Video: Here's Why Getting Your Retro Games Graded Could Be A Complete Waste Of Money

I can't actually believe this is a thing! What a absolute waste of money it sounds more like a scam than anything!

scam scam scam
wow ppl come on get with the program

I got that collection graded because I wanted the tough sealed case, the grade is irrelevant to me. I looked at other cases and they were inferior to ukg cases. hope you enjoyed the video

I have graded games, but I never sent them away myself.. they just happened to be the price and quality I was looking for after extensive searching as I always do when after a new old game. Personally I have never cared for the system and believe it can't be fully trusted, which is a major issue.

What good is spending €100 on Secret of mana if you cannot experience being shot in the sky by a cannon.
I have my cartboard boxes in a clear plastic sleeve, makes it look nice and shiny too.

in that case, why buy the games when there are emulators? each to their own, there is no right or wrong way to collect anything

unwittingly?? it was no accidental experiment

It makes me want to get my copy of Zelda LttP for the GBA which is signed by Shigeru Miyamoto graded... Box is a little squashed, though.

Money grabing farce that can only be bad for gaming in my humble opinion.

Games should be played and retro games collections are for getting friends/family round and enjoying them with wonky nostalgia goggles.

Games are for playing.

The game grading thing is stupid. If you plan on selling a sealed game down the line, keep it in a hard case of your own supply or at least in a place you know is secure. The "grade" makes absolutely no psychological difference to someone looking to buy a factory-sealed game (except for the fact that the very image of a "graded-seal" listing will cause potential buyers to immediately overlook it, due to extreme price-gouging associated with the practice).

I remember way back when people started getting their high end Magic cards graded, all it really does is artificially inflate prices in my eyes. I'm sad that this has npw in aded video games.

It's only worth something if someone buys it. Honestly, if you really want to play the Legend of Zelda II, there are plenty of options available for $5.00. If someone wants to buy it for an inflated price, first off, they're probably another collector, and it's completely their decision to buy it. No one is forcing their hand on this, no one is compelled to collect anything. This seems like a fairly pointless article.

Stuff like this makes me wish game companies would look at what old games are fetching these high prices when they decide to add something to the eShop. I would gladly buy Ducktales 2 for example.

Video games aren't something to buy and sit on. You get a game and do absolutely nothing with it, because you do not appreciate it for the piece of art it is, because what you see in it is an opportunity to get some money in the distant future, when the value of the game increases. I can't stand this way of thinking. And I was foolish enough to buy a few games graded like that, because they weren't available anywhere, and I wanted them sealed. Now I only buy digital copies, and I'm happy that by doing so I'm able to support the creators directly.

thanks damo

I buy Retro Games in their Original Package (as long as it's affordable), to be the person who first opens the package and get a brand new game to play

@Gauchorino Wrong. Grading is widely regarded among serious collectors as a wise and good investment for everything from comic books and toys to coins and antiques. Having a collectible of almost any kind graded by a reputable and trustworthy service is almost always going to increase the worth of an item and result in a higher resale value. It does several things. It gives an item an universally accepted grade for its condition, which will help collectors determine its value. It preserves an item for long term storage, protecting it from damage from elements or wear from handling. A graded item can also make a nice center peice for a display.

We're all here because we like to play video games. After all, that's what they are meant for! But let's not underestimate the collectibility and future value of these things. Anything that is enjoyed by a lot of people today is very likely going to be considered a rare collectible to someone in the future.

I don't care what other people do with their games but personally I like to play them.

@Great_Gonzalez
While I don't know much about retro games grading, as something like this doesn't exist in Poland, I just came here to comment on your avatar - awesome! Long live Skies of Arcadia and Blue Rogues!

Grading games and PAYING for it? Seriously? All you have to do is look at what you have, if it's complete with no damage then people will buy it for at or near its value. Simple as. If it has minor damage people will buy it for slightly less. If it's not complete you will get less again. It's just pure logic.

Grading became worthless since the invention of the digital camera.

Looks like the scalpers have found a new business venture after Amiibo and Special Editions. A complete waste of money.

