Heritage Auctions has revealed that a sealed copy of Super Mario Bros. has set a world record for a graded game – after it was sold for $100,150.
Due to how popular it became, the classic 1985 platformer was reprinted numerous times which resulted in 11 different box variations.
The first two are “sticker sealed” copies that were only available in the New York and Los Angeles test market after the Nintendo Entertainment System was first launched.
The copy that has now been sold is the only known “sticker sealed” game, that, when it was certified by Wata Games, received a Near Mint grade of 9.4 and an A++ Seal Rating.
“Beyond the artistic and historical significance of this game is its supreme state of preservation,” explains Wata Games co-founder and chief grader, Kenneth Thrower.
“Not only are all of NES sticker sealed game’ extremely rare but by their nature of not being sealed in shrink wrap, they usually exhibit significant wear after more than 30 years. This game may be the condition census of all sticker sealed NES games known to exist.”
It was a group of collectors that jointly bought the game on February 6th, which included Heritage Auctions founder and co-chairman Jim Halperin, Just Press Play Video Games owner Zac Gieg, and coin dealer and video game collector Rich Lecce.
