Sun 11 July 2021:
An unopened copy of Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda that was made in 1987 has sold at auction for $870,000.
“The Legend of Zelda” is the first game in the wildly popular action-adventure series. Nintendo went on to make numerous “Zelda” games, including the 2017 critically acclaimed release of “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.”
Heritage Auctions in Dallas said the video game sold Friday.
The auction house said it was a rare version that was created during a limited production run that took place during a few months in late 1987. The Legend of Zelda is a popular fantasy adventure game that was first released in 1986.
The sealed gaming cartridge dates from 1987 and is still in its original packaging. It was produced for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) gaming console — the first console released by the company outside Japan.
The particular cartridge sold was “from one of the earliest production runs” of the game. The particular type was produced “for just a few months in late 1987” before being replaced with another variant.
“The Legend of Zelda marks the beginning of one of the most important sagas in gaming; its historical significance can’t be understated… it is a true collector’s piece,” Valarie McLeckie, Heritage’s video game specialist, said in a statement.
In April, the auction house sold an unopened copy of Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros that was bought in 1986 and forgotten about in a desk drawer for $660,000.
Friday’s sale blew past the previous record for a video game that was set earlier this year in an auction also by Heritage Auctions.
The previous title-holder was a 1986 “Super Mario Bros” cartridge that sold for $660,000 in April.
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