Sealed copy of Super Mario Bros. sells for $100,150 (insane game auction price thread)

[calthaer]

As for why they're so much more valuable than used copies, that I don't get. Even with Super Mario Bros, as I heard someone else mention, this isn't even the original version of the game as that would be the Famicom version. That should be the valuable version if it's about historical significance.

Ah, but this is the key: "Especially if you were there at the time and have fond memories of it yourself."

The Japanese versions of Nintendo games don't hold any emotional significance for most people - it doesn't take them back to their single-digit-year-old self, standing in the aisle of their department or toy store, gazing longingly at the items and wishing you could take them home and play them. People are trying to recapture a feeling from their now-distant past - and they're willing to pay handsomely to have their heartstrings pulled that way. And, because these games were widely popular, there are a lot of people competing for that feeling.

It can't possibly be rational, these prices - it's emotional and irrational.

[Baloo]

You can't bring the plastic with you. The prices people pay for this crap is completely irrational.

[Gameguy]

Ah, but this is the key: "Especially if you were there at the time and have fond memories of it yourself."

But for people who actually lived through that time, they tend to remember the pricing and just how common it all was back then. Older people often undervalue antiques and collectibles because they consider them to be common items that were easily available. It's really newer collectors who just discover something and start buying into it that tend to view things as rare obscurities of another time. I tended to look at items that way from before I was born back when I was a kid, I loved looking through antique stores and flea markets back then thinking so many old things were just amazing, and I automatically believed whatever pricing was listed on them.

For people remembering actual items they saw in stores, would that include very specific rare variants that wouldn't have been available in many locations or for a long period of time? Wouldn't people most likely want the same version they saw as a kid which would probably be a more common version? There would be less demand for specific rare versions and more demand for common versions.

[calthaer]

That's one way of looking at things - remembering them as common and not wanting to pay a lot. But it's not the only way. I once watched that "Nintendo Quest" documentary, and it's...kind of hard to watch. That guy's collecting is so devoid of joy it's a little disturbing...and it's obvious that he has some childhood issues he's trying to paper over with this "quest" of his - maybe trying to recapture the good parts of his childhood and forget the bad? I don't necessarily understand that guy's motivations, but I do recognize he has them.

There's something going on with people who pay $600k for an old video game. I don't myself understand it, but I can't necessarily say they don't have their reasons for it. They may not be rational reasons, they may not be my reasons - but there is some line of thinking in their head that makes that price seem justified. Maybe they have a ton of money and that price seems reasonable to them (cheaper than a McLaren, after all). Maybe they're so desperate to have it for some personal reason that they'd mortgage the house to get it. I don't know. Would be interesting to ask them.

[Jimmy Yakapucci]

Over the past few years, whenever I buy a game I leave it sealed until the minute I want to sit down and play it for the first time. Why open it before that? It is not like they come with nice manuals to read anymore. This has helped me on more than one occasion when I have found a game sitting around that I never got around to playing but people are paying stupid money for. I will sell off the sealed game and buy something that I will play. One that I remember doing that with was Xenoblade Chronicles for the Wii. I ordered it but never played it because I believe I gave my grandson my Wii. I found it in a drawer on day and sold it for something like $100.

[Gameguy]

Why open it before that?

I basically do the same as you, only opening games before I want to play them, but there's still a chance they could be defective somehow. Disc manufacturing errors sometimes happen, though it's very rare.

[nebrazca88]

We've seen similar things happening with other popular collectibles. A LeBron James rookie card in fantastic condition just sold for 5.3 million which equaled a Mantle or a Ruth or something like that. There aren't anymore of these being made and with all the technology we have these days it's incredibly difficult to make even passable copies. It may seem like complete nonsense and depending on the circumstance I may agree but now NFTs are selling for untold millions let alone things you can actually hold in your hand.

I'm pretty sure I heard a pair of Kanye's shoes just sold for one or two million. Strange days.

[AdamAnt316]

And now, Heritage has other classic Nintendo games getting in on the money launderin' action:

Ultra-Rare Zelda Cart Fetching 6 Digits Before Auction Even Begins