The Vintage Video Game that Could Garner $350,000 or More in Auction
INTERVIEW ON THE PRICE OF BUSINESS SHOW, MEDIA PARTNER OF THIS SITE.
Recently Kevin Price, Host of the nationally syndicated Price of Business Show, interviewed Valarie McLeckie.
On a recent Price of Business show, Host Kevin Price visited with Valarie McLeckie, Consignment Director, Video Games – the leading specialist in the field of vintage and collectible video games.
From a press release, “Forgotten in Desk Drawer for Nearly 40 Years, Copy of Super Mario Bros. Will Set World Record as Most Expensive Video Game Ever Sold. Fresh-to-market cartridge the finest example known to exist; already bid up to $372,000.”
In a statement, we learn:
“The only remaining “Play Station” prototype, developed by Nintendo and Sony during the 1990s, is expected to rock the gaming world March 6 when the console comes to auction for the first time at Heritage Auctions, HA.com.
“’Cue the jaw drop!’ said Valarie McLeckie, Director of Video Games at Heritage Auctions. ‘Not only is this the finest plastic-sealed copy, it is also the oldest sealed copy of Super Mario Bros. we’ve ever had the opportunity to offer.’
“The seller, who does not wish to be identified at this time, purchased the game in 1985 with the intention of giving it as a gift to her nephews as a Christmas present. Instead, it was placed inside of a desk drawer and remained untouched for 36 years, before being discovered earlier this year.
“‘It stayed in the bottom of my office desk this whole time since the day I bought it,’ the seller said. ‘I never thought anything about it.’
“The seller’s nephew learned about the game and offered to sell it through an online auction website. When he received an offer far above the game’s current bid, he knew the game was something special.
“McLeckie said the collector value in the game is that it retains the original perforated cardboard hangtab, a feature unheard of in collecting circles and making it as a close to mint example ever discovered.
“’By early 1987, Nintendo was producing a version that had another new variation to their original packaging,’ McLeckie said. ‘Since the production window for this copy and others like it was so short, finding another copy from this same production run in similar condition would be as hard as looking for a single drop of water in an ocean. Never say never, but there’s a good chance it can’t be done.'”
The game will be offered Friday, April 2, in a special selection of more than 370 lots of rare video games, considered the highest-quality trove of video games ever offered, McLeckie said.
According to the same statement, “Heritage Auctions is the largest fine art and collectibles auction house founded in the United States, and the world’s largest collectibles auctioneer. Heritage maintains offices in New York, Dallas, Beverly Hills, San Francisco, Chicago, Palm Beach, London, Paris, Geneva, Amsterdam and Hong Kong.
“The Internet’s most popular auction-house website, HA.com, has over 1,250,000 registered bidder-members and searchable free archives of five million past auction records with prices realized, descriptions and enlargeable photos”
LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW IN ITS ENTIRETY HERE:
The Price of Business is one of the longest running shows of its kind in the country and is in markets coast to coast. The Host, Kevin Price, is a multi-award winning author, broadcast journalist, and syndicated columnist. Learn more about the show and its digital partners at www.PriceofBusiness.com (scroll down to the bottom of the page).
