What you need to know
- Back in 2015, PDP released this controller that was an official collaboration with Fallout 4 for the Xbox One.
- As Fallout mania hits following the Prime Video show, coupled with the likely scarcity of these things, prices on eBay are pretty high.
- If you've got one stashed away, you could be sat on something worth a pile of caps. Or, you know, dollars.
It's impossible not to have seen Fallout somewhere in the last couple of weeks. The success of season one of the Fallout Prime Video show has well and truly rejuvenated the franchise, drawing in a raft of new players on all platforms.
Fallout also has a healthy merchandise scene, and there are folks out there that want to collect everything. Including this, the PDP Fallout 4 Vault Boy controller from almost nine years ago.
Launched in the heyday of the Xbox One, this wired controller is adorned with a fetching Vault-Tec blue and yellow paint job, with an image of the beloved Fallout mascot in his trademark thumbs up pose. Naturally, you can't buy one from retail anymore, but prices on resale sites like eBay are CRAZY. If you have one, you might be able to fetch a hefty asking price for it.
Take this eBay listing, for example. A brand-new, mint in box Vault Boy controller with an asking price of $200. Is it worth that? Maybe, maybe not. It's worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it, which could well end up being $200. That's not even the most expensive listing at the time of writing, a similar sealed controller is priced $100 higher. In contrast, this one looks like a bargain!
But what about if it's not new and you don't have the box? Such an item is currently listed at $115, so it's still a hefty markup over both what this cost new, and what you could buy a new controller for. Even if you hit the Xbox Design Lab, you can get a brand sparkly new Fallout-themed controller for much less.
It looks like a similar story for anyone who owns, or already owns the red, Nuka Cola-themed Fallout controller by PowerA. There's only one of these available right now, but again, it's listed at $200. Wishful thinking, or shrewd business?
These aren't the only rare controllers we've seen in recent times fetching big bucks on the resale market. My colleague, Jennifer Young, recently covered an even more outrageously priced Halo Wars 2 Xbox controller that fetches up to $500.
Of course, to collectors, this might not seem like a lot. But it's certainly an eye-opener. If I had one of these, I'd definitely be tossing it up on eBay right now.
Like the prices of these controllers, the Fallout franchise has seen a surge in numbers since the debut of the show. Every Fallout game has seen an increase, with the most recent title, Fallout 76, even hitting a new all-time peak concurrent player count on Steam. If you haven't played it yet, it's on Xbox Game Pass, or if you're an Amazon Prime subscriber, you can claim a free copy on PC and console until May 15.
It looks like there's solid gold out there in the Wasteland.
