Pokemon HeartGold (DS) — Price Guide & Live Deals

What this Pokemon HeartGold page covers

Live eBay listings for Pokemon HeartGold Version on Nintendo DS, US-NTSC release. HeartGold and its pair, SoulSilver, are Game Freak's DS remakes of the Game Boy Color Johto games, Pokemon Gold and Pokemon Silver. They reached Japan in 2009 and North America in 2010. Ho-Oh is on the HeartGold box, Lugia on SoulSilver.

Sellers write the title both ways, "HeartGold" and "Heart Gold", and the feed matches both. Use the condition chips above the deal grid to split what it surfaces:

• Loose: the game card only. This is the deepest bucket.
• CIB: complete in box. On this title that phrase hides the biggest price split on the page, because "complete" may or may not include the Pokewalker. See below.
• Sealed: factory-sealed copies. Almost all of them are graded, and the feed does not cap sealed asking prices, so the top of this bucket is the graded market.

The price table shows asking prices from active listings, not sold prices. Treat them as where negotiation starts, not as an appraisal.

Pokemon HeartGold variants and what to look for

• US retail release. The game shipped with the Pokewalker, a pedometer accessory that talks to the game card over infrared. Because of the Pokewalker, the US retail package was a larger outer box holding the normal DS case plus the accessory. Sellers call this the "big box", and a copy with the outer box and Pokewalker asks far more than the case alone.
• Canadian copies. Canada is part of the same NTSC-U/C region and Canadian copies play on US hardware. One turned up graded and sealed in this feed. If box print matters to you, check the photos, since the packaging differs from the US print.
• Japanese release. Japan got the game a year earlier and Japanese copies flood eBay, often from Japan-based sellers at a fraction of US asking prices. Sellers quote the Japanese product code NTR-IPKJ-JPN or write "Pocket Monsters". The DS is not region-locked, so a Japanese card will run on a US system, in Japanese. The feed filters these by region wording, by that product code and by item location.
• "Not For Resale" copies. HeartGold copies labelled Not For Resale exist and come up for sale. They are a different item from the retail release and the feed leaves them out so the price table reflects retail copies.

SoulSilver is a separate game, not a variant. The two versions differ in which Pokemon you can catch and in the box mascot. HeartGold + SoulSilver pairs, often sold as a matched set with both Pokewalkers, are among the most common listings for this title and the feed leaves them out so per-game prices stay clean. It also removes mixed DS Pokemon lots with Platinum, Diamond, Pearl, Black or White.

Pokemon HeartGold: loose vs CIB vs sealed

Loose is what most players buy. The card alone is also where the bootleg risk sits, so within this bucket the spread follows how much the seller shows and promises: "authentic", "tested", clear photos of both sides of the card. A loose HeartGold asking a small fraction of the other loose copies is the single strongest bootleg signal short of the seller admitting it, and the feed's price floor removes the cheapest of those.

CIB on this page covers two different things, and the price table mixes them:

• Case, card and manual. A standard DS case with the game card and manual. Many listings call this complete, and many add "no Pokewalker" or "missing Pokewalker" in the title. These sit at the bottom of the CIB band.
• Big box with Pokewalker. The outer retail box, the DS case and manual, the Pokewalker and its paperwork. Listings say "big box", "with Pokewalker" or "complete with Pokewalker". These sit at the top of the CIB band, and an unused Pokewalker pushes them higher still.

Before paying a big-box price, confirm the Pokewalker is included and working, and compare the contents against a reference photo of a complete US copy. Pokewalkers were often lost or sold separately, and a Pokewalker on its own sells for a meaningful share of a complete copy's price. Partial copies (box but no Pokewalker, Pokewalker but no manual) are common and should cost less.

Sealed copies are rare, and nearly all of them are graded. The feed does not cap the Sealed bucket, so expect a thin chip with a very wide range. Raw sealed copies carry the usual resealing risk, which is higher on a big-box title because the outer box is what gets sealed.

Spotting Pokemon HeartGold bootlegs

HeartGold is one of the most counterfeited DS games. The feed removes listings whose titles admit it ("repro", "reproduction", "bootleg", "aftermarket", "counterfeit") and drops the cheapest loose cards, but a bootleg listed as "authentic" can still get through. Checking the card is up to you:

• Infrared port. The authentic HeartGold card has an infrared transceiver so it can talk to the Pokewalker. Ask the seller to confirm the card connects to a Pokewalker, or compare the card against a reference photo of a known-authentic HeartGold card. A card with no sign of the port is a strong bootleg signal.
• Back of the card. Compare the molded markings on the back, the position of any printed codes and the model number against a known-authentic photo. Sellers quote model numbers in titles (NTR-031 appeared on a card listing in this feed); verify against a reference rather than trusting the number alone.
• Label. Blurry print, washed-out colour, off-centre placement, a glossy finish or a label edge that lifts all point to an aftermarket label.
• Price. A US HeartGold asking far less than the other loose copies on this page is the strongest single signal.

Pokemon HeartGold verification checklist by condition

Loose

• Seller shows both sides of the card in focus.
• The card matches a known-authentic HeartGold card, including the infrared port.
• "Tested" says what was tested. Ideally: it boots, it saves a new game, and the save loads after power-off.
• It is the US copy, not a Japanese card listed without saying so. Check the label text and any product code in the photos.
• The price is in line with other US loose copies.

CIB

• Ask whether the Pokewalker is included, whether it works, and whether its battery was replaced. The Pokewalker runs on a replaceable coin cell, and many listings advertise a fresh one.
• If the listing says big box, confirm the outer box is in the photos and not just described.
• The manual is an original, not a photocopy or a modern reprint.
• The card inside passes the loose checks above.

Sealed

• For graded copies, confirm the grading company and check the certificate number on the grader's site.
• For raw sealed copies, compare the seal against reference photos of a factory-sealed US big box, and buy from sellers with a long record of selling retro games.

Pokemon HeartGold buying gotchas

• "CIB" without a Pokewalker. The most common disappointment on this title. Read the title and the description for "no Pokewalker" before comparing prices.
• Japanese cards without the word "Japanese". Region words, the NTR-IPKJ product code and Japan-based item locations are filtered here, but a Japanese card listed from a US address with none of those can still slip through. Check the label text.
• Pokewalker-only listings. The accessory on its own uses the same title words. The feed filters titles that lead with the Pokewalker and never name the game, but check the photos.
• Modified saves. Some listings sell a cart with an edited or event save ("RNG", "ID adjusted", "randomizer", "event Pokemon"). They are real carts, but you are paying a premium for a save file. Decide whether that is what you want before comparing them to plain loose copies.
• Empty boxes, cases and manuals sold alone. Stand-alone big boxes, cases, manuals and strategy guides use the same title words. The feed filters the usual phrasings ("box only", "case only", "manual only", "no game", "strategy guide").
• Pairs and lots. HeartGold + SoulSilver sets and mixed Gen 4 and Gen 5 lots are excluded here so per-game asking prices stay accurate.
• Seller feedback floor. The feed only shows sellers with at least 50 feedback and at least 99% positive. That cuts out a lot of low-history HeartGold listings, which is where much of the counterfeit risk sits.