Don't you hate the Mysterious piece of scotch tape?

[MegaDrive20XX]

You ever buy something online, from a flea market, or some friend gives you a system or a cartridge....and there's a mysterious piece of scotch tape wrapped around it....and you're afraid to open it?

Yeah, like that Power Supply you wouldn't dare open or touch...yet it looks jerry-rigged by SCOTCH brand tape...or Duct Tape...

If it's on a cartridge of a game you've been looking for, then the scenario gets a little more unpleasent for you.

Like today, I found a copy of Virtua Fighter 32X. I peeled off the tape (curiousity did kill the cat)....and it's the plastic that broke off. (The screws are in place, but the entire back of the cartridge has been removed by force or abuse it looks like.

Yet I wish people wouldn't try to HIDE the problem by using a piece of tape...

Kind of reminds me when I used to work at GameCrazy and GameStop. You always have that one customer who wants to trade in a NES, SNES, Genesis system....and some of the controllers and power supplies have tape all over them. Like it was part of a 1st graders arts and craft show..

[Kitsune Sniper]

I almost bought a Spiritual Warfare cart last wednesday, but I noticed the thing had tape... and the screws were rusted. X_x

I almost thought of asking if it was broken but I decided to leave it there instead. :P

[c0ldb33r]

Uggh, the tape. It sucks.

Even if it's not physically holding something together, sometimes you'll find it on a cartridge, and at least part of it is on the label. You try to pull it off very slowly and carefully, trying not to rip the label. If you're lucky all you do is strip the colour off the label. If you're not, sure enough, the label rips. All you can do is leave it there, taunting you :(

Virtua Fighter 32X is fantastic. By far my favourite game on the 32X. Much better than the saturn version. The characters in the 32X version had a lot less polygons, so they looked like 2 fighting skyscrapers. But the Saturn version was so glitchy it looked like your TV had epilepsy, and they both played about the same. I'd take blocky over glitchy anyday.

[MegaDrive20XX]

Well sadly, I wish I could play some VF 32X. Except....why was there tape on there to begin with? because the PCB chip itself is CRACKED IN HALF.... :(

[DKTheArcadeRat]

My experience with tape has never been bad, I bought a CIB copy of Mortal Kombat 2 for Genesis in a store and it had tape on the box. Eventually I got curious and peeled it off, nothing wrong with it, just some crazy people with tape LOL .

[ryborg]

Tape is always the worst at the thrift stores/flea market, where some people don't understand the value of what they're selling. I found a stack of rare Avalon Hill '70s wargames at a Salvies about a year ago, and they were taped up so much (every square inch of the boxtop was taped down), it destroyed the box. Thankfully, it's not much of a problem with video games....most of the time.
________
JUSTIN BIEBER (http://justinbieberfan.info/)

[InsaneDavid]

That's nothing, I picked up a Genesis 1, SCD 1, and 32X all complete at the flea market once. It was in this beat up rubbermaid bin with a $5 sticker on it. I asked the price anyway, $5, and kept looking it over. The seller than told me she'd take $3 so I bought it (I was going to at $5 anyway).

Well the Genesis 1 was duct taped to the SCD1. There were handwritten labels stuck all over everything - "CD games here, cartridges here, plug for TV, etc." Thankfully it all came off fine. LOL

[Rockman Neo]

Long ago, when I was a total idiot, I bought "Earthbound" for the SNES for about $30.00. It was covered in duct tape. I decided to try and take it off, and the whole cartridge fell apart.

Thankfully, I found another copy and bought it for half of that. LOL

[Fuyukaze]

After having delt with so many second hand games, the biggest things I have issues with is Sharpie and please rewind stickers.

The first is annoying because it's obvious someone owned the game and at one time or another considered it of some value, but the problem is this. How would anyone know who the game originaly belonged to if the only name put on it was the first? If they were trying to write on it to recover it from pawn shops should it ever be stolen, how would the pawn shop know your the "Brad" who wrote his name on it from any other person with the same name?

The rewind stickers is actualy very funny because it shows just how little brains rental chains will allow their emploies to have when working. My god, it's a game cart, not a VHS tape or Beta tape. Still, every so often I find a few with it and they always use those nifty little silver stickers that when peeled back reveal the words void. Even with heavy cleaning it leaves a nasty film that's very sticky.

Tape on systems often is used to hide aspects of the game or part they'd rather you not know about. As such, I avoid that stuff. If there's something they dont want me to know about the item, chances are it's not good anymore.

[ryborg]

There were handwritten labels stuck all over everything - "CD games here, cartridges here, plug for TV, etc."

Haha...classic. One of my roommates did that a few years ago to my N64 and SNES systems (all MY STUFF too!). Apparently the concept of an N64 and a SNES going together to the same tv at the same time baffled him.



The rewind stickers is actualy very funny because it shows just how little brains rental chains will allow their emploies to have when working.

Also classic. I don't know if it was a nationwide thing, but the Blockbuster right by my house growing up put the Please Rewind stickers on all the video games to mark it as their copy. Not sure how much that accomplished, but I knew the manager there and he said that was their intention.
________
Classic Or Digital Volcano Vaporizer (http://vaporizerinfo.com/)

[DigitalSpace]

Ah yes, those "void" rental stickers. Quite a pain in the ass to remove. On another note though, it's interesting to read the address on the sticker to see where the cart's been. I remember seeing some Madden cart with a rental sticker from a place in Colorado, and so far, that's the most interesting one I've seen due to the distance.

[snes_collector]

I bought some games at Moovies(now Movie Gallery) with black tape across it, it that what you're talking about.

