An unopened copy of Super Mario 64 has sold at Heritage Auction for $1.56 million, making it the most expensive video game ever.
Nintendo released Super Mario 64 in 1996. It was the first 3D game featuring their company mascot Mario that would go on to become a genre-defining classic.
Back then, the game could be bought for $99.
Heritage Auction said Super Mario 64 was the bestselling game on the Nintendo 64. It was also the first to feature the Mario character in 3D, the auction house said.
Heritage said the sealed copy of the game is one of less than five copies in existence in near perfect condition. It has been given a 9.8 rating on the Wata Scale (10 is the highest), a system used to evaluate the condition of super rare video games.
The video game's plastic seal also received an "A++," Wata's highest-possible rating.
"The cultural significance of this title and its importance to the history of video games is paramount, and the condition of this copy is just so breathtaking," reads the game's description on Heritage.
A Heritage representative did not immediately respond to an inquiry about who bought the video game.
Super Mario 64 is considered one of the most influential games of all time, CNET said.
It inspired developers of franchises as diverse as Grand Theft Auto and Kingdom Hearts.
According to Peter Marsh of ABC News, Super Mario 64 was like "The Sopranos for television, the Titanic for cinema, or Dark Side of the Moon for music."
A sealed copy of Nintendo's "The Legend of Zelda" that was released in 1987 was also sold at auction last week for $870,000.
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