If there is one area within collectibles that brought some surprise mega-sales in 2021, look no further than original video games. It has been surprising that some of the technology items from the 1980s and early 1990s have not become more popular now that many collectors have turned entire rooms in their homes into private museums (man/people caves that is). Still, some of the video game sales were almost hard to fathom.

WATA Games, now part of Collectors Universe, Inc., has released its population report for NES games. It is NES games that also commanded some of 2021’s top video game sales. Does a $2 million Super Mario Bros. sale sound high, or a 9.6 WATA graded example selling for 660,000.00 or a 9.4 WATA graded example selling for $492,000.00? Or what about The Legend of Zelda graded 9.0 that sold through Heritage for $870,000.00 or the same game but graded 8.0 for $705,000.00? Even a Super Mario Bros. 2 graded Wata 9.8 A+ Sealed took in $324,000.00 at the final sale.

Image provided by Heritage Auctions

WATA has shown that the initial release includes NES games, but noted that the population report will be expanded. According to WATA, NES games are its largest submitted system so it covered the largest group of customers. The goal is for a full and dynamic population report to be released early in 2022. Deniz Kahn, WATA’s President, said of the release:

The team at WATA is excited to share with you our first-ever Population Report. This initial release is centered on Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) games and we will be expanding the report to include games from other systems in the coming months. We are putting the finishing touches on a full, dynamic population report – including all games and grading categories – by early next year and we can’t wait to share that with you.

Collectors Dashboard evaluates collectibles as an alternative asset class. The same capital that could have been invested into stocks or bonds is being used to buy high-end collectibles. If video games are commanding hundreds of thousands (or in excess of $1 million) that is capital that could have gone a long way to invest in stocks, bonds and real estate. And collectors and investors who buy collectibles are in a constant battle for who can win in auctions.

So, now collectors and investors can know just how rare their games are. Some are quite rare, and others in that full population report are not that rare. Collectors Dashboard took a look inside the pop reports and here is what we found.

There are 778 different games that have been graded by WATA in the NES universe. These populations will of course grow over time as more games are found. The first report is the Sealed games report, meaning they have effectively not been opened and used. Here are the Super Mario Bros. WATA populations:

• There are just 157 total WATA graded examples of the first Super Marios Bros, with no perfect 10 and only 7 of the prized 9.8 graded examples.
• Super Mario Bros. 2 has only 117 graded examples, with no 10.0 and only 3 are graded 9.8.
• Super Mario Bros. 3 has 237 graded examples, with no 10.0 grades and only 10 are graded 9.8.
• The Legend of Zelda had a total of 128 graded games, and the highest grade had 2 examples at 9.8.
• Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! had 68 of these in total, with the highest grade at 4 examples with a 9.8.

A sample of WATA’s Pop Report for Super Mario Bros. has been shown below.

If you look at the CIB (sample) WATA population, these are larger. This group is more limited in the first pop report, but they were shown as follows:

• The Legend of Zelda has 204 graded examples, and the highest grade is just 1 at 9.4.
• Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! game has a total of 192 in the CIB (sample) category and the highest grade is only 1 example at 9.6.
• Super Mario Bros. had 278 total graded examples and the highest grade showed 2 examples at 9.6.
• Super Mario Bros. 3 had a total of 291 graded examples and there were 4 examples at 9.6 for the highest grade.

Collectors Dashboard wants more transparency in the collectibles marketplace. More transparency allows more of the same information to be open to normal collectors and the investors who go to all ends to target what they want to own. Just remember one thing — all the data in the world will not guarantee you a profit buying and selling any collectible.