On July 11, the video game collecting world was surprised to learn that a factory-sealed copy of Super Mario 64, which was released for the Nintendo 64 in North America in 1996, just became the most valuable video game to ever sell at auction. The game was graded by WATA Games in 9.8 factory-sealed condition and had an A++ factory seal rating. Heritage Auctions sold the game to the highest bidder, who paid a whopping $1,560,000 for the game (price reported includes the 20-percent buyers premium). If you have been involved with what has been happening over the past few years in regards to video game collectibles, this record sale should make you at least a little bit suspicious. Yes, it is true that video games are now a part of our everyday culture. In fact, you probably cannot log into your Netflix account without coming into contact with a movie, show, or animated series that is not based on a video game. It is obvious to anyone who has ever laid eyes on a modern era video game, whether it be via a Nintendo Switch, a Sony Playstation 5, or even an Xbox One, that video games have come a very long way since Asteroids and Pac-Man graced the living rooms Atari 2600 console back in the early 1980s. Todays games are an immersive experience, and thanks in part to Nintendos brilliant strategy of bringing a lot of their beloved characters to life, video game characters like Super Mario, Donkey Kong, Samus Aran, and even Kid Icarus have become household names just like Spider-Man, Iron Man, and Batman have. The future is and always has been bright for video games and the enthusiasts that cherish these games. Unfortunately, this is where most starry-eyed collectors and speculators tend to focus, and they would not be wrong. However, it is what is lurking under the facade of this not-so-innocent market that holds the answers as to why true video game collectors should be horrified that a copy of Super Mario 64 sold for over $1.5 million even in high factory-sealed condition like the one offered. It is here that I wish to focus. Super Mario 64 is by no means the rarest and most coveted video game in existence, even if it is the most valuable at present time. Looking through the myriad of auction data we have at our disposal we can go back several years when WATA Games first premiered on the scene and made a quick appearance on the reality television show Pawn Stars in which they gleefully showed off a very rare sticker sealed copy of Super Mario Bros. released back in 1985 for the then exciting and new Nintendo Entertainment System. This game was a first production run of Super Mario Bros. Without that game and its metamorphic success, Super Mario 64 would have never of existed. As such, that particular game was sold for just a little over $100,000, and that sale was not exactly fully organic. Insiders in the video game collecting community colluded to make it a thing. If you have any doubt, go back and read some of the articles surrounding that sale, and you will see it was not just one buyer who bought that game, but several auction company and collectible investing insiders. This is why the Super Mario 64 sale should raise more than a few eyebrows. Another factor that seems to be eluding certain collectors in the video game market right now is the fact that a factory-sealed copy of Super Mario 64 is not exceedingly rare. In fact, VGA (Video Game Authority) has been grading video games a lot longer than WATA Games, and they used to release publically available population reports that showed how many copies of these games were graded and in what subsequent grade they received. Compounding matters in this market are two very disturbing trends. The first is that both VGA and WATA Games use vastly different grading scales that on the surface can easily confuse the average collector or speculator. WATA Games uses the comic book grading scale and applies it to video games. VGA uses the action figure and toy grading scaled adopted by their parent company division, AFA (Action Figure Authority), and applies it to video games. This has worked to create a lot of confusion in the overall marketplace, especially as WATA Games cements itself as the market leader for grading vintage video games. Collectors still dont seem to understand that a WATA Games 8.5 graded game is in much lesser condition than that of a VGA 85 graded game. The VGA 85 is actually equivalent to a WATA Games 9.4, due to the idiosyncrasies of their grading scale. And if this werent enough to confuse newcomers to this market, we still have yet to get to the most bothersome issue; WATA Games simply refuses to release population reports for the items they grade. Could you imagine if PCGS and NGC, two third-party grading market leaders who grade coins, decided tomorrow that there were going to stop publishing population reports for all the coins they grade? Keep in mind at present time there are coins that sell for close to $20 million dollars on the open market, and prices are still rising! Collectors, investors, and dealers would rise up in protest. Sadly, that is not happening in the world of graded video games. I can assure you that even at 9.8 A++ condition, there are more copies of Super Mario 64 floating around in that condition. Even in 1996, video games were seen as collectible, and these games were meticulously packed in groups of 6 in outer cardboard boxes and then sent to distributors. That copy of Super Mario 64 is by no means the only one out there. In conclusion, critics will lament that people often pay a record price for something even if it turns out not to be a good financial investment. This is very true, but when you are playing in an unregulated market, which is what most of the antiques and collectibles trade is, wouldnt you want to have as much information at your fingertips as possible when making your decision? What should really be baking the noddle of starry-eyed speculators operating in this market at present time is why a top tier grading company in a relatively new collectibles market chooses to not publically release population reports for the items they grade while starry-eyed speculators turn a blind eye to this atrocity. For this is tragedy and not something to celebrate. More to come. Shawn Surmick has been an avid collector since the age of 12. He currently resides in his hometown of Boyertown, Pa., and is a passionate collector of antiques and collectibles. His articles focus on various topics affecting the marketplace.