The most expensive video game ever sold is a sealed copy of Super Mario Bros., which fetched $3 million at Heritage Auctions in Dallas in June 2026. It is the first game to pass the $2 million mark at public auction. This list ranks the ten highest verified prices paid for individual video game items, from sealed cartridges to a one-off console prototype, as of October 2026.
| Rank | Item | Price (USD) | Sale date | Sold at |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Super Mario Bros., sealed, PSA 9.6 A++ | $3,000,000 | June 2026 | Heritage Auctions |
| 2 | Super Mario Bros., sealed | $2,000,000 | August 2021 | Private sale via Rally |
| 3 | Super Mario 64, sealed, Wata 9.8 A++ | $1,560,000 | July 2021 | Heritage Auctions |
| 4 | The Legend of Zelda, sealed | $870,000 | July 2021 | Heritage Auctions |
| 5 | Super Mario Bros., sealed hangtab, Wata 9.6 A+ | $660,000 | April 2021 | Heritage Auctions |
| 6 | The Legend of Zelda, sealed first production, CGC 9.2 A | $375,000 | August 2024 | Heritage Auctions |
| 7 | Nintendo “Play Station” prototype console | $360,000 | March 2020 | Heritage Auctions |
| 8 | The Legend of Zelda, sealed first production, CGC 9.4 A+ | $300,000 | May 2025 | Heritage Auctions |
| 9 | Nintendo World Championships gold cartridge, CGC 4.0 | $207,400 | August 2024 | Goldin |
| 10 | Super Mario Bros. 3, sealed, Wata 9.2 A+ | $156,000 | November 2020 | Heritage Auctions |
1. Super Mario Bros., sealed, PSA 9.6 A++: $3,000,000
This is the finest of only three known sealed copies from the second production run of Nintendo’s NES launch game, identified by the gloss sticker the company adopted in early 1986. It surfaced only months before the sale, found inside a brand-new NES Control Deck bundle that had sat untouched for nearly 40 years. The lot came with that original console.
It sold on June 12, 2026, in the first session of Heritage’s two-day Video Games Signature Auction. No sealed game had ever cleared $2 million in public bidding, and this one jumped the old mark by half.
How we valued it: the headline price reported by the auction house for the lot; the buyer’s premium treatment was not stated in the results we opened.
2. Super Mario Bros., sealed: $2,000,000
In August 2021 a sealed Super Mario Bros. changed hands for $2 million through Rally, a platform that sells shares in collectibles. The sale went ahead after roughly three quarters of the share owners voted to accept the offer. It was not an auction, which is why the June 2026 result is described as the auction record while this one remains the largest earlier deal.
The sale landed a month after the Super Mario 64 result below and showed how fast sealed games had turned into an asset class.
How we valued it: the reported private sale price; we could not confirm the grade of this copy from the pages we opened.
3. Super Mario 64, sealed, Wata 9.8 A++: $1,560,000
On July 11, 2021, Heritage sold a sealed copy of the Nintendo 64 launch title for $1.56 million including fees. Graded A++ for its seal, it was the first video game to pass $1 million at auction. The 3D platformer changed how games were built, and a nearly flawless sealed example from 1996 is scarce.
How we valued it: final price including buyer’s premium, as reported from the auction house results.
4. The Legend of Zelda, sealed: $870,000
Two days before the Mario 64 sale, on July 9, 2021, a sealed Legend of Zelda sold at Heritage for $870,000. It was the first Zelda cartridge ever sold at auction at that level, in the same event that totalled more than $8.4 million. For two days it held the record for the most expensive game.
How we valued it: reported sale price from the auction house; the premium was not broken out.
5. Super Mario Bros., sealed hangtab, Wata 9.6 A+: $660,000
This copy carries a perforated cardboard hangtab on the shrink-wrap, a feature of the earliest retail packaging. Heritage called it the oldest sealed copy of the game it had offered. The listing opened at $310,000 and finished at $660,000 in an online sale reported in early April 2021. It broke the previous record, which belonged to a sealed Super Mario Bros. 3.
How we valued it: reported final price from the Heritage online auction; premium treatment not stated.
6. The Legend of Zelda, sealed first production, CGC 9.2 A: $375,000
Heritage’s auction ending August 24, 2024, brought a first-production NES Zelda from the Dallas-Fort Worth Collection, a haul of more than 300 classic games, many still with store price stickers. Heritage called it the highest-graded first-production copy ever offered at public auction at the time. It was the top CGC-graded game sale then on record.
Six months earlier, in February 2024, a lower-graded first-production copy (CGC 8.0 A) had made $288,000, so the market for this one cartridge climbed in steps.
How we valued it: price realized including buyer’s premium, per the grading company’s announcement of the Heritage result.
