my opinion on the matter. I get the whole grading thing. the problem is that its SUCH a speculative pushed market right now its not worth getting into unless you got in as a test run for cheap. This type of investing has not been around long enough to prove worthy of paying SSOO FREAKING MUCH. We have seen this type of mentality crash and burn over and over. SURE could it make money. Maybe so.. Just seems silly at this stage in the game. At least buying graded. Now if someone really enjoys the minty sealed collecting model and wants to grade it for preservation and stuff like that I say more power to them.
New is new to me. Maybe the box has some wear on it, I expect it on something that's 20-30 years old. This whole search to own a pristine game sealed in a box just doesn't compute for me personally.
@@steviefreakinc I might be able to shed some light on my thought process. I have been collecting games for going on a decade. My collecting has always been primarily focused to N64 and Pokémon. I started with a complete N64 cartridge set, and then upgraded to a complete CIB set. I also started collecting sealed Pokémon games in like 2018. I had a kid and realized that I don’t need to own a bunch of CIB n64 games in mid condition. It was just taking up space, so I auctioned them all off to focus on quality games in good condition. When you start looking at what an average game costs, and what a mint game costs, the difference isn’t **that** big. And if there is any future upside, it’s usually that top 10% condition wise that will swing up huge. So my collector mind has now switched back to trying to full set collect a sealed N64 set, with a focus right now on picking up the key titles in good grade. Sure it’s a different mind set, but if you look how all other collectibles work after grading starts becoming established, it’s always the same result. The AAA items in mint condition are what end up being the grails, that are out of reach for everyone except the extremely wealthy.
@@steviefreakinc me either IM just saying there are definitely people that view video games merely as art and history like cards. I personally think its silly and it has been proven that a company was just trying to inflate the market . Not sure how accurate it is but from my understanding it was fabricated market from one company.. Not my thing either and I dont get it
It’s cool that you don’t want to collect sealed/graded games. And I agree that a lot of the games shown in the video, I wouldn’t want to collect or pay that much money for. But there is a certain charm to having a sealed, high grade pristine copy of a game that I played a lot and really enjoyed, and that I want to keep preserved in that condition. You don’t have to collect that way, but I can attest that it’s a very valid and enjoyable way to collect games.
I did not know that. However, I recall that the CGC is currently in a scandal because sellers on eBay are switching out the more expensive comic variants with the cheaper variants in their slabs and sending to CGC to reseal it. To simply put, there are different variants of older comics depending on whether they were bought from the newsstand or not. Newsstand comics are rarer. Even then, there are specific newsstand variants, which are even rarer. Someone recently sold a graded 9.8 Mark Jewelers Spider-Man comics. It was revealed that the grading for it should be lower and that the seller switched out the 9.8 standard newsstand variant with a lower graded Mark Jewelers variant, and had CGC to "regarded it, telling them that they made a mistake. A 9.8 standard Newstand variant which is significant cheaper than the Mark Jewlers variant.
Wow I was planning on buying some sealed games here and there as investments, potentially but it was more so the games I love as display pieces would be pretty cool on top of already having playable copies but now that you say that I think I will still to opened copies. It brings a good point up about eBay a lot of games on there could easily be resealed there is a massive market for that kind of scam I’ll be avoiding it.
I don't want to discourage you from buying sealed games for your personal collection. Even if you intend to sell later. But don't grade it lol @@Shawnvbrunt
@@Shawnvbrunt the problem is afa games or whatever is that they also take in consideration if the game actually works. As in you can have a game with a battery preserved in a slab plastic even though the battery can leak and destroy the PCB down the line.
Yup, just like grading comics. Comics have a story and are an art form. Only thing that makes somewhat since to grade is sports cards IMO. Only two sides of information. Plus video games are meant to be play just as much comics are meant to be read.
