Retro Collectors Have Monster Week At Auction
Back in June, the folks over at Heritage Auctions made a big push for their early July signature auction. Collectors that visited the site this summer received an early tease as to what was to come. Among the teases were a 9.8 copy of Super Mario 64, a 9.8 The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. As well as a number of big hitters like Pokemon Red and Nintendo World Championship. I even received a postcard in the mail, reminding me that a 9.8 Final Fantasy was going up for auction.
You have to wonder if putting up so many big titles at once would fragment the big buyers and have a negative effect on prices. Surprisingly that was not the case. The extra work Heritage put into marketing this lot might forever change the price of retro games. Many popular titles for collectors hit new highs. Including an early production run of the original The Legend of Zelda on the NES has sold for $870,000.
A new record for the site, that will have rippling effects on retro games, Nintendo, and Zelda collectibles for years to come. Especially now that collectors have been stuck at home unable to spend money on traveling and vacations during the pandemic. Among the top 200 most expensive games sold at Heritage Auction, only six were sold before the pandemic. Comparatively, all six titles were sold in 2019, just prior to the pandemic.
Heritage Auctions Video Games Signature Auction #7261
| Platform | Grade | Title | Price | Notes |
| NES | 9.8 | Final Fantasy | $204,000 | Rev-A, large warranty, 3 screw, 9 digit zip. |
| NES | 9.0 | Gumshoe | $36,000 | Hangtag, 2 code, mid-production, Rev-A |
| NES | 9.0 | The Legend of Zelda | $870,000 | 3 screw, no Rev-A. round SOQ, early production |
| NES | 9.0 | The Legend of Zelda | $55,200 | Oval SOQ TM, 3 screw, mid-production |
| NES | 9.0 | Mario Bros. Arcade Classics | $156,000 | Hangtag, no NES TM, no Rev-A, 5 screw |
| NES | 8.5 | Metroid | $12,000 | Rev-A, small warranty, later production. |
| NES | 8.0 | Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! | $84,000 | Rev-A, orange bullets, mid-production |
| NES | 9.2 | Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! | $78,000 | Rev-A, small warranty, later production. |
| NES | 9.6 | Ninja Gaiden | $18,600 | Rev-A, oval SOQ TM, 3 screw. |
| NES | 8.0 | Nintendo World Championships 1990 | $180,000 | Gray cart #0273, tested working. |
| NES | 9.2 | Raid on Bungeling Bay | $26,400 | “Carolina Collection,” no Rev-A, first production. |
| NES | 9.0 | Super Mario Bros. | $228,000 | No Rev-A, 3 screw cart, mid-production. |
| NES | 9.6 | Super Mario Bros. | $144,000 | Rev-A, oval SOQ TM, 3 screw. |
| NES | 9.4 | Super Mario 3 | $120,000 | Rev-A, “Bros.” left, first production. |
| NES | 9.4 | TECMO Bowl | $45,600 | Rev-A, round SOQ TM, early production |
| NES | 9.2 | TMNT II: The Arcade Game | $19,200 | Rev-A, “Pizza Offer,” 3 screw. |
| NES | 9.4 | Tetris | $33,600 | Tengen Gold SOQ, 1989 |
| SNES | 9.4 | Super Metroid | $26,400 | Made in Japan, 3 line warranty box. |
| SNES | 9.2 | Super Mario RPG | $15,600 | K-A Rating, made in Japan, 3 line warranty box. |
| SNES | 9.8 | Super Mario RPG | $45,000 | K-A Rating, made in Japan, 3 line warranty box. |
| SNES | 9.4 | Super Mario World | $360,000 | No Rating, made in Japan, 3 line warranty box. |
| SNES | 8.5 | Super Mario Kart | $22,800 | No Rating, made in Japan, 4 line warranty box. |
| SNES | 9.6 | Mortal Kombat 3 | $11,100 | M Rating, made in Japan. |
| SNES | 9.4 | Donkey Kong Country | $24,000 | K-A Rating, made in Japan, 3 line warranty box. |
| SNES | 9.4 | Final Fantasy III | $96,000 | No Rating, made in Japan. |
| SNES | 9.2 | The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past | $96,000 | No Rating, made in Japan, 4 line warranty box. |
| SNES | 8.5 | Chrono Trigger | $28,800 | K-A Rating, made in Mexico. |
| N64 | 9.8 | Super Mario 64 | $1,560,000 | K-A Rating, made in Japan. |
| N64 | 9.4 | Super Smash Bros. | $144,500 | K-A Rating, made in Japan. |
| N64 | 9.8 | The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time | $228,000 | E Rating, made in Japan, embossed. |
| N64 | 7.0 | Mario Kart 64 | $14,400 | K-A Rating, made in Japan. |
| Game Boy | 9.4 | Pokemon Blue | $96,000 | Double ended-box, “Red” text, Sandshrew. |
| Game Boy | 9.4 | Pokemon Red | $132,000 | Double ended-box, Sandshrew. |
| GBA | 9.8 | Pokemon Emerald | $72,000 | Made in Japan, foil. |
| GBA | 9.8 | Pokemon Ruby | $40,800 | Made in Japan, foil. |
| PS1 | 9.4 | Tomb Raider | $144,000 | Printed in USA, Pixelated E Rating. |
| PS1 | 9.4 | Crash Bandicoot | $48,000 | First production, K-A Rating. |
| PS1 | 9.4 | Tekken | $38,400 | Error: Double security label, mid-production. |
| PS1 | 9.4 | Castlevania: SotN | $13,200 | Sony security label, early production. |
| PS1 | 9.8 | Final Fantasy VII | $144,500 | “Masterpiece” corrected, later production. |
There has been a tremendous boom in retro game collecting over the past two years. Prices on nearly everything are going way up, especially with sealed NES and other Nintendo games. Those inflating prices have already trickled down to anything Sega Dreamcast, some original PlayStation titles, and even PlayStation 4 games.
It will be interesting to watch what happens to game collecting as the average Joe tries to complete their SNES or Saturn collections. With multi-million dollar spenders having an arms race on the latest sealed Nintendo game.
