“Super Mario 64” marked a watershed moment for gaming, as Mario’s on-screen world received an immersive upgrade. Nintendo has since sold about 12 million copies of “Super Mario 64,” writes Sanj Atwal for Guinness World Records.

At the time, the game sold for about $60, per the Times. Nintendo released “Super Mario 64” as one of the first games for its Nintendo 64 console in 1996. Previously, the record was held by a 1987 copy of “ The Legend of Zelda,” which sold for $870,000 earlier this month. An anonymous buyer scored the game for $1.56 million (including a 20 percent buyer’s premium) after 16 bids, reports the New York Times’ Neil Vigdor.Īccording to Dallas-based Heritage Auctions, the sale marks the first time in history that a video game has sold for more than $1 million. Per a statement, an unopened copy of the 1996 game “ Super Mario 64” smashed records on Sunday, becoming the most expensive video game ever sold at auction.

Clad in bright red overalls and equipped with cheery catchphrases-not to mention startling agility-Mario has since become one of the most iconic video game characters of all time.Īs demonstrated last weekend, Nintendo’s beloved mascot also commands high prices. A 1996 copy of 'Super Mario 64'-rated 9.8, or A++, on the Wata Scale-sold last Sunday for $1.56 million.ĭesigner Shigeru Miyamoto first dreamt up the character Mario, a mustachioed Italian plumber loosely based on Nintendo’s real-life landlord, in 1981.

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