The little Italian plumber is no stranger to fine auctions, with games often selling for six figure sums.
This time, however, the famous mascot of Nintendo has surpassed the million-dollar status. On July 11, 2021, a Super Mario 64 game from 1996, the year the game was launched on Nintendo 64, sold for $1.56 million at Heritage Auctions, a recognized auction house in the category. "It is the first game to ever have been auctioned for more than a million dollars," explained Eric Bradley, spokesperson for the house.
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This result is mainly due to the impeccable condition of the game. Still sealed, it received a rating of 9.8 A ++ by the video game expert company Wata Games, which assesses the condition of the cartridges. According to Eric Bradley, this rating was “the highest that a retro video game could receive."
Super Mario 64 was one of the first games Nintendo released for its Nintendo 64 system in 1996 and, as a small revolution, used 3D for the first time. At the time, the game was selling for around $60, according to the Times. Since then, Nintendo has reportedly sold around 12 million copies of Super Mario 64.
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Two days before the sale, a cartridge for Nintendo NES consoles of "The Legend of Zelda" was auctioned for $870,000, also at Heritage Auction, setting the record for the most expensive video game. The cartridge dated 1987 was still sealed in its original packaging. Zelda is one of the most successful titles in video game history and a figurehead for the Nintendo Empire, which still has it in its catalog for its most recent consoles.
According to video game historian Chris Kohler, "Millennials' nostalgia for the video games of their youth could be the source of the sharp rise in prices." To the gamers of the 1980s, there may be a million-dollar treasure hiding in your attic.
