Sealed Copy of ‘The Legend of Zelda’ Sells for Almost $900K

A sealed copy of the video game The Legend of Zelda for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) has sold for nearly $900,000 at Heritage Auctions.

The video game for NES sold for a staggering $870,000 at the auction, breaking the previous known record for the most expensive game ever sold, according to a report by the Verge.

Before that, a sealed copy of Super Mario Bros. previously held the record when it sold at Heritage Auctions for $660,000 in April.

Heritage Auctions’ explains why The Legend of Zelda is so valuable:

While it is a hard truth, it is a truth nonetheless — none of the copies we’ve offered of this title previously could even attempt to hold a candle to this one due to its incredibly rare variant that holds early production status. This matter is completely inarguable. This is the only copy from one of the earliest production runs that we’ve ever had the opportunity to offer, and, possibly will have the opportunity to offer, for many years to come. Considering this variant was only produced for a few months in late 1987 before it was ultimately replaced by the “Rev-A” variant in early 1988, this statement likely comes as no surprise to collectors. Only one other variant precedes the offered “NES R” variant and that is the “NES TM” variant, which is the true first production run. However, it is also widely believed that only a single sealed “NES TM” example exists, and there is no telling whether or not that copy will ever come to market. Essentially, this copy is the earliest sealed copy one could realistically hope to obtain.

Pokémon cards are also worth more now, the report adds, noting the cards can be worth hundreds and even thousands of dollars.

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