For around 40 years, this copy of “Super Mario Bros.” has remained exactly as it came from the factory. Still sealed. Never played.
“This is probably the most valuable video game on Earth,” said Claire Shelton, Head of Wata.
She was referring to the single earliest-known, still sealed copy of “Super Mario Bros.” in existence
That copy, along with around a dozen of other NES games, are members of the “Wisconsin Collection.”
One of the most recent pedigrees signaled by Wata, the story of the “Wisconsin Collection” goes back over a decade.
Though many may think the market for sealed video games as collectibles is a phenomenon that arrived during the COVID-19 pandemic boom, there were plenty of early pioneers chasing the best-of-the-best years earlier.
And many of those collectors were in for a shock, when some of the most desirable copies in the sealed game collecting world started appearing on eBay, seemingly out of nowhere.
News spread quickly.
The seller was immediately inundated with messages looking to strike a deal for individual games and inquiries regarding the breadth and origin of the collection. Photos provided by the seller failed to inspire confidence, appearing blurry and often dimly lit. The story behind them was light on details.
Nobody knew it at the time, but collecting history was being uncovered in real time.
The definitive guide
As the collectibility of sealed video games has grown into an industry capable of attracting million-dollar prices, marquee auction events and worldwide news coverage, research into the minutia of game variants became nothing short of scholarly.
The most famous, and arguably the most significant, of these deep dives was published in January 2019 by Wata.
Called “The Definitive NES Black Box Variant Guide,” the blog post provided the world with a detailed explanation of every variant for all 30 NES “Black Box” games, a collection of the first titles released for the console by Nintendo in 1986 and 1987 — essentially the video game equivalent of the T206 set in sports cards.
Exhaustive in its diligence, presenting many findings which were completely new at the time, Wata established a quasi-document of record for the hobby. The most important element to know is that, at a high level, the earliest “Black Box” titles (produced in test markets in October 1985 and early 1986) consisted of 17 games.
- 10-Yard Fight
- Ice Climber
- Baseball
- Kung Fu
- Clu Clu Land
- Pinball
- Duck Hunt
- Soccer
- Excitebike
- Stack-Up
- Golf
- Super Mario Bros.
- Gyromite
- Tennis
- Hogan’s Alley
- Wild Gunman
- Wreck Crew
Though the details get extremely complicated, Wata constructed a timeline of production, along the way identifying changes in the boxes or seals which allow collectors to identify the sequence of printing. Given that earlier prints are often more valuable and rare, this knowledge is crucial to understand the immensity of the “Wisconsin Collection.”
The earliest prints, according the the guide, can be identified as follows:
A “Matte” paper sticker seal signals the very-first print of an NES game, as small circular stickers were used to seal the games in lieu of shrink wrap. Then, in 1986, a “Glossy” sticker seal became the norm — our second print.
Shrink-wrapping became standard later that same year. Though it gets far more complex, the last remaining element to keep in mind is the “Hangtab.” Cardboard perforations on the top of boxes, “Hangtabs” appear on games from first productions all the way up to 1987.
While all this may seem like an over-zealous exploration into what ultimately amounts to consumer product packaging, it couldn’t be more relevant in the value of these early games — with the difference between a first print and a mid-production representing a small fortune depending on the game.
The 'Black Box' games
Some of the eBay listings sold for nearly $10,000 — a price which, at the time, was unprecedented for an ungraded eBay game. The condition (from what one could glean) of nearly all of the games were impeccable.
Other titles from the inventory were eventually purchased in bulk via an off-platform transaction. Slowly, the story came out, revealing that the games were originally purchased by the seller’s father, who, according to Wata, “had an impressive habit of acquiring games, often purchasing them on release day to ensure he didn’t miss out on titles that might not be reprinted.”
As first prints reign supreme, this routine of purchasing games on release day resulted in a collection of sticker-sealed titles unlike anything seen previously, and, in many cases, has never been seen again.
Even in opened, complete-in-box CIB condition, sticker-sealed “Black Box” games are rare and extremely expensive. But what makes this collection even more unique is the amount of titles that remained sealed.
“While it’s unclear if he lost interest in playing video games or had greater ambitions for the collection, other collectors have reaped the benefits of his careful curating,” explains Shelton.
A new pedigree
Pedigree collections are a designation utilized by third-party authenticators across categories to identify unique and historic collections, grouping multiple collectibles together based on shared origins or provenance.
It’s not a science, with Wata making determinations based on more than simply value as to which collections have earned the coveted Pedigree label, which appears on the encapsulated game’s label.
It’s more than just “Oh, this guy owns six great black boxes, super cool,” Shelton said.
For “The Wisconsin Collection,” the elements that stood out were a combination of a miraculous story — “these all came from one closet in Wisconsin” — to the “miracle” they remained unscathed and, perhaps most importantly, the shocking rarity of many of the variants.
The most famous of the games is a “Super Mario Bros.” gloss sticker seal, which Wata graded a 9.4 A++ after the owner crossed it over from VGA.
A veritable unicorn, with no other sealed titles from the early production ever found, the game is one of less than 10,000 produced for the test market production. It sold for $100,150 in 2019 to a group of at least three people, including Heritage founder Jim Halperin as well as Zac Gieg and Rich Lecce.
The "Wisconsin Collection"
That was a world record for the time.
The game also appeared on "Pawn Stars" later the same year, in an episode in which the owners asked for $1 million for the game. The offer was declined.
Prices have changed dramatically since then. To put things in context, the most expensive video game ever sold was another, inferior copy of “Super Mario Bros.,” (a later Hangtab print) which fetched $2 million in 2021.
The group of collectors, as of the time of writing, have not resubmitted the game to WATA to allow for reholdering and the addition of the pedigree label.
While the "Wisconsin Collection" Mario certainly represents the pinnacle of the pedigree, let alone the entirety of the video game collecting world, it's far from the only "grail" level game in the collection.
Multiple other titles have been authenticated as the earliest graded copy from its sticker-sealed variant, including “Gumshoe,” “Golf,” “Hogan’s Alley” and “Wild Gunman.”
For the team at Wata, uncovering the story behind the pedigree is a months-long process involving interviewing and cross-referencing first-hand accounts from original sellers, previous and current owners, as well as a review of any and all photographic evidence available to shine light on the history of the collection.
As for the appeal of a pedigree collection? Even one that isn’t tied to the most expensive video game on earth?
“I think when it comes to the collector mindset, it's one thing to have an awesome copy of my favorite game from my childhood,” Shelton said. “But it would mean more to me if I knew where it came from. Like, yeah, I bought it on eBay from somebody who had a store, but I don't know its story.”
Will Stern is a reporter and editor for cllct.