Rare Super Mario Bros. Copy Sells for Record $3 Million at Auction

A pristine, sealed copy of the classic Nintendo game, Super Mario Bros., has been auctioned for an unprecedented $3 million, making it the most expensive video game ever sold. Heritage Auctions announced the sale, which significantly surpassed previous records in video game collecting.

The item, graded PSA 9.6 A++, is identified as the earliest confirmed sealed copy from the game's second production run. This particular run, released in early 1986, featured a distinct gloss sticker. The sale price nearly doubled that of a sealed Super Mario 64 copy sold in 2021 and exceeded a $2 million record set in the same year.

The 40-year-old game was recently discovered inside a brand-new Control Deck NES console bundle, having remained untouched for nearly four decades. Evan Masingill, Heritage's consignment director for video games, commented on the sale: "It is only appropriate that the most significant video game in the world should bring the more impressive result in the history of the hobby. The remarkable back story — it was just discovered a few months ago inside a brand-new Control Deck NES console bundle, meaning it has not been touched for nearly 40 years — makes the result even more impressive."

Heritage described the $3 million copy as "the holy grail of video game collecting," citing its immaculate condition certified by PSA. It is considered to be in the best shape among the three known sealed copies from the same production run, with the others graded Video Game Authority (VGA) 80 and Wata 9.4 A++. This particular copy is also the first sealed iteration of the game to appear in a public auction. As an additional acquisition, the buyer also received the unopened launch edition NES Control Deck console that originally contained the game.

Comparatively, a copy of Fortnite sold for $42,500 a few months prior, and a Superman comic book was sold for $6 million in 2024. (Source: IGN)