Last month, a sealed copy of Super Mario 64 sold for $1.56 million at auction. That incredible figure was the result of a confluence of complicated developments in the world of video game memorabilia collection, and I heartily recommend the Ars Technica link I embedded on the subject, as it’s an excellent and comprehensive explanation. But that’s old news and a pathetically small number! Case in point, and as The New York Times reports, a sealed copy of Super Mario Bros has now sold for $2 million to an anonymous buyer via the platform Rally, shattering the record for the most money ever spent on video game memorabilia.
This particular sealed copy of Super Mario Bros was rated 9.8 by WATA, denoting “exceptional” condition and potentially making it the best preserved copy in existence. However, the game did not sell through a conventional auction. Rather, as NYT explains, Rally “buys physical collectibles, like comic books and cars, and invites people to invest in shares of the individual items as they would a stock. When someone makes an offer to buy one of the items outright, Rally takes that offer to the investors, who vote on whether to sell and cash out their share of the profits, or to decline.”
Rally obtained this copy of Super Mario Bros for $140,000 in April 2020, and a prospective buyer recently offered $2 million because he or she is “making big bets in the video game space.” Three quarters of the investors approved the $2 million sale, so the sale proceeded. This entire situation is no doubt a glimpse into the future of video game memorabilia collection, as well-to-do enthusiasts speculate on their favorite childhood hobby in anticipation of a larger payday later. This is likewise an excellent piece of marketing for Rally as a platform, which Rally itself is aware.
Punks, X-Men, Declarations, and some news…
?A NEW WORLD RECORD on Rally?
…w/ the $2,000,000 sale of our 1985 Super Mario Bros., marking the HIGHEST PRICE EVER PAID for a video game of any title.
Read more in todays New York Times (cc: @nytimes): https://t.co/mJzEcVMXuQ pic.twitter.com/segsfw6Jw9
— Rally (@OnRallyRd) August 6, 2021
What do you think about a sealed, nearly perfect copy of Super Mario Bros selling for $2 million? It sure makes that $660,000 sale from April look pathetic.
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