I’m currently on the lookout for a Pokemon Red and stumbled across this copy:
Please notice the last picture where I’ve inspected there is a (rather large) hole.
For those of you who have any sort of grading experience such as VGA or WATA, or even own any graded copies:
What is the ballpark condition that this example grades? As a video game grading novice (with 0 experience), the game looks great to me aside from the hole. I do have a friend who graded quite a bit and he believes the hole is too big of a defect to consider purchase. I know he is being conservative though as he has high grading standards. Personally, I would be fine with a VGA 80 or a WATA 8.
That being said, all input is greatly appreciated. I’ve been on the lookout for a copy of this game and its pretty difficult to find an authentic factory sealed copy in decent condition. Even if you don’t have grading experience please share your thoughts on how you would evaluate such condition.
Good catch. I didn’t even notice that I will reach out to the seller to ask him if it is, but even if it isn’t a hole I feel like the damage was done already with the cubone side hole
$3k for a raw that will likely grade as an 8.0-8.5 with a C (maybe) seal rating seems tough. Like you said also, if the Cubone and h-seam plastic keeps ripping…this is a $300 game instead. Wata grading isn’t cheap either (will be $200 for quick turnaround + ship + insurance for that value item) so have to keep that in mind as well. I’d wait and see what the heritage one ends at before even thinking of pulling the trigger.
This may be slightly off topic, but I’ve never understood the appeal of a graded video game. Graded cards, I completely get. There’s a back and a front, that’s it. There’s so much more to a video game. All of the inserts, the cartridge and the box. The only thing you can look at, if it’s graded, is the box. You can’t be 100% sure if the game inside the sealed box works.
I think it depends on the game. Here the appeal is the zard on the cover, a loose cartridge is very cheap and hardly anyone cares the booklet. This is also true for a lot of very popular games, the chase is for sealed mint copies. An used one is very affordable, here you have the virtually perfect version stored safely forever
I’m on the same boat. Same goes for graded comic books IMHO. But to each their own. It’s good that people have different tastes. Even though I personlly wouldn’t want to spend big money on it, it’s certainly a nicely packaged game
amen. oh and then there’s this thing called the game that people used to actually play, before emulation. some people struggle with the whole “the game is meant to be played” thing, but same can be said for TCG I suppose. as @muk,said, it’s what does it for each, and that’s a good thing, so the more options, the better. for specific games that really resonate with people, having that game entombed in mint condition for at least one’s lifetime (provided the guts/battery/acid paper doesn’t start to rot/shrinkwrap doesn’t continue shrinking over time as can happen, etc.), i completely get it. me, i want to still be able to look at and thumb through and smell/feel the manual and inserts and play the game on the original hardware since that’s what my nostaglia needs, but i’ll admit i’ve not yet figured out if i’m going to roll the dice keeping or selling my pricey disc based game in case disc rot becomes a real problem. so far, all good. but if they start to go, yeah, might as well case them up and just display them. might look pretty sad, though, having a highly rated, expensive WATA game all sealed up and 20 years from now there’s some internal defect due to aging that turns the grade into a joke. speaking of internal defects due to aging…you know my bias on this one, and i completely agree with your position.
It’s funny cause I feel the exact opposite. I do not understand the appeal of graded cards and getting so nit picky over the tiniest of white dots and such especially when they can be hard to display. I much prefer binder cards and that is what i go for.
For video games on the other hand, a place like WATA makes very nice displays for the games and protect them extremely well. At least for me as well, it means that a 3rd party is authenticating that the sealed games are legit. Apparently they are easy to fake and there have been issues in the past so I like knowing that what I am buying is the real thing. With single cards, there is no question most of the time differentiating between the reals and fakes. I will say that I do not understand why there is a market for graded non-sealed games. I do not see the appeal in that at all.
Sorry, I should have clarified this one at the start. In a factory sealed SNES or say GBC cart with an original lithium CR battery, no, odds are very low for leakage—would really need to be stored in extreme heat/humidity or have a manuf defect. Otherwise you are good. If however you have a sealed WATA game that is CIB or loose and you didn’t grade it or inspect the board, and WATA didn’t inspect the board, could be issues. If the grader verified as authentic without checking the board, and if the board was exposed to moisture or the battery was damaged and ended up leaking from a soldering gun puncture from a battery swap for eg, it could continue to leak/corrode. Sorry to sound alarmist about “leakage”
I think it’s great there is a market for this type of box and it’s great to see them preserved well like that but I would also be hesitant to tie 95% of a few thousand dollars to a plastic wrapper seal.
I do not know about battery leakage but I have had the batteries die on some red/crystal gameboy cartridges that can no longer hold a save file. These are very different than something like a preserved N64 cartridge that should hopefully always work and I think you might be a lot happier just purchasing a mint box that isn’t sealed so you can enjoy the contents and being able to see more than just the display from time to time. But then again I could never buy a full booster box and leave it sitting on a shelf so to each his own.
