Classic "Super Mario 64" cartridge sells for $1.5 million, shatters old record

The sale now holds the record for the most expensive game cartridge ever sold

Just a few days ago, an unopened cartridge of the 1987 NES Classic Legend of Zelda sold for $870,000 at auction, making it the most expensive game sold. That record now stands broken with an unopened cartridge of another Nintendo classic selling for a lot more.

One of the fewer than five copies of the 1996 classic platformer Super Mario 64 has now been sold for a whopping $1.5 million.

In a press release put out by Heritage, the company stated the importance of rarity, historical significance and condition as the important factors when reaching out to perspective collectors. This copy of Super Mario 64 scored 9.8 on that scale and is one of the five copies remaining with that score.

"It seems impossible to overstate the importance of this title, not only to the history of Mario and Nintendo, but to video games as a whole," Heritage Auctions Video Games Specialist Valarie McLeckie said. "This is Mario's debut appearance in a 3D world, and it was the most popular — best-selling — video game for the N64. Considering this, and the fact that there are fewer than five sealed in this grade according to Wata, this copy is a true prize for any serious collector."

Super Mario 64 is part of the earlier breed of 3D games when the technology was yet to find its footing. It revolutionised the industry, with features like its innovative 3D camera still being replicated and ideated upon to this day.

It is widely considered one of the best Super Mario titles ever created.