Rare Super Mario Bros. 3 Just Sold For Record-Breaking $156,000

Yahoo! A rare copy of Super Mario Bros. 3 has broken the record for the world’s most expensive game.

Earlier this year, a sealed copy of the original Super Mario Bros. became the priciest video game of all time. Prior to that record, another copy of Super Mario Bros. held the accolade at just more than $100,000.

Nintendo’s trusty platforming plumber has only gone and done it again. However, its the threequel raking in the cash this time, selling for just shy of $160,000 at auction.

On Friday, November 20, Heritage Auctions managed to sell a sealed, particularly rare copy of 1990’s Super Mario Bros. 3 for an eye-watering $156,000, smashing the previous record of $114,000.

Valarie McLeckie, Heritage Auctions’ Director of Video Games, said in a press release, ‘We couldn’t be more pleased about breaking the world record for the second time in the same year. That said, it’s no surprise that another Mario game, which so many of us grew up with, would set the new bar.’

Now, anyone with even a passing interest in gaming is aware how valuable old games can be. When it comes to retro consoles, whether it be the NES, the SNES, the Nintendo 64, Sega CD or even the original PlayStation, ‘mint condition’ are two words which equal hard cash.

Wata Games is a company that specialises in grading older titles on their condition. For example, July’s Super Mario Bros. copy achieved an impressive score of Wata 9.0 A.

However, this auction’s copy of Super Mario Bros. 3 was in pristine condition, managing to accomplish a score of Wata 9.2 A+.

That said, for a game to rack up such a high figure, there has to be an extra benefit – rarity. True enough, this particular copy has a very specific quirk.

The cover art is iconic, featuring Mario in his raccoon cap. However, the titling is slightly different; in the first run of games, the ‘Bros.’ covered Mario’s signature white gloves, as opposed to being centred above the character. That is the only difference.

Mario wasn’t the only record-breaker at the auction. A sealed copy of the ‘Red Version’ of 1998’s Pokémon for Nintendo’s original GameBoy, graded Wata 9.8 A++, became the most expensive Pokémon title of all time after selling for $84,000 – four times higher than its estimated sale.

With several big-ticket sales, the event was so successful that it earned a record of its own – the world’s first million-dollar video game auction.

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