Remember Classic Super Mario? A Copy Just Sold for $3 Million

A sealed second-production copy of Super Mario Bros. for the NES has sold for $3 million at auction.

Heritage Auctions described the copy as “the most significant video game ever offered at auction.”

The game had remained untouched for 40 years in a box with a launch edition NES Control Deck console. The original packaging and plastic were still intact.

Why This Copy is Rare

The Super Mario Bros. copy comes with an unbroken glossy sticker seal.

Nintendo introduced this seal format in 1986 for a short period before switching to shrink-wrapped packaging for its games.

According to Heritage Auctions, only three second-production copies with the gloss sticker format are known to exist.

This copy is considered the best among them and carries a PSA 9.6 A++ grade.

First Public Auction

Heritage Auctions said this specific sealed variant had never appeared in a public auction before.

That made the listing especially rare for collectors.

The auction house said the condition is notable because these games were not protected by plastic, making it difficult to find such a well-preserved example decades later.

Early Nintendo History

The game and the NES Control Deck console it came with are from the Los Angeles test market era.

That period marked the early stage of Nintendo’s expansion into the United States.

Heritage Auctions said the item represents one of the closest ways for a collector to own the moment Super Mario Bros. helped turn console video games from a struggling novelty into a lasting part of cultural history.