12 July 2021
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The mint condition cartridge is one of fewer than five copies in such condition
A sealed, mint condition version of the video game Super Mario 64 has sold at auction for more than $1.5m (£1.1m), making it the most expensive video game ever sold.
The game cartridge, dating from 1996, attracted a considerable amount of attention at Heritage Auctions in America for its “historical significance, rarity and condition”, having received a 9.8 A++ rating from collectable firm Wata.
Valarie McLeckie, a video games specialist for Heritage Auctions, said: “It seems impossible to overstate the importance of this title, not only to the history of Mario and Nintendo, but to video games as a whole,”
Super Mario 64 remains one of most critically acclaimed video games of all time, with its three-dimensional platforming helping to sell millions of Nintendo 64 consoles upon its launch.
“This is Mario’s debut appearance in a 3D world, and it was the most popular video game for the N64,” McLeckie added. “Considering this, and the fact that there are fewer than five sealed in this grade according to Wata, this copy is a true prize for any serious collector.”
The sale value is nearly double that of the previous record-breaker, an original The Legend of Zelda cartridge for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) from 1988, which had been set just two days before at $870,000 (£744,000).
“After the record-breaking sale of the first game in the Zelda series on Friday, the possibility of surpassing $1m on a single video game seemed like a goal that would need to wait for another auction,” McLeckie said. “We were shocked to see that it turned out to be in the same one!”
The copies of Super Mario 64 and The Legend of Zelda have been sold as collector’s items rather than to play, since Nintendo has rereleased both for its modern Nintendo Switch console.
Super Mario 64 was the bestseller for the Nintendo 64 system and is considered a pioneer for introducing a new style that allowed players to move freely through the space rather than being restricted to side-scrolling through levels.
However some experts have warned that the video game collectables market is in danger of overheating, with interest in factory-sealed retro games increasing over the past year, with enormous profits for some collectors.