Sealed. With the original shiny sticker. As if someone had bought it in 1986 and had intuited, more than four decades in advance, that it was worth keeping it jealously guarded in a drawer rather than sticking it in the NES. The new world record for a vintage video game auctioned for a stellar sum was set a few days ago, when a copy of Super Mario Bros. for NES, still sealed in its original packaging, was sold at auction by Heritage Auctions for a cool $3 million. This is an example from the second edition, which remained intact for forty years and was sold together with a NES Control Deck console from the first series. What makes the tech heirloom so precious is the shiny closure sticker, used by Nintendo for only a few months in 1986 before switching to the more common heat-shrink film, which has remained perfectly intact.
The record auction, which also surpassed that of 2021 in which another copy of the game was sold for 2 million dollars, closed on June 12th, defined by experts as the most relevant videogame copy that has ever appeared on the market. However striking it may be, however, it is not an isolated case. It is the tip of a huge iceberg, that of retromania, the market of video games and vintage objects from the 80s and 90s which fascinates both those who were kids in that period, and the new generations, who did not experience those times. Let’s see 5 records of the retromania phenomenon that deserve to be remembered, starting from the last sensational auction we told you about at the beginning.
- 1Super Mario Bros. – $3,000,000
- 2Super Mario Bros. – $2,000,000
- 3Super Mario 64 – $1,560,000
- 4The Legend of Zelda – $870,000
- 5Polaroid OneStep – $150,000
Super Mario Bros. – $3,000,000
A sealed copy of Super Mario Bros. (1985) for NES, never opened, with shiny sticker intact. The record sum of 3 million dollars, auctioned a few days ago, is the highest ever recorded in the sale of a video game.
Super Mario Bros. – $2,000,000
The record prior to the one we just told you about was held by another copy of Super Mario Bros.sold for $2 million. The record was set in 2021 and lasted a full five years.
Super Mario 64 – $1,560,000
The first video game to surpass $1 million at auction is Super Mario 64. A goal that, until that moment, seemed unattainable. And instead it was established thanks to a sealed Nintendo 64 cartridge, with a value comparable to that of an apartment in the center of Milan.
The Legend of Zelda – $870,000
Retromania fans will probably also remember the sensational sale of a copy of The Legend of Zeldasold for $870,000 in 2021. Belonging to the very first production of the game, made for just a few months between late 1987 and early 1988, before being replaced by an updated variant. There is technically an even older version, but only one sealed example is believed to survive and it is unlikely that it will ever make it to market.
Polaroid OneStep – $150,000
Retromania also extends beyond video games. The Polaroid OneStep demonstrates this. Produced in just 6 examples, this iconic camera from the 70s, which today has an estimated value of 150,000 dollars.
