Oh Great, Now Investors Are Buying Shares of Video Games

And now, some investors hope, Pokémon and Mario. For investors willing to make risky bets, the next big "Gamestonk" could be a vintage copy of Pokémon Yellow. Companies like Rally and Otis (founded in 2016 and 2018, respectively) allow their customers to buy shares of these niche assets, which have been fetching astronomically high prices at auction: A copy of Super Mario Bros. sold for $114,000 in July 2020, and in November, a copy of Super Mario Bros. 3 was auctioned off at $156,000, making it the most expensive game ever sold. A combination of rarity and old-fashioned financial speculation continues to drive prices higher, which in turn attracts more and more interest from investors. The current record is about to be smashed by another rare copy of Super Mario Bros. up for auction now, which is set to sell at over $310,000.