A representative image of old game consoles. Image credits: Wikimedia Commons
The copy was then discovered in 2026. It was sold for $3 million on 12 June 2026, setting a record for the highest price paid for a video game at a public auction. The cartridge received a PSA 9.6 A++ grade and was identified as a sealed example of Super Mario Bros.’ second production run. Heritage Auctions’ description identifies the bundle as a 1985-styled USA Nintendo NES Control Deck release distributed in 1986. Nintendo reportedly adopted the gloss sticker in early 1986, after the short-lived matte sticker used on launch copies from its October 1985 test market. Aside from the newly discovered one, the other two have received VGA 80 and Wata 9.4 A++ grades.
Because no sealed first-production example is currently known, instead, it is a second-production example which has been described as the earliest confirmed sealed copy. The production history, therefore, provides an explanation for why a very common game could turn into an exceptionally rare collectable in one particular form. For nearly four decades, a copy of Super Mario Bros. was sealed inside an unopened Nintendo Entertainment System bundle. The cartridge, preserved in its original packaging and accompanied by the Control Deck console with which it was originally bundled, eventually went to Heritage Auctions . One of the things that made the find especially unusual was that it carried a short-lived gloss sticker seal associated with an early production variant. Meanwhile, the original console bundle itself had remained unopened. Contemporary reports suggest that only three sealed copies of this particular second-production variant were known, and the newly discovered one was considered the highest-graded of them. The cartridge belonged to an early production run The NES and Super Mario Bros. dated to Nintendo’s early expansion of its home console business in the United States. It is, however, important to note that the console and cartridge should not be treated as though they came from the exact same production moment. Meanwhile, the Super Mario Bros. cartridge itself is described as a second-production gloss-sticker example. A representative image of old Mario game console. Image credits: Wikimedia Commons The game itself is not a first-production copy. The game remained inside its original Nintendo bundle The preservation of the cartridge was equally unconventional, as the original inner packaging remained intact. The console and its components had never even been removed from their plastic. The auction lot contained the Control Deck with which the Super Mario Bros. cartridge had originally been packaged. This indicates that the game had not been passed down between collectors; instead, it remained inside the original packaging, secured.
Following its discovery two months prior to the sale, Heritage placed the cartridge and Control Deck together in its 12-13 June 2026 Video Games Signature Auction as Lot 28025. The auction resulted in a $3 million sale. This had surpassed the previous $2 million record established by a private sale in 2021. Additionally, its PSA 9.6 A++ grade further distinguished it from other surviving sealed copies of the same variant.
The price of the copy is, therefore, tied to several aspects rather than just the age of the cartridge. Likely millions of people played the game, but this example belonged to a narrowly defined production variant, offering unparalleled historical provenance due to the un-boxing sequence. The auction house promoted the game as the earliest confirmed sealed edition of Super Mario Bros. and highlighted its condition alongside the circumstances of its discovery.
Catch the latest World News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.