Recently, a Nintendo Famicom game cartridge "Super Mario Bros." that still maintains its factory-sealed condition was sold at Heritage Auctions in the United States for US$3 million, setting a new record in the history of game auctions. This transaction price significantly refreshed the previous record of US$2 million also held by "Super Mario Brothers". Earlier, "Super Mario 64", which caused controversy in 2021 and was sold for US$1.56 million, was once regarded as a "sky-high price game", and now it pales in comparison.
According to the auction house, the "Super Mario Bros." sold this time is the second batch production version in 1985. Different from the plastic packaging that was common later, it was sealed with a glossy sticker. This packaging method was soon discontinued, so it is extremely rare to survive. It is considered to be one of the earliest known sealed version game entities. The cassette was authenticated by third-party grading agency Professional Sports Authenticator and graded 9.6 A++, which is in near-perfect condition and was one of the key factors driving the auction price.
In recent years, the collectible market for retro games and console peripherals has continued to heat up, with prices soaring. As early as July 2020, Heritage Auctions sold a sealed version of "Super Mario Bros." for $114,000, which at that time set the highest price for a game in auction history. Six years later, today’s transaction volume of $3 million makes that price look almost like a bargain.
It is worth mentioning that when this game was released that year, it was sold as a set with the Nintendo Famicom console. The whole set sold for about US$150. Today, the auction price of a single cassette is tens of thousands of times the price of the complete set. The auction article also jokingly reminded buyers that this game was originally "included" with the console.
Heritage Auctions also said that if the record-breaking buyer finally decides to do the "unthinkable" - that is, to open the game cartridge that has been preserved for more than 40 years, the auction house will give away an additional NES console so that the buyer can actually insert this classic game into the console and play it. In the face of the choice between collection value and actual "open box experience", this console is more like a symbolic addition: reminding people that this is still a video game born to be played.