rev A Round Soq | Lot 312114-66036 |
| Apr 5, 2021 | $28,800 | WATA 9.8 A+ | Factory sealed | Rev A Round Soq Carolina Collection | Lot 7242-93021 |
| Mar 1, 2021 | $516 | WATA 7.5 | CIB | Rev A Round Soq | Lot 122109-12083 |
| Jan 4, 2021 | $1,080 | WATA 8.0 A | Factory sealed | Rev A Round Soq | Lot 122101-11701 |
| Nov 30, 2020 | $528 | WATA 5.5 B+ | Factory sealed | Rev A Round Soq | Lot 122048-19658 |
| Nov 22, 2020 | $7,800 | WATA 9.6 A+ | Factory sealed | Rev A Round Soq | Lot 7236-93018 |
| Nov 22, 2020 | $1,260 | WATA 8.5 A | Factory sealed | Rev A Round Soq | Lot 7236-97113 |
| Nov 2, 2020 | $1,680 | WATA 8.5 A | Factory sealed | Round Soq | Lot 122044-11917 |
| Jun 8, 2020 | $3,360 | WATA 9.4 A+ | Factory sealed | — | Lot 122023-13496 |
Listings
Each link below opens an eBay search filtered to that condition, scoped to Metal Gear 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 Metal Gear Matters for Grading
Metal Gear is one of the more heavily-graded Nintendo NES titles, with 103 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 condition dominates submissions (75 of 103, ~72%) — a strong signal that’s where most collector value sits for this title. The sealed-to-loose price ratio is roughly 20× — sealed copies trade at $337 while loose carts move around $16. 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 Metal Gear Nintendo NES worth grading?
Mostly for sealed copies. The sealed-state population (75) outweighs CIB and loose for Metal Gear, 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 Metal Gear?
PSA tracks 75 graded sealed copies of Metal Gear 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 Metal Gear?
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 Metal Gear?
PSA recognizes 4 distinct production variants of Metal Gear 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.