The forgotten copy of Super Mario Bros. for the Nintendo Entertainment System holds the record for the most expensive video game in the world after being sold at auction in Texas for $ 660,000. Heritage Auctions announced that the professionally rated video game was sold during their Comics & Comic Art auction on April 2nd.
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According to Heritage, the video game was originally purchased in 1986 as a Christmas present. After it ended up in a desk’s desk, it was immediately forgotten and left for more than three decades. The video game – still in the original retail seal – was only rediscovered this year.
The sample received a 9.6 A + rating through Wata Games, one of two major companies providing authentication and rating services for video game memorabilia. What makes the game unique is that it is sealed with plastic packaging instead of a sticker seal. In addition, the 1986 series was cut short by another series of video games with different packaging. Auction house experts say another Super Mario Bros. game in this state may not exist in the world.
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“Once this copy of Super Mario Bros. arrived at Heritage, we knew the market would find it just as sensational as we were,” Valarie McLeckie, director of video games for Heritage Auctions, said in a press release. “Nevertheless, the extent to which this game was accepted outside the market was extremely extraordinary, and the aspect of this sale exceeded our expectations.”
The owner, who asked Heritage not to identify them, said they “never thought anything of it” until it was found.
Video games break records for most expensive memoranda sold
At the purchase price of $ 660,000, the sealed copy of Super Mario Bros. holds. now the record for the most expensive single piece of video games purchased at auction. The previous high-water mark was fixed in March 2020, when Polygon reported that a Nintendo prototype PlayStation had been sold for $ 300,000. Among individual video games, the previous world record for a video game was set in November 2020, when Heritage released 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 $ 660,000