Apr 05, 2021 11:00:00

Unopened 'Super Mario Bros.' won the bid for about 73 million yen, greatly updating the game's 'highest bid in history'

The unopened item of the side-scrolling action game 'Super Mario Bros. ' for family computers, which has been known as 'the best-selling game in the world' for a long time with sales of more than 40 million units worldwide, is at the auction house Heritage Auctions . It was sold for 660,000 dollars (about 73 million yen). The winning bid of about 73 million yen is a big change from the 'highest price ever for a single game software' of $ 156,000 (about 16 million yen).

Super Mario Bros. --Wata 9.6 A + Sealed [Hangtab, 1 Code, | Lot # 93028 | Heritage Auctions
https://comics.ha.com/itm/video-games/nintendo/super-mario-bros-wata-96-a-sealed-hangtab-1-code-mid-production-nes-nintendo-1985-usa/ a / 7242-93028.s? type = bidnotice-tracked-dailystatus

Super Mario Bros. Selling for $ 660,000 at Heritage Auctions, Smashing World Record
https://www.ha.com/heritage-auctions-press-releases-and-news/super-mario-bros.-sells-for-660-000-at-heritage-auctions-smashing-world-record.s ? releaseId = 4135

Sealed Super Mario Bros. shatters record with $ 660,000 auction sale | Ars Technica
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2021/04/sealed-super-mario-bros-shatters-record-with-660000-auction-sale/

Sealed Super Mario Bros. sells for $ 660,000, shattering record for most expensive game ever --The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/2/22364245/super-mario-bros-most-expensive-game-ever-record-sealed-auction

The reason why the price of 'Super Mario Bros.', which was sold this time, soared is because of its good storage condition and 'rareness of the software itself'. The sale of 'Super Mario Bros.' itself began in 1985, but the ones sold before the first half of 1986 and after 1987 were 'packages sealed with a seal', while the ones exhibited this time. Is a rare lot product called 'a package completely sealed with a transparent film' manufactured only in the latter half of 1986. In addition, it was in very good condition, so Heritage Auctions Head of Video Games, Valalie McLeckie, said, 'Looking for the same package in the same condition means looking for a needle in the desert. It was a dish that even described as 'something like'.

The actual image is below. The transparent film that wraps the entire package is undamaged, indicating that it is unopened.

The back side looks like this. According to expert appraisals, the sentence 'Game Pak NES-GP' at the bottom of the package is also particularly rare. This sentence 'Game Pak NES-GP' basically does not exist in the package of the family computer game sold in 1986, and after 1987, the trademark mark 'NINTENDO ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM' came to be included. Therefore, it is specially noted as a point to increase the rarity of this item.

According to Heritage Auctions, the seller is a person who wants to remain anonymous, but revealed an episode about this product, 'I bought it as a Christmas gift in 1986, but I put it in my office desk and completely forgot it.' I will.

The highest winning price of the game software recorded so far was the amount of 156,000 dollars (about 16 million yen) of 'Super Mario Bros. 3' sold in November 2020, so the 'Super' sold this time 'Mario Bros.' was a big breakthrough.

Unopened 'Super Mario Bros. 3' won the bid for over 16 million yen, renewing the highest price ever for a single game software --GIGAZINE

Of the winning bids this time, $ 550,000 (about 60,800,000 yen) will be given to the seller, and $ 110,000 (about 12.1 million yen) will be given to Heritage Auctions.