Pristine Super Mario Bros. NES game sells for record millions
▼ Summary
– A sealed copy of Super Mario Bros. sold for $3 million at Heritage Auctions, a new record.
– The game was discovered inside a brand-new NES console bundle from nearly 40 years ago, still untouched.
– The previous record was a $2 million private sale in 2021, and a 2021 cartridge sold for $660,000.
– This copy is from the second print run and is the oldest known sealed copy, with a PSA grade of 9.6.
– The packaging features a unique 1986 glossy sticker and a cardboard hang tab discontinued in 1987.
A nearly four-decade-old copy of Super Mario Bros. has shattered all previous records, selling for a “staggering” $3 million at Heritage Auctions on Friday. This isn’t your typical tale of a dusty attic find. Instead, it’s a story of a history-defining game discovered still shrink-wrapped inside a brand-new Control Deck NES console bundle, untouched for almost 40 years.
The sale obliterates the prior record of $2 million, set in a private sale in 2021. Earlier that same year, a different cartridge had fetched $660,000, a then-unprecedented sum for a collectible video game. The new benchmark crushes both figures, and the reasons become clear upon closer inspection.
What makes this particular copy so extraordinary goes beyond its pristine condition. It hails from the second print run of the iconic platformer, making it the oldest known sealed copy of Super Mario Bros. in existence. The packaging features a special glossy sticker from 1986 and a cardboard hang tab discontinued in 1987. While not flawless, it holds a PSA grade of 9.6, the closest any sealed copy has ever come to perfection. Only two other sealed copies of a similar vintage are known to exist.
“The remarkable backstory , it was just discovered a few months ago inside a brand-new Control Deck NES console bundle, meaning it has not been touched for nearly 40 years , makes the result even more impressive,” says Evan Masingill, a Consignment Director at Heritage.
For those with deep pockets and an interest in gaming history, the Heritage Auctions website currently allows visitors to send offers to the new owner.
(Source: Polygon)
