New Super Mario Bros. U (Future Shop Steelbook Edition)

Canadian steel, plumber-grade durability. The New Super Mario Bros. U Future Shop Steelbook Edition on Wii U bundles the standard game with an empty G1 SteelBook case, and it was available exclusively through Future Shop Canada pre-orders.

Future Shop itself no longer exists, absorbed into Best Buy Canada back in 2015, which means the retail chain that sold this SteelBook has vanished entirely. You can't walk into a Future Shop and find leftover stock. You can't stumble across a reprint. Every copy that exists was pre-ordered from a now-defunct Canadian electronics retailer during the Wii U's launch window. That alone makes this a fascinating collector's piece.

New Super Mario Bros. U was the Wii U's flagship launch platformer, and this SteelBook gives it the metallic presentation that Mario's return to HD deserved. The G1 format keeps it consistent with other SteelBook collections, and any Mario-branded metal case carries inherent display value. A dead retailer, a niche console's launch title, and an exclusive pre-order SteelBook. That's three layers of scarcity stacked on top of one of gaming's most recognizable franchises. Good luck finding another one.