Sealed Super Mario Bros. fetches record $3 million at auction
▼ Summary
– A sealed copy of Super Mario Bros. sold at auction for $3 million, breaking the previous record of $2 million set in 2021.
– The high price is partly due to the game being sealed with a glossy sticker instead of shrink wrap, a method discontinued shortly after its use.
– Heritage Auctions claims this copy is the earliest known sealed version of the game in existence.
– The record-breaking sale followed a controversial auction of Super Mario 64 for $1.56 million.
– The game originally came free with the NES console, which cost $150.
A sealed, first-edition copy of the original Super Mario Bros. for the NES has shattered auction records, selling for a staggering $3 million at Heritage Auctions. The sale more than doubles the previous high-water mark for a video game, which was set in 2021 when another sealed copy of the same title fetched $2 million. That earlier record itself followed a controversial $1.56 million sale of a sealed Super Mario 64.
What made this particular cartridge so extraordinarily valuable? According to Heritage Auctions, this is a “second production” run from 1985, but it was sealed using a glossy sticker rather than the standard shrink wrap. That sticker was discontinued shortly after, making this the earliest known sealed copy of the game in existence. The pristine condition, combined with the rarity of the sealing method, drove collectors into a bidding frenzy.
It is a peculiar irony that a game once given away for free with the purchase of a Nintendo console now commands a price that could buy a small fleet of Ferraris. Yet, the market for mint-condition, sealed retro games shows no signs of cooling, with each new sale seemingly resetting expectations for what a piece of plastic and silicon can be worth.
(Source: The Verge)
