DALLAS — An unopened copy of Nintendo’s Super Mario 64 from 1996 sold at auction Sunday for $1.56 million, overtaking the record set only two days earlier at nearly half the price.
A sealed copy of Super Mario 64 has just sold for $1.56 million at auction, making it the most valuable game collectible of all time. https://t.co/f5bqJ22M6s pic.twitter.com/3qTQwPwlXU
— IGN (@IGN) July 11, 2021
On Friday, a sealed copy of The Legend of Zelda broke the record for most expensive video game sold at auction with a high bid of $870,000.
>> Related: Unopened Legend of Zelda video game from 1987 sells for $870K
According to Rolling Stone, the pristine Super Mario 64 copy earned an unprecedented 9.8 A++ Wata grading, a guidepost for avid collectors, prompting Heritage Auctions in Dallas to write of the item, “Well - we’re speechless on this one.”
“What can we even say that would do this copy the justice it deserves? The cultural significance of this title and its importance to the history of video games is paramount, and the condition of this copy is just so breathtaking that we’re really at a loss here. If you have had your heart set on obtaining the highest graded copy of the single best-selling video game on the Nintendo 64 — the first 3D adventure of Nintendo’s mascot, Mario — we only have one piece of advice: this is not an opportunity to waste, the auction house added.
Valarie McLeckie, Heritage’s video game specialist, told The Associated Press that the auction house was shocked to see a game sell for more than $1 million two days after the Zelda game broke its past record.
The previous auction record - toppled by Zelda on Friday - was set in April when an unopened copy of Super Mario Bros. - that was bought in 1986 and forgotten about in a desk drawer - sold for $660,000.
>> Related: Unopened Super Mario Bros. video game from 1986 sells for $660K
“I had a lot of confidence in this game, and, yet, I still feel like the reality of today’s bidding exceeded my vision of how it would play out,” McLeckie told Rolling Stone.
“Making history is never an easy thing. I’m just really proud we got to be part of this yet again,” she added.
-- The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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