In just two historic auctions in July 2021, video game enthusiasts paid a total of $2.43 million (18 Crores) for rare video games. Heritage Auctions, an American auction company, reported on July 9 that it had sold a rare edition of the game Legend of Zelda for $870,000 (65 lakhs). The record was only held for two days when the auction company staged another auction for a 25-year-old Mario, which sold for $1.56 million (11 crores).

A sealed edition of Super Mario 64, which was released in 1996 and was one of the most popular games at the time, was included in the auction. It made millions of dollars by selling 5.9 million (43 crores) units in the United States alone. However, given that the game was advertised at a starting price of $100,000 (75 lakhs) when the sale began on July 9, the ultimate sale price may not be shocking.

It's worth noting that this isn't the first time a Super Mario game has been sold for exorbitant amounts of money. Prior to the Legend of Zelda auction, another edition of Super Mario Bros sold for $660,000 (4 crores) in April, setting the record for the most expensive video game auction. In July and November 2020, two more copies of the game were sold for $114,000 (84 lakhs) and $156,000 (1.16 crores), respectively.

Given the game's illustrious history, the Super Mario name has significance in the gaming industry. Nintendo, the Japanese gaming behemoth, created and distributed the game, which has been in production for over four decades. Mario Bros, the initial version of the game, was released in 1983.