Source: Sealed copy of Super Mario Bros. for the NES smashes auction record
A like-new, still-sealed copy of Super Mario Bros. for the NES was auctioned for $114,000 (via The Verge).
This makes the US copy of the 1985 game the most expensive game ever sold.
It breaks the record set by a copy of the same game that sold for $100,150 last year. This copy is actually an earlier printing, apparently.
The game was particularly rare because of its 9.4/10 condition rating and the special packaging it comes in, which has a lot to do with cardboard hanging tabs. Heritage Auctions described the lot:
“Cardboard hanging tabs were originally used in the US test market for copies of black box games before plastic was used to seal each game. As Nintendo began to further establish its company in the US, its packaging was updated almost continuously. Strangely, the addition of the plastic wrap came before the box die was changed to remove the cardboard hanging tab. This rendered the functionality of the cardboard hanging tab completely useless as it was under the plastic seal. There are four sub-variants of the plastic-sealed cardboard hangtab box (this particular copy of Super Mario Bros. is the “3 Code” variant) that were made within a year. Each sub-variant of the cardboard hangtab black box produced during this period had a production time of just a few months; a drop in the ocean compared to the overall production of the title.
“In short, a cardboard hangtab copy of an early Nintendo Entertainment System game brings with it a certain ‘vintage’ vibe unmatched by its successors. Super Mario Bros. was one of the launch titles for the NES console in the US and is the best-selling game on the console of all time. It is the first game in the Super Mario Bros. video game series and the first appearance of Mario’s nemesis Bowser. This specimen will certainly serve as a centerpiece for the discerning collector and should not be missing.”
The anonymous bidder made a bit of history, but it’s hard to say if the game will continue to increase in value now that it’s in someone’s collection.
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