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Sealed Super Mario 64 Is Fetching Huge Price At Auction

If you have hundreds of thousands of dollars to spare, you can get a rare near-mint sealed copy of Mario's first 3D game.

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A rare near-mint sealed copy of Super Mario 64 is up for auction, having been set at a 6-figure price and likely to climb further as the auction continues.

The copy of the iconic game was given a 9.8 rating on the Wata Scale, which auctioneer Heritage Auctions says makes it just one of fewer than five known sealed copies in such good condition. The auction is currently set at $100,000, with the next acceptable bid to be in increments of $5,000. The grand total due will be 20% above the final bid price to pay the Buyer's Premium.

Heritage has experience listing rare video games, having sold a sealed, hang-tab copy of the original Super Mario Bros. (Wata rating 9.6) for $660,000 in April. That beat the previous record for a copy of SMB by more than $100,000.

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"It seems impossible to overstate the importance of this title, not only to the history of Mario and Nintendo, but to video games as a whole," said Heritage video game specialist Valarie McLeckie, in the announcement. "This is Mario's debut appearance in a 3D world, and it was the most popular--best-selling--video game for the N64. Considering this, and the fact that there are fewer than five sealed in this grade according to Wata, this copy is a true prize for any serious collector."

If you simply want to play Super Mario 64, you have much cheaper options. Despite having been delisted on the Nintendo eshop, Super Mario 3D All-Stars is still available in many retail stores, and it includes Mario 64, along with Mario Sunshine and Galaxy.

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Chronogos

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I think it's funny how a super common game is suddenly considered "rare" and extremely valuable just because it's sealed. I understand it's very rare for someone to buy a video game and not open it after 20+ years, but Mario 64 is such a common game I don't get why it's so valuable. Maybe there's some shilling going on, that's my guess. Either way, it's kinda ridiculous how some game collectors think they're "preserving gaming history" by locking up sealed games in plastic boxes and never opening them. If you really are interested in preserving obscure video games, the best way to preserve that game would be to dump the ROM, share it on the net along with high resolution pictures of the box, cartridge/disk and manual. That way the game will be able to be enjoyed by anyone who wants to experience it, even if it's the rarest game in the world and they'll never get a physical copy of their own they can at least get a little bit of the experience.

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Wraith3

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I think this is something people are going to end up losing their butts on. Of course if you can spend that much on a video game, you're probably not going to miss that money. I just can't see videogames keeping their value like art, collectible cars, etc.

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Chronogos

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@Wraith3: Especially when it comes to a super common game like Mario 64. It's not like anyone will have a difficult time playing this game!

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totallytc

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money laundering

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PrpleTrtleBuBum

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open the damn game and play it it's its purpose!

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juiceair

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*Mario Voice*

“Heeerrrree we gooooooooo!”

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RestatBonfire

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Bought a switch just to play 3D all stars. It's been such a stress relief. I love Mario!

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R4gn4r0k

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@restatbonfire: Which one has been your favourite so far?

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RestatBonfire

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@R4gn4r0k: mario 64 forsure. I adored that game as a kid. 30 years old now, loving it all over.

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R4gn4r0k

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@restatbonfire: I'm actually playing it for the first time. I played all of the mainline Mario games from NES-Wii U, but never had a N64 to check out the OG 3D one.

Do you have any tips for me? Things I need to pay special attention to in levels? You must have beaten this game a lot so your tips could really help me improve :D

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RestatBonfire

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@R4gn4r0k: wow dude I'm jealous. I wish I could experience mario 64 for the first time again haha. My advice is to try and get all the stars in each level before continuing, utilize all of mario's moves there's so many!

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