A copy of Mega Man from the game’s first production run sparked some competitive bidding before finishing at $75,000 at Heritage Auctions – a number now confirmed to be the current record for the most valuable sealed video game ever sold at auction.
The strong result for Mega Man (“Dr. Wright” First Release) WATA 9.4 A+ was driven by bids from nearly two dozen bidders. It is rumored to be the only remaining sealed copy from the game’s original production run, while claims of other copies have abounded, they have not been supported.
“Sealed, high grade video games starring blue-chip characters from early print runs currently spark the most interest with collectors,” Heritage Auctions Consignment Director Valarie McLeckie said. “Mega Man is one of Capcom’s most iconic IPs, and this game marks his first appearance. The ‘Dr. Wright’ variant is the definitive first print, named for the text on the back of the box identifying the villain as ‘Dr. Wright,’ as it was changed shortly thereafter to ‘Dr. Wily’ on later print runs. Indisputably, this is not only the crown jewel of the Carolina Collection, but one of the most elusive sealed keys in video game collecting.”
Mega Man led a large selection of Wata-certified video games, which sold for a combined $616,534. Games from the Carolina Collection pedigree, which included the Mega Man cartridge, made up $540,952 of that total. The 332 video games sold at Heritage Auctions’ Comics and Comic Art Auction on November 21-24, 2019, with the sale itself setting the record for most valuable video game auction ever held.
Other top games in the sale included Bubble Bobble Part 2 WATA 9.0 A for $19,200, Super Mario Bros (Oval SOQ R) WATA 9.8 A+ for $19,200, The Legend of Zelda (Rev-A, Round SOQ) WATA 9.0 A for $19,200, and Mario Bros (Rev-A, Round SOQ) WATA 9.4 A+ for $15,465.
“The introduction of Wata Games as a reliable third party grading service has greatly improved the confidence of the collecting community within the last year, effectively opening the door for new collectors,” McLeckie said. “This auction’s results have shown the value of vintage video game titles is changing to match that growth in confidence.”