I understand the idea behind a collection of games, but they are meant to be played. This will turn people to digital copies and emulators if enough people get on board and inflate the price of old games.

Buying two copies of a game to keep one factory sealed is waste enough in my books, but paying to have it encased in a sarcophagus? Not in a million years.

Case in point, a quick eBay search shows a recently ended auction of a graded copy of Majora's Mask sold for over $230 after 22 bids. Not bad. That's just one example.

Is there a service for grading classics? My god people is so stupid, I have a lot of classics, all used but all in perfect state of conservation, sealed in soft plastic (so I can conserve or open to play when I want), one day I might sell...hahahah who I'm kidding they will go to a museum when I die or will be buried with me, so I might play on the afterlife!! hahahahahah (no my kid won't keep any game from me)

@CosmoXY That most likely had nothing to do with grading. Any sealed copy of Majora's Mask is so rare that many people will be willing to pay whatever they can to get a copy. Can you provide an example of a graded factory-sealed game competing in a similar way against a non-graded factory-sealed game?

Yeah, makes me sad I never kept any of my boxes to games. N64 especially, of course some GBA and SNES games would have been nice. My Genesis collection was pretty decent to, which was made easier to keep with their plastic cases....traded of course.

@Davenukes Thanks for the video! Hope it helps anyone in the community who trusts the grades.

@CosmoXY As someone who seriously collects Japanese Pokemon cards, I don't understand the hate grading is getting here.
In the card world, grading is a big deal to a lot of people (via PSA). While I prefer to keep my collection ungraded, grading does serve an important purpose and isn't a "scam" as people here claim

This reminds me of a couple of years back, I took a look on ebay for Ninja Turtles Hyperstone Heist for the Genesis/Mega Drive. One seller had a graded copy he was happy to sell for something like $800 US. Funny thing about it was the seller name happened to be the same as the grading company. It was a scam, and not even a clever one. Needless to say, my $800 was not going anywhere.

First time I even heard of this. Sounds stupid.

Lol, everyone here saying that Grading is a scam operation is getting roped in by anecdotal incidents... I can't speak for the practices of these two companies, but they're not the only ones in existence. There are fakes and hoodwinkers in other collection fields, so this isn't anything new. I wouldn't exactly consider Zelda II for the GBA to be a significant collector's piece, either... The gold cartridge Zelda II for NES, on the other hand... Now there's a collector's piece!

There is an entire industry for appraisal, grading everything from antiques to firearms to baseball cards, and then some. Makes sense that game cartridges/cards/discs and boxes can be graded, too. Independent/local business second hand/trade in game shops that aren't connected to the big chains have to use some form of grading, appraisal, or price setting to stay in business. (I suppose not many people here have ever visited such a place...)

Granted, I have no interest in using such services, but I am curious how much my Donkey Kong Country Blockbuster Tournament Edition cartridge is worth... Lost the box, unfortunately, so that devalues it, but it still works. It represents a bygone era, back when Nintendo routinely made genuine efforts to market themselves in various ways. The last couple of times someone else put one up on eBay, it went for around $2000-3000.

Personally, I would prefer to keep it and eventually donate it to a National Museum of Video Gaming, or at least a permanent exhibit in an existing national museum. Only a few thousand copies were ever printed, and who knows how few still survive today. I'm just waiting for whenever the Smithsonian finally goes a step further than that one time event with The Art of Video Games exhibit back in 2012, and recognizes the significance of computer games by doing something like instituting them into the Smithsonian Museum of American Art. (They're also Japanese, but computer games were invented in the USA, so close enough...) Probably will have to wait a few decades.

How do they know the game even works or do they not care? They could be buying a worthless piece of plastic in a sealed box.

I see the point in keeping boxes, manuals etc in order but to not open them just to sell them on later at an inflated price seems ridiculous to me.

Collectables are only worth what people are willing to pay for them. I can see getting rarities graded, because it gives buyers a little extra assurance that they're bidding on the real deal, but getting any old game graded probably isn't worth it.

