Rare copy of Super Mario Bros. sells for $2 million, the most ever paid for a video game

A rare, sealed copy of Super Mario Bros. on NES has sold for an eye-watering $2 million, breaking the record for most expensive video game ever sold.

The previous record-holder was a copy of Super Mario 64, which sold for $1.56 million just last month. And before that, the biggest video game sale was an original copy of The Legend of Zelda, which was listed for $110 thousand and ultimately sold for almost eight times that at $870 thousand.

The New York Times reports that this latest record-breaking video game sale was made through collectibles site Rally, which originally purchased the cartridge for $140,000. Rally allows investors to buy shares in items up for sale with the hope of cashing out on big purchases, and sales need to be approved by a majority of those investors.

An earlier offer of $300 thousand was rejected by the investors, which was obviously a wise decision in retrospect. The $2 million game was bought by an anonymous buyer who is "making big bets in the video game space." The Times interviewed 32-year old investor Ed Converse, who invested $100 in the game last year and reportedly made $950 from the sale.

So, why buy a video game for two mil? Beyond the fact that the copy is factory sealed and part of a limited run, the obvious answer is that the buyer sees it as an investment that could pay off in an even bigger sale later on. "In my opinion, it hasn’t reached the masses," Converse predicted. "You'll start to see a lot more people paying attention and doing research."