The little Italian plumber is no stranger to auctions, with games often selling for six-figure sums.
This time, however, the famous Nintendo mascot has surpassed the million-dollar status. On 11 July 2021, a Super Mario 64 game from 1996, the year the game was launched on Nintendo 64, sold for $1.56 million (£1.13 mil) at Heritage Auctions, a recognised 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.
This result is due, mainly, 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 twelve million copies of Super Mario 64.
See also: How Super Mario Saved the Video Game Industry
Two days before the sale, a cartridge for Nintendo NES consoles of 'The Legend of Zelda' was auctioned for $870,000 (£632,000), 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 catalogue 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.
