“It is the first game to be auctioned for more than a million dollars,” Eric Bradley, a spokesman for the Dallas, Texas-based company, told AFP.
Heritage had already set a first record on Friday, when a cartridge for the old consoles Nintendo NES from “The legend of zelda“It was auctioned at 870 thousand dollars (17 million 585 thousand 615 Mexican pesos).
This “Super Mario 64” cartridge dates from 1996 and uses 3D for the first time.
It is “the only known copy to receive a 9.8 A ++ score” from gaming expert Wata, which assesses the condition of cartridges, Bradley said, specifying that this score was “the highest it could receive. a retro video game “.
Mario, a hyperactive plumber with a mustache and a red cap, is one of the greatest heroes in video game history and contributed to Nintendo’s worldwide success.
He appeared in 1981 as the character “Jumpman” in the game “Donkey Kong”, was renamed “Mario” in 1985 and had many adventures, with his brother Luigi or at the wheel of a kart.
Retro video games have enjoyed growing success among nostalgic gamers for several years.
Last April, a 1986 Super Mario Bros. video game cartridge for Nintendo NES was sold for 660 thousand dollars at auction (13 million 340 thousand 811 Mexican pesos), always in the auction house Heritage Auctions .