An original 1981 promotional poster for the arcade game Donkey Kong, notable for featuring the first public appearance of Mario, has achieved a record-breaking sale of $329,400 at auction, making it the most expensive piece of original video game art ever sold.
The artwork, created by Leslie Cabarga, was originally designed as an arcade flyer for Nintendo of America. It depicts Donkey Kong holding a barrel overhead while Mario, then known as 'Jumpman,' ascends a construction site to rescue Pauline. According to Landry Pop Auctions, which handled the sale, the poster was saved from disposal by a former Nintendo of America employee named Donna Darbous.
This sale significantly surpasses the previous record, which was held by the original cover artwork for Prince of Persia. That piece sold in 2023 for $63,000, making the Donkey Kong poster's sale $266,400 higher.
The auction event, titled Landry Pop Auctions' Jumpman: The Beginning of an Icon, also included other significant Nintendo artworks. Original art featuring Mario and Luigi from Super Mario Bros. sold for $17,080, nearly triple its estimated value. Artwork of a Goomba, a common enemy in the Mario series, brought in $10,370, more than double its estimate.
Further items of historical interest also found new owners. A first-production 1985 copy of Super Mario Bros. for the NES, graded 8.0 by PSA, sold for $34,160. A Nintendo of America employee orientation VHS tape featuring Mario was sold for $3,660 against a $1,500 estimate.
Landry Pop Auctions noted that the $329,400 result underscores Mario's journey from an arcade flyer character to the face of a major entertainment franchise and highlights the increasing value of surviving artwork from the game's early days.
This record-setting sale follows other high-profile video game and collectible auctions. Earlier this month, a UK decorator sold their Pokemon card collection for $2 million. In June, a PSA-graded 9.6 A++ copy of Super Mario Bros. for the NES sold for $3 million, setting a record for the most expensive video game ever sold.