Super Mario 64 breaks record for biggest video game sale ever at auction

(Image credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

published 12 July 2021

Thanks to an unopened Nintendo game, one lucky seller just earned themselves quite a few coins.

A sealed copy of Super Mario 64 sold at an auction this weekend for a whopping $1.56 million, BBC News reports. This, according to The Verge, makes it the most expensive video game ever sold at an auction. Originally released in 1996 for the Nintendo 64, Super Mario 64 was the first 3D Mario platforming game and is considered to be a classic of the genre.

The sale occurred via Dallas' Heritage Auctions, which said there were "fewer than five sealed" copies of the game that received the condition rating this one did. The previous record for biggest video game sale was actually set just last week at the same auction, as a copy of The Legend of Zelda sold for $870,000, BBC notes. Before that, a copy of Super Mario Bros. sold for $660,000, Super Mario Bros. 3 sold for $156,000, and another copy of Super Mario Bros. sold for $114,000, The Verge reports. All of those records came within the past year.

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Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.

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