@@steviefreakincI got a few vga graded games cause I always wanted some but I eventually sold them cause they were my favorite ds games I did keep all my Pokémon games and boxes from when I was younger. How about those vhs tapes that are supposed to be worth 70,000
In my opinion , these resellers are just too lazy to go out and do a 9 to 5 job. I would rather spend money to help people that really need it than spend thousands of dollars on a s***Video game from 20 something years ago just to sit on a shelf. You have a very cute cat by the way Steve
Graded games is just so bs, especially when large profile sales make the news this unfortunately has a snowball effect where resellers start pricing the same game (but opened) much higher and people rushing to buy these thinking they're investors or something. It screws everything up. Also for the end part I think i prefer to have 70k in gold rather in a sealed game.
I look at it like this. What's really the point in grading something that anyone can obtain through emulation. There's a small group out here with too much money and nothing better to do than spend $70K on Castlevania on NES
I discovered your channel two or three weeks ago and binged all your videos. Your content is incredibly entertaining, and I eagerly await each new upload.
It's speculative, but with modern day emulation, why would you think this is some type of "scam?" These are art, and like all collectibles, the better the condition (grade), the rarer the copy is, and such scarcity adds to the game's *value.* Hence, why there is a premium price placed on graded games.
You make good points, for me personally I’d be satisfied with just owning a sealed game. I don’t need it to be encapsulated and judged to hold value for me. Graded games encourage the mindset of investing into collecting games when it should be more about the games and how they make you feel. I certainly can acknowledge that some collectors of graded games collect them for both reasons, but channels on RU-vid that are specific to graded games don’t seem to push that idea. It’s all about the money for them and I’d bet a lot of their viewers feel the same way.
@@steviefreakinc 100% agree that there are some corny RU-vidrs who hype up the hobby. However, virtually every type of art, entertainment media (VHS, CDs, cassette tapes, comic books, etc) and collectibles (dolls, action figures, etc) can be, are, and have been getting graded for decades, so video games would naturally be no exception. I think the key is to look at them as pieces of interactive physical art, which through modern means can easily be enjoyed *without the actual physical copy,* hence why real collectors and enthusiasts have continued to support the hobby/sub culture. As for the speculator hype beasts (ie. Greg) there will always be those types attached to any hobby. These people are mainly attracted to the dream of trying to make a quick buck from speculation.
@@Progressive.G I guess one thing we could say that differs between VHS tapes being graded and video games is that VHS tapes don't sell for 6 figures. lol
I don’t know I don’t got a problem, grading video games and selling them. I mean people wanna buy them that’s up to them. yeah, I just sell them now a days
There's a weird paradox where sometimes graded games are cheaper than plain sealed ones. I can't imagine there's many sealed collectors out there given how expensive it is but if you were in the market for a new game to keep new anyway and you can find something graded, it might be worth the cost of the case it's in. Those acrylic cases ain't cheap. That said, most of the time it's a colossal waste of money and almost never worth buying. The arguments against grading because they're video games meant to be played is completely brainless though. I'd guess more than half of the people with giant game collections don't play their games anyway. They're display pieces so them being entombed in plastic doesn't change much.
I guess it is brainless to use for argument sake, but from my perspective, I’m not trying to be a museum for gaming. I’m trying to play games as well as display them for my own personal benefit. I think the majority of people buying graded games aren’t solely interested in keeping them for display at least not forever. They’re thinking about turnaround profits long term like it’s a CD at a bank or something
@@steviefreakinc Don't get me wrong. I'm with you in the spirit of what you mean when you say that. I just think it's both the most common and worst argument against grading. I'm sure just being in the hobby you've seen how much of a premium sealed games tend to command. Even prior to grading it was a similar situation just to a lesser degree. Now imagine if you were in the market for a game. Would you ever pay 5x as much money as a CIB copy only to open it to play? Of course not. What gets graded is mostly sealed games anyway. Frankly I'm not sure if they even grade opened games unless they're special promotional items. So the point about playing them falls on it's face because basically nobody would ever buy a sealed retro game to open and play them anyway. It'd be a massive waste of money. So the shit people are wasting their money on to get sealed in plastic was never really something anyone with sense was going to 'play' anyway.
This is like people who buy action figures or statues and keep them in the box. It's like "ya know, you could've just printed out a picture and hung it on your wall if you were just gonna look at it."
