Nintendo DS Games Value: Pokemon, Rare RPGs and Fakes

Most Nintendo DS games are worth about $5-20 each as of November 2026: Mario Kart DS sells for about $14 as a loose cartridge and Brain Age for about $5. The money is in the Pokemon games and a handful of late role-playing games. PriceCharting's sold-price guide, which Mercari sold listings back up, puts Pokemon HeartGold at about $145 loose and $212 complete, Pokemon Platinum at about $129 loose and $200 complete, and Solatorobo at about $207 loose and $368 complete.

The DS launched in North America in November 2004 and sold in enormous numbers, so a shoebox of DS cards is usually a shoebox of $5-20 games. Two things decide whether yours is the exception: whether the title is one of the twenty or so that collectors chase, and whether the card is genuine. The Pokemon titles are the most valuable and also the most faked, so a $145 HeartGold and a $5 counterfeit can look almost identical in a listing photo.

Quick answer

• Common games and shovelware: about $3-20. Mario Kart DS about $14 loose, New Super Mario Bros. about $13.50, Brain Age about $5.
• Pokemon: HeartGold about $145 loose, SoulSilver about $129, Platinum about $129, Black 2 about $119, Diamond and Pearl about $40.
• HeartGold or SoulSilver complete in the big box with the Pokewalker: about $450-493.
• Other money games: Solatorobo about $368 complete, Explorers of Sky about $195, Chrono Trigger about $118, Strange Journey about $112. Ghost Trick is about $60.
• A fake Pokemon card is worth a few dollars as a curiosity, whatever the label says.

How do I check what my DS game is worth?

1. Read the front label. A North American DS card says NINTENDO DS at the top of the label and carries a game code in the form NTR-XXXX-USA. HeartGold, for example, is NTR-IPKE-USA. The last letter of the four-character code before -USA is E on North American copies. A card ending in -JPN or -EUR is a Japanese or European copy, which plays fine on a US system but sells for less to US buyers.
2. Check the shell color. Standard DS cards are gray. The six infrared Pokemon games (HeartGold, SoulSilver, Black, White, Black 2 and White 2) are black, because they carry an infrared port for the Pokewalker and other features. A black Diamond, Pearl or Platinum is wrong, and so is a gray HeartGold.
3. Turn it over. The back of a genuine card carries a molded model number: "NTR-005 PAT. PEND" on Diamond, Pearl and Platinum and "NTR-031 PAT. PEND" on the infrared Pokemon cards. It can wear faint, so tilt the card under a light.
4. Hold an infrared card up to a bright light. Genuine HeartGold, SoulSilver, Black, White, Black 2 and White 2 cards show a dark red or purple tint through the black plastic. Many fakes stay flat black.
5. Count the pieces. A complete DS game has the plastic case, the cover insert, the manual and whatever paper came with it. HeartGold and SoulSilver were sold in North America in a larger box that held the standard case plus the Pokewalker pedometer; PriceCharting tracks that big box version as a separate item.
6. Test it. Boot the game and save. A card that saves is a good sign, but many fakes save too, so this check comes last.

Which Nintendo DS games are worth the most?

The valuable DS games are the core Pokemon titles, plus small-print role-playing games from Atlus, Square Enix, Capcom and Xseed. Figures are PriceCharting's current guide values, built from completed eBay sales and checked on November 2, 2026, for North American copies.

Ghost Trick has a reputation as a sleeper, but loose copies sold on eBay for $49-66 in August and September 2026. Devil Survivor 2 and Radiant Historia sit around $35-41 complete. The Pokemon prices rest on several sales a day; Solatorobo and the sealed figures rest on far fewer, so treat them as rough.

Mercari sold listings broadly agree with these figures. Genuine loose HeartGold cards sold there for about $120-140, Platinum for about $90-155, Explorers of Sky for about $70-130, Solatorobo for about $240-285, and SoulSilver in the big box with the Pokewalker for about $370-640. Mercari also shows plenty of HeartGold and Platinum cards at $20-40; at that price they are almost always fakes.

How much does the case and manual add?

Less than on older systems, except on Pokemon. On Mario Kart DS the case and manual add about $6. On HeartGold they add about $67, and the big box with the Pokewalker roughly doubles the complete price again.

Because empty Pokemon cases sell well, sellers sometimes pair a genuine case with a fake card. Check the card itself, not the case.

How do I spot a fake DS Pokemon game?

