Do you want to hear something unpleasant? A vintage copy of Super Mario Bros. on the NES it just sold at auction for $ 114,000.
Admittedly, it’s one of the most influential games ever (introduces Mario to the world) and the specific copy received a 9.4 rating, which means it’s in near-perfect condition. Oh, and there’s a weird technicality about a cardboard hanger tag that makes it super weird. But still … $ 114,000?
This got me thinking: what a good investment it would have been to buy a copy of Super Mario Bros. and leave it in a safe place for 20 years? Well, I’m going to find out.
After a little consideration, I decided that the best thing to compare it to is Apple’s stock. The Cupertino company has been an investor favorite for years, and Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway owns $ 91.3 billion, representing 43% of its portfolio.
So, let’s find out what would have been a better investment.
I couldn’t find a specific US release date, but Super Mario Bros. was released in Japan on September 13, 1985 – So I’m going to use this date.
After a little research, I found the approximate price range of NES games of a print edition of Electronic Games Monthly:
It was not Super Mario Bros. It was an iconic title, suppose it was one of the most expensive games on the NES. That means it would have had a retail cost of $ 49.99.
Next? Well, we have to find out how much Apple’s shares cost on September 13, 1985. What I did:
Closed at $ 0.281250 on that day which means $ 49.99 would leave us with 177.74 Apple shares.
Not bad.
In terms of dates, the $ 114,000 copy of Super Mario Bros. sold on July 10, 2020. At the close of the same day, it was worth a single share of Apple $ 383.679993.
This means that its 177.74 Apple shares were worth it. $ 68,196.14 last Friday. Oof
Yes, the perfect copy of Super Mario Bros. worth it $ 45,803.86 more than all those sweet and delicious actions.
But don’t break your investment portfolio just yet (I know how close it came), as this is a bit troublesome for two reasons: one, the rarity of this game-specific copy and two, stock splits.
Let’s look at the weirdness first.
A little navigation on the price charts shows that even an unopened copy of Super Mario Bros. usually only goes for, on average, $ 298.26.
So, yes, if you were thinking of heading to your parents’ attic to try to find that battered copy you used to play with your brothers and make a murder, you could be disappointed.
Now in the stock divisions.
Basically, this is what happens when a company splits its existing shares so that there are more of them. Apple has done this four times since 1985. In short, it means that if you had 177 when Super Mario Bros. was released, you would actually have 9,912 now.
So instead of the $ 68,196.14 we mentioned earlier, you Really be sitting on $ 3,803,036.09 *.
Which, in case you’re wondering, is well over $ 114,000.
Anyway, let’s finish this and answer the question: what was the best investment in 1985 of Super Mario Bros. and Apple shares? If you are a boring stock divider tracker, then Apple easily.
But if you love to travel free and calm with the wind? With truly basic math (read: incorrect)? Then Super Mario Bros.
Yes, it’s a shame, but I think what I mean is this: it sucks, Buffett.
* *Note: I didn’t count dividends because you literally can’t force me. Just be happy with what you have.
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Posted on Jul 13, 2020 – 14:42 UTC
