Unopened ‘Super Mario Bros. 2′ cartridge sells for $88K at auction

Who needs an NES emulator when you have the real thing? Maybe when an unopened cartridge goes for more than $88,000.

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Harritt Group recently sold a “near-mint” unopened “Super Mario Bros. 2″ cartridge that was found in a box of video games that had been stashed in a filled walk-in closet, CNN reported.

The owner, who was from Floyds Knobs, Indiana, had recently died.

“At first glance, it was all a comforting wave of classic Nintendo nostalgia. All the classics were there, “Super Mario Brothers, Duck Hunt, Qix and even an NES console. So we did what any children of the 1990s would do: we fired up the console and tested the open games,” the company said in the auction’s description.

Wata Games in Denver examined the sealed “Super Mario Bros. 2″ game, giving it a rating of 9/8 A+, the second-highest possible, CNN reported.

It is now encased in a plastic container to protect it, which is labeled with the game’s condition rating, Fox News reported.

The game went under the gavel last week, selling for $88,550, including Harritt Group’s premium charge, Fox News reported.

This isn’t the first time a video game cartridge brought in a high price at auction.

Earlier this year, a copy of “Super Mario 64″ sold for $1.5 million and a copy of “The Legend of Zelda” brought in $870,000, CNN reported.

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