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First PSA 10 Sealed Pocket Monsters Ao Hits $95K as Heritage's Auction Closes on Worlds Weekend
The only PSA 10 sealed copy of Pocket Monsters Ao, the 1996 Japanese original behind Pokemon Blue, carries a $95,000 bid as Heritage's Video Games Signature Auction closes tonight, August 28, 2026. That is $118,750 with Heritage's 25% buyer's premium, and the hammer falls while more than 50,000 fans fill San Francisco for the Pokemon World Championships. Here is what is on the block, why this cartridge matters, and what tonight's results mean for collectors.
The $95,000 Cartridge Closing Tonight
Lot 28056 in Heritage's Video Games Signature Auction #7454 is a Pocket Monsters Ao PSA 10 NS Unopened copy, the Store UPC, Later Production variant, and as of the morning of August 28, 2026 the bid sits at $95,000 with no reserve, the next minimum bid is $97,500. Add the 25% buyer's premium and the price would be $118,750 if it closed right now.
The clock is real. Proxy bidding for Session 1 ends at 3:50 PM CT today, then the live session starts at 4:00 PM CT and covers lots 28001 to 28091, which includes every lot named in this story. Heritage's August 14 press release billed the cartridge as the highest graded copy of Pocket Monsters Ao ever sold, alongside the highest graded Sonic the Hedgehog and Super Mario Land, and the lot page states it is the only PSA 10 of the title in existence.
Why a Sealed Pocket Monsters Ao Is So Rare
Japanese Game Boy games were never shrinkwrapped, which is why the slab reads NS Unopened, the factory box simply survived untouched for thirty years. According to Heritage's lot description, PSA only began certifying Japanese Game Boy titles this year, and fewer than 30 unopened copies of Ao have been certified across all grading companies. Comicbook.com reported in June that only about 25 sealed copies are known to exist at all.
The benchmarks show how far this bid has already run. A lower graded VGA 90 sealed copy of the same game closed at a Heritage weekly auction in July 2026, and the PSA 10's current bid is roughly ten times what that copy brought. The prior Heritage high for any sealed Japanese Pokemon Game Boy game, according to mxdwn Games, was a Pocket Monsters Aka VGA 90+ that sold for $45,000 in May 2024. Tonight's bid has already more than doubled that number before premium.
A $135,000 Mario Bros. Headlines the Same Night
The Ao is not even the top lot. Lot 28024, a Mario Bros. PSA 9.2 A++ sealed NES copy from 1986 with the Gloss Sticker, First Production label, sits at $135,000 as of the morning of August 28, which is $168,750 with the premium. Heritage states it is the only certified sealed first production copy of Mario Bros. in existence, that no factory sealed first production copy has ever been offered at public auction, and that only one sealed gloss sticker Mario Bros. is known against three for Super Mario Bros.
The record context explains the conviction. A gloss sticker Super Mario Bros. in PSA 9.6 A++ sold for $3,000,000 at Heritage on June 12, 2026, the current world record among the most expensive video games ever sold. The 134 lot sale shows a running bid total of $1,412,688, with more than 3,200 bids and nearly 58,000 page views on Heritage's live counters this morning, and other live high scores include Super Mario 64 PSA 9.8 A++ at $82,500 and Mario Kart 64 PSA 9.8 at $52,500.
What Worlds Weekend Means for Collectors
The timing is no accident. The 2026 Pokemon World Championships run August 28 to 30 at Moscone Center in San Francisco, with Sunday finals at Chase Center, so the hobby's full attention is exactly where Heritage wants it. Five more sealed Pokemon lots close in the same Friday session, all bids as of the morning of August 28:
- US Pokemon Blue PSA 9.8 A++ at $26,000
- Pocket Monsters Midori VGA 90+ at $19,500
- Pokemon Yellow PSA 9.8 A++ at $13,000
- Pocket Monsters Pikachu VGA 85 with preorder postcards at $10,500
- Pocket Monsters Aka PSA 9.4 at $7,750
The takeaway is bigger than one cartridge. Graded sealed Japanese Pokemon games only became a PSA category this year, so tonight's hammer sets the reference price for the whole lane, and it lands in the middle of Pokemon's 30th anniversary year. Two honest caveats. Nothing is final until the hammer falls tonight, live sessions can rip past proxy bids in seconds, and always compare prices with the 25% buyer's premium included. And if you ever chase slabs at this level, learn how to verify a graded card before money moves.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does the Heritage video game auction close?
Session 1 proxy bidding ends at 3:50 PM CT on Friday, August 28, 2026, and the live session starts at 4:00 PM CT, covering lots 28001 to 28091. Every Pokemon lot in this story closes Friday, and Session 2 follows on Saturday, August 29 as an internet only session.
Why is a sealed Pocket Monsters Ao so rare?
Japanese Game Boy games were never shrinkwrapped, so unopened copies survive only as untouched factory boxes. Heritage's lot description says fewer than 30 unopened copies of Pocket Monsters Ao have been certified across all grading companies, PSA only began certifying Japanese Game Boy titles in 2026, and this is the only PSA 10 of the title.
What is the most expensive video game ever sold?
A sealed Super Mario Bros. graded PSA 9.6 A++ with the early gloss sticker seal sold for $3,000,000 at Heritage's June 12, 2026 auction, and it remains the world record for any video game.
Where to Go From Here
Tonight's hammer prices will reset what sealed Pokemon history costs, and the collector energy around Worlds weekend will not fade when the session ends. If a $95,000 cartridge is fun to watch but not to bid on, the Polkastarter marketplace shows every card, value, and chance in every Lootbox before you open, free mystery pack at signup.
Facts verified August 28, 2026 from the cited sources, live bids move by the minute and hammer prices land tonight, markets move, nothing here is investment advice. Polkastarter is not affiliated with Heritage Auctions, PSA, VGA, Nintendo, or The Pokemon Company.
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