Do You Own Rare Mario Games You Didn’t Know About?
Last Updated on April 17, 2023
Some rare Mario games could sell for hundreds of pounds.
Paper Mario and Mario Party 3 on the Nintendo 64 and Mario’s Tennis on the Virtual Boy are all high-earning titles–if you own them.
New research by troubleshooting website GamesErrors.com based on data analyzed from second-hand retailer CeX has established which rare Mario games could be traded in for the most cash. CeX’s highest trade-in values were compiled for the research, with any requiring peripherals or extras exluded.
The results are quite surprising, with 2001 Nintendo 64 title Paper Mario coming first, potentially earning a massive £247 if you traded in a mint condition copy.
Meanwhile, a top-nick condition copy of Mario Party 3 can be traded in at £162, or £84 if unboxed. And third place is 1995’s Mario’s Tennis, a key title on the ahead-of-its-time Virtual Boy. Sold mint, this could get you £126 at CeX.
Here’s a look at the full table:
| Rank | Game | Console | Trade-in value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paper Mario | Nintendo 64 | £247.00 | |
| 2 | Mario Party 3 | Nintendo 64 | £162.00 | |
| 3 | Mario's Tennis | Virtual Boy | £126.00 | |
| 4 | Mario's Time Machine | Super NES | £110.00 | |
| 5 | Mario Is Missing | Super NES | £97.00 | |
| 6 | Mario Superstar Baseball | Nintendo GameCube | £84.00 | |
| -- | Mario Bros | NES | £84.00 | |
| 7 | Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door | Nintendo GameCube | £81.00 | |
| -- | Mario Kart 64 | Nintendo 64 | £81.00 | |
| -- | Super Mario World | Mario Kart 64 | £81.00 | |
| 8 | Super Mario 64 | Nintendo 64 | £78.00 | |
| 9 | Super Mario All-Stars | Nintendo 64 | £74.00 | |
| 10 | Mario Clash | Virtual Boy | £71.00 |
Is there a “Mario movie effect”?
A spokesperson for GamesErrors.com said: “Many of the games on this list have stood the test of time, and based on the valuations shown here there is still a good market for them. It will be interesting to watch how valuations change with the release of the new Super Mario Bros movie.
Additionally, the list shows how much the Mario universe has expanded, spanning genres and several generations of consoles, with the demand for retro titles in the series remaining high.”
So, there is a chance that those rare Mario game values could keep climbing.
Gaming since 1984, retro gaming since 2004. Contributes to Linux Format magazine, TechRadar.com, and other publications.
