Ultrarare Nintendo Mario game cartridges discovered in Wisconsin

August 12, 2026 - 06:29

A surprising discovery in Wisconsin has turned up something Nintendo collectors thought no longer existed. A small batch of Super Mario Brothers and Duck Hunt cartridges, manufactured in 1993, was found tucked away in a storage area. That date matters because Nintendo officially stopped producing that combo bundle back in 1991. For years, fans and experts believed every copy of that two-in-one cartridge came from the earlier run. This find proves otherwise.

The cartridges were not in flashy packaging or a sealed display case. They were sitting in a plain cardboard box, mixed with old cables and a dusty console. The person who found them, a local resident cleaning out a relative's property, had no idea what they had. After checking the date stamp on the back of the boards, a retro game shop confirmed the year. That small detail makes these copies extremely rare, possibly one of a kind.

Collectors are already buzzing about what this means for the market. A standard Super Mario Brothers and Duck Hunt cartridge sells for a few dollars today. But a 1993 version, with no known record of production, could be worth thousands. Some experts think Nintendo may have used leftover parts to fill a last-minute order, or that a third-party assembler made them without official permission. Either way, the find has shaken up the vintage gaming community. The owner has not yet decided whether to sell or keep the cartridges, but for now, they remain a remarkable piece of gaming history hidden in plain sight.