Nintendo: Unopened copy of Super Mario 64 from 1996 sells for $2.24 million

Super Mario 64 was the best-selling game on the Nintendo 64. Photo / Supplied

An unopened copy of Nintendo's Super Mario 64 has sold at auction for $2.24 million (USD$1.56m).

Heritage Auctions in Dallas said that the 1996 game sold Sunday, breaking its previous record price for the sale of a single video game.

A spokesman did not immediately respond to an inquiry about who purchased the game.

Super Mario 64 was the best-selling game on the Nintendo 64 and the first to feature the Mario character in 3D, the auction house said in a statement.

The unopened copy of Nintendo's Super Mario 64. Photo / AP

The sale follows an unopened copy of Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda selling at auction Friday for $1.24m (USD$870,000).

The auction house said that sale was of a rare version that was created during a limited production run that took place during a few months in late 1987.

"The Legend of Zelda marks the beginning of one of the most important sagas in gaming; its historical significance can't be understated ... it is a true collector's piece," Valarie McLeckie, Heritage's video game specialist, said in a statement.

In April, the auction house sold an unopened copy of Nintendo's Super Mario Bros that was bought in 1986 and forgotten about in a desk drawer for $945,000 (USD$660,000).