Unopened Copy Of Super Mario 64 Sells For $1.56 Million At Auction, Stomping Previous Record

A copy of the very first 3D Mario title, Super Mario 64, has sold at auction for a whopping $1.56 million, becoming the most expensive video game ever sold. The previous record was set just last week on July 9 with the sale of a copy of The Legend of Zelda for $870,000.

The copy of Super Mario 64 was sold as part of Heritage Auctions' video games signature auction, which ran from July 9 to July 11. The auction house also sold the previously mentioned copy of The Legend of Zelda. Speaking to the AP, a video game specialist at Heritage, Valarie McLeckie, said that it was shocking for a game to sell for over $1 million after the massive sale for The Legend of Zelda.

Much like the copy of The Legend of Zelda that sold last week, the copy of Super Mario 64 that sold is in impeccable condition. The copy is sealed and Wata 9.8 rate, letter grade A++, which, according to Heritage Auctions, makes it the "highest graded copy of the single best-selling video game on the Nintendo 64."

Comparatively, the copy of The Legend of Zelda was rated 9.0, letter grade A. According to the Wata Games site, a rating of A++ means that a game is in "Like new" condition, with its only marks coming from "factory processing."

It is not immediately clear who purchased this copy of Super Mario 64. With this sale, Heritage Auctions has conducted the past three most expensive sales of video games, with the third being a copy of Super Mario Bros. that was sold in April 2021 for $660,000.