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I love Nintendo, the Marioverse and Super Mario franchise as much as the next fan, but even the most die-hard of fans were probably a little shocked to find out just how much the Super 64 original classic sold for via Heritage Auctions writes Cape {town} Etc’s Ashleigh Nefdt. Following curiosity, I wanted to dig a little deeper into why.

Sky-rocketing above previous auction world records, a copy of the 1995 Nintendo 64 classic raked in $1.56 million, or roughly R22.5 million at an auction.

Breaking down the record-breaking winning bid

For some, the condition of the game was expressed to be a huge factor in the million dollar investment. As many collectors will tell you, condition is key. Whether it’s sneakers, Pokemon cards or merchandise from any niche universe you’re interested in, the condition being as well maintained as possible goes without saying for collectors.

The condition for the Mario gem was given a 9.8A ++ rating by Wata experts. The CEO of the video game grading firm expressed that while many people may have been surprised at the sale, they were not.

For this particular copy of “Super Mario 64,” it comes down to a few very specific details. “The copy that sold is the first print, and to find a first print that was never opened and never played is very, very, very difficult,” Sabga expressed as per BusinessInsider.

Why wasn’t it a 10? According to Sabga, with Nintendo 64 games in particular, perfect 10 scores are “an anomaly.” A factor that is also considered is the manufacturing of the game. He noted that they’ve only ever had a few 10s.

Okay, yes the condition is mint but can that really attribute to quite so much money? Your next thought on this case might be “the rarity of the game perhaps?”

Valid thought, however the game itself wasn’t rare. It sold about 12 million units in its day as Complex writes. It was, after all, the first 3D adventure of Mario. It was also the “single best-selling video game on the Nintendo 64” according to Heritage.

But an interesting point Heritage did add was this. Par the rarity and popularity of the game, they mentioned the cultural significance of the title, something Sabga also talks about.

As BusinessInsider expresses, “rarity is one thing, and value is another.”

According to Sabga, it also has a lot to do with the younger generation. Many millennials have come into a lot of money at young ages, he expresses.

Couple the super-rich kids mentality, (which includes having more money than one knows what to do with at an early junction in life) with a nostalgic fascination, and things start to become clearer.

“I think what you’re seeing now is a lot of these people who are coming of age, and have made substantial amounts of money, and are just very passionate about this stuff. They love the idea of having essentially a pristine copy of their favorite game that has cultural significance,” Sabga notes.

“People say, ‘I can’t believe that there was somebody out there who wanted to pay that much for this,” Sabga said. “But that’s not exactly true: There were two people willing to pay that because there needs to be an underbidder to push the winning bidder.” 

It’s also by no means the first case of its kind. Earlier this month alone, an original copy of The Legend of Zelda sold for $870 000 and a copy of Super Mario Bros for the Nintendo Entertainment System at $660 000 in April.

Picture: Nintendo

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