Platinum, HeartGold, SoulSilver and the Black and White games are the most counterfeited DS cards. The checks, easiest first:

What fakes often get right: the label art, the overall shape and the fact that the game boots. Many counterfeit DS cards play normally for hours, so "tested and working" in a listing proves nothing about whether the card is genuine. Opening a DS card is fiddly and can damage the shell, so leave the board check to a shop or a seller who has done it before.

Is my game DS or 3DS?

3DS cards often end up in the same box. They are priced separately; the figures above are for DS games only.

A worked example

Say a relative hands you a DS Lite with eight games: two Brain Age copies, Nintendogs, Mario Kart DS, New Super Mario Bros., Pokemon Pearl, a loose black card labeled HeartGold and a case for SoulSilver with no card inside.

Start with the common games: about $5 each for the two Brain Age copies, about $12.50 for Nintendogs, about $14 for Mario Kart DS and about $13.50 for New Super Mario Bros. That is roughly $50. Pearl is gray, its label is crisp and the back reads NTR-005, so it is about $40 loose. The HeartGold card is black, the back reads NTR-031, and against a phone flashlight the plastic glows a dull red. That card is about $145. The empty SoulSilver case is worth something too: PriceCharting lists a SoulSilver box alone at about $61, a little more with the manual.

So the lot is worth roughly $290-300 before selling costs, and more than half of it is one card. If the HeartGold had stayed flat black under the light and the label text had looked soft, the lot would drop to about $150.

Where should I sell DS games?

Sell each Pokemon game card on its own, with photos of the front, the back and the light test; buyers skip Pokemon listings that hide the back. Common games move faster in bundles, and a local store will usually pay well under the PriceCharting figure.

Common mistakes

• Pricing a plain HeartGold or SoulSilver at the big box price. The $450-493 figure needs the larger box and the Pokewalker.
• Trusting "tested and working". Fakes boot and play.
• Assuming every DS role-playing game is rare. Devil Survivor 2, Radiant Historia and Ghost Trick sell for about $35-60 complete.
• Throwing out empty Pokemon cases and manuals.
• Selling a Japanese or European card at the US price. It plays on a US system, but US buyers pay less for it.

How WorthPic reads Nintendo DS game photos

WorthPic runs on the newest and most capable AI model available, tuned for exactly this kind of identification. From photos of the card, the back and the case it reads the title, the NTR game code and region, the shell color, the back marking and which pieces are present, then gives an honest value range from recent sales for that game and level of completeness, with a most likely figure. From a sharp photo of the label it can often spot the soft print and wrong colors that mark a counterfeit, and it will say when a black shell or a back code does not match the title. What it cannot know from a photo is whether the card saves, what is on the board, or how a card looks against a bright light unless you photograph that. It identifies and estimates. It does not authenticate, grade or appraise. For an expensive Pokemon card in doubt, a retro game shop that opens carts settles it in hand.

What to photograph

• The front label straight on, with the NTR code readable.
• The back of the card, angled slightly so the molded text shows.
• For HeartGold, SoulSilver, Black, White, Black 2 and White 2: the card held up to a bright light.
• The case front, the inside and the manual cover.
• For the big box Pokemon games: the outer box and the Pokewalker.

When to get it looked at in person

A common DS game does not need an expert; a PriceCharting or eBay sold check for the exact title and completeness is enough. A Pokemon card that fails one of the checks above, a sealed Pokemon game, and any DS lot you are buying for more than about $200 deserve a look from a retro game shop that will open the card and compare the board. If the same box holds older handheld games, the vintage Game Boy and Game Boy Advance games guides cover them, and the old Nintendo games guide covers the home consoles. For the Pokemon cards that often turn up in the same drawer, see how to tell if a Pokemon card is fake. For the wider picture of how games and electronics are valued, from handhelds to cameras and computers, see the category page.

Sources

• PriceCharting: Pokemon HeartGold, Nintendo DS: loose, complete, sealed, box-only and manual-only prices.
• PriceCharting: Pokemon HeartGold with Pokewalker: big box prices.
• PriceCharting: Pokemon Platinum, Nintendo DS: loose, complete and sealed prices.
• PriceCharting: Solatorobo: Red the Hunter: loose and complete prices.
• PriceCharting: Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective: prices and the 2026 sales cited.
• Mercari sold listings: a second set of sold prices for every game in the value table, checked November 2, 2026.
• Johto Times: How to spot fake Pokemon games: NTR-005 and NTR-031 back markings, shell colors and the infrared light test.