A rare copy of Super Mario Bros. 3 has become the world’s most expensive video game

A sealed copy of Super Mario Bros. 3 has become the world’s most expensive video game.

Heritage Auctions sold a rare copy of the NES game, which released in the US in 1990, for $156,000 at auction.

It broke the record previously set in July 2020, when a copy of 1985’s original Super Mario Bros. sold for $114,000.

“While the condition of the game is remarkable, what makes this copy even more singular is the layout of the packaging itself: Exceedingly rare are sealed copies with the word ‘Bros.’ formatted to the left, covering one of Mario’s signature white gloves,” Heritage Auctions said in a press release.

“Collectors have spent years looking for such a version — the earliest in the Super Mario Bros. 3 production history – and usually come up empty-handed.”

A sealed copy of 1998’s Pokémon Red for GameBoy also sold for $84,000 at the same auction, setting a record for a Pokémon title.

A rare Nintendo PlayStation prototype was sold for $360,000 in March – a record price for a piece of gaming memorabilia.

The Nintendo PlayStation prototype is said to be one of 200 units made for Sony’s failed partnership with Nintendo in the early 1990s, which was its first major move into video games and eventually led to it entering the market on its own.

Further reading

‘Nintendo PlayStation’ prototype sells for over $300k

Console sets record price for a piece of gaming memorabilia