@crazycrazydave Actually, videogame grading has been going on for quite a few years now, before Amiibos were around.

Collection scene is a mess.

What if the game inside the grade got broken during those years? It can happen.

Read up loads about this grading service when I was trying to flog my old Pokemon cards.

Someone offered me £10 for my entire collection. I said no and I'd sell on eBay, he told me I wouldn't get £10 even if my cards were graded and sealed.

Sold just one of the cards for £10.

Lesson of the day... Don't trust anyone.

That guy was using the dremel tool like an idiot. He could've injured himself and damaged the game. Don't know why he wouldn't keep the camera stationary and do it on a desk or a table.

Here's the grading system I use on whether a game is worth any money:
1) Put game in system.
2) Turn system on (if not already).
2) Ask self, did the game boot properly?
3) Play game and enjoy it for what it was made for.
4) Repeat.

@Enigk They don't care if it works. I doubt the people paying $2500 for Stadium Events are playing it. Someone has been trying to sell a graded gold NWC cart that has been OPENED, exposing the EEPROMs inside to light (which will erase it. Although the NWCs are now over 25 years old, which is how long the EEPROMs are said to retain data even when stored properly). Someone else has been trying to sell a similarly opened undumped prototype cart of Trog for the NES, which is sad, in principle (but at the least it is only a proto of a released game).

This reminds me of this one goofball on eBay who had several Buy It Now listings for sealed Zelda games for the NES and Game Boy listed at thousands of dollars each. He would ridicule any "low ball" offers he got because, of course, it's the people making the offers who are unreasonable, not the guy who thinks a handful of common NES titles are worth $6,000. I'll bet those listings are still there, unsold.

Ah, Zelda II... I remember picking up the GBA version at a K-Mart for $1.50 a long, long time ago.

Why should spent too much money if we can buy the 2nd with cheaper price if we want to play the game and still being a game collector ?
We buy games for playing, not for display as figurine. That looks like an Otaku who collects all Powerpuff girls merchandises and never used it or even open the seal, just only for display. Even Buttercup show her disgust feeling about that collection madness.

completely farce their grading the cellophane and packaging totally pointless and subjective

Total SCAAAAAAAAMMMMMMM!

@ImDiggerDan Signed items are graded differently. Basically they are just checked for authenticity. No actual grade is given because the cartridge/disc or box are written on, therefore damaged.

One could argue this is more important than a grade.

Heh, as a kid I never kept any of the boxes in any condition. Most of the time they ended up in pieces.

I think grading serves a purpose in the collector's market but I've yet to see it's real purpose in video games. I'll be referring to comic books in the following as that's what I have the most experience with.

First off, it's incredibly easy to start a grading service. You basically need a bunch of plastic shells and a method to seal them. That said, it's INCREDIBLY difficult to start a respected grading service. Comic book grading has been around for 16 years for a hobby that's been around for 80 or so. And in that time there's really only 2 respected grading companies and maybe a dozen others that provide a similar service but lack any sort of reputation or authority in the collecting hobby. Comics have been bought and sold for decades and for a grader to come onto the scene with any sort of respect has to have some weight or history with the collecting hobby. They'd have to consult with well-known and respected dealers, collectors, authorities in the conservation of the materials, etc.

Which leads me to my next point. Comics certainly do have widely agreed upon standards for collecting. Grading is built on those standards. Many in the comic book hobby dislike grading because they're confident enough to evaluate their books by roughly the same standards as the grading companies. When it comes to reselling, especially high-priced books, graders offer an acceptable third opinion (after the buyer, and seller) as to the condition and thus the value of a book.

Which takes me to my next point. Graded goods, in theory, should not be more valuable than an ungraded book of the same condition. Grading is supposed to only offer an impartial opinion as to a book's condition and a book of a certain condition has a certain value, whether it's in a slab or a mylar bag. What grading does provide is a certain level of confidence that a book's condition is what it is. Each page is inspected, flaws are noted, and can be referenced. A seller can post a photo of the most beautiful book you've ever seen but the page quality may be bad or torn and that would be obscured by the beautiful cover. People are willing to pay extra for the confidence a fully inspected and graded book brings.

