A sealed physical copy of Super Mario 64 has made a monumental sale at an auction worth $1.56 million.
Mint physical copies of games from a distant past are a relic within the gaming community. Like an antique, they would often fetch a high value which pays tribute to their long-enduring pristine state. Better the value if the title in question is extremely popular or comes with a peculiar tale to it.
Unmatched Quality
Their uniqueness doesn’t necessarily imply they cannot go through reproduction again. But re-releases will not make the value of the original any less decades later today. This is what makes a difference between a game made in the 90’s and a similar title that gets reprinted years later.
But while age makes a strong factor that makes something of great value, there are also other elements to consider. In the case of those that made their way in the auction for bidding, presentation is also clearly an important consideration. Especially, the kind that have not been seen used since production. Or those seemingly preserved in time while kept inside their original container.
Historically, we’ve seen how certain retro titles managed to sell for hundreds of thousands. Just like the rare The Legend of Zelda, which recently sold at $870,000. It temporarily holding the label as the most expensive video game title ever sold at an auction. There had been several others prior, each with their own story to tell, although not in the same price range.
Record-breaking Feat
Breaking all those records, however, is yet another landmark event at the auction that sees an ancient Nintendo title fetching far greater sums. Specifically, a sealed physical copy of the Super Mario 64 which just sold at $1.56 million—the highest for a collectible game to date.
Sold to a lucky buyer via the Heritage Auctions, the rare Super Mario 64 was initially appraised prior to being auctioned. Given a 9.8 rating following a Wata Scale, it makes one of the known few copies that remain in their original enclosure.
Before selling off by a staggering amount, the same item has begun at a bidding price of around $100 thousand. Not really a small amount to start, which only indicates the quality the item is in all along. For it to sell at many times the original bidding price also only suggests a relative fierce demand over it among adamant bidders.
Image used courtesy of Heritage Auctions