A sealed copy of Super Mario 64 sells for $1.5 million!

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-57804089

A sealed copy of video game Super Mario 64 has sold at auction for more than $1.5m (£1.1m), shattering records.

The 1996 cartridge was a launch title for the Nintendo 64 console, and was one of the most influential early 3D platformers.

The auction house said there were "fewer than five" copies in such good condition.

The sale dwarfed another record-breaker, an original Legend of Zelda cartridge, set just two days before.

That original Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) cartridge sold for $870,000 on Friday, briefly making it the world's most expensive game.

Neither game was bought for the rarity of its gameplay experience - Nintendo has rereleased both for its Nintendo Switch console.

Instead, they have value as physical memorabilia, in the same way as rare trading cards.

The Super Mario 64 cartridge was graded by video game collectable firm Wata at a 9.8 A++ rating - meaning it is both in near-perfect condition and its seal is intact and "like new".

A high rating is not enough to guarantee a high auction price - although it helps. Another copy of Super Mario 64 in the same auction with a 9.6 A++ rating sold for a comparatively affordable $13,200.

But rarer copies of more popular games attract the most bids.

Super Mario 64 was the best-selling game for the Nintendo 64 system, and is widely seen as an important game in video game history. It marked Mario's first move into three dimensions, distinct from his side-scrolling origins.

While many modern gamers feel it has not aged particularly well and is widely thought to have significant camera issues, it is still considered among the best video games ever made. Heritage Auctions, the company behind the sale, was taken by surprise at the huge price it eventually attracted.

Lmao at all of you digital owners. Take that!! 😆😜

Bonus question - what is the rarest/most expensive gaming memorabilia you own or have owned?

I used to have copies of Fire Emblem Fates Special Edition and I also had a copy of Metal Gear Solid for GBA. Sold those for $200 and $125 respectively.

Scalping has reached a new high.

This makes no sense to me.

I own Raystorm, Einheinder, and Ray Crisis for the PS1, each depending on the market are $200 games.

I have Parasite Eve 2 which sits around $160. I also have Dino Crisis 2 which is around $100.

As for the Mario 64 news.... wow. But also why? Just shows there people out there with tons of money to blow.

Just another form of money laundering.

Or you can buy the game loose for maybe $20.

I heard the game is… free.😏🤫

Rich people gotta rich; meanwhile, everyone else bought this game for about $60.

I don't judge people how they spend their own money to whatever their heart's content is.

I feel bad for opening and playing it like 20 years ago ... shame on me :(

Sometimes I go to eBay to see what's the most expensive items in video games being sold. I always wonder who's buying this stuff? Like what do they do for a living? What do they do with these items once they own them? Would love to see behind the curtain on these rich video gamers sometime. Would make a cool mini series!

And that was just after Italy won the Euro Cup, where a bunch of Italy fans were dressed-up as Mario... I wonder if that shot up the value?

Thats crazy.

I have a complete copy of Solatorobo on DS. Thats almost $300 now. One of my unopened amiibo is about $250. Crazy to think how much secondary prices have gone up.

Rare stuff being pricey is normal. This is a collector's item.

I had spare copies Silent Hill 2 & 3 that I sold recently, $200 a piece. Stupid people parting with money is for the best.

Turns out we all should have bought 2 copies and kept one safe and sealed :/

Oh yeah, it's also Mario's 40th birthday:

Mario and Donkey Kong are now 40 years old!

So there's that too.

This must be some kind of millionaire big brain time that i'm too poor to understand.

That’s just crazy! Don’t understand why the other copy only sold for 13k though??

I saw a video a while back about a couple guys (probably family) that had a warehouse full of this stuff. Literally cases of unopened games. I'm assuming they were already wealthy, so they could just sit on this stuff and sell when the price peaks.

I sold a legit sealsd copy of mario 64 sealed for about 2000ish last summer. I think it’d pull an 7.5-8 from wata which is around 10k now. Retro market is going nuts. I have a sealed chronotrigger for snes still and some other big ticket items I won’t sell probably

@djoffer123: A 9.8 for that old of a game is why it’s so much. It’s probably the highest rated mario 64 in existance.

wow bro, why don't you buy a monster gaming PC with that?

That's where my money's at.

@SolidGame_basic: why? To play league of legends with 350 fps instead of 200?

Yea bro, in 8K and VR.

I have reached a point where my collection is begging to be sold, but it stands against every fiber of my being and makes me cringe to think about. That said... it's just plastic and cardboard in the end and at this point I'm sitting on a pile of gold like a dragon protecting the hoard... sigh.

I never got into collecting to make money, and started collecting games way before it was cool... the problem is, I feel bad for just sitting on my collection and not selling them to better support my family. Don't get me wrong, we aren't hurting by any means but I could probably buy a house and/or a couple new vehicles with these ridiculous prices games are fetching these days.

I still have 3 boxes full of empty SNES game boxes sitting out in my garage I got when a mom and pop game shop went out of business about 10-12 years ago. Last I looked some of those boxes alone go for well over $100 and I probably have 250-500 game boxes just sitting out there. Hell, I think I saw the white inserts alone selling for like $7-$10 a piece... ridiculous. Just a few years ago a lot of these games were selling for $5 to $30 a piece and now are going for $80 to $500 or more...

I don't really want to, but I have a feeling I'll probably sell and not regret it quite so much when I'm sitting in my new house.. lol. I'm sure the prices will drop again soon, so I should probably make the decision soon.

@WitIsWisdom: damn... I think if you're that attached to your collection, you should keep it. It would be worse if you sell and regret it.

Stop looking at my boxes!

Yeah, I've ran it by my wife a couple times and she always tells me most certainly not. She knows I got into collecting after getting injured in Iraq and being told I should start a hobby as a way to connect to something else to get my mind off of other things. For years now it has been my outlet and has worked relatively well. It's just that I never imagined something I did for fun and as a hobby would take off and end up where it is. I feel like I was one of the first people to get into computer stock or bitcoin when it was still affordable.. lol.

I am attached to it and no amount of money can really replace what it has done for me personally, but the rational part of me tells myself that it is extremely selfish and I should just let it go.

I wish I knew if the prices would fall again. Then again if people knew they would they wouldn't be worth as much now.. lol. I can always buy them back a piece at a time, but there are a few hundred I have had since I was a little guy and I will likely never part with no matter what.

I tell my wife all the time that one day after I'm gone she can sell the collection and she and kids will have a nice extra inheritance, but she always says she could never sell it... I'm not sure which is worse, selling it for instant gratification or holding onto it and feeling bad.. lol.

Either way, I'm pretty sure that's not why I got into the hobby.

Super Mario All Stars might be just that in 20 years.

I have a gold edition of Zelda ocarina of Time with the box. I know what must be done.

Interesting:

I agree. Mario 64 worth 1.5M my ass.

Take satisfaction in that.

Mario 64 is the Mona Lisa in video games of our time.

damn it, should have kept that game in shrink wrap and vacuum sealed for the last 25 years

Here is your answer.

:P

I bet they didn't even open it. What a loser!