Sealed copy of 'Super Mario Bros.' auctioned for a record $114,000

July 13 (UPI) -- A sealed copy of 1985 video game Super Mario Bros. set a new world record when it was auctioned for $114,000 -- the highest price ever paid for a video game.

Heritage Auctions said the copy of the Nintendo Entertainment System game was considered especially rare because it was part of a short production run with a cardboard hang-tab underneath the plastic, a feature found shortly after Nintendo started using shrink-wrap instead of stickers to steal boxes.

"The demand for this game was extremely high, and if any lot in the sale could hit a number like that, it was going to be this one," Heritage Auctions Video Games Director Valarie McLeckie said.

Heritage said the winning bid of $114,000 set a new record for the sale of a video game, which was previously set by another copy of the same game that sold for $100,150 in February 2019.