You might want to start checking your cupboards for classic video games, because a copy of Super Mario Bros. just made auction history.
Anybody who has tried to nab themselves an N64 copy of Ocarina of Time on eBay (or even old-school Pokemon Cards) would be able to tell you, some people would love to send you broke from video games. But the recent auction of a rare Super Mario Bros. cartridge takes things to a whole new level – selling for a massive US$660,000.
That’s an astounding AU$866,000!
The whole event took place at a Comics & Comic Art Signature Auction at Heritage Auctions, a well-known auction house in Texas, USA. While there were reportedly a few classic games in mint condition on offer, the piece de resistance was the beloved plumber.
Unopened Super Mario Bros. game from 1986 sells for $660,000 #HeritageAuctions #SuperMarioBros
via @AP https://t.co/CZfeZerwMe
— Heritage Auctions (@HeritageAuction) April 2, 2021
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Why the big price tag? According to Heritage Auctions, part of it had to do with the case having an unused hang tab on its back, combined with being only the fourth version of the game ever produced.
“Since the production window for this copy and others like it was so short, finding another copy from this same production run in similar condition would be akin to looking for single drop of water in an ocean,” Valarie McLeckie, Heritage’s video game specialist told Associated Press. That’s a pretty big call.
The result is especially mind-blowing considering the previous record for Super Mario Bros. was a measly US$114,000 – set back in July last year. Still, not bad for a game that wouldn’t have cost more than $100 when it was first released back in 1985.
“[The video game] stayed in the bottom of my office desk this whole time since the day I bought it,” the seller said in the Heritage Auctions release via New York Post. “I never thought anything about it.”
Now if you’ll excuse us, we’re off to raid all of our childhood toys now.
You can read more about this topic over at the Gaming Observer.