That website you were looking at the prices are way over inflated. eBay or auction sites have more realistic prices. Some games do go for crazy money though. If it’s rare you gonna pay for it like anything else.
Someone who watches the channel told me about a RU-vidr who runs this site so I just went with that. But that's a good call on checking Ebay and stuff.
very good point u have. yes, its true. its hard , and sometimes impossible to sell some well known and unknown Wii games, ps2, ps3, ps4, gc etc games. ive a bunch of sealed ds games I can't even sell, or a xbox collection that I sell for 50 bucks. can't even sell it
Yeah he’s moaning about how he is struggling to complete the set. There are several games on there, some staple Nintendo ones such as animal crossing and Pokémon let’s go eevee, you can literally go to pretty much any store and buy. He’s really sucking the teet. I’ve real funny if him and Chase After the Right Bi@tch are out game hunting and they catch Emcemer ripping off an old lady. When all of a sudden, for no reason whatsoever, they start blowing each other. At the point of climax, Phoenix PeeSmell has a stroke and the other two rinse his body and end up stealing all his cash and a copy of Croc 2. “We can flip this for $50!” #150kappmynuts
He’s just moaning about the struggles he’s going through tryin to compete the set. You can literally pick up most of the games at a store… #$150kappmynutzz
I have a handful of sealed games for NES, SNES, and N64. The difference between me and investors is that I actually plan to open them at some point for a special ocassion. People need to distinguish between a sealed game collector and a graded game collector. They have totally different intentions.
why would you open s sealed NES game when you can have the same exact loose copy for a fraction? The comparison with the old wine is wrong. A bottle of old wine has a different taste. The sealed and loose NES game is the same game when you open it. Basically opening sealed NES games is like burning money and a very bad idea.
I have several unopened games, but I’ll never get them graded, because it’s a waste of money. I may get a box for them, but that’s it. I have sports cards that I’ve encased myself, simply for protection. The thing this ruins (grading) is getting a copy of something for a reasonable price, which sucks Number one reason: how do you play it?
That's because you see these games as yours and yours forever. You want to protect them for your own enjoyment. Grading a game is just a way of making something more valuable for the next guy to buy.
You remind me of my friend who made similar vids like this back in the day. Silent Rob is his name, spreading gaming truth is the game. Glad I can watch someone who has similar tastes. I'm waiting for your live stream vids now, haha. Cheers!
Great video, Steve! 100% agree, game grading, heck grading in general, is stupid. Would love to eventually see a video game collection video, your collection looks really cool.
Hypothetical question - you find a sealed copy of Mario for the Nintendo while game hunting for cheap - it is in mint condition, what do you do with it?
I hate grading games and I think it should be played then sitting in a piece of plastic. The prices r ridiculous for a game in a piece of plastic. I hate it
Graded games are the biggest disgrace to gaming. What makes it a 8.9 compared to an 8.8?!! Like wtf? Then sell it for like 500k...get out of here with that sh*t. It only raises the price of all retro games. Only the greedy collectors get anything out of this.
I've been watching Breaking Bad again recently and I'm not sure if you're familiar with the show but Jesse's character ends up going to a drug recovery group to secretly sell drugs to people there. And that's pretty much what these new people in the gaming hobby is.
Hey to be fair Steve, who wouldnt want to display a WATA 9.6 graded copy of COD4. You could tell everyone "Yep, paid 5 grand for that bad boy" and in 50-100 years it may be worth.....something?
steve always spittin facts. literally dumb these people grade the cellophane plastic wrap on a game also like you said you enjoy it not lock it away. at least cards make sense to grade since condition matters also they dont grade literal plastic
I mean if Hideo Kojima signed a copy of Metal Gear Solid, I would grade that but not a regular ass sealed game. It’s probably resealed anyways. I hear there’s a lot of manipulation with these gradings too
Trading cards i can understand. Games, and even in some cases vhs and laserdiscs I can't. It's utterly stupid. And yeah, I have to agree, it is one huge scam. But the sad thing is people are falling for it, just like the whole microtransaction thing, but that's for another discussion.
