Unopened copy of 'Super Mario 64' sets new auction record, selling for $1.5 million

The Nintendo 64 game was the first to feature the Super Mario character in 3D

A cartridge of Nintendo's classic video game ;Super Mario 64' set a world record on July 11, 2021, selling at auction for $1. 56 million. AFP

An unopened copy of Nintendo’s Super Mario 64 has sold at auction for $1.56 million.

The 1996 game was sold by Heritage Auctions in Dallas, US, on Sunday, breaking the previous record price for the sale of a single video game.

A spokesman did not immediately respond to an inquiry from Associated Press about who purchased the game.

Super Mario 64 was the best-selling game on the Nintendo 64 console, and was the first game to feature the Super Mario character in 3D. The game was also the first to feature a camera that could be controlled by players independent of the character, and popularised the concept of a central hub world.

The sale comes just days after an unopened copy of Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda set a new auction record, selling on Friday for $870,000. Valarie McLeckie, Heritage’s video game specialist, said the auction house was shocked to see a game sell for almost double, two days after the Zelda game broke its past record.

In April, the auction house sold an unopened copy of Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros. that was bought in 1986 and forgotten about in a desk drawer for $660,000.

Over the past year, the price for video games has been skyrocketing at auction houses around the world. In July 2020, the record price was set for a copy of Super Mario Bros., which sold for $114,000.