7. Nintendo “Play Station” prototype: $360,000
Before Sony built the PlayStation, it worked with Nintendo on a Super Nintendo with a CD drive. This is the one surviving unit of roughly 200 pre-production consoles, dated by Heritage to 1990 to 1992. It takes Super Famicom and SNES cartridges and also plays a proprietary Super Disc format. It was previously owned by Olaf Olafsson, the founding CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment.
It sold on March 6, 2020, after 57 bids. The buyer wished to remain anonymous. It is the only console on this list, and it shows that a story can fetch as much as a grade.
How we valued it: reported sale price from the Heritage sale; hammer versus premium was not separated in the pages we opened.
8. The Legend of Zelda, sealed first production, CGC 9.4 A+: $300,000
Another first-production Zelda, this one from the Waterford Collection, sold at Heritage in the Video Games Signature Auction that ended May 24, 2025. At CGC 9.4 A+, it was the highest-graded first-production copy Heritage had offered. The same sale produced $106,250 for a sealed Pokemon Blue with a misprinted back cover and $100,000 for a sealed Super Mario Bros. 3.
How we valued it: price realized including buyer’s premium, per the grading company’s announcement.
9. Nintendo World Championships gold cartridge, CGC 4.0: $207,400
In 1990 Nintendo staged a travelling gaming contest and made a very small run of cartridges for it. Twenty-six gold ones were awarded as prizes in a magazine poll. Sixteen are known to exist, nine are unaccounted for and one was destroyed in a house fire. This copy, graded only 4.0 because of its handmade label and wear, was the first gold example offered at public auction. It closed on August 17, 2024, at Goldin.
How we valued it: price realized at the Goldin auction as announced by the grading company.
10. Super Mario Bros. 3, sealed, Wata 9.2 A+: $156,000
On November 20, 2020, Heritage sold the earliest known production variant of Super Mario Bros. 3, with the “Bros.” lettering overlapping one of Mario’s gloves. Twenty bidders took part, starting from $62,500. At the time it was the most expensive game ever sold at auction, and it started the climb that ended at $3 million.
How we valued it: reported gavel price from Heritage; whether the buyer’s premium was included was not stated.
Records set in 2025 and 2026
- June 2026: sealed Super Mario Bros. sells for $3 million at Heritage, the all-time record for any video game sold at public auction.
- May 2025: a sealed first-production Legend of Zelda (CGC 9.4 A+) sells for $300,000 at Heritage, the second highest price for a CGC-graded game at that point.
- May 2025: a sealed Pokemon Blue (CGC 9.8 A++) makes $106,250, the highest Heritage price for a CGC-graded Pokemon game.
What drives these prices
- Sealed means one chance. A factory seal can only be broken once. Every sealed copy that survives 40 years in a drawer or a stock room makes the remaining ones scarcer.
- Grading turned games into a market. Independent grades and sealed ratings gave buyers a common measure, and the top few grades now sell for many times the next tier.
- The earliest production run wins. Nearly every entry is a first version: a gloss sticker, a hangtab, a “Bros.” quirk. Collectors pay for being first.
- Franchise power is the floor. Mario and Zelda occupy eight of the ten slots. Names millions grew up with attract the deepest pools of bidders.
- Xbox and Xbox 360 rarities are a different scale. The top auction prices there are in the low thousands: a Dead Space Ultra Limited Edition went for $2,999 in 2011, and a Panzer Dragoon Orta special edition console made $1,250 that year. Neither is close to this list.
FAQ
What is the most expensive video game ever sold?
A sealed, PSA 9.6 A++ copy of Super Mario Bros. sold for $3 million at Heritage Auctions on June 12, 2026.
What was the most expensive game before that?
A sealed Super Mario Bros. sold privately for $2 million in August 2021. The best earlier auction price was $1.56 million for a sealed Super Mario 64 in July 2021.
What is the most expensive console ever sold?
The Nintendo “Play Station” prototype, which sold for $360,000 at Heritage in March 2020.
What is the cheapest entry on this list?
A sealed Super Mario Bros. 3 at $156,000 in November 2020. It was the record at the time.
What is the most expensive Xbox 360 game?
The highest auction price we found is $2,999, for a Dead Space Ultra Limited Edition in 2011. Sealed graded copies of common titles have sold for a few thousand dollars at most.
Can an ordinary Mario or Zelda cartridge be worth a lot?
Loose, played copies sell for little. The money is in sealed, graded and first-production examples.
How we put this list together
We ranked items by verified sale price, drawing on auction house results and disclosed sales compiled in an internal valuation model. Prices are approximate, depend on whether a buyer’s premium is included, and change as new records are set.
Keep reading
- The most expensive Xbox game
- The most expensive Xbox 360 games
- The most expensive video games ever created
- 7 assets rich people use to preserve wealth
Last updated: October 2026.