You grade depending on the condition, not because it's stupid it's opinion rather then fact the video title is clearly opinionated because what else would it be
Of course it is opinionated. That's what most RU-vid videos are. A video of an idea presented and discussed. Thanks for contributing to the discussion. :)
Totally agree dude, esp the grading of Xbox/PS games unless it happens to be super rare! I've only had one game graded as its very scare and already had a repro cart of the said game so it's not like I cant play it at all, it looks pretty good up on the shelf as a centre piece in its acrylic tomb!!
Not for me. I have 2 graded comics which are both from the 1940s, both of which Ive read before. Their covers are what really make them special anyways. Other than that, graded sports cards make the most sense. Graded games and WATA brought a lot of questionable people into game collecting but that happened with a lot of hobbies and interests in covid era. A lot of the very "valuable" games being bought and sold are games that were most likely mass produced by the millions, as well.
For $70,000 I'll just head to the Dodge dealership pick me up a new Cummins diesel 3500 and I should be good that person can have that silly game they'll be sitting at there house staring at shelve at a stupid game while I'm driving by honking my horn in my new $70,000 truck
I have one game graded when I was new to Whatnot that I thought they were starting all auctions at a $1 and they started at $399. I ended up keeping it since it was at least a Sonic the Hedgehog game. Then even titled there show all games starting at a $1.
Phoenix resell made a new video and ur in it, and he says ur right, I had to check if I was watching ur video 😂😂😂 but he said half right I was like oh that's hanks video 😂 not heckin Steve video 😂😂
Video games are experiencing what comics went through. There will be a market of sealed copies of games. There is an entire market of graded comic collecting. First appearances, key issue etc. NO READING them! same thing will happen with video games
The only graded stuff i’d buy is stuff like pokemon cards. Wata grades counterfeits as real and ripped up sealed as mint condition, wata sellers are out of their mind with the prices they ask.
Id rather have a bigass stack of games over just one worth $500 tbh. i have some games that go for few hundred and honestly i could care less ppl are dumb enough to pay these redonkulous prices. I still play the shit outa em cuz thats why i collect
Lol I don't think this website is indicative of a lot people that do grade a few games. There are normal collectors out here that do grade games. Its not either or. You can do both. It is stupid. Lol. It can also be fun as a different way to collect. And actually a great way to learn about different games and variations. In these types of videos, there is never anyone that 'It's not for me." It's either love it or hate it. Just kind of unfortunate really. We're all collectors, man! I have a big CIB collection that I play and a few games (and game soundtracks) graded. I enjoy both!
Video games are art In every aspect that art is defined by From the music In the soundtrack To the script written fit dialogue Sealed copies of retro are very limited and there are plenty of open playable copies available If someone wants the game in original unopened state in as good as condition as possible Most ETs were destroyed therefore one in 9.8A++ is extremely rare You’re looking at the whole thing from your perspective only and that’s fine but you’re missing the whole point They aren’t spending your money They are spending the money they earned Also leave getthegreggames alone He is definitely heavily into graded and even sponsored by auction houses However That dude is extremely educated And if you watch his content thoroughly he is completely unbiased He collects all aspects new used graded etc
I'm still confused about the how grading works. Are the games all double sealed? So factory sealed then sealed in the plastic case? Are there any not factory sealed? I'm just confused because I still don't understand how a $5 game gets inflated to $1000 dollars.
Grading something that is meant to be played never made sense. What's next boardgames? Cards I can kind of understand because you can still see all that the item has to offer.
I actually have some graded games. They sit in the draw and never see the light of day. It’s speculation, intrigued me. They’re very bulky. There is a cool side though where you’re bought back to a time when you saw them new in stores new. Grading helps keep them protected and gives insurance when you sell them on if you do.
You and every other Timmy is so hurt by the graded games market just cos you’re petty and jealous. Every single one of you could have been a millionaire right now, but you weren’t forward thinking and now you missed out. I pity you.
