A long-forgotten copy of Super Mario Bros. for the Nintendo Entertainment System holds the world’s most expensive video game record, after being sold for $ 660,000 at an auction in Texas. Heritage Auctions announced that the professionally rated video game was sold during the Comics & Comic Art auction on April 2.
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Long-lost Christmas gift ends up pushing the world record video game price
According to Heritage, the video game was originally purchased as a Christmas gift in 1986. However, after stopping in a desk drawer, it was promptly forgotten and left for more than three decades. The video game – still with the original retail label – was only rediscovered this year.
The specimen received a 9.6 A + rating from Wata Games, one of the two main companies that provide authentication and classification services for video game memorabilia. What makes the game unique is that it was sealed with a plastic film instead of an adhesive seal. In addition, the 1986 run was interrupted by another run of the video game with different packaging. Auction house experts say there may not be another Super Mario Bros game in the world. in this condition.
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“As soon as this copy of Super Mario Bros. came to Heritage, we knew the market would find it as sensational as we are, ”said Valarie McLeckie, director of video games at Heritage Auctions, in a press release. “Even so, the degree to which this game was adopted outside the market has been exceptionally exceptional, and that aspect of the sale has certainly exceeded our expectations.”
The owner, who asked Heritage not to identify them, said he “never thought about it” until he was found.
Video game breaks records for most expensive souvenirs sold
With a purchase price of $ 660,000, the sealed copy of Super Mario Bros. now holds the record for most expensive video game memorabilia purchased at auction. The previous watermark was established in March 2020, when Polygon reported that a Nintendo PlayStation prototype sold for $ 300,000. Among individual video games, the previous world record for a video game was set in November 2020, when Heritage sold a sealed copy of Super Mario Bros. 3 for $ 156,000.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Unopened Super Mario Game Sells for $ 660k