Man, this retro craze really cracks me up. I saw one of those "retro" PS One Classics that was "pre-loaded with 20 games" and it was over a hundred bucks. The funny thing to me, is that you can get these on ebay and pawn shops RIGHT NOW for like 20-30 bucks, and the games, for the most part, are all super reasonable as well. The retro gaming craze is pretty decent for the most part, with games like Battle Princess Madelyn reviving and reinventing retro titles, but this is getting a little insane.
Well, onto the news. An unopened copy of Super Mario Bros. (released by Nintendo in 1985, when dinosaurs roamed the earth), set a world record for a graded game when it sold for $100,150. Granted, this was a "sticker sealed" copy, which means that from 1985 to 1994, the game was reprinted numerous times, ending up with 11 different box variations; the first two variations are “sticker sealed” copies that were only available in the New York and L.A. test market launch of the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in 1985 and 1986. So, of all the sealed copies of Super Mario Bros., this is the only known “sticker sealed” copy and was certified by Wata Games with a Near Mint grade of 9.4 and a “Seal Rating” of A++.
I suppose that is a big deal.
A group of collectors joined together to afford the hefty price tag, and the buyers are mostly all related to games in some way: Jim Halperin, Founder and Co-Chairman of Heritage Auctions of Dallas, Texas; Zac Gieg, owner of Just Press Play Video Games in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and Rich Lecce, renowned coin dealer, pioneering video game collector, and owner of Robert B. Lecce Numismatist Inc of Boca Raton, Florida.
So there you have it, kids. In a few years this will probably double or triple, so if you have around a 100 grand, make your move sooner rather than later on your own retro purchase. I'd settle for a copy of Chrono Trigger on the DS that doesn't cost $40.
