CGC Video Games Certifies Three Impressive Copies of Super Mario Bros. 3 for the Nintendo Entertainment System

All three examples are being offered in an upcoming Heritage Auctions sale that's set for January 20-21, 2023.

Posted on: 1/10/2023

Jaws dropped in the CGC Video Games™ grading room after a submitter sent in a superb copy of a classic video game for certification. The graders gave the Super Mario Bros. 3 a grade of CGC 9.8 A++ — one of the highest grades a video game can achieve on CGC Video Games’ grading scale.

CGC Video Games also certified two more copies of Super Mario Bros. 3 for the Nintendo Entertainment System. These copies received grades of CGC 9.6 and CGC 9.4, respectively. All three of these certified copies are being offered by Heritage Auctions in the January Video Games Signature® Auction, which will take place on January 20-21, 2023.

Super Mario Bros. 3 is known as one of the most iconic video games ever produced. Upon its release in 1990, it quickly became one of the best-selling titles for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It revolutionized the Super Mario Bros. series by introducing new elements and gaming mechanics, many of which continue to be staples within the franchise. The game itself has remained quite popular among players and has been rereleased multiple times.

When Nintendo began production on Super Mario Bros. 3, it was facing its staunchest competition in the industry to date. Sega was beginning to cut into Nintendo’s North American market share with the Sega Master System, and NEC’s PC Engine was nearly matching Nintendo’s Famicom sales in Japan. Nintendo’s executives believed that Super Mario Bros. 3’s new and exciting gameplay would help the company retain their dominance in the video game industry.

Super Mario Bros. 3 was met with both commercial and critical success. Players and critics alike were infatuated with the game’s graphics, mechanics, structure, plot and score, propelling it to become one of the best-selling games of the 1990s. Merchandise sales also skyrocketed. Everyone wanted clothing and accessories plastered with images of “Racoon Mario.” Super Mario Bros. 3 truly became the cultural phenomenon that Nintendo hoped.

About the variant

Super Mario Bros. 3 had several production runs, which resulted in multiple variants of the game. There are currently five known box variants for Super Mario Bros. 3. This CGC-certified example is an Oval SoQ (R), USA/Canada/Mexico.

Oval SoQ (R)

“Oval SoQ (R)” refers to the Nintendo Seal of Quality that appears on the front of the box. This Seal of Quality was the third one used by Nintendo for its Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and features a copyright symbol. The first Seal of Quality was a Circle SoQ, while the second was an Oval SoQ with a trademark symbol.

USA/Canada/Mexico

“USA/Canada/Mexico” refers to the countries mentioned in the warranty information on the side of the box. As Nintendo expanded its North American market outside the United States, it extended its warranty to Canada and Mexico, and updated its packaging accordingly.

Below is a list of the five known Super Mario Bros. 3 box variants, as well as lists for cartridge and manual variants.

Box Variants

  • Left Bros., Oval SoQ (TM)
  • Oval SoQ (TM), USA/Canada
  • Oval SoQ (R), USA/Canada
  • Oval SoQ (R), USA/Canada/Mexico
  • Challenge Set, Not for Resale

Cartridge Variants

  • Left Bros., Oval SoQ (TM)
  • Oval SoQ (R), USA-1

Manual Variants

  • Left Bros., Oval SoQ (TM)
  • Oval SoQ (TM), USA-1
  • Oval SoQ (R), USA-1
  • Oval SoQ (R), USA-1 (Star)
  • Oval SoQ (R), Circle T, USA-1

For more information about video game variants, check out the CGC Video Games Reference Guide by clicking here.