The 1985 Nintendo cartridge, still sealed in its original packaging, sold for US$114,000 (£90,115) to an anonymous collector at Heritage Auctions on 10 July. This price surpasses the previous record set at $100,115 (£77,000) in February 2019, also for a copy of Super Mario Bros.
The demand for this game was extremely high, and if any lot in the sale could hit a number like that, it was going to be this one," said Valarie McLeckie, director of the video games department at Heritage Auctions.
In excellent condition, the cartridge was rated 9.4 A + by Wata Games, a benchmark in video game expertise, thus becoming the highest rated copy ever to hit the market.
The game still included 'hangtabs', a rare variation of the original packaging. "This unopened copy of this launch title soared to record heights in part because it was part of one of the short production runs of the game packaged in boxes with a cardboard hangtab underneath the plastic, an indication that it was part of one of the first variants produced after Nintendo started using shrink-wrap to seal the games rather than stickers," the auction house commented.
See also: The Godfather of Video Games
Developed by Nintendo and released in 1985 for the Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Mario Bros. is the first game in the Super Mario series and is one of the best-selling games in history with more than 40 million copies sold worldwide. On its own, Super Mario Bros. set standards in every game that came after it: it popularised side scrolling, secret shortcuts, end-of-level bosses, and being able to restart the game with increased difficulty. The legendary musical theme of the game, composed by Koji Kondo, is known worldwide and remains representative of video games in general.
See also: Pokémon: Gotta Catch 'Em All
The sale held at Heritage Auctions totalled more than $699,000 (£552,500), far exceeding expectations. Other lots also achieved high prices, such as a sealed copy of Mike Tyson's Punch-Out ($50,000 or £39,500), a rare copy of Super Mario Bros 3. ($38,000 or £30,000), and a rediscovered set of Atari 900 ET games, The Extra-Terrestrial ($108,000 or £85,400).
