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Rare Copy of Super Mario Bros Sells For A Record


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Rare Copy of Super Mario Bros Sells For A Record

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The NES classic set a new standard for vintage game prices at auction last weekend.

Unopened, rare variant of classic 1985 Nintendo game establishes new mark for highest-selling video game sold at auction $114,000 (£90,000), the most ever paid for a video game.

Sold by Texas-based Heritage Auctions, the new holder was bought by a gamer upon the legendary game's release in 1985.

For an unknown reason he never opened the game and kept hold of it.

The cartridge sparked global interest ahead of auction as it had vintage cardboard packaging used before games were sealed with plastic wrapping.

What makes this particular version so coveted? Well, it’s graded at a 9.4 out of 10, which means it’s in near-perfect condition, with everything sealed in the original packaging. It’s also a particular version of the US retail edition, which went through quite a few iterations over time. 

Here’s Heritage with a neat explanation of the so-called cardboard hangtab that makes this unit so rare:

What’s the deal with cardboard hangtabs? one may, understandably, wonder. Cardboard hangtabs were originally used on the US test market copies of black box games, back before plastic was used to seal each game. 

As Nintendo began to further establish their company in the US, their packaging was updated almost continuously. Strangely, the addition of the plastic wrap came before the box cutting die was altered to remove the cardboard hangtab. 

This rendered the functionality of the cardboard hangtab completely useless, since it was under the plastic seal.

There are four sub-variants of the plastic sealed cardboard hangtab box (this particular copy of Super Mario Bros. being the “3 Code” variant) that were produced within the span of one year. 

Each sub-variant of the cardboard hangtab black box, produced within that timeframe, had a production period of just a few months; a drop in the bucket compared to the title’s overall production run.

In short, a cardboard hangtab copy of any early Nintendo Entertainment System game brings a certain air of “vintage” unrivalled by its successors.

Heritage also outlines the broader picture in terms of the game’s value and nostalgia factor: it is the highest-selling game on the original NES console of all time, in addition to being the first entry in the Super Mario Bros. series and marking the first appearance of series villain Bowser.

This game was on Pawn Stars years back. The seller went in with the founder of the grading company and he wanted…. ONE MILLION DOLLARS. Far cry from what he actually got!

Rarest and most expensive video games. Here are their estimated values...

  1. "Gamma Attack" (Atari 2600): $20,000-$50,000
  2. "Birthday Mania" (Atari 2600): $15,000-$35,000
  3. "1990 Nintendo World Championships: Gold Edition" (NES): $15,000-$21,000
  4. "Air Raid" (Atari 2600): $14,000-$33,400
  5. "1991 Nintendo Campus Challenge" (NES): $14,000-$20,100
  6. "Red Sea Crossing" (Atari 2600): $10,400-$14,000
  7. "Kizuna Encounter" (Euro): ~ $5,400-$13,500
  8. "Atlantis II" (Atari 2600): $5,000-$18,000
  9. "Ultimate 11/Super Sidekicks 4" (Neo Geo): $4,800-$10,000
  10. "King of Fighters 2000" (Neo Geo): $3,540-$6,000
  11. "Tetris" (Sega Genesis/Megadrive): $3,000-$16,000
  12. "Gauntlet" (Atari 2600): $3,000-$5,000
  13. "Karate" (Atari 2600, Ultravision release): $2,500-$4,000
  14. "Eli’s Ladder" (Atari 2600): $1,500-$1,700
  15. "Elemental Gearbolt" Assassin’s Case (PS1): $1,400-$1,750
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