Brand new and highly graded vintage games are in a league of their own value-wise. Who was able to resist ripping into those fresh cardboard packages in the 80s and 90s when video games were more “the rage” than we’ll likely ever see again? Pretty much no one. Now, there are just so few unsealed copies of any vintage game that at some point their value had to spike – and spike they did.

I was a collector myself for the better part of two decades and I can tell you that coming across rare gems of this caliber sitting on the side of the road at someone’s yard sale or in a dusty bin at the local flea market simply didn’t happen then, and is far less likely to happen now. Today’s gamers and collectors grew up much closer to the dawn of video games as we know them, and as such, they’re much more informed when it comes to the potential value of those classic rectangular cardboard packages and plastic disc cases.

Retro Games on Auction at Heritage

So today, the far and away best chance at finding unopened vintage video games will come by way of the top online auction sites, like Heritage Auctions – and let me tell you, not hoarding away all those NES, Game Boy, and PlayStation games you got on 90s Christmas days is going to really cost you today.

Heritage Auctions deals in a wide assortment of valuable items, such as the typical ones you’ll see at fancy “cards up” auction halls of old: antique furniture, paintings, jewelry, coins, and more. So, it might be a surprise to know that vintage video game gems are popping up alongside actual gems across a variety of well-known auction sites.

Just recently on Heritage Auctions, an auctioned video game reached a previously unforeseen peak with the sale of a sealed and 9.4-graded Super Mario Bros. for a cool $114,000. This original Nintendo NES classic also represents the highest-graded new copy of Super Mario Bros. to date. And it featured a bit of history that commonly helps bump up the value of rare video games in evidence that it was part of one of the earliest production runs of the game.

May other games currently being auctioned on the site are sitting with asking prices of $40,000 or more…and as of this writing there looks to already be another Super Mario Bros. listing – this one with a 9.8 grade. It appears news is spreading…

Do you have a gold mine?

Want to ride your own wave to fortune and glory? If you’re lucky enough to have been holding onto some sealed copies of vintage video games for a few decades or so you might be sitting on a gold mine! GoCollect will soon be launching their video game price guide - stay tuned for updates on the latest price guide.