Retro Gold
Two factors that add value, at least in the realm of video games, are age and condition. That’s a fact for Heritage Auctions, the house that sold a sealed copy of Super Mario Bros. for a whopping $105,000.
The sealed copy of Super Mario Bros. was one of the most expensive games ever sold. As a matter of fact, it set a world record for the most expensive “graded game.” In other words, the seller provided proof that it had never been opened and that it was officially in mint condition. “Beyond the artistic and historical significance of this game is its supreme state of preservation,” says Kenneth Thrower, co-founder and chief grader of Wata Games. Furthermore, this particular copy of Super Mario Bros is unlike any other due to the fact that it was manufactured for Nintendo’s test launch.
In other words, don’t go rummaging through your old storage containers in the hopes of finding gold. The copy of Super Mario Bros. that sold at auction was rare before age had its say. Unless you’ve procured your cartridge from Nintendo’s test launch, you can probably sell it to GameStop for a few pennies. Or, maybe you do have a sealed copy of an old game. It won’t net you as much, but an unopened, original Legend of Zelda sold at auction for three grand. You never know.
SOURCE: The Verge