When it comes to Nintendo video game collections, Super Mario has several prominent early appearances that get serious collectors reaching for their wallets. That is certainly the case with an ultra-rare copy of the massively influential Super Mario Bros. cartridge from the very first production run of the game that featured the company’s future public mascot. Heritage Auctions are selling this latest iteration of the game to surface at auction in their latest video games lots, which are all focused on the late-80s cartridges of the Nintendo Entertainment System. These games are among some of the most sought after among collectors, and when a graded original Mario cartridge is in the house, then there is only going to be one leader of the auction. As you might expect, even with almost two weeks left on the clock, this auction is already heading towards six figures.
Nintendo released the Nintendo Entertainment System in October 1985. While any console from major gaming companies are are now guaranteed to fly off shelves and probably sell out before their debut day is through, back then, the release was seen as a huge gamble and could have been a commercial failure following a crash in the market just two years earlier. This meant the first release was not a huge global event, but contained to a limited release in New York to test the market. The small run of games released to coincide with this test run had a distinctive design, with a small, round matte sticker seal that appeared over the edge of the game’s black box packaging to hold it closed. Later test markets had a gloss sticker, before the mass-production runs lost them entirely. This auction contains a matte sticker variant, making it one of the earliest iterations of the game known to exist.
Being among the first run of anything can help make an item valuable, but add in a high expert grading and then we are talking serious money exchanging hands. The example being sold in this latest auction ticks all the right boxes to go far beyond its current bid of $75,000. As well as its first production status, the game has been given a PSA 9.0 (Mint Condition) grading, which for a 40-year-old video game in a cardboard box that was not given the shrinkwrap protection of later releases is no mean feat. Many modern games have received lower gradings than this, so by the time you add in the fact that this version is also fully complete with its original sticker and manual, then this piece is a true grail item that could end up selling for hundreds of thousands of dollars when the hammer falls.
Recent years have seen a huge jump in the value of retro video games, with records being broken almost every month as some of the highest graded versions of the oldest games come up for sale with various auction companies. In June this year, a factory-sealed version of Super Mario Bros. with a gloss sticker seal and a PSA 9.6 grading shattered expectations with an unprecedented $3 million sale, while a PSA 8.5 version of the matte sticker variant sold for $40,000 just a few months ago. This latest auction is certainly not going to hit the highs of the record-breaking copy, but with prices continuing to rise and the number of examples out there with these exceptional gradings reducing over time, it could definitely be an investment opportunity for anyone willing to store it away and bide their time before putting it back out to the market again. The current auction at Heritage comes to an end on the November 20, 2026.
How much would you pay to own a historic piece of Nintendo history? Let us know in the comments.