Video game grading, as far as I'm concerned have failed on all of these points. First off, they don't seem to come with any sort of backing from the wide and varies video game collecting community. I see no authority on the conservation of the products they're grading. Many plastics are acidic and slowly degrade any paper they are in contact with and the conservation of paper is a huge issue in collecting comics. A sealed video game is basically cardboard wrapped in the cheapest possible plastic the manufacturer can find. It may be acid-free, it might not. A sealed game's wrapper may slowly be degrading the box underneath. I don't feel this service accurately supports the interests of most game collectors and it's fine if it serves the biche that values the sharpest folds in a game's shrinkwrap but a niche like that will never represent the hobby of game collecting as a whole wheras

Second, it feels like other grading services are built to enforce the standards and values of the hobby they represent while these services seem to want to impose those standards. Did anybody really care about the sharpest creases in a shrinkwrapped game's wrapper before these services? Or even after?

Then comes the ridiculous prices people are asking for these games on ebay. We can all agree certain games are extremely rare and they may be great games and they may be in high demand and thus incredibly valuable. A complete copy of Panzer Dragoon Saga can fetch over $400! But the prices sellers (sometimes the graders themselves) are asking for any rubbish game just because it has a high grade is ridiculous. I've seen incredibly common games priced in the hundreds or thousands of dollars just because it has a high grade without any real regard for other factors Sure they may price a high graded Zelda may be a few hundred more than a high graded Streets of Rage but that's still more than you should be paying for either game.

And finally comes the fact that a sealed game cannot actually be fully inspected and thus you have no assurance as to the actual condition of the product, just the outer packaging. Other people have mentioned things like the memory on NES games naturally defrading over time, things inside the box can shift and become damaged without any real effect on the outer packaging. One of the benefits of having comics graded is that they will check for resoration and even counterfeits. They can do this because these things have been happening in the comics hobby for decades even before grading and as I said, a respected company will enforce the values of the hobby they represent and a respected company will have the confidence from those collectors (who often remove comics from their holders to re-inspect and thus support or criticize the company for how well the hobby's standards are supported).

A sealed game cannot possibly be inspected for things like degraded memory (I'd certainly pay more for a rare NES game that actually works over one that no longer functions but if they're both sealed they'd both receive the same grade and we wouldn't know. Thus, no confidence.). Heck some people have mentioned that vaccuum sealers and shrinkwrappers are readily available to consumers. What's to stop someone from taking a box for a valuable game and sticking a paperweight inside and sealing it? The grader can't open it because that'd be affecting the grade. It might not be the right game, if it's a game at all, or it could have no manuals, etc. Even in comics where sealed polybagged books happen often enough, no respected grader will grade it in the bag. Such books have to be removed because if the grader wants to maintain any sense of authority, they need to be able to examine the whole book.

As I said, I think there is a place for professional grading in many hobbies. As far as video game grading goes, these services fail on every level to provide a product/service that truly serves the needs and values of the video game collecting hobby.

Games were made for playing, not for profiting!

@Waninoko

Greatest game ever!

I can't imagine if the cartridge suddenly can't saving anymore by aging and still sealed inside the box with ridiculous price for sold.

I collect boxed Nintendo Consoles and Games but I do not seal them away never to be touched. My collection is meant to be played and enjoyed.

I still have a sealed copy of Silent Hill 3 for the PS2. Doesn't get more "mint" than that. (^_^ )/

ok, for the total 3 1/2 of us here on nl that actually have sealed games, i know for a fact none of us care anything about graded games.

@GammaPhonic this

Ok a few things.

For one, I think people are missing the point if they think collectors are investing for financial gain and have no interest in the game. Most collectors have the game already- they simply want a preserved copy to collect out of love FOR that game or the system it's on.

Secondly, grading is a judgement call. Sure, you can have standards like, "no more than 2 imperfections 0.01mm deep/protruded and .1mm diameter in a 50mm radius" and so on. But a lot of times it's grey area. How rounded a corner is on a micro level, perhaps slight line marks on plastic or how perfect the seal looks.

