Mario Golf (Game Boy Color) — Price Guide & Live Deals

What this Mario Golf page covers

Live eBay listings for Mario Golf on Game Boy Color, the US-NTSC cartridge. Camelot developed it and Nintendo published it in 1999, the same year as the Nintendo 64 game of the same name. The handheld version is its own game, not a port: a golf game built around a role-playing mode where you level up a golfer through club tournaments. It can also link with the N64 game through the N64 Transfer Pak, so a lot of sellers mention "N64" or "Transfer" in their titles.

The feed is scoped to the Game Boy Color cart. The N64 cartridge, later Mario Golf games on other systems, and the Japanese release are filtered out (more on that last one below).

Use the condition chips above the deal grid to sort what comes through:

• Loose means cartridge only. Most listings are this, and it's what most players buy.
• CIB (complete in box) means the cartridge plus the original box and instruction manual, with whatever inserts came in the box.
• Sealed means factory-sealed or graded copies. They are scarce for this title, so this chip is often empty.

The price table shows asking prices from active US listings. They are what sellers want, not what copies sold for. Use them as a starting point for negotiating, not as an appraisal.

Mario Golf GBC variants: US cart vs Japanese Mario Golf GB

The variant that matters on this page is regional. The Japanese release is titled Mario Golf GB, and Japanese copies make up a large share of what eBay returns for "Mario Golf Game Boy Color". The Game Boy Color has no region lock, so a Japanese cart works in a US console. Its menus and in-game text are in Japanese, though, and its box and manual are Japanese too. It also asks less than the US cart.

The feed drops listings that say Japan or Japanese, listings whose title uses the Japanese "Mario Golf GB" name, and listings shipped from Japan. A US-based reseller who lists a Japanese cart as just "Mario Golf Game Boy Color" can still slip through. Before you buy:

• Read the cart label. The US label says "Mario Golf" in English. The Japanese label says "Mario Golf GB" and has Japanese text.
• Check the item specifics. If they say "Region Code: NTSC-J" or "Country of Origin: Japan", it's the Japanese release no matter what the title says.
• Ask for a title-screen photo if the label photo is blurry or missing.

Mario Golf GBC: loose vs CIB vs sealed

Loose is the cartridge on its own. Expect wear on the label. A loose copy is fine for playing as long as the label is the US one and the save works (see the checklist below).

CIB adds the cardboard box and the instruction manual, plus the standard Nintendo inserts of the era if they survived. Game Boy Color boxes were thin cardboard, and many were thrown out or crushed, so a clean box is most of what you pay extra for over a loose cart. Read the title and photos carefully. "With manual" or "with box" is not the same as complete, and the CIB chip classifies from the listing, so it can't confirm that every piece is there.

Sealed copies are uncommon. When one shows up, expect it to be priced as a collectible, often graded, not as a copy to play.

Manual-only, box-only and "no game" listings are filtered out, so the feed only shows listings that include the cartridge.

Mario Golf GBC verification checklist by condition

Loose:

• Compare the label against a known authentic US photo. Look at the print sharpness, the colors, and the Nintendo seal.
• Licensed Game Boy and Game Boy Color carts use a 3.8mm Gamebit security screw. A Phillips screw on the back means the cart has been opened (often for a battery swap) or is a reshell or bootleg. An opened cart isn't necessarily bad, but the seller should say why it was opened.
• Save battery. The game saves your golfer's progress on a battery-backed save inside the cart. The original battery is a flat coin cell, and after 25+ years many have died. Ask the seller whether a save holds after the cart is powered off. A "new battery" listing is good if the work was done cleanly. Otherwise, plan on a battery replacement whatever the listing claims.

CIB:

• Make sure the box and manual are the US English versions, not a US cart paired with a Japanese box, or the other way round.
• Check the box for crushing, tears and sun fading, and the manual for writing or missing pages.
• Make sure the cart has the same US label as the box.

Sealed:

• Factory resealing exists for Game Boy games. Unless the copy is graded, compare the seal and seam pattern against known authentic photos, and be wary of sealed copies priced well below other sealed asks.

Mario Golf GBC buying gotchas

• The Japanese cart with an English listing title is the most common mismatch. See the regional section above.
• Accessories listed under the game name. Strategy guides, magnets and manual-only listings use the same title words. The feed filters these, but read any listing that is far below the loose price.
• "Untested" or "as is" listings are filtered out, because a dead cart or a dead save battery is the usual reason a seller won't test.
• Lots and console bundles that include Mario Golf are filtered out. If you want a lot, search eBay directly.
• N64 mentions are fine. Titles that say "N64 Transfer" are describing the Transfer Pak link, and those listings are still the Game Boy Color cart.