Earlier this week, a very rare copy of Super Mario Bros. by Nintendo broke the record for the highest price paid for video game collectible. The game sold for $660,000 by Heritage Auctions. The side-scrolling platform game was released in in Japan 1985 starting the Super Mario game series with this year being the 35th anniversary. The following year it was released in North America. By 1987, the game became popular internationally with over 50 million copies of the game since its release.
This particular unopened copy of Super Mario Bros. beat the record for the previous record-holder Super Mario Bros. 3 which was sold at $156,000 last November. Another 1985 version of Super Mario Bros. was sold in July last year for $114,000. However, due to its pristineness and also being the 4th published edition of the game which was missing a code and the trademark symbol, this specific game is deemed rarer making it worth significantly more than other similar copies of the game.
Since the release, there have been several remakes of the game for various Nintendo systems. The game is one of the most beloved side-scrolling platformers with several titles in the Super Mario line-up. In the game, players guide the iconic Italian plumber Mario through levels to defeat Bowser who has taken over the Mushroom Kingdom and kidnapped Princess Peach. One well-liked feature of the game was the multiplayer option which allowed friends or family to play as Mario’s brother Luigi. Together players could work together to jump on enemies and reach secret areas within the map.
In honor of the Super Mario series 35th anniversary, Nintendo published an online multiplayer adaptation of the game. However, the game was only available from October 2020 to April 1, 2021. The battle royale version was similar to the original gameplay, but players continued traversing a loop of levels. The last person out of the 35 players to survive is the winner.