As long as the new grade was close (like 90 to 90+) I'd chalk that up to margin of error. I haven't watched the video cause I'm at work but ya. Now, if it's a jump from like 85 to 90+ then there may be cause for concern

And btw, it's not just retro games now. Collectors are getting new games graded too. I collect but not sealed. I only have the Fire Emblem games (7-14) as an extra sealed copy (and some spare collector editions like MH4U, Bravely Default/Second, Xenoblade X, Mario Maker, DKC Tropical Freeze (cause I love that game), etc. And I have the 2 GBA Fire Emblem games a 3rd time sealed and graded 90. Only 2 I ever got as graded.

I can understand grading stamps or coins or even cards, but games I have a bit more trouble with seeing as I like to play mine. My rarest game is Jack Bros. on Virtual Boy and I play it as much as my eyeballs can stand! Maybe someday when I am old or something and wanting to pass on my collection to my heirs... but not before then.

I can see why some people would be into this but I personally buy games so I can play them and enjoy them for what they are intended to be while still having the case sitting proudly on my shelf. Not bothered about keeping them in perfect condition myself, though I do take good care of mine.

There are certain patterns in factory sealed copies, based on their time period. For example, there are distinct types of pointed crinkles on the four corners of SNES era boxes, with a slightly different type of plastic than that used for N64 boxes, and much different from the lighter plastic used for disc boxes (such as PS1, PS2, and GCN). If these and other factors are known, then a determination can be made if it's really a factory sealed copy or not.

I don't think it makes sense to reseal used copies, because that does indeed command the question of whether it's truly a factory sealed new copy or not. It's better to grade used copies out of box. A little value may be added for a nice box (especially if it's 1st edition), manual, etc., but the game's condition itself should bear the primary rating for used copies. I guess people can have their games resealed if they want, but that should be graded as a used copy in that case, not a factory sealed new copy.

The condition of the cartridge circuit board, card, or disc should be the primary factors in grading used copies. (Unfortunately, unless you're a time traveler with a matter transponder, it's impossible to grade a factory sealed new copy on the inside). This would require some technical knowledge, along with the tools necessary to open, test, and rate their condition. Obviously, whether the game works or not should be tested in their respective systems, but there are other testing methods as well.

Sometimes, strange quirks can also alter their value. For example, my local second hand game shop sells a good copy of FF7 for about $60-80; but they wouldn't take my copy when I asked about selling mine, because the 1st disc has been irreparably altered, due to using the PS1 Gameshark. Certain codes on the original PS1/Gameshark (namely trying to alter code to have Sephiroth or even a Chocobo on your team... The chocobo one didn't work for me at all, though) could actually damage the code on the disc, making FMV's either lurch along sluggishly, or even not work at all during certain points, preventing one from finishing the game. (It was the solar system/crystal room observatory event in Red XIII's home for me.) This would happen whether the disc was played on a PS1 or PS2.

However, when I burned a copy of the 1st disc, then tried playing it on my modded PSP, this issue was completely absent. So apparently, the disc's code had not been overwritten, yet somehow the Gameshark codes affected how it's read specifically by the originally compatible hardware.

You're grading a box, not a game. A comic book is graded by ALL its contents, even though when it's done, all you see is the cover. If a comic book has an excellent condition cover but the pages are messed up, the score reflects this. Yes, certain high price games are simply passed around and not played (Family Track and Field, NES World Champ carts, etc) but a fair grade would indicate the quality of the exterior cart (may look amazing) and the interior (game is unplayable because parts break down).

Video game grading has a VERY long way to go before it's legit.

I see no point In buying extra copies of a game just do it can rot on a shelf in my room. I buy games to enjoy their content, not their boxart and plastic covering.

I sure wish I would have kept all of my Gameboy boxes, or at the very least, the instruction manuals. I don't like selling my games, but I like keeping stuff like that, because it is really cool to look at, years down the road.