@@steviefreakinc Think about this: had you kept a single NES Zelda sealed at any point before 2019, you’re out $50-100 but up $750,000 today. You could have bought a house anywhere in the country, in cash. That’s a fact.
@@steviefreakinc Of course but why are you this upset at Phoenix Resale or whatever goofy personality is reselling Mario Kart for a 40% markup? My point is everyone hates on VGA or WATA like it’s a scam, and everybody who makes money as the enemy. Physical games are dying completely. This hobby is going away full-stop cos no young people care about physical objects. People are making money now because there won’t be any left in 20y. All the animosity is so boring cos it only tells me people wish they got in on that too, but didn’t. I’ve opened sealed games to play pre-2020. Never again. Money isn’t everything but what good is playing a mint game when a digital copy does the same thing and I can buy a car with the proceeds?
@@dont_get_jealous Brother, my game collection is at 11k right now, ain’t nobody jealous over here. Either enjoy the videos or don’t and move on to the next. Go about your business man
Such a stupid market who’s buying this crap even on price charting there is no sales data which leads me to believe almost no one is buying graded stuff.
Finally someone who speaks up on this subject. Thanks to all these price increases of graded and resellers, over here our pal versions of games are being sold at the us price and i hate it. I get with older games they run slower, so would that not be reason we would have it cheaper. Nope slap the ntsc price on it and leave it like that. So thanks penix resaleshit for that. Anyway you are so right dude
Just to let you know, graded games do not effect the prices of normal games as they're 2 different markets. If it was true then every game would be with 100s or 1000s due to graded ones being sold for 10s of 1000s or 100s of 1000s or even millions. The reason for prices going high is due to supply and demand. Not due to phoenix resale, especially in your case when you're in europe he has no affect on the market there lmao
@@vlonethuggin2384 oh they do. Example pokemon emerald for example goes for 200 cib, example. But graded one goes for much higher, so what do (re)sellers, ah yes increase the price cuz people want to get it now to grade it cuz it brings in more money. Thus we are gonna see (re)sellers putting up the price higher and thus increasing the market. Like i will continue with pokemon emerald. Ntsc one goes for around 450 CIB pricecharting, Pal one on pricecharting around 300 but our sellers over here take the ntsc ones, so we have an increase of 150 bucks and for what, so yeah i will blame phoenix resale for it and other resellers.
@@steviefreakinc it’s mostly all personal collection stuff. There are a couple of doubles I picked up as speculation that they will be worth more in a couple of years. I do think that certain games in high grade there will be a time when normal people can’t afford them (similar to comics).
@@rickd6476 Why would you invest in game grading speculation and not something like the stock market? Do you just have the money to spend and would rather have something you enjoy?
@@icxcarnie its just a ultra risky part of my total investments. It could go to zero, but could also 5X. Only time will tell. If it all goes to zero my life would be unchanged.
To me it doesnt make sense especially given the number of copies that were sold for most of these games.Grading ET when there were so many they had to dump them in a landfill by the truck load lol.
I’ve been collecting graded games for a decade. I can play every game I own a dozen other ways. I think you are just hating on people that have the means to collect these.
I expected a few people to disagree with my opinion on graded games but thanks for saying that. At the end of the day, people will enjoy grading games and emulating them or owning two copies. Me personally, I just hate the idea of grading a video game because I don't see it as the type of thing I would grade. Autographed copies of games like I said would be different because it's unique. But I don't think a sealed copy of Halo 2 should be $500 graded when you can buy a sealed non graded copy on Ebay right now for $134.95@@bossmaiden5979
Ive been saying grading games is dumb for long time. same as keeping sealed games id open them bitches and play em. Its like collecting not about the games no more its become what stuff can be worth. And i find that sad. I collect games to play i could care what they worth tbh but then again ppl are greedy af nowadays so 🤷🏻♂️
We think the same way when it comes to spending $500 on one game as compared to buying a whole bunch of games that u can enjoy i apply the sane logic with clothes why pay $200 forva pair of jeans when i can get 10 pairs of jeans for the same price also i don't know who's dumber the people who support dkscam , the people who support this grading games bs , or fans of phoenix resale
