A sealed copy of a 1985 Super Mario Bros video game was sold for $2 million to an anonymous buyer via Rally. This news was confirmed by the collectibles site on 6 August. It broke the record for the most expensive video game ever sold. Less than a month ago, a copy of Super Mario 64 was auctioned off for $1.56 million.

Rob Petrozzo, co-founder of Rally, said that the 36-year-old game has never been opened, and this rarity is the reason why it is highly valued and can be sold at such an expensive price. 

The New York Times reported that these days, due to the pandemic, demand for collectibles and other forms of investment, such as NFT, is surging. People are now seeking alternative ways to spend their money. 

“I think that we’re starting to see the natural progression of ‘What else? What are the things that have appreciated in value from my childhood that have that nostalgia?’” Petrozzo said.

Rally is a platform for buying and selling equity shares in collectible assets. The platform buys physical collectibles, such as video games, comic books and cars, then invites people to invest in shares of the individual items, the same way as stock investment. If someone makes an offer to buy the collectible, the investors vote whether to sell it or not. 

Rally bought the 1985 Super Mario Bros for $140,000 last April and all of the shareholders have agreed to sell it to the anonymous collector.