For the second time in 2020, the Super Mario Bros. have set a world record for the highest price paid for a video game at auction. On day one of Heritages Comics and Comic Art Sale on Nov. 19, a sealed copy of 1990s Super Mario Bros. 3 realized $156,000, breaking the previous record set in July when its predecessor, 1985 Super Mario Bros., sold for $114,000. The lot opened bidding at $62,500, already an impressive sum for the game graded Wata 9.2 A+. But 20 bidders got in the game, sending the final price soaring toward the world record during what would become the worlds first-ever million-dollar video game auction. We couldnt be more pleased about breaking the world record for the second time in the same year, said Valarie McLeckie, Heritage Auctions director of Video Games. That said, its no surprise that another Mario game, which so many of us grew up with, would set the new bar. While the condition of the game is remarkable, what makes this copy even more singular is the layout of the packaging itself. Exceedingly rare are sealed copies with the word Bros. formatted to the left, covering one of Marios signature white gloves. Collectors have spent years looking for such a version, the earliest in the Super Mario Bros. 3 production history, and usually come up empty-handed. The Dallas-based auction house did sell one sealed Wata 9.0 A copy of this variant in July, for $38,400. What a difference a slightly better grade, and four months, can make. Super Mario Bros. 3 wasnt the only record-setter in the first session of the video-game auction, the largest such sale ever held. A sealed copy of the Red Version of 1998s Pokmon for Nintendos GameBoy, graded Wata 9.8 A++, sold for $84,000, the highest price ever paid for a Pokmon title. That final price was more than four times its pre-sale estimate. For more information, visit www.HA.com.