8Bit/Digi

Last week; John Romero listed a TootsieToy Dakota shotgun, the exact type that inspired the shotgun in Doom, for auction on eBay. The auction has now ended and the toy gun has sold for $ 1,175 USD.

On March 17, Romero announced that he had listed one of the original TootsieToy Dakota shotgun for sale. This was an opportunity for collectors of video game memorabilia. It was noted that this is not the one that was used to create the iconic weapon. Instead it’s one of several like it and it belonged to Romero.

30 bids were made with the highest one being $1,175 USD. It’s unknown if the winner is going to want it signed by Romero (who makes it an option for anyone who purchase his memorabilia).

Romero is known to put up iconic game memorabilia for sale on eBay, with many selling for over $1,000 USD. In the past he has put up several of his floppy disk copies of Doom II (with one selling for $3,150). He has also put up his copy of Wolfenstein 3D (sold for $1,025), the iD Anthology (sold for $1,130) and Daikatana (sold for $243.50). Other memorabilia he has auctioned include a XL Doom T-shirt, a copy of Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture by David Kushner.

John Romero is a pioneer in the gaming world having co-founded id Software in the 90’s alongside John Carmack and Tom Hall. His gaming credits include work on Wolfenstein 3D, the Doom series and Quake just to name a few while also coining the multiplayer term “deathmatch”.

In 2015; he established Romero Games Ltd., an independent game studio located in Galway, Ireland. Their first title, Gunman Taco Truck was released in January 2017, and it was highly praised. Empire of Sin was the studios second title, and it was released in December 2020 for all major consoles and the PC.

8Bit/Digi is an independent media outlet that provides an insight into the video game community and industry of the San Francisco Bay Area.