From a collectors perspective i definitely get this.
Lets face it, pretty much anything old in finite quantity is bound to be a sought after collectors item sooner or later. So preserving some mind condition copies is actually a pretty good thing.

Also, flashcards are a thing. You are allowed to own rips of games you physically own. These cards allow you to play these games on real hardware, with their original limitations intact.

So there is always a way to get that "authentic experience" still.
For your run-of-the-mill collector, paying loads of money for something like that is overblown, but for "hardcore archivists" i can definitely see a use and a purpose.

@PlywoodStick I highly doubt the gameshark somehow affected your game disc as that would require actually altering the data on the disc, which couldn't have happened. The PSOne disc is not writable nor is the PSX cd-rom drive a cd writer.

The game shark would certainly affect the game code being read as that is its exact purpose, to alter code in the system's RAM to produce the desired effect. If you continued to see effects outside of the presence of the game shark itself then most likely what happened is the data that was saved to your memory card contained wonky data (like having Sephiroth in your party when the game wasn't programmed to have him available) which could affect play and performance afterward, that is why Game Sharks, Game Genies, and other such devices were always unlicensed because of the unforseeable effects they can have on gameplay.

Additionally, it could be scratches or imperfections on the disc itself causing the issues that your cd drive was able to compensate for the same way some scratched music cds can be ripped without the music skipping as it would when played in a cd player.

Either way, I can almost certainly assure you that your disc is unaffected.

This is common for collectibles like comic books. I've never seen anyone get flak for not reading their Amazing Fantasy Spider-Man #1. Why should video games be different? Who cares?

@Enigk That's my thought on why they value went up on the game in question from the article. Technically, a sealed game should be worth more, but an absolutely perfect (just opened, never played) CIB game is actually more impressive than a sealed copy. It takes the mystery out of the equation - everything is visible and in AAA mint condition.

@darklinkinfinite Well, it happens regardless of memory card used, regardless of which PS1 or PS2 system I put it in (I find PS2's sometimes that people throw out in my line of work), the disc is not significantly scratched, regardless of new game start over, and still happened the last time I tested it last year. It just started happening after normal use. This was after using the original Gameshark on the original PS1.

Maybe I'll try it again, though. It's mysterious, I haven't heard of this specific issue happening to others, just crashes. I'll even upload some pics later.

Whatever you think of grading games, share the video 😉

Price charts based on averages are being compromised from both ends. I've notice a lot of counterfeiters selling in every place possible, roughing up labels and cartridges . selling at low end of specrtum , yet still making a healthy profit impacting the average sale to lowering game values. Same goes for grading system taking a common good condition game (80 score graded ) multiplying its value by 10 times raising its value indirectly . This impacts the very common game with little to no value making a fzero worth 100$++ which would indirectly effect the price charting averages . Sure i have very good condition cib collection should i pay to have a rating on them to sell at 10x ro 20x the going rate. What happens when grading becomes common. The first 1000 to grade win the next 10,000 lose and collecting video games become for the rich , collector numbers drop off by huge % , games become worthless as baseball cards . Grading games may bring great profits at first but essentially will ruin what we all love . People stop collecting, and the Average wallet cannot afford to buy or collects games anymore. We need a price guide based off rarity , all educate ourselves in the mass counterfeiting going on , and not grade our games .

It's okay to grade it if you have an extra you can play. I have a mint condition nes toploader. Graded in 2002 with a perfect score and valued at $2550. I still use an old model one to play my games. Remember, a game is useless without the console and vise versa.

@Collinhall except that pokemon cards function lie exclusively in the art displayed on them. You can appreciate a Pokémon card in its entirety by looking at it, a game is different. Grading a game is done with the intent of keeping it sealed indefinitely. A game that is sealed cannot be appreciated to the full degree, it makes everything contained within the box/case entirely inaccessible. The manual will never be able to be appreciated, any other included papers will never be able to be appreciated, but perhaps most importantly, the game itself will never be played. Grading games is functionally identical to grading a sealed pack of Pokémon cards.