KEY POINTS

  • An unopened copy of "Super Mario Bros." sold for $114,000 during an auction
  • This is the highest bid price for any video game ever auctioned
  • The game broke previous auction records

Aside from setting the record for rescuing a video game princess the most times, Mario has also set the record for the most expensive video game cartridge ever sold in an auction.

An unopened copy of “Super Mario Bros.” for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) reportedly fetched the highest selling price for a video game, selling for $114,000 at an auction held by Heritage Auctions on July 10. It was the highest-graded “Super Mario Bros.” title ever, having been graded 9.4 A+ by WataGames, indicating that it is in “exceptional,” near mint condition.

"The demand for this game was extremely high, and if any lot in the sale could hit a number like that, it was going to be this one," Heritage Auctions video games director Valarie McLeckie said in a press release.

Heritage Auctions initially estimated that it will only be able to garner a total of $428,000 for that session but was surprised to see that it was able to auction off $699,648 worth of items.

"We knew this would be a strong live session, but I don't think anybody could have anticipated how much bidding action there was on Heritage Live! and the phones. These results only verify Heritage Auctions' position in this rapidly growing market," McLeckie added.

Super Mario Bros SEALED
A photo of the unoped copy of "Super Mario Bros." that fetched the highest auction price for a video game ever. Heritage Auctions

Heritage Auctions said the unopened copy of “Super Mario Bros.” saw an increase in interest and value because it had a hangtab underneath the plastic seal, indicating that it was one of the first variants that Nintendo produced after starting to use shrink wrap to seal games. The game company previously used stickers to seal titles.

The session also saw several lots being auctioned. These included the following titles:

  • “Contra”- (Graded 9.4 A, released for the NES by Konami in 1988 in the U.S.A) – $21,600
  • “Duck Hunt” - (Graded 9.4 A+, released for the NES by Nintendo in 1985 in the U.S.A) – $14,400
  • “Gyromite”- (Graded 6.0 A++, released for the NES by Nintendo in 1985 in the U.S.A) – $11,100
  • “Rygar”- (Graded 9.6 B, released for the NES by Tecmo in 1987 in the U.S.A) – $12,600
  • “Super Mario Bros. 3” - (Graded 9.8 A+, released for the NES by Nintendo, Later Production) – $20,400
  • “Wild Gunman” - (Graded 9.4 A, released for the NES by Nintendo in 1985 in the U.S.A) – $26,400
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