Story perspectives

Sealed Super Mario NES Cartridge Sells for $3 Million Record

6/15/2026

42 4

Summary

Heritage Auctions Sells Mario

Heritage Auctions sold a sealed second-production Super Mario Bros. NES cartridge for $3 million, a new record.
The cartridge received a PSA 9.6 A++ grade, the highest rating among the three known copies.
It bears the 1986 glossy-sticker seal Nintendo used before shrink-wrap, having stayed unopened for about 40 years in a brand-new NES bundle.
The buyer also received the unopened launch-edition NES Control Deck console that was packaged with the game.

Summary

Mario Auction

The Mario cartridge is the earliest sealed Super Mario Bros. copy produced after Nintendo adopted the early-1986 gloss-sticker format.
Only three gloss-sticker second-production copies exist, graded Wata 9.4 A++, VGA 80, and ungraded.
Nintendo soon replaced sticker-sealed packaging with plastic shrink-wrap, ending the brief gloss-sticker era.
The cartridge’s first public auction follows the 2019 private sale of the Wata 9.4 A++ copy, the first six-figure video-game transaction highlighting early sealed title scarcity.

Summary

Sealed NES Found

The bundle includes a launch-edition NES Control Deck console from the Los Angeles test-market rollout, still sealed.
Inspectors found the complete, untouched console in its original packaging and in gorgeous condition after four decades.
Its rarity stems from Nintendo’s limited Los Angeles release, making the sealed test-market edition a unique NES memorabilia artifact.

1 of 3

Heritage Auctions Sells Mario

Heritage Auctions sold a sealed second-production Super Mario Bros. NES cartridge for $3 million, a new record.
The cartridge received a PSA 9.6 A++ grade, the highest rating among the three known copies.
It bears the 1986 glossy-sticker seal Nintendo used before shrink-wrap, having stayed unopened for about 40 years in a brand-new NES bundle.
The buyer also received the unopened launch-edition NES Control Deck console that was packaged with the game.

1 / 3