US Customs Just Destroyed A Rare Piece Of Gaming History

The internet revolutionized the shopping experience. Sure you can order plenty of useful gadgets through sites like Amazon, but many outlets let you purchase unique and rare items that you can't normally find on that site — or in the U.S. for that matter. However, this convenience comes with the risk of your product being mangled in the mail, and the pain is even worse when the damaged item is super rare. And when you can point fingers at one party in particular.

On February 26, Philip Peng (better known by his Twitter/X handle "Keripo") posted some horrible news: A game he'd ordered a while ago, "Tsukihime Trial Edition," arrived in pieces. The protective bubble wrap had been removed and the floppy disk torn to shreds, as if someone had pulled it apart with their bare hands. He was distraught (as anyone in his shoes would be), but also found a potential clue: The package was covered by tape that read "Opened and resealed by customs."

The running theory is that someone at U.S. Customs opened the package and deliberately destroyed the floppy disk, as according to Peng, the seller went to great lengths to protect the product and send pictures as proof. Plus, in another post, Peng stated the package was at one point "stuck in Customs for additional inspection." Peng said he will file a report regarding the event. Assuming his claims are valid, this could potentially scare many people off ordering products from foreign countries (Peng purchased his copy from a collector in Portugal), especially rare video games.

While many gamers prefer to play the latest titles, or modify aging consoles to serve new purposes, a few are dedicated to the art of ensuring that the oldest of video games are cataloged for posterity. But "Tsukihime Trial Edition" isn't just any old game; it's a rare title that gives people a glimpse into the history of a developer before it became famous.

The game "Tsukihime" is an adult visual novel (basically a choose your own adventure story in video game form) developed by Type-Moon. "Tsukihime" is the studio's first title, and most if not all of their subsequent games are spinoffs of "Tsukihime." However, you might be wondering what's so special about the "Trial Version" edition, especially because you can play a remake of the original title (or at least part of it) on PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch. For starters, "Tsukihime Trial Edition" is an early preview from before the game was finalized. Game historians love picking apart beta builds to see what studios changed during development. It offers insight into and helps them better appreciate the game development process.

The destruction of this particular floppy disk is so newsworthy because "Tsukihime Trial Edition" is one of the rarest games around. This demo build was sold at the 1999 Comiket convention at 100 yen a copy, and the developers only made 50 copies. The rarer a video game, even a demo disc, the more game preservationists will pay — just look at how much the Nintendo PlayStation prototype sold for at an auction. Thanks to U.S. Customs (presumably), there are at most 49 copies of "Tsukihime Trial Version" left, so who knows if another will surface.