John Romero, the developer of hit classic games like Wolfenstein 3D, Quake and Doom, has made one retro-gaming fan very happy, by selling a copy of Doom II‘s floppy discs, which he has offered to personally sign. While it was originally priced at just $10 on eBay, the auction quickly took off and eventually sold to one lucky bidder for $3,150.
Along with other industry veterans like John Carmack and Dave Taylor, Romero was one of the original programmers on Doom II and had a major hand in developing much of the tropes we still appreciate in first person shooters today. Although Daikatana muddied his legacy somewhat, he’s one of the earliest titans of the gaming industry and is well remembered by many because of it.
That is why him offering to lay his pen to a copy of one of gaming’s classic franchises in its original form is quite special. The auction was not clear whether these were Romero’s personal discs that came from a first printing, though it seems likely Romero would have said so if that were the case.
A truly rare auction would have been signed copies of the original 5.25-inch disks of the first Doom, released in 1993. As Ars Technica points out, that version has sold for close to $1,000 without Romero’s signature attached to them.
Regardless, this auction was for the original Doom II 1994 floppy discs — all five of them. They are said to be in great condition, though the glue on the stickers is starting to wear a little. They appear to be part of a Romero housecleaning, as he has been selling a few other Doom related items as of late.
The winner of this auction may wish to follow up their purchase with the original manual and box, as these auctioned discs do not come with either. Presumably, though, the offer of an autographed set of original floppy discs was still too much to pass up, even if they are not in mint condition.
Romero should feel pleased to have his name still garner such interest from fans, as not every star is so lucky. Earlier this year, a private jet once owned by Elvis Presley sold for $430,000, despite earlier estimates pegging it as potentially fetching as much as $3 million.
If you are sad to have missed out on this auction, at least you can take comfort in the fact that Doom II is more available today than ever before. As well as bring playable on Steam right now, you can even get it running on a keyboard if you’re so inclined.
