A sealed copy of Super Mario Bros. just sold at Heritage Auctions for $3 million, absolutely obliterating the previous record of $2 million for the same game in 2021. That earlier sale itself followed a controversial auction of Super Mario 64 for $1.56 million, because apparently, nostalgia has no price ceiling.
What made this particular cartridge so special? According to Heritage Auctions, instead of the usual shrink wrap, this 1985 second-run copy was sealed with a glossy sticker - a method that was quickly discontinued. The auction house claims it's the earliest known sealed copy of the game in existence, and it's graded at a pristine 9.6 A++ by Professional Sports Authenticator. So yes, it's basically the gaming equivalent of a Fabergé egg, if Fabergé eggs came with a plumber who hates turtles.
Vintage gaming collectibles have been on a tear lately. It was only in July 2020 that Heritage Auctions set the record with a copy of Super Mario Bros. for $114,000. Six years later, that looks like the bargain bin. If the winning bidder decides to commit the cardinal sin of actually opening the game, Heritage is throwing in an NES console - presumably so they can finally play the thing they just spent a small country's GDP on.