3 million dollars for a sealed copy of Super Mario Bros.: new all-time record for video games

In recent days, Heritage Auctions sold a sealed copy of Super Mario Bros. for NES for over 3 million dollars, setting a new world record for the most expensive video game ever sold at auction. The sale took place on June 12, 2026.

The copy carries a grading of PSA 9.6 A++, awarded by Professional Sports Authenticator, and belongs to the second production batch from 1986. The feature that sets it apart is the glossy sticker seal instead of shrink wrap: only three copies of this variant are known to exist in sealed condition, and the one auctioned is the highest graded among them.

Forty years intact, since the origins of the American Nintendo market

The game has remained intact for forty years, preserved along with a launch edition NES Control Deck in its original packaging, with the plastic covering still intact. The lot dates back to the test market era in Los Angeles, in the earliest months of Nintendo's expansion in the United States.

This specific variant with a glossy sticker seal had never appeared at a public auction in sealed condition: this is the first time ever. The combination of exceptional grading, documented provenance, and rarity of the variant pushed the bid well beyond the previous record of Super Mario Bros., which had been stagnant at 2 million dollars since 2021.

The progression of records

The progression of records in collectible video games has been rapid: in 2021, Super Mario 64 set the absolute ceiling at 1.56 million dollars, then a copy of Super Mario Bros. surpassed it at 2 million in the same year. The sale in June 2026 brings the new limit to 3 million.

In the same session, Heritage Auctions also sold another sealed copy of Super Mario Bros. for 575,000 dollars: graded 9.8 A+ but from the fourth production batch, not the second. Just under a fifth compared to the record piece, a difference that reflects how the production batch and the rarity of the variant weigh on the final value.