In the far-flung past of July 2021, a sealed edition of Super Mario 64--perfectly immaculate and professionally graded--sold for a whopping $1.56 million dollars. That auction set a new record for the most expensive video game ever sold, until it promptly lost that title less than a month later. There's a new record-holder in town, and it's the original Super Mario Bros. The news comes from The New York Times, who reported on the sale of the game, discovering that it was sold not at auction, but on a website called Rally.

Described as "alternative investment", Rally lets its users invest in collectable items, rather than stocks or crypto. The investors buy "shares" of a given physical item, and then are able to vote amongst themselves on whether or not to sell it to prospective buyers. Rally acquired the sealed copy of Super Mario Bros. for $140,000 just last year, and the "shareholders" in the game rejected a buy offer for $300,000. However, when presented a bid for $2 million dollars, the collective majority--about 75%--voted in favor of selling the game to the anonymous buyer.

Graded at A+ level from grading service Wata, much like last month's pricey copy of Super Mario 64, this is the highest-graded version of the game ever. It's a dramatic increase in value compared to how much it was bought for less than a year ago, but regardless, this sale now marks the most expensive transaction of a video game ever.

Source

 

[RunningSnakes]

It is possible, but you & i both know it is very unlikely.

Edit:
We are talking about common sense here. As someone previously posted, something RARE does not make it valuable. A phone with diamonds engraved is not valuable because it is RARE, the Diamonds make it valuable. This copy of Super Mario Bros. is worth what a sealed copy of Mega Man, Metroid, Legend Of Zelda, Castlevania were worth 2 years ago! I do not know the print numbers of any of these games, but own all. Mega Man has always been more expensive for loose, which makes me believe it is much more RARE. What are we really talking about here?

 

[anhminh]

I sure this is stupid but nothing make surprise after seeing NFT.

 

[Deleted member 331788]

People are actually now going to think their copy to SMB is going to worth loads, typical "Collectors" marketing. Having some second rate company give it a stupid rating makes it worth $$$$$$ ...well okay ....oh and they put it on a stupid plastic box ...who the heck cares what's inside right ...who really knows what's inside?? The manual could be bent, and the game might not even be that game, or worse it might not even work ...some investment!!! ....people are just F****ing stupid!! It's plastic and paper, that's all ....actual worth is $0.0000000000000000000000000000001 ...if Nintendo or China ever needs any cash they can just run of few copies of the production line ....but this is the just the "Collectors" trying to make retro games popular so they can sell off their worthless investment.

 

[FAST6191]

Forgot to link

Deals with the economics of the art market, tax writeoffs and the like.
Might also link

It is possible, but you & i both know it is very unlikely.

Edit:
We are talking about common sense here. As someone previously posted, something RARE does not make it valuable. A phone with diamonds engraved is not valuable because it is RARE, the Diamonds make it valuable. This copy of Super Mario Bros. is worth what a sealed copy of Mega Man, Metroid, Legend Of Zelda, Castlevania were worth 2 years ago! I do not know the print numbers of any of these games, but own all. Mega Man has always been more expensive for loose, which makes me believe it is much more RARE. What are we really talking about here?

For the record diamonds are common rocks really, and can be made artificially well enough too. It is just that the main sources for diamonds in the world are in cahoots and limit the supply to drive up prices (which themselves are backed with some fairly slick marketing).





Also on "holding their value" comment in that
https://freakonomics.com/podcast/di...best-friend-a-new-freakonomics-radio-podcast/

As far as megaman vs other things. Rarity is an aspect of it, and when supply gets really low and meets gotta catch em all it can get fun. More likely it a relative scarcity* combined with it being a noted game, and pretty decent (would probably pick one of the sequels if I was showing someone the series for the first time). Had some other observations on what I have seen following the second hand market for games all these years
https://gbatemp.net/threads/predict-future-collectablity-value-of-current-games.592156/
*between what was destroyed and otherwise dumped when the NES was declared a fad toy you are limited, and then have to compete with not only the people rebuying their old childhood games but those that might have played it round a friend's or family member's house, and maybe emulators too.

If this shit happens again next month, it's safe to say this is a tactic to inflate the prices of sealed and new games in general.

Some might say it is actually that the true prices of such games have not been realised yet, and are changing to reflect such things.

 

[playstays_shun]

Money laundering right in front of our faces

yeah if its not even a special edition or misprint one of a kind or an unreleased revision, people with tons of money can make dumb decisions and be frivolous but not this frivolous

the jokes on us

they get away with it, garbage publications get their clickbait articles to rally up anger from people living in squalor

everyone wins - except us

 

[Noctosphere]

yeah if its not even a special edition or misprint one of a kind or an unreleased revision, people with tons of money can make dumb decisions and be frivolous but not this frivolous

the jokes on us

they get away with it, garbage publications get their clickbait articles to rally up anger from people living in squalor

everyone wins - except us

I'm among us
omg im so funny

 

[MetoMeto]

again with this crap...jesus.

 

[RickFryMcFly]

Stupidity at its finest

Exactly, it's not even the one with Duck Hunt...

 

[subcon959]

It's not money laundering lol. It's a way to stimulate the market they are trying to capitalise on with their service.

 

[SaulFemm]

What I really want to know is: Why does the gaming world enable this junk by writing articles about it and promoting these things?

Wait, are you suggesting people are spending $2M on video games just to get their name in ink?

 

[CTR640]

The person who bought it lost 2 million braincells.

 

[HarveyHouston]

Do I hear $3.5 mil for a sealed copy of Game and Watch Ball?

 

[DarkCoffe64]

Do think I still have a sealed copy of Kid Icarus Uprising with the stand thingy for the 3ds. Bought it but never got around playing it, lol.
How long I have to wait until it's worth a bajillion moolah?

 

[such]

PLEASE OH PLEASE IF THERE IS A GOD I PRAY THAT THESE THINGS LOSE VALUE IN A FEW YEARS

You'll need to wait until people who weren't raised on physical media start getting into collecting, and the maniacs who attach any kind of meaning to physical media start dying off.

So, basically, these will start losing value when people like us start dying - or otherwise getting out of collecting. By dying.

 

[CoolMe]

The sellers will really regret their decision of selling the game now, if the buyer turn out a flipper himself, which is most likely the case, as the game will only increase in value through time, who knows what it'll be worth in the future..

 

[hobbledehoy899]

Wasn't this confirmed to have been a reproduction?

 

[CoolMe]

Wasn't this confirmed to have been a reproduction?

Was it?

 

[ldeveraux]

More bullshit from an absolute moron. Enjoy your 2 million dollar impulse buy.

 

[Jjones]

Guy's money goes woosh.

 

[impeeza]

nuntendo charges you 60USD for a emulator and a ROM downloaded from a site they try to get down for piracy. the collect a lot more.