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Sealed Super Mario Bros. sells for a record $3 million

Sealed Super Mario Bros. NES game.
You know this came for free bundle with the console for $150, right? | Image: Heritage Auctions

A copy of Super Mario Bros., still in the box and sealed with its original sticker, just sold at Heritage Auctions for $3 million. That absolutely crushes the previous record of $2 million, also for a copy of Super Mario Bros., in 2021. That sale also came hot on the heels of a controversial auction of Super Mario 64 for $1.56 million.

Part of what drove the price of this particular copy so high is that, according to Heritage Auctions, instead of shrink-wrap, this 19895 second run was sealed with a glossy sticker, which was discontinued shortly after. The site claims it's the earliest known sealed copy of the game in existence. It's also gr …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Microsoft hasn’t ruled out spinning off Xbox

Asha Sharma on a background of green Xbox logos.
Asha Sharma. | Image: The Verge, Microsoft

Microsoft is preparing to lay off a significant chunk of its Xbox division and is reevaluating the plans for its next-generation Project Helix console. It's apparently also considering dramatically restructuring its relationship with Xbox, and hasn't ruled out spinning it off into a separate company.

A new report from The Information suggests that Microsoft has considered some dramatic measures to make its Xbox unit more sustainable. That includes turning it into a wholly owned subsidiary, a joint venture, or even spinning it off entirely, with the possibility of selling the business. The report doesn't suggest anything is imminent, but it …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Echo Isle is a pint-sized adventure inspired by classic Zelda

13 June 2026 at 13:00

Echo Isle is heavily inspired by The Legend of Zelda, and it's not afraid to show it: The retro graphics bear a striking resemblance to Link's Awakening, the main character wears a blue tunic and wields a sword, and he navigates dungeons to collect items and keys to fight bosses and gather magical MacGuffins. But where Echo Isle shines is how it takes the best parts of a Zelda adventure and shrinks them down to their essence - I finished the game in a little more than an hour.

The game starts with the main character falling from the sky onto Echo Isle, an island protected by a magical lighthouse that has mysteriously gone dark. While you d …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Valve just imported 13 tons of VR headsets in one day

13 June 2026 at 02:32
The Verge’s Jay Peters wearing Valve’s Steam Frame VR headset, from the side.

On June 10th, the German container ship Posen docked in Los Angeles after a two-week voyage from Shanghai. As Valve watcher Brad Lynch notes, it was almost certainly carrying the first mass production shipments of the Steam Frame, Valve's new gaming headset.

Import records show that Valve's distribution partner Ceva offloaded nearly 32 metric tons of "Virtual Reality Devices" on Valve's behalf - or roughly 13 tons of actual product, after you subtract the roughly 3,700 kilogram weight of five 40-foot shipping containers.

That's the same math we used to estimate that Valve imported 50 tons of game consoles in two days last month - and sin …

Read the full story at The Verge.

The Nintendo DS is still the best gaming handheld for travel

12 June 2026 at 13:30
Nintendo 3DS surrounded by summery icons.

Even with the looming specter of rising prices, there's never been a better time for portable gaming. The Steam Deck has ushered in a new era of handheld PCs, the Analogue Pocket and other Game Boy-style remakes are making retro games more approachable than ever, the Playdate has led to an alternate universe of weirdo portable titles, and Nintendo continues to chug along with the latest iteration of the Switch. If you want to play games on the go, you're spoiled for choice. But if you're planning on doing some traveling and want to bring games along with you, I'd actually recommend none of those devices. There's a much better, and older, opt …

Read the full story at The Verge.

The Nintendo Switch 2 is $15 off at Woot

11 June 2026 at 16:03
Nintendo Switch 2 with the Joy-Cons detached on a pink and blue background.
The Switch 2 is still setting sales records. | Image: The Verge, Nintendo

Woot is hosting a small, but welcome deal on the Nintendo Switch 2 through June 19th. New customers can save $15 on the $449.99 console with the code NEW15 used at checkout. Sure, these are microscopic savings, but come September, the Switch 2 will rise in price to $499.99, so any deal is worth telling you about.

Nintendo Switch 2

The Nintendo Switch 2 has a 7.9-inch LCD display, magnetically attached Joy-Con 2 controllers, backwards compatibility with most original Switch games, and exclusive titles includingΒ Donkey Kong BananzaΒ andΒ Kirby Air Riders.Β Read our review.
A photo of the Nintendo Switch 2 running Mario Kart World in handheld mode.

Where to Buy:

Nintendo recently hosted a Direct presentation where it unveiled a bunch of new games β€” including several remakes and remasters β€” coming to the Switch 2 this year and in 2027. One of the most notable announcements was a modern reimagining of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time that’s coming later in 2026. Even though the Switch 2 is barely over one year old, its future looks bright (even if it seems to be playing things a little safe currently), and there are already plenty of great games to play on the console.

Xbox warns of a β€˜reset’ as it prepares for layoffs

10 June 2026 at 22:28
Vector collage of the Xbox logo.

Microsoft's Xbox division will be hit with significant layoffs next month, according to people familiar with Microsoft's plans.

The company has been preparing for the layoffs internally for weeks, with Xbox CEO Asha Sharma hinting about "making hard choices" last month. Sources suggest the cuts could even involve a studio closure, or changes to the Xbox studio lineup. In a recent Giant Bomb episode, rumors of 1,000 layoffs for Microsoft's Xbox division were mentioned. Bloomberg also reported today that the cuts would be "major," and involve budget cuts for marketing and other areas of Microsoft's Xbox business.

Moments before Bloomberg's r …

Read the full story at The Verge.

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