15 Highly Valuable (And Rare) Retro Video Games Every Collector Should Know About

In the world of video games, physical media will always be superior to digital. You actually own the games that you purchase, whereas digital games are little more than rentals with higher initial fees — according to Valve, at least. Plus, studios can't delist physical copies of games, and as heretical as it might sound, you can even sell your physical collection for extra cash or for the sake of decluttering. However, prices vary wildly depending on what you're selling.

Recent games will usually fetch a reasonable price close to their current MSRP, whereas older titles often sell for pennies on the dollar. However, if a game is special — maybe it's hard to find, or a much-loved classic, for instance — prices can skyrocket with age instead. If you own one such game, you could be sitting on a potential goldmine, especially if you had near-impossible foresight and never played the game or took it out of its box. Continue reading if you want to learn more about the biggest cash cows in video game auction history.

"GoldenEye 007" is widely regarded as one of the most important FPS titles in video game history. It is far from the best currently available, but "GoldenEye 007" demonstrated that game developers could create fun FPS games on consoles. And on the Nintendo 64, no less. The game paved the way for future shooter titles' emphasis on multiplayer, too.

While "GoldenEye 007" is available digitally on the Nintendo Switch, on October 29, 2021, Heritage Auctions (a name that will crop up repeatedly in this article) sold a sealed copy of the N64 game for $192,000. The cartridge and manual are still mint in their original cardboard packaging, hence the high price. While Heritage Auctions has sold plenty of boxed cartridges of "GoldenEye 007," the only one to even approach this sale price was a July 2020 auction that fetched a comparatively paltry $19,200.

The "Final Fantasy" series was Square Enix's bread and butter even before Squaresoft and Enix merged to form the company we know today. The franchise started with the original "Final Fantasy" for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). While this game isn't the best turn-based RPG out there, it still laid the groundwork for the franchise's key mechanics and recurring narrative plot points in subsequent "Final Fantasy" games.

"Final Fantasy" is one of several games available in digital and physical copies of "Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster," but on July 9, 2021, Heritage Auctions sold a sealed NES copy of "Final Fantasy" for a fantastic $204,000. The game's box was in such pristine condition that no other auctioned "Final Fantasy" copy has come close to its price — most if not all have yet to break a $10,000 winning bid.

While "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time" wasn't the first in the "Legend of Zelda" franchise, it is by far one of the most popular. Not only did this game successfully translate the franchise's formula to a 3D world, but many gamers still fondly remember its story. "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time" holds the honor of having the highest review score on Metacritic, rivaled only by "SoulCalibur" and "Grand Theft Auto IV."

On July 11, 2021, Heritage Auctions sold a near-flawlessly preserved boxed copy of "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time" for $228,000. This sale was noteworthy not only for its price, but because Heritage Auctions had never sold a copy of the game with a preservation rating of Wata 9.0 or higher. On January 28, 2022, the Heritage Auctions sold another boxed copy of "Ocarina of Time" in equally pristine condition, but this one only went as high as $168,000.

The original "Super Smash Bros." popularized the concept of the "mascot fighter" genre of video game, where players control various game mascots — usually all belonging to the same company. The game proved so popular that Nintendo has made it a point to release a sequel with every new console since the Nintendo 64.

On August 5, 2022, Heritage Auctions sold an immaculately preserved "Super Smash Bros." for $240,000. According to the website, out of the 63 copies of the game auctioned beforehand, none had achieved a preservation grade higher than Wata 9.4. Several other sealed "Super Smash Bros." games with grades of Wata 9.8 have been sold since then, but their sales didn't break $100,000.

"Resident Evil" for the Sony PlayStation is widely considered the quintessential survival horror title, partially because it popularized the genre on consoles. The game was remade in 2002 for the Nintendo GameCube and later ported to other consoles and PC, and rumors persist that Capcom is currently remaking the remake.

