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Press Release - April 6, 2021
Super Mario Bros. races away for $660,000 in Heritage Video Game Auction
Video games auction brings a record $3,337,854DOWNLOAD DIGITAL PRESS KIT
The record result helped boost the total video games sales in the event to $3,337,854, the most ever for a video games auction. That result helped lift the total sales for the Comics & Comic Art Auction to $16,562,887, the highest all-time record for a single, multi-consignor Comics or Popular Culture auction.
The total for the event crushed the previous Video Games auction standard of $1.3 million, which Heritage Auctions set in November 2020. Demand for the lots in this event was so high that the total had passed the $2 million mark before the final session even started.
Super Mario Bros. - Wata 9.6 A+ Sealed [Hangtab, 1 Code, Mid-Production], NES Nintendo 1985 USA is the finest copy known to have been professionally graded for auction. The previous world record for a copy of Super Mario Bros. was $114,000, which was set in July 2020 by Heritage Auctions .
"As soon as this copy of Super Mario Bros. arrived at Heritage, we knew the market would find it just as sensational as we did," Heritage Auctions Video Games Director Valarie McLeckie said. "Even so, the degree to which this game was embraced outside the market has been nothing short of exceptional, and that aspect of this sale has certainly exceeded our expectations. Though, I suppose we can't be too shocked; who doesn't love Mario?"
The classic Nintendo video game was purchased in 1985 as a Christmas gift, but ended up being placed inside a desk drawer, where it remained untouched for 36 years, before being discovered earlier this year.
"It stayed in the bottom of my office desk this whole time since the day I bought it," said the seller, who asked not to be identified. "I never thought anything about it."
The game was the lead lot in an auction that featured the largest selection of high-end video games ever offered in a single auction at Heritage, both in variety and in the number of lots offered. Other top video games in the auction included, but were not limited to:
Mega Man - Wata 9.4 A+ Sealed ["Dr. Wily," Second Production], NES Capcom 1987 USA and Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! - Wata 9.6 A++ Sealed [Oval SOQ TM, Later Production], NES Nintendo 1987 USA sold for $144,000 and $102,000, respectively, to become the first two non-Mario Bros. games ever to sell for six-digit prices.
Mega Manis one of just three factory-sealed copies ever offered by Heritage Auctions, and the first sealed copy HA has offered of this variant. The result soared past the Wata 9.4 A+ "Dr. Wright" first production copy — the crown jewel of the Carolina Collection — that Heritage sold for $75,000 in November 2019. The Carolina Collection copy and the recently-sold "Dr. Wily" are each in a league of their own due to their early production status and elite level of preservation.
Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! is a higher-graded and newer copy than the one that Heritage Auctions sold in July 2020 for $50,400. The pristine copy offered here is the finest copy with an oval seal of quality ever offered through Heritage, and the only one ever offered by Heritage with a grade above Wata 9.2. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! is the first Nintendo game ever endorsed by a celebrity; Tyson was later removed from the game once the license for Nintendo expired.
Pokémon games have enjoyed a surge in popularity that mirrors the uptick in demand for the cards from the game. Among the Pokémon video game highlights were Pokémon Crystal Version - Wata 9.8 A++ Sealed, GBC Nintendo 2001 USA, which brought six times its pre-auction estimate when it finished at $90,000, Pokémon Red Version - Wata 9.4 A++ Sealed [Sandshrew, First Production], GB Nintendo 1998 USA, which drew 27 bids before it found a new home at $72,000, and Pokémon Emerald Version - Wata 9.8 A+ Sealed, GBA Nintendo 2004 USA, which bidders chased until it landed at $55,200, more than five times its pre-auction estimate.
Other top video games in the sale included, but were not limited to:
· $52,800: Super Mario Bros. 3 - Wata 9.8 A+ Sealed ["Bros." Right, Later Production], NES Nintendo 1990 USA
· $50,400: Final Fantasy III - Wata 9.6 A Sealed [Made in Japan], SNES Squaresoft 1994 USA
· $50,400: Pokémon Sapphire Version - Wata 9.8 A+ Sealed, GBA Nintendo 2002 USA
· $50,400: John Madden Football Championship Edition - Wata 9.2 A+ Sealed [Rental Exclusive], GEN EA Sports 1992 USA
Trading cards
A Magic: The Gathering Alpha Edition Still Sealed Starter Deck (Wizards of the Coast, 1993), one of fewer than 100 such decks known to remain in existence, more than tripled its pre-auction estimate when it climbed to $84,000. The provenance for this deck is exceptional: the consignor was a consultant for Wizards of the Coast, and has kept the offered Starter Pack, unopened, for 27 years. The offered deck remains sealed, meaning it could contain any of the "Rares" — possibly even an Alpha Black Lotus — among the 60 cards that are included, along with a rulebook, in each deck.
"Bidding was strong when the lot opened and remained strong through the whole sale," Heritage Auctions Magic: The Gathering Specialist Brian Wiedman said. "It is obvious people are starved for fresh Alpha items from Magic: The Gathering. This should start the masses to set upon their closets to find their old collections."
More than a dozen bids came in for Magic: The Gathering International Collector's Edition Sealed Box Set (Wizards of the Coast, 1993) until it reached $28,800, more than doubling its estimate. The set contains all 302 original Deckmaster series cards, as well as duplicate land cards, for a total of 363 cards. These particular cards have square corners, as well as a gold border and "Collector's Edition" in gold lettering on the backs of each.
A Pokémon Blastoise #2 First Edition Base Set Rare Hologram Trading Card (Wizards of the Coast, 1999) PSA GEM MINT 10 sparked 18 bids before it finished at $43,200. Blastoise is the final evolve form of the water type starter Pokémon Squirtle. Featuring artwork by Ken Sugimori, 1,770 copies of this card have been certified by PSA, but the offered card is one of just 100 earning a GEM MINT 10 grade.
A Pokémon German First Edition Base Set Sealed Booster Box (Wizards of the Coast, 1999) was enormously popular, bringing in 50 bids before selling for $38,400. These box sets have become very scarce, due to their low print run, and very few still remain in this sealed state. Since the cards haven't been handled, they are likely all in GEM MINT condition.
The bidding was even more active for a Pokémon Charizard #4 First Edition Base Set Rare Hologram Trading Card (Wizards of the Coast, 1999) PSA MINT 9, which rode the surge of 51 bids to a final price of $37,200. Featuring one of the most popular Pokémon of the series, it features artwork by Mitsuhiro Arita. PSA has certified 2,900 copies of this card to date, with 655 earning a MINT 9 grade, and just 121 graded higher.
For images and information on all lots in the auction, visit HA.com/7242.
Heritage Auctions is the largest fine art and collectibles auction house founded in the United States, and the world's largest collectibles auctioneer. Heritage maintains offices in New York, Dallas, Beverly Hills, San Francisco, Chicago, Palm Beach, London, Paris, Geneva, Amsterdam and Hong Kong.
Heritage also enjoys the highest Online traffic and dollar volume of any auction house on earth (source: SimilarWeb and Hiscox Report). The Internet's most popular auction-house website, HA.com, has more than 1,400,000 registered bidder-members and searchable free archives of five million past auction records with prices realized, descriptions and enlargeable photos. Reproduction rights routinely granted to media for photo credit.
Steve Lansdale, Public Relations Specialist
214-409-1699; SteveL@HA.com