Collectors have a lot of different interests. Baseball cards, comic books, Pokemon, coins, stamps a,d even NFTs in the digital collectibles. One aspect in collectibles that has been very surprising is that the oldest video games you grew up with in the 1980s and 1990s have become collectible. This isn’t just the nostalgia of playing the game, it is about unopened video games that are now graded for their package condition just as if they were cards or comics.

The Heritage Auctions Video Games Signature Auction is a collection of all the video games you grew up with. The video game auction ends October 29-31. While this is a focus of what Heritage has up for auction, other auction houses have moved into graded video games as well.

What separates these popular titles like Super Mario Brothers or Zelda is that they are new in the box and commanding six-figure dollar prices. Like most people, saving the box was an afterthought when it came to buying a new video game. Collectors are willing to pay top dollar for mint condition professionally graded new in the box examples of titles we all remember.

Somewhere the middle aged person who stocked these games in the store in the late 1980s or early 1990s is cleaning their glasses to be sure of the prices being paid. Here are the current top video games to notice in the Heritage auction with 7 days left:

• Super Mario Bros graded Wata 9.4 A sealed [Hangtab, 2 Code, Mid-Production] NES Nintendo 1985 USA with a current price of $360,000.00 after 18 bids.
• The Legend of Zelda graded Wata 8.0 A sealed [NES TM, No Rev-A, First Production] NES Nintendo 1987 USA with a current bid of $330,000.00 after 20 bids. One of Three Known “TM” Copies of The Legend of Zelda.
• Super Mario Bros 2 graded Wata 9.8 A+ sealed [Rev-A, Round SOQ, First Production] NES Nintendo 1988 USA with a current bid of $130,000.00 after 13 bids.
• Super Mario World graded Wata 9.4 A sealed [Made in Japan] SNES Nintendo 1991 USA with a current bid of $85,000.00 after 12 bids.
• Resident Evil graded Wata 9.6 A+ sealed [Ridged Longbox, First Production] (The Dreamer Collection) PS1 Capcom 1996 USA with a current bid of $85,000.00 after 13 bids.
• Super Mario Bros graded Wata 9.4 A sealed [Rev-A, Round SOQ, Mid-Production] NES Nintendo 1985 USA with a current bid of $82,500.00 after 5 bids.
• Sonic the Hedgehog graded Wata 9.6 A sealed [Made in Japan, Early Production] Genesis Sega 1991 USA with a current bid of $80,000.00 after 6 bids.
• GoldenEye 007 graded Wata 9.8 A++ sealed N64 Nintendo 1997 USA with a current bid of $60,000.00 after 8 bids.
• Pokémon Red Version graded Wata 9.8 A++ sealed [Sandshrew, First Production] GameBoy Nintendo 1998 USA with a current bid of $52,000.00 after 11 bids.
• Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! graded Wata 9.4 A+ sealed [Rev-A, Round SOQ, Mid-Production] NES Nintendo 1987 USA with a current bid of $52,000.00 after 8 bids. It is listed as the highest graded mid-production copy of Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! offered at public auction.
• Nintendo World Championships 1990 Grey graded Wata 6.5 Cart [#0181] NES Nintendo 1990 USA with a current bid of $50,000.00 after 15 bids. These cartridges were never meant to be in the hands of the consumer per Heritage, and were intended to be destroyed.

(Image Above by Heritage Auctions)

Collectors Dashboard evaluates high-end collectibles as an alternative asset class. This means collectibles are attracting the same capital that could have been invested into stocks or bonds. Many collectibles now cost thousands of dollars (or much more). Collectors with a passion to own a collectible for years frequently have to compete directly against investors whose only desire is to make a profit in the future.

Like all collectibles the highest graded examples and the lowest populations are the most desirable to collectors. We all have played or have seen the original Super Mario Brothers game for Nintendo. Heritage Auctions has noticed the demand for highest graded examples of video games and the investor is responding.