While you can digitally purchase the (arguably superior) "Resident Evil" remake for modern platforms, many people fondly remember the PlayStation original and will pay a king's ransom for a copy. On October 29, 2021, Heritage Auctions sold a sealed, first production copy of "Resident Evil" for $264,000. Unlike most PlayStation discs, the auctioned game came in a ridged longbox instead of the standard jewel case, which adds to its rarity and value. Heritage Auctions sold another perfectly preserved longbox copy of "Resident Evil" on August 5, 2022 for $192,000.

While "Super Mario Bros." was a launch title for the NES in the United States, Japanese owners had to wait two years for the game. Their first experience with the Mario Bros. was simply titled "Mario Bros." This game was a port of an arcade game where players cooperate and compete to remove crabs, turtles, and other enemies from sewers.

While "Mario Bros." predates the "Super Mario Bros." game and franchise, the former isn't worth as much at auction. But it's still worth a lot. So far, the highest price of a sealed copy of "Mario Bros." was $264,000. This sale took place on November 4, 2022, and once again, Heritage Auctions was responsible. The organization previously sold another sealed copy of "Mario Bros." on July 9, 2021 for $156,000.

"Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!" is an adaptation of two Nintendo arcade games — "Punch-Out!!" and "Super Punch-Out!!" — for the NES. While the console iteration isn't as graphically robust, it is arguably more famous than the arcade originals. People still play the NES version and are continuing to discover secrets 30 years after its release. Plus, unlike the arcade cabinets, "Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!" features Mike Tyson as the final boss.

On October 29, 2021, Heritage Auctions sold a sealed copy of "Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!" for $312,000. The game was rated at a Wata 9.8 and was at the time the only copy of the title in such pristine condition. The same day, another "Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!" was sold for $216,000, but it was only a Wata 9.4. The next copy of the game with a Wata 9.8 only went as high as $78,000.

Record sale prices for "Super Mario Bros. 2" is a confusing subject because the Japanese version of "Super Mario Bros 2" is just a more difficult version of the original "Super Mario Bros" (which is available via Nintendo Switch Online). However, gamers in the United States received a completely different game that is a reskin of the unrelated title "Doki Doki Panic."

While we do not know how much the Japanese "Super Mario Bros. 2" has sold at auction, winning bids for the U.S. version of "Super Mario Bros. 2" are a matter of historical record. On October 29, 2021, Heritage Auctions sold a sealed copy of the game for $324,000. Although, a day later, CNN reported that a copy sold for $88,550. Regardless of the actual price, Heritage Auctions claims this game is the first Wata certified 9.8 title the company ever offered at a public auction.

"Super Mario World" was a launch title for Nintendo's second major console, the Super Nintendo Entertainment Console (SNES). The game was a major leap forward for the franchise in terms of graphical and audio fidelity, and it introduced elements such as checkpoints and the character Yoshi. "Super Mario World" went on to become the most popular game of its generation.

Like many games bearing the "Super Mario" name, "Super Mario World" was rereleased to subsequent Nintendo platforms both physically and digitally, but on July 9, 2021, Heritage Auctions sold a sealed SNES copy for $360,000. Most impressive, this version of the game wasn't a "Player's Choice." Why does that matter? Because most "Super Mario World" units were included with SNES consoles, which means the auctioned cartridge is one of the few first production printings with its own box. Case in point, Heritage Auctions sold another sealed non-Player's Choice copy of the game on May 24, 2024 for $125,000.

Sonic the Hedgehog has served as Sega's mascot ever since he starred in the 1991 video game "Sonic the Hedgehog" for the Sega Genesis. In fact, the character and game set the tone for Sega's consoles and marketing — at least in the United States — until Sega exited the console business due to the failure of the Sega Dreamcast. As was tradition at the time, Sega bundled in loose copies of "Sonic the Hedgehog" with every Genesis console, which helped the title climb the sales ladder to become one of the best-selling Genesis games of all time.

