A rare, unopened copy of the original Super Mario Bros. for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) sold for $100,150 in February 2019. This 1985 "test market" copy was notable for being sticker-sealed rather than shrink-wrapped, featuring a 9.4 Near Mint grade by Wata Games.
The best-selling Nintendo game of all time is Wii Sports, with over 82.9 million copies sold, largely due to being bundled with the Wii console; however, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe leads on the Switch (over 78 million), and Super Mario Bros. (NES) is a classic best-seller, highlighting the dominance of Mario and sports titles across platforms.
In a historic moment for video game collecting, a sealed copy of Super Mario 64, graded Wata 9.8 A++, sold for $1.56 million at Heritage Auctions, marking the first time a video game has ever surpassed the million dollar threshold at public auction.
"Million dollar Mario" refers to extremely rare, sealed, graded copies of classic Super Mario games, particularly Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario 64, that have sold for over $1 million at auction due to their pristine condition and historical significance as collectibles, with a sealed Super Mario Bros. selling for $2 million and Super Mario 64 for $1.56 million in historic sales.
These are the rarest and most expensive video games of all time.
As of January 2025, Minecraft, the iconic 3D sandbox video game produced by Mojang Studios, ranked as the best-selling game of the 21st Century, accumulating 300 million unit sales since its launch in 2011. Grand Theft Auto V, released in 2013, ranked second with 205 million units sold.
It grossed $1.36 billion worldwide and broke multiple box-office records, including earning a Guinness World Record for the highest grossing film based on a video game, and becoming the first film based on a video game to gross over $1 billion.
In 1996, Super Mario 64 was a new release for the Nintendo 64 and typically cost around $60 (USD) at retail, making it a standard full-priced game for the console, a far cry from its recent auction sales of over $1.5 million for sealed copies due to its historical significance and perfect condition.
The best-selling Nintendo video game is reported to be Wii Sports, selling nearly 83 million units. It was released for the Wii console and was bundled with it in most regions outside of Japan.
Best Nintendo games of all time
Several games have surpassed 1 billion downloads, with Subway Surfers being the first single game to do so on the Google Play Store (in 2018) and holding massive numbers, alongside other huge titles like Candy Crush Saga, Garena Free Fire, Roblox, Call of Duty: Mobile, and Minion Rush, showcasing massive global reach for popular mobile gaming experiences.
Yes, many video games have made over $1 billion in revenue, with major hits like Grand Theft Auto V, Fortnite, Honor of Kings, Pokémon GO, and Candy Crush Saga all surpassing that milestone, primarily through digital sales, microtransactions, and subscriptions across mobile, console, and PC platforms. These games often achieve this through massive player bases and continuous content updates, especially in the mobile and live-service sectors.
The Legend of Zelda (Nintendo) for NES, 1986: up to $1 million (£750k) A copy of The Legend of Zelda briefly became the most expensive video game ever on 9 July 2021 when it sold for a sensational $870,000 through Heritage Auctions. In 2025 money, that's the equivalent of around $1 million (£750k).