He hadn't wanted it at Christmas, in 1985. But the owner is finally very happy with this gift of yesteryear: his old edition of
Super Mario Bros.
was sold Friday April 2 at auction for a record sum of 600,000 dollars (or 560,000 euros).
Forgotten for 35 years at the bottom of a drawer, the cartridge was found last year in its original packaging, never opened.
Anonymous, the seller simply said "
never thought about it"
since receiving it as a gift.
Also: 30 Years of Super Mario Bros. TV Special
live: the replay
A version of the famous
Super Mario Bros.
game
.
, designed for the
NES
console
, Nintendo Entertainment System.
Released in 1983 in Japan, it is the 13th best-selling video game console of all time, with nearly 61 million copies sold.
Auctioned in Dallas, United States, the copy has become the most expensive video game in the world.
Not really a surprise for
Heritage Auctions
, which was in charge of the sale: "
As soon as this cartridge reached us, we knew that the market would find it as incredible as us
", explained Valarie McLeckie, head of the auction, on their website.
A record sale due in particular to the perfect state of conservation of the game, a very rare fact: “To
find another copy of this same production series in a similar condition would be like looking for a single drop of water in an ocean.
You should never say never, but chances are it won't be possible.
», Said the manager of
Heritage Auctions
.
Super Mario Bros.
dethrones his successor
Already in 2020, the same version of
Super Mario Bros.
had been sold for 114,000 dollars (approximately 97,000 euros).
Then, in November, another Nintendo game from 1990,
Super Mario Bros. 3
,
smashed
the record for the most expensive game in history, for the sum of $ 156,000.
A sale already carried out by the House
Heritage Auctions
, which is no longer surprised by the craze for Nintendo games: “
We cannot say that we are too surprised.
Who doesn't like Mario?
"