The original "Sonic the Hedgehog" title has been ported to countless platforms and is readily available digitally, but on September 19, 2021, the collectibles auction site Goldin sold a sealed Genesis copy for a record $430,500. This news attracted the attention of Sonic's co-creator, Yuji Naka, who was incredulous the game could sell for that much money. Currently, Heritage Auctions' record sale for a sealed copy of "Sonic the Hedgehog" sits at $360,000.

Today, many gamers consider the "Madden NFL" series the punchline to a bad joke, but the series had to start somewhere. The first entry in the franchise was 1990's "John Madden Football" ("John Madden American Football" in Europe). The game initially released on the Sega Genesis, and a SNES version followed a year later. Unlike other sports games of the time, "John Madden Football" featured a pseudo-3D perspective, which might have helped the game sell 400,000 copies, over five times what Electronic Arts projected.

Given the initial popularity of "John Madden Football," sealed units are unsurprisingly worth a ton. On January 28, 2022, Heritage Auctions sold one for $480,000. This was the first time the organization sold the game, and the price was likely so high because the copy sold was previously owned by its namesake, John Madden. If Mr. Madden had signed his copy, it might have fetched an even higher price.

"The Legend of Zelda" is widely regarded as the grandfather to many action RPGs. The title was considered groundbreaking for its time due to its non-linearity — players can go anywhere in the world at any time. This design choice helped set the game apart from prior NES titles. Plus, "The Legend of Zelda" was the first NES game to come in a gold cartridge instead of a standard grey case.

Here is where auction prices start to get a tad crazy. On July 9, 2021, Heritage Auctions sold a sealed copy of "The Legend of Zelda" for a whopping $870,000. While the game and its box were rated at a Wata 9.0 — the bare minimum to be considered pristine — its rare status as an early production run known as a "NES R" inflated its value. According to Heritage Auctions, the mythical "NES TM" variant is the only rarer and more valuable "The Legend of Zelda" cartridge as only one copy exists.

"Tetris" is one of the most famous and best-selling game franchises of all time. The puzzle game is easy to pick up and difficult to master thanks to its reliance on tetrominos — geometric shapes composed of four blocks in varying arrangements. "Tetris" is so popular and timeless that it has been ported to (and cloned for) virtually every gaming platform ever made. In fact, one of 2018's best games was "Tetris Effect."

While many modern versions of "Tetris" are digital, an older physical copy was sold for such a staggering amount of cash that it entered the Guinness World Records. On August 2, 2011, a copy of "Tetris" was auctioned off for $1 million. This price can be attributed to two factors. First, this particular cartridge was designed for the Sega Mega Drive, better known as the Sega Genesis in the United States. Only 10 copies of "Tetris" for the Mega Drive exist. Second and most crucially, this particular unit was signed by the game's creator, Alexey Pajitnov. Signatures always increase an item's value.

"Super Mario 64" is a seminal classic for the Nintendo 64. The game reinvented the classic platforming action of the "Super Mario Bros." franchise and transcribed it into a 3D world. Many gaming historians claim the game was a key factor in the Nintendo 64's success. In fact, Shigeru Miyamoto reportedly used the game to test and refine the console's controller.

On July 11, 2021, Heritage Auctions sold a boxed copy of "Super Mario 64" for $1.56 million. As of writing, this is the most expensive video game the organization has ever sold and the 157th most expensive item it ever auctioned. And, this auction took place just two days after Heritage Auctions broke sales records with an $870,000 copy of "The Legend of Zelda," no less.

"Super Mario Bros." is a game that needs no introduction. The 1985 platformer was a launch title for the NES in the United States and an instant classic. The game sold 40.24 million units on the NES alone, making it the best-selling "Super Mario" platformer of all time.

In August of 2021, the website Rally sold an unopened copy of "Super Mario Bros." for an unheard-of $2 million. Unlike other auction websites, people can invest in shares of expensive collectibles at Rally, and when someone wants to purchase the item outright, investors vote on whether to let the sale go through. Rally initially bought the game in 2020 for $140,000, and later that year a buyer wanted to purchase it for $300,000. One Rally investor reportedly made $950 from the $2 million "Super Mario Bros." sale after investing an initial $100.