Collectible video game prices keep rising, as yet another record is set for the most expensive video game collectible. The hot item this time is Super Mario Bros. for the Nintendo Entertainment System, despite also being the best-selling game on the system.
Super Mario Bros. is among the most recognizable video game franchises in the world, with over 35 years of mainline games, spinoffs, and licensed merchandise. Naturally, some of the entries are rare and expensive, but the kind of price this copy of the original game sold for is unprecedented not only for the series, but for video games as a whole.
RELATED: PlayStation Fan Shows Off Incredible Collection of Over 1,000 Games
Given its price, it should come as no surprise that this sale comes with very strange circumstances attached to it. The sale was made not to a single collector, but to a group of "investors" collaborating on a platform called Rally. Rally is a new platform with an experimental business model of allowing customers to store assets in video game collectibles, based on the fact that both the video game collecting market and the stock market function on a system of fluctuating prices. Given the recent and sudden increase in the value of common games like Super Mario 64, this new system may seem appealing to investors, but not as much so to actual video game collectors.
The video game collector's market has absolutely skyrocketed over the past year, gaining traction with a $660,000 copy of Super Mario Bros. earlier this year. Granted, this version was part of a limited print run and the version sold in April was a special '1-code' variant, but even still the record for most expensive video game collectible is seemingly shattered several times a month.
The Otis-like company driving up prices this much will inevitably attract the interest of collectors with the money to spend, but the opening of investment opportunities also kickstarts a troubling new angle to the market. Investors may manage to make a profit on these games, but it will come at the cost of ruining the market for the people who legitimately care about these games. Gaming is a hobby beloved by many people of all ages, and to see the market appropriated for the sake of profit is heartbreaking for collectors.
On top of what Rally is doing to the video game collection market, the company is also in the controversial market of NFTs as a side venture. The environment-destroying, expensive non-fungible token business has seen widespread pushback from gamers as SEGA, GameStop, Square Enix, and other major players in the game industry become involved.
MORE: Scientists Build Robotic Hand That Can Play Super Mario Bros.
