The earliest known cartridge copy of Super Mario Bros., which may also be the iconic platformer’s master copy, is going up for auction next month, with the proceeds entirely going to benefit a major gaming preservation charity.
Auction house Christie’s will play host to the auction, in which a 1985-era Super Mario Bros. cartridge will be up for grabs. The price will be pretty steep, though; Christie’s estimates the cart will cost you somewhere in the region of £100,000 to £150,000 (about $130,000 to $200,000).
The auction is being held to benefit the Video Game History Foundation (VGHF), a charity organization that’s involved with preserving some of the most important (and esoteric!) artifacts from throughout gaming history.
The Video Game History Foundation says that this cartridge was created at Nintendo before mass production on Super Mario Bros. began, and that while the charity can’t be certain, “it is possible that this was the original master copy of the game”, i.e. the one on which all retail copies were based.
Of course, given the cartridge’s age, it’s possible that the game wouldn’t work if you were to slot it into a Famicom console, but I don’t suppose anyone picking this up will be buying it so they can play Super Mario Bros.; it’s more of a collector’s item.
This is far from the first Super Mario Bros.-related retro gaming auction. During 2021 alone, two Super Mario Bros. cartridges sold for eye-watering amounts, and other games in the franchise have commanded incredible prices at auction as well.
As for Super Mario Bros. itself, well, the game needs no introduction; as the Christie’s lot essay for the above cartridge says, it’s “the most influential video game of all time”, or at least a strong contender for that title.
If you’d like to bid for what may very well be the Super Mario Bros. master copy, bidding begins via the Christie’s website on December 11th. Stay tuned for more.
