1990 Super Mario Bros. 3 & 1988 Double Dragon Games
GUEST:
These are two games for a Nintendo gaming system. And my dad gave these to me. They were two games from the 1980s and somebody gave them to him, and he already had the games, so he didn't open them. And they were just lying, for a really long time, in my grandma's attic.
APPRAISER:
First off, bunch of bonus points. Kudos to you, 'cause you know what's going on. You are right in that Nintendo was a 1980s video game system. The Nintendo Entertainment System, abbreviated by collectors today as simply N.E.S., revolutionized video games when it was first introduced in 1983. And prior to that, everybody was growing up with Atari, ColecoVision, Intellivision; very, very basic. You have some of the most iconic games for the N.E.S. I mean, your first one right here. Super Mario Brothers 3. I wouldn't be exaggerating if that, as a kid with my older brother, we played over 30 hours on that game.
GUEST:
(gasps, laughs)
APPRAISER:
Now, also here we have Double Dragon. Totally awesome, bad-to-the-bone, karate-fighting-style game. And the thing that's really funny is, in terms of a market, if you came to ANTIQUES ROADSHOW five years ago, we wouldn't be here today. (laughing) I love that face. The collectible video game market really exploded 2019 into 2020. We've seen some very big numbers, uh, very volatile numbers. So the market is a little unsteady. When looking at the Super Mario Brothers 3, we know that it's a second printing instead of a first printing due to the location of the "Bros." in the title. A true first printing of the cartridge would have the "Bros." all the way to the left under the M in Mario. So just that little difference is a big deal in value. When looking at the Double Dragon cartridge, the way we know that it's a second printing of the game is that when we look at the O.S.Q. on the bottom, which is the official seal of quality for Nintendo, on the very first print, this would be a circular form sticker.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
The fact that we have the ovoid form sticker knows that this is, in fact, a second printing of the game. Now, do you have any idea of what these are worth today?
GUEST:
I don't know, about $100?
APPRAISER:
In their ungraded, just factory-sealed condition...
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
...conservatively, at auction today, the Super Mario Brothers 3 would be $1,000 to $2,000.
GUEST (laughing): Oh, my God, that's a lot.
APPRAISER:
Okay, now, this is where you're really going to thank your dad, the Double Dragon. This is easily a $2,000 to $3,000 game.
GUEST (laughing): Wow, that's a lot.
APPRAISER:
So, total at auction today for the pair of cartridges, you'd be at $3,000 to $5,000 in the market.
GUEST (quietly): Oh, my gosh. (aloud): That's surprising.
APPRAISER:
Thank you, Dad? (both laughing)
GUEST:
Thank you, Dad.
APPRAISER:
Graded perfect 9.8 examples of Super Mario Brothers 3 for the first print have brought upwards of $150,000.
GUEST:
Wow.
Appraisal Details
Executive producer Marsha Bemko shares her tips for getting the most out of ANTIQUES ROADSHOW.
Value can change: The value of an item is dependent upon many things, including the condition of the object itself, trends in the market for that kind of object, and the location where the item will be sold. These are just some of the reasons why the answer to the question "What's it worth?" is so often "It depends."
Note the date: Take note of the date the appraisal was recorded. This information appears in the upper left corner of the page, with the label "Appraised On." Values change over time according to market forces, so the current value of the item could be higher, lower, or the same as when our expert first appraised it.
Context is key: Listen carefully. Most of our experts will give appraisal values in context. For example, you'll often hear them say what an item is worth "at auction," or "retail," or "for insurance purposes" (replacement value). Retail prices are different from wholesale prices. Often an auctioneer will talk about what she knows best: the auction market. A shop owner will usually talk about what he knows best: the retail price he'd place on the object in his shop. And though there are no hard and fast rules, an object's auction price can often be half its retail value; yet for other objects, an auction price could be higher than retail. As a rule, however, retail and insurance/replacement values are about the same.
Verbal approximations: The values given by the experts on ANTIQUES ROADSHOW are considered "verbal approximations of value." Technically, an "appraisal" is a legal document, generally for insurance purposes, written by a qualified expert and paid for by the owner of the item. An appraisal usually involves an extensive amount of research to establish authenticity, provenance, composition, method of construction, and other important attributes of a particular object.
Opinion of value: As with all appraisals, the verbal approximations of value given at ROADSHOW events are our experts' opinions formed from their knowledge of antiques and collectibles, market trends, and other factors. Although our valuations are based on research and experience, opinions can, and sometimes do, vary among experts.
Appraiser affiliations: Finally, the affiliation of the appraiser may have changed since the appraisal was recorded. To see current contact information for an appraiser in the ROADSHOW Archive, click on the link below the appraiser's picture. Our Appraiser Index also contains a complete list of active ROADSHOW appraisers and their contact details and biographies.