Reddit skeptical of most expensive video game ever sold: ‘Fake and inflated’
A lucky auction seller is $660,000 richer after they found an unopened copy of Super Mario Bros. for the original Nintendo Entertainment System.
Collectors and gaming enthusiasts have been spending big money for items like Warcraft replica armor and Pokémon cards. Vintage games in pristine condition have now also become valuable relics.
Heritage Auctions announced that the Super Mario Bros. cartridge sold for a whopping $660,000, as reported by Associated Press News. According to the auction house, the game was initially bought as a Christmas present and left in a desk drawer where it’s remained since 1986.
Now you may be thinking, “Hey, there’s lots of copies of Super Mario Bros. laying around. In fact, I probably have one myself somewhere in the garage. So why is this particular copy worth over half a million dollars?”
Well, that's because it’s currently the oldest copy of Super Mario Bros. that’s still sealed and in mint condition. Here’s a statement from Heritage Auctions:
“Not only is this the finest plastic-sealed copy with a perforated cardboard hangtab we’ve ever offered of any black box title, it is also the oldest sealed copy of Super Mario Bros. we’ve ever had the opportunity to offer. This is only the fourth version of Super Mario Bros. ever produced, and its window of production was remarkably short.”
The sale also set a new world record for most expensive video game ever sold. At $660,000, it’s over quadruple the previous world record of $114,000 set in July 2020 for another copy of Super Mario Bros.
On Reddit, news of the auction sale was met with humor and skepticism about its true value.
“Hah I downloaded it as a rom for free what an idiot,” one user joked, referencing emulator software which allows gamers to play classic console titles for free.
“It was probably purchased by someone close to the group doing the rating to help make it look like there’s a market for this,” another user wrote. “More people paying to get their games rated to someday maybe make the kinda cash this just sold for. All of it feels fake and inflated.”
“GameStop would still only give you $6.99 for it,” yet another user joked.
Whatever is the true reason behind the game’s sale, the buyer now owns a piece of gaming history.
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