An unopened version of the Super Mario 64 video game — first released in 1996 — recently sold for $1.56 million, The Associated Press reports.
Did Super Mario 64 sell for $1 million?
Heritage Auctions in Dallas said the game sold on Sunday. The sale broke the record for a sale of a single video game, according to The Associated Press.
- Recently, an unopened copy of Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda sold for $870,000 at an auction on Friday, per the AP.
🎉#HERITAGELIVE #WORLDRECORD!! Super Mario 64 - Wata 9.8 A++ Sealed, N64 Nintendo 1996 USA just sold for $1,560,000 at #HeritageAuctions, smashing previous mark of $870K, set Friday at Heritage for The Legend of Zelda! https://t.co/SUgiijkkzL#SuperMario #Nintendo #N64 #WATA pic.twitter.com/rHpTuZl95l
— Heritage Auctions (@HeritageAuction) July 11, 2021
Why did Super Mario 64 sell for so much?
The sale for both Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario 64 video game came as people are investing in collectible items.
- “Neither game was bought for the rarity of its gameplay experience — Nintendo has rereleased both for its Nintendo Switch console,” BBC News reports. “Instead, they have value as physical memorabilia, in the same way as rare trading cards.”
It helps, too, that Super Mario 64 video game is a historic video game. Per Entrepreneur, the game was the first 3D video game of the Mario Bros. franchise. And, per BBC News, it was the best-selling game for the Nintendo 64 video game system.
- The game “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,” according to BBC News.