Here's a funny story. Last fall a was at a GameStop that is like 2 hours away and I only get go a few times a year. They had a stack of SNES games in a bin, a dozen or so, and they had a copy of Hurricanes. I about crapped myself because a R7 was laying in a pile of R1 & R2s. It had a bunch of stickers on it, and I got some of them off with my hands without damaging the card or leaving residue. But one sticker I couldn't take off, not because I couldn't, because I didn't(and still don't want to) because it says this:

IF FOUND
PLEASE RETURN TO:
Kroger #905
8150 Rockville Rd.
Indianapolis IN 46214
(317) 273- 134 and another nuber that got ripped off.

Kinda funny, I mean why put if found? Since they put the sticker on it, it can't be lost. And another thing, how did a game from IN make it to Northern NC where I bought it?

[DigitalSpace]

And another thing, how did a game from IN make it to Northern NC where I bought it?

Funny sticker. My guess is that when Kroger decided to stop renting SNES games, they sold it, and somewhere along the way it found its way to NC, probably when someone from Indiana moved there, or maybe someone from NC was visiting the area and did some game hunting.

[zektor]

Ahh..how many times I purchased a game system in which its power supply was wrapped up in electrical tape. Needless to say I tossed these power supplies....I just don't trust that!

[whoisKeel]

Well the Genesis 1 was duct taped to the SCD1. There were handwritten labels stuck all over everything - "CD games here, cartridges here, plug for TV, etc." Thankfully it all came off fine. LOL

Heh, that's how my switchboxes are labled. If switchboxes ever become collectables, I'll be the laughing stock of the community.



The rewind stickers is actualy very funny because it shows just how little brains rental chains will allow their emploies to have when working. My god, it's a game cart, not a VHS tape or Beta tape. Still, every so often I find a few with it and they always use those nifty little silver stickers that when peeled back reveal the words void. Even with heavy cleaning it leaves a nasty film that's very sticky.


Use those vinyl white artist erasers that some (including myself) use to clean contacts. Takes that void right off (and other stickies) with some mild scrubbing. The stickies collect in the eraser dust. And no chemicals obviously.

The only tape I really ever find is random pieces of scotch tape on the plastic cart, or sometimes on jewel cases. Just a little piece tho, with no reason as to its origin.

[mezrabad]

I put random amounts of tape on everything I own because it helps breakdown the sunlight and the items don't age as quickly and it keeps out the voices that tell me to do things but I never listen never ever well maybe once when they told me to put tape on everything but never since then.

[evil_genius]

i have this completely mint copy of ocarina of time except for someone tried taping it closed. well i pulled it off and ruined a completely mint ciopy. i was pissed the rest of the day. so yeah, i hate that mystery tape.

[drwily008]

When I used to manage an EB Gameworld in Cuyahoga Falls, OH, this little kid came in and asked if we took trades on "old stuff". Back then EB didn't and I would ask customers to bring them in and I would buy them if I wanted them (even though it was agaist stupid company policy).

The kid came in later that day wil a back pack CRAMMED with SNES games...sweet. I opened up the bag with he and his mother just smiling away facinated that they were going to buy a new Gamecube or GBA game.

TAPE!

He had taped the games together in groups of 5 so it would be easier for me to sort them.

BIG F'IN PACKING TAPE!

Lo and behold what is among the first stack I pulled out....Castlevania X and Kirby 3.

I just kind of nervously asked "WHY, did you do this?"

He replied with a cute little kid remark like "Pretty cool huh, I figured you would like that. I really tried to keep them organized for you!" HOW NICE

Anyways he only taped the sides but the two games on the end would fall victim to the "tape peel RIP".

Some of the victims:

Castlevania X
Kirby 3
MegaMan 7
Ghouls N' Ghosts
Super Adventure Island II

...among others I have laid to rest. :(

Oh well ;)

[c0ldb33r]

Anyways he only taped the sides but the two games on the end would fall victim to the "tape peel RIP".


Couldn't you have repaired them (http://www.digitpress.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=47389)?

I know it wouldn't have been the same as if they weren't taped, but it's better than nothing :)

[drwily008]

Anyways he only taped the sides but the two games on the end would fall victim to the "tape peel RIP".


Couldn't you have repaired them (http://www.digitpress.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=47389)?

I know it wouldn't have been the same as if they weren't taped, but it's better than nothing :)

No, it ripped off the labels. I REALLY tried hard to keep the labels intact but they all ripped pretty badly. I kept the games for a while, but I eventually sold them.

[Jorpho]

You can actually rip the aluminum data layer right off some CDs if you attempt to remove scotch tape applied to the label side.

Be warned. X_x

[cyberfluxor]

Can't say there's been too many issues with tape covering problems with a game in some way, but I have been pretty pissed when I try to remove the tape that it ends up it's been on there so long or the adhesive was so strong it tears covers and all. God I hate that SOOO freaking much and I know everyone else in the world does. So, I usually end up saying screw it and keep the game and if I find a better one later down the road then it'll get replaced and sell the messed up one. I find myself "upgrading" games often.

[Nesmaster]

Yes, at a goodwill, They had a complete and great shape Race America for NES. A big old piece of packing tape covered the box vertically to keep the box taped shut. I was very pissed but got it anyways, and managed to get all the tape off without damaging the box at all, except for the bottom of the box where I managed only a needle head sized tear. :bad-words:

[Slate]

Tape.. x_x

Goodwill Employees.

Intellivision system with boxed games, what do they do, they taped the boxed games to the system! (Wouldn't it be easier to put them in a box? :hmm: )

That is the worst case i have come across. i have come across some other situations, but none other as bad as that, so far.

[qbertandernie]

hows a game from indiana end up in NC?

ever think of ebay?