The NES Mario Classic just became the most expensive game ever sold

1985 sealed copy Super Mario Bros. broke the world record for the most expensive video game ever sold at auction, fetching a staggering $3 million. This particular copy Super Mario Bros. has caught the attention of collectors for several reasons, most notably its high-quality Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) certification, which essentially makes it the best known example among its variants.

Super Mario Bros. was originally released for the NES in 1985. It is widely regarded as one of the pioneering games of the platformer genre and the first entry in Super Mario series, holds a special place in the hearts of many fans. At the time of writing, only three copies of the glossy sealed version were known Super Mario Bros. have been assessed by services such as PSA.

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Why does a sealed copy of Super Mario Bros. worth 3 million dollars

On June 12, 2026, Heritage Auctions set a new world record for the most expensive video game ever sold at auction with a PSA 9.6 A++ copy of the game. Super Mario Bros. sells for $3 million. The auction house has described it as “the most significant video game ever offered,” and there are several reasons why. This particular copy is currently the highest rated known example of the game. The only other graded copies of the glossy sealed variant are the Wata 9.4 A++ copy and the VGA 80 copy. The glossy sticker confirms that it is from the second production run of the cartridge. Consequently, it is also one of the oldest known copies Super Mario Bros. in almost perfect condition.

Scratch & Peek

Identify the cover and scrape off as little of the foil as possible.

Scratch & Peek

Identify the cover and scrape off as little of the foil as possible.

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The most expensive specimen before the June auction Super Mario Bros. Heritage Auctions sold a mid-production 9.6 A copy that fetched $750,000. However, according to Public.com, one of the previous record holders for the most expensive video game ever sold was a sealed copy Super Mario 64which raised just over $1.5 million. Paying seven figures for iconic video games is a relatively recent trend. Heritage Auctions reports that the first video game to sell for six figures was in 2019, when another copy of the second production was released. Super Mario Bros. sold for about $100,000.

Official promotional art for the game from the Nintendo website - Super Mario Bros

Most Expensive Super Mario Bros. Games sold at Heritage Auctions

The name of the game	Auction price
Super Mario Bros. — PSA 9.6 A++ Sealed [Gloss Sticker, Second Production]	$3,000,000
Super Mario Bros. — Wattage 9.6 A Sealed [Hangtab, 3 Code, Mid-Production]	$750,000
Super Mario Bros. — Wattage 9.6 A+ Sealed [Oval SOQ R, Last Production]	$36,250
Super Mario Bros. — Wattage 9.6 A+ Sealed [Oval SOQ R, Last Production]	$36,000
Super Mario Bros. — Wattage 9.6 A+ Sealed [Oval SOQ TM, “USA and Canada” Text, Later Production]	$35,000
Super Mario Bros. — Wattage 9.6 A Sealed [Oval SOQ TM, Later Production]	$22,800

Build your perfect ten one revelation at a time.

Although paying breathtakingly high prices for rare video games is a relatively new trend, a clear pattern has emerged among many of these record-breaking sales. Most of the games that have sold for six and seven figures are classic Nintendo titles. For example, one of the biggest deals in recent years involved a copycat The Legend of Zelda which sold for around $870,000. Another notable sale saw a rare copy Super Mario World to raise $144,000. Nintendo is also a co-owner Pokemon a franchise that is well known for its appeal among collectors. Pokemon especially collectibles Pokemon trading card game items, regularly sell for eye-catching amounts.

Whether the previous record for the most expensive video game will be broken anytime soon remains to be seen. However, collectors would probably be willing to pay even more for a sealed first production copy Super Mario Bros.assuming one still exists. The record sales also make people wonder if any of today's AAA video games will be highly sought after collectibles in 40 or 50 years.