There are plenty of old video games that have been sold at auctions for beaucoup bucks but few are as strange as the one recently sold through Heritage Auctions this weekend. ASuper Mario Bros.3prototype sold for a large sum, proving that collectors will shell out a lot of money for a piece of Nintendo history.
When the auction ended on September 13, the final bid was $31,200. What makes this particular prototype so interesting is the cartridge itself, which is Frankensteinesque in appearance. It began its life asKid Icarusbut was later gutted and replaced with a copy of the thirdSuper Mario Bros.game. The original image on the front is ripped in places to make room for the exposed EPROMs poking out of its insides and ‘Super 3’ is scribbled on the bottom with a blue marker. It’s not pretty, but it houses pre-release data forSuper Mario Bros. 3, making it beautiful in a nerdy kind of way.
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A Nintendo prototype rarely makes it out into the wild. The company is notorious for keeping all of its production materials, never allowing them to leave the company grounds, and even destroying or dismantling them once they’re no longer needed. The Heritage Auctionlistingsays, “We have often heard from prototype collectors that developers tended to repurpose spare parts lying around the company to fashion them into prototypes.” This cartridge appears to be one of those that has been repurposed.
While 30k may seem like a lot of money (and it is), it is is a far cry from themost expensive games put up at auction. An original sealed copy ofSuper Mario Bros.for the NES once sold for $144,000. What made it so special was its packaging. The fact it had a cardboard tab instead of a plastic one made it quite the rarity. Believe it or not, it sold for much less than some other games.
These auctions show just how much people are willing to pay for a slice of nostalgia. Nintendo knows the appeal of nostalgia well and has made it a big part of the upcoming 35th anniversary ofSuper Mario. Nintendo laid out its plans with asurprise anniversary Nintendo Directthat announced new games, a new device, special events, and more. Most notably, it revealedSuper Mario 3D All-Stars, which packages togetherSuper Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine,andSuper Mario Galaxyfor the Switch. Nintendo later released aSuper Mario 3D All-Starsoverview trailerto highlight what players can expect from the collection.
The price has rubbed some the wrong way, as the collection will cost as much as a new title, but the games being ported to the Switch are merely optimized and not fully remastered. The collection will only be available as a limited-run until the end of March 2021, which has also been a point of contention. Since people are scrambling to make sure they get a copy, at least oneretailer is canceling pre-ordersdue to scarcity.
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