The sale, the first-ever of a game cartridge to surpass $1
million, came just two days after a sealed copy of The Legend of Zelda - made
for the old Nintendo NES console - sold for a then-record of $870,000. The
cartridge, dated to 1987, was still in its original packaging.
Blending adventure, action, and exploration in a magical
universe, Zelda is one of the most significant titles in the history of video
games and one of Nintendo's best-known series.
The game was the "masterpiece" in a sale of 443
lots that runs until Sunday, Eric Bradley, a spokesperson for the Dallas-based
company, told AFP.
Dallas-based Heritage Auctions, which handled both sales,
has not identified the buyers. Before Friday, the record for a video game
auction was the sale in April of a 1986 Super Mario Bros. cartridge: it went
for $660,000.
Retro video games have become increasingly popular among
nostalgic collectors in recent years, driving up prices for old-school consoles
and cartridges at auctions.
The past year has seen record prices not only for video
games but also for Pokemon cards and for the digital collectibles known as NFTs
(Non-Fungible Tokens).