Sealed Super Mario Bros. Cartridge Sells for Record $3 Million at Heritage Auctions

Heritage Auctions announced on Friday that a professionally graded, sealed copy of Nintendo’s 1985 Super Mario Bros. cartridge sold for $3 million, establishing a new benchmark for the highest‑priced video game ever sold at auction.

The cartridge, graded PSA 9.6 A++ and identified as a second‑production run marked by a distinctive gloss sticker, was part of a launch‑edition NES Control Deck bundle that had remained unopened for almost 40 years. The $3 million hammer price eclipsed the $2 million record set in 2021 and more than doubled the $1.56 million paid for a sealed Super Mario 64 cartridge the same year.

In a statement, Heritage’s consignment director Evan Masingill noted the rarity of the find: "It is only appropriate that the most significant video game in the world should bring the more impressive result in the history of the hobby." He added that discovering the cartridge inside a brand‑new Control Deck bundle and its near‑perfect condition made the outcome even more remarkable.

The PSA 9.6 A++ grade is the highest possible score for a sealed cartridge, indicating near‑perfect condition. Only three other sealed copies from the same production run are known: a Video Game Authority 80, a Wata 9.4 A++, and the Heritage auction itself. This sale marked the first time a sealed Super Mario Bros. cartridge appeared at a public auction.

Along with the cartridge, the buyer received an unopened launch‑edition NES Control Deck console. While the console alone is not valued at $3 million, it is a prized collector’s item that accompanied the game in its original bundle.

The record sale follows a string of high‑profile auction results in gaming and comic book markets. A Fortnite cartridge fetched $42,500 a few months earlier, and Superman comic books sold for $6 million in 2024 and $9 million in 2025.

Heritage Auctions has a history of setting records for video game collectibles. In 2021 the company sold a sealed Super Mario 64 cartridge for $1.56 million and a Legend of Zelda cartridge for $870,000. Earlier, in 2020 a sealed Super Mario Bros. cartridge sold for $114,000, and in 2021 a sealed copy sold for $100,150.

The $3 million sale underscores the growing value of early Nintendo releases and the continued demand among collectors for pristine, unopened cartridges. It also reflects the historical significance of Super Mario Bros., which helped revive the North American video game market after the 1983 crash and established the side‑scroller genre.

At present, the $3 million sale stands as the highest price paid for a video game at auction. No further sales of this particular cartridge are anticipated, and the record will likely remain until a comparable or better‑graded copy surfaces in the future.