Fans Are Confused By The Latest Record-Setting Video Game

In a very short amount of time, video game collectors have broken a number of insane sales records. Just last week, a rare early run copy of "The Legend of Zelda" for the NES amassed enough pre-auction bids to be more expensive than most cars, but it didn't stop there. Once the auction officially began, the cartridge quickly surpassed anyone's expectations, setting a world record when it eventually sold for $660,000 on July 9. Now, just a couple of days after that record-breaking sale, Heritage Auctions has surpassed another video game milestone by auctioning off the first million-dollar cartridge.

Heritage Auctions tweeted the news on July 11, writing, "'Super Mario 64' – Wata 9.8 A++ Sealed ... just sold for $1,560,000 at #HeritageAuctions, smashing the previous mark of $870K, set Friday at Heritage for 'The Legend of Zelda!'" 

Additionally, Heritage called the game the "highest graded copy" of "Super Mario 64" ever recorded, urging potential buyers not to miss out on the opportunity to own a piece of history. In other words, the $1.5 million copy of the game is something special indeed, still in its original box and plastic wrap, sealed to perfection.

While the setting of a world record is always exciting, many fans expressed their surprise and confusion regarding why this particular title became the first game to exceed a million bucks.

Chris Kohler, the Editorial Director at Digital Eclipse, tweeted his surprise at the sale by saying, "Well, I figured the first million dollar game was imminent, but I didn't think it was gonna be today... or this." Josh Fairhurst of Limited Run Games also seemed shocked by the auction, calling it "unexpected."

Many fans on Twitter were simply trying to get to the bottom of why the game sold for such a high amount. As one commenter explained, the high price is all about the title's 9.8 rating, which indicates that the box is in pristine condition. However, they still expressed a bit of skepticism. They said, "graded boxes tends to go for intensely high prices but I've never seen it going that far."

For its own part, Heritage Auctions described "Super Mario 64" as a piece of history, and rare video game collectors might indeed see it that way. Then again, "Super Mario 64" isn't a scarce game, and most fans online seem to be perplexed by its high selling price, good rating or no.

It's unclear how the $1.5 million sale will impact the collectible game market in the future, but it's worth remembering that the previous world records have been beaten several times within as little as six months. Who's to say it won't happen again in the near future?