I’m guessing the golden age of buying leftover stock of sealed games that nobody wants at retail is nearing the end, for now. It’s amazing how you can still go to various websites and order 10-7 year old popular titles as if they were groceries when games just a few years older fetch these incredible prices. Let the speculation begin!
I buy old xbox games and it seems at least there that there’s a very distinct age for games to go up in price. for example, 10 year old sealed halo games go for $15-$30 dollars (half of original price). When you go to 15-20 year old halo games the price of sealed sky rockets. I don’t know how nintendo and other games work but I like your thought process.
I had no idea this was a thing. That being said though their cases have warmed up to me and I’m almost tempted to crack my VGA games to put them into WATA cases. But that seems like a waste of money/time for now.
One major difference is that you need to introduce someone to Pokemon trophy cards whereas top video games like Super Mario Brothers need no introduction. Not saying that explains the full difference but its definitely something worth considering.
I love playing Videogames and looking at the box art, it brings back a lot of nostalgia. In a way, it is a piece in time that I enjoyed. Even similar, sometimes I enjoy some DVD cases (yeah I said it lol) instead of streaming. VG’s are still in somewhat of an infant stage, but I always enjoy seeing what people collect, even if it is out of the “norm”. I talked to one of my friend’s and his wife said that people collect Starbucks Tumblers and resell them in the hundreds.
“What a another man’s trash, is another one’s treasure”
I had no idea this ever happened. WATA has lost a lot of respect for me. Clearly there is collusion and manipulation but likely not enough to hold any kind of weight in court. If i ever grade a game, i’ll be sure to stay away from WATA
Sealed video games seem strange to me. At least with sealed cards there is the mystery of what could be in the packs. Video games are literally identical inside. But at the same time it is cool to see them all minty fresh like when new. I’m conflicted.
I posted about that graded Pokemon ROM hack a while ago, and I agree that is embarrassing and clueless from WATA. It makes a degree of sense that they might grade unlicensed games, since those are often (but not always) considered part of a full set for a platform - especially if WATA are willing to work with a publisher or developer to ascertain print information on modern releases so that even unlicensed games can be properly authenticated. However, grading a Pokemon ROM hack is not the same as a small dev releasing a new NES platformer, and a line has been crossed here that very obviously should not have.
That said, if not WATA, then with which company are you planning to grade games? They share ownership with PSA, have the most modern-looking label, and, above all else, it’s what the market wants. You can grade with VGA if you wish, but the game will probably be worth less, no matter how much WATA’s image is being tarnished. I have plenty to complain about with WATA - like the fact I’m on business day 125+ of a 30 business day grading time, and they have only bumped estimates on their website to 45 days despite them knowing it’s taking multiple times longer than that to fulfill orders. But WATA is the label buyers want at this point, and all I am doing is clearing out drawers of sealed games I’ve had for years and really don’t need… so going with any other company is just diminishing the value of what I have. I am really just hoping that PSA’s purchase of WATA (WATA are moving headquarters to CU in California), over time, will result in higher standards of how they operate. I say this on a TCG forum, knowing plenty of people here will have complaints about PSA (especially grading times…), but still, we all accept PSA is the premier label for trading cards regardless of any complaints we might have.
What’s wrong with this exactly? The label literally says that it’s a reproduction box of a rom hack and not an official title. I don’t personally understand the appeal of encapsulating fan-made games, but to each their own.
This adds a degree of legitimacy to fakes. There’s a lot of interesting custom Pokemon cards that I’ve bought for myself but I’m sure there would be an uproar if PSA started grading custom cards no matter how well they’re made.
It uses Nintendo’s IP and game engine. It’s not the same as grading a homebrew or unlicensed game made from scratch. There are also a billion Pokemon ROM hacks just like this, no matter how fancy the packaging is on this one - if WATA want to grade every bootleg Game Boy cartridge ever sold at a Taiwanese marketplace in the last 25 years, they can, but it’s not going to do much to legitimise their image as trusted authenticators.
That’s insane. I know theyve done lots of shady “prototypes” and other likely fake carts and such but that’s just an outright fake game in a fake repro box. That’s wild
I’ll keep an open mind, however until proven otherwise, it’s fair to assume CGC games compared to WATA will be just like CGC cards compared to PSA - worth less. But game grading is in a way more nascent stage than trading card grading, so it’s a bit more plausible that they come in and establish themselves as the dominant label than it was with trading cards.