Unopened, 1980s Super Mario Bros game-pack sold at Rs 85.4 lakhs at an auction

3 years ago

Unopened, 1980s Super Mario Bros game-pack sold at Rs 85.4 lakhs at an auction

Anyone who has played video games in their childhood, teenage years or adulthood will certainly be aware of one game title, even if or she hasn’t played the game.

Super Mario Bros. is one of the most iconic video games in history. It is perhaps the greatest game of all time, at least in terms of worldwide popularity.

Created by Singeru Miyamoto and released in 1985, the game has sold more than 330 million copies worldwide, making it the second-best-selling video game series of all time.

Mario Bros. was one of the first six video games to be inducted into the National Museum of Play's Video Game Hall of Fame.

Now that we have established the game's legacy, let us come to the story.

The game's legacy is iconic. So, when a vintage Super Mario Bros. is unopened, functional and is put up for sale, it's only natural for the bids to be huge. That's exactly what happened.

Recently, a vintage and unopened copy of Super Mario Bros. fetched a whopping $1,14,000 (Rs 84 lakhs) at an auction. According to reports, the unopened copy broke the previous record of $100,150 (£79,342.45) set by another copy of the same game.

The unopened set was part of the first batches produced by Nintendo back in the 1980s. The plastic packaging and the cardboard tab underneath indicates its originality and production time.

The set was sold at an auction held by the Dallas-based Heritage Auctions.

"The demand for this game was extremely high, and if any lot in the sale could hit a number like that, it was going to be this one,” said Valarie McLeckie, Heritage Auctions Video Games Director.

"We knew this would be a strong live session, but I don't think anybody could have anticipated how much bidding action there was on Heritage Live! and the phones. These results only verify Heritage Auctions' position in this rapidly growing market," she added.

The sale comes just a few days after an 'ultra-rare' Pokemon card went up for auction this month. It was bought for$90,000.