This sealed copy of Super Mario Bros. for the NES was sold for over $100,000

Nintendo can rightfully boast about creating some of the most critically acclaimed experiences in the history of the industry and now one of their classic titles has set a record as the most expensive video games ever sold. A sealed copy of Super Mario Bros. for the NES was recently sold for $100,150 USD which shatters existing sales records for rare video games. For the sake of context, a shrink-wrapped copy of this game sold for over $30,000 and an ultra-rare copy of Stadium Events brought in over $35,000.

Image courtesy of Ars Technica.

Don’t tear your basement apart in search of your old copy of the game. This was an extremely rare variant of Super Mario Bros. that was released in test markets of San Francisco and New York City in late 1985. These games did not come in the traditional shrink wrap. Nintendo simply sealed them by putting a sticker directly on to the cardboard boxes. Less than 10,000 copies were released with this particular sticker on the box.

On top of that, the box itself is in remarkably pristine condition. Wata Games graded this copy of Super Mario Bros. with a score of 9.4 out of 10. Even the sticker was rated as A++.

The game has apparently been in the library of a well established collector all of this time. While the collector wishes to remain anonymous, he is apparently a well known personality among video game enthusiasts.

This copy of Super Mario Bros. was purchased by a group of three buyers. One of them is Jim Halperin who owns Heritage Auctions. He was invited to help purchase the game by Richard Lecce. If that name sounds familiar then you may recognize him as a former Guinness World Record holder for possessing the largest video game collection on the planet. The final member of this triumvirate is Zac Gieg, owner of Just Press Play Video Games. ““For now it will be stored in our vaults at Heritage Auctions whenever we aren’t displaying at conventions and other events,” said Halperin.

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