A copy of ‘Super Mario 64’ sold for over $1.5 million, the most ever paid for a video game
Rob Picheta, CNN
A copy of “Super Mario 64″ has sold for more than $1.5 million, smashing the record for the most expensive sale ever of a video game at auction.
The sealed copy of the classic Nintendo 64 video game fetched $1.56 million including fees on Sunday.
Dallas-based auction house Heritage said it was the first time a game had gone for more than $1 million. The sale topped a record set just two days ago, when another Nintendo game, “The Legend of Zelda,” was sold for $870,000, the auctioneers said.
“Super Mario 64” was released in 1996 and immediately became one of the most loved and best-selling games in the Nintendo franchise.
The first “Super Mario” edition to feature 3D gameplay, its success was a boost to the Nintendo 64 console and laid the groundwork for a number of subsequent 3D video games.
“After the record-breaking sale of the first game in the Zelda series on Friday, the possibility of surpassing $1 million on a single video game seemed like a goal that would need to wait for another auction,” Heritage Auctions video games specialist Valarie McLeckie said in a statement.
“We were shocked to see that it turned out to be in the same one! We are proud to have been a part of this historic event,” she added.
The game that was sold was immaculately sealed, achieving the highest possible A++ grade from video game grading company WataGames.
The undying popularity of the “Super Mario” universe, which was created when the first edition of the series was released in 1985, has prompted several high-profile auction sales and fueled an entire industry of nostalgic merchandise.
Before the two record-breaking sales, the highest price ever paid for a game at auction was believed to be $660,000, paid in April for a sealed copy of “Super Mario Bros.”
Interest in other Nintendo 64 games also remains strong. Last year, Pokémon Snap, a classic game from the era, was re-released on the Nintendo Switch.
The-CNN-Wire
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