Hereās a blog-style rundown of the top 10 most expensive Nintendo / Nintendo-adjacent video games ever sold (or at least among the highest known), with stories behind those jaw-dropping auction results:
š® The Top 10 Most Expensive Nintendo Game Sales (and Why They Matter)
Below is a list of some of the highest-recorded prices for Nintendo games. Many of these sales are for sealed, graded, vintage copiesārarities that combine condition, provenance, and nostalgia.
| Rank | Game | Sale Price | Year / Auction | Notes & Why It Sold for So Much |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Super Mario Bros. (NES, 1985) | $2,000,000 | 2021 | A sealed, graded āhangtab / early productionā copy. Broke the all-time auction record for video games. (The Verge) |
| 2 | Super Mario 64 (N64, 1996) | $1,560,000 | 2021 | A mint, sealed copy. This sale set a new high watermark before the $2M Mario Bros. sale. (Newsweek) |
| 3 | The Legend of Zelda (NES, 1987) | $870,000 | 2021 | One of the earliest sealed copies, with āfirst productionā variants. Rare gold foil box, etc. (Heritage Auctions) |
| 4 | Super Mario Bros. (NES, 1985 ā high grade hangtab mid-production) | $720,000 | 2022 | Another prized variant, sealed with high Wata grade, a āmid-production hangtabā version. (Heritage Auctions) |
| 5 | The Legend of Zelda (NES, 1987 ā early / first production) | $705,000 | 2021 | Another variant of Zeldaās first release; first production box / special features commanded premium. (Cllct) |
| 6 | Super Mario Bros. (NES, 1985 hangtab / first production) | $660,000 | 2021 | One of the rare early āhangtab / stickerā versions in exceptional condition. (Heritage Auctions) |
| 7 | Mario Bros. (NES, 1986, sealed) | $264,000 | 2022 | Marioās earlier arcade/console title. Sealed graded copies are extremely rare. (Heritage Auctions) |
| 8 | Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES, 1990, sealed variant) | $156,000 | 2020 | A rare sealed version, breaking records when sold in 2020. (Heritage Auctions) |
| 9 | The Legend of Zelda (NES, sealed, later production / variant) | $600,000 | ā | As listed in āTop 10ā video game sales lists (variant / high grade). (Cllct) |
| 10 | Super Mario Bros. (NES, sealed Wata 9.4 variant) | $492,000 | 2021 | Another high-grade sealed variant of the classic, part of top 10 lists. (Cllct) |
š§© Stories Behind the Numbers
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The $100,150 sale you asked about wasnāt out of placeāit was one of the early records for Super Mario Bros. in a test-market or sticker-sealed variant. (Business Insider)
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But as collector interest and game grading sophistication increased, these high prices escalated dramatically.
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Many of these games are sealed, graded, first production / variant editionsāthings like āhangtab version,ā āsticker seal vs. shrink wrap,ā āno Rev-A box,ā or āgold box first run.ā These little details can add hundreds of thousands of dollars. (Heritage Auctions)
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The Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Bros. $2 million sale pushed the ceiling further. The 64 sale was sealed, graded, and in a category of near-perfect condition. (Newsweek)
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Zeldaās early sealed runs are also extremely prized; some first production Zelda copies have sold for $870,000, sometimes more. (Heritage Auctions)
āØ What This Means for Collectors & Gamers
Condition is king
A sealed, graded gameāeven if itās many thousands of copies like Super Mario Bros.ābecomes rare because nearly all copies are opened or damaged over decades.
Variants, production runs & provenance matter
The difference between a āmid-production hangtab versionā vs. āfirst production, no Rev-A, gold box early runā can be vastātens to hundreds of thousands of dollars difference.
The market is volatile
As more collectors and grading companies emerge, records get broken often. Whatās āmost expensiveā today might be overtaken tomorrow.
Nostalgia + scarcity = big value
These are more than gamesātheyāre artifacts of gaming history. For many collectors, owning a near-pristine copy of Super Mario Bros. or Zelda is owning a piece of pop culture heritage.