As prices for retro games continue to increase, a sealed copy of Super Mario 64 has just sold for $1.56 million by Dallas-based auction house – Heritage Auctions. Making this the most expensive game ever sold.
This is the second record set by Heritage Auctions. With the previous record only being set last week when they sold a copy of the Legend of Zelda for an eye-watering $870,000. Both of these title titles are not only pivotal in their respective series, but also in gaming as a whole.
Now don’t be getting too excited while rummaging around in the loft for your old Nintendo 64 carts. This title was sealed and in near-perfect condition and had been certified as 9.8/10 by Wata – the video game grading firm. It’s also believed that there are only around 5 copies of the game in this condition worldwide.
However, the question has to be asked: why did a game that sold around 12 million copies manage to attract such a huge price tag? Now that such a common title has reached a seven-figure sum, what could this mean for the future of video game collectors? Could the average gamer be pushed out of their own hobby by those looking at games as an investment?
We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. Is this new record a positive for game collectors, or potentially damaging to the hobby so many know and love?
Luke Evans
Just insane.