This copy of Super Mario Bros. was sealed using a rare "gloss sticker seal" method Nintendo used only briefly during an early 1986 production run — and as far as graders can tell, just three examples survive in this condition.
It never left the shrink wrap. No kid ever blew into the cartridge, no save file was ever lost — which is exactly why it commands the price of a small apartment building.
Heritage Auctions sold it in 2026 for a flat $3,000,000, instantly becoming the new all-time record for any video game and eclipsing the previous champion by a full million dollars.
The story spread fast because of the sheer absurdity: a $1.99-at-launch cartridge, bought by a parent for a kid who never opened it, is now worth more than most people earn in fifty years of work.
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