AFA to start grading Videogames?!

[Virtualogik]

Straight from their January newsletter:
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January News

The following are some of the new services and guarantees which will go into effect beginning February 1, 2008


* Launch of our new VGA (Video Game Authority) Division to grade sealed video games!
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Isn't this kind of pointless? Grading SEALED video games?? Yeah how about a Playstation 2 Rez graded... What can happen to these games if they're sealed?? I could kind of see a graded loose cart/disc (condition of the sticker/disc, plastic case, working/non-working, inserts, booklets...).. but sealed games? wow...

What do you think?

I think there's no market there... except maybe for some NES cardboard based box games...

[xfrumx]

This is crap. It will drive prices down for sealed unless its graded. Just like baseball cards a real nice graded card can get much more than a better condition ungraded one. CRAP!

[jferio]

This is crap. It will drive prices down for sealed unless its graded. Just like baseball cards a real nice graded card can get much more than a better condition ungraded one. CRAP!

Well, that's only because you have a known quantity doing the rating, taking away the subjective 'guess', especially in an auction where you don't get to examine the piece in question.

Tat said, it is kinda crap, but that's what happens when you get a seller saying it's one grade, and it turns out that it was another, even if it wasn't an intentional lie.

[FantasiaWHT]

Oh man, I wonder where that one guy went who was all gonzo about grading games.

[DigitalSpace]

Meh.

Grading food is where it's at.

[TonyTheTiger]

I don't really like the idea for one reason. The only result will be a sharp increase in price gouging on Ebay. It's bad enough you have every other video game auction with the word "RARE!" posted everywhere. All this will do is drive people to put "GRADE A!" everywhere too.

Let's face it. Most people are smart enough to tell if a game is beaten up or in good enough condition and will negotiate based on that if they really care. A formal grading system will, like baseball cards, cause the value of ungraded games (regardless of quality) to drop.

[Virtualogik]

This is crap. It will drive prices down for sealed unless its graded. Just like baseball cards a real nice graded card can get much more than a better condition ungraded one. CRAP!

Yes but I can understand "professional" 3rd party grading on fragile collectibles with cardboard (like cards, or MOC action figures)... but on sealed videogames? What's the point? Like I said, except for the few oddball NES/SNES games which came in a cardboard box, what's there to grade to begin with? A plastic DVD case? A Sega shockbox (hell, did they even sold those sealed to begin with?)?

They would get way more business just by selling nice plexy case to put in our collectible piece... case which can be opened... the whole "grading/sealed" part of their business is pointless in this hobby, or will cater to such a few people in this already quite niche market...

I actually liked AFA when they were doing MOC grading... when they came up with their AFA loose grading I thought they were heading down the drain... and now this...

The company totally lost my respect now... I don't even see a MOC AFA graded figure as something seriously graded anymore because of all this...

[TheDomesticInstitution]

That mad genius Neogamer has to be behind this. Anyone know how I can get ahold of him- so that I can swear him my soul and bask in his almighty glow? "Soul" and "glow" kinda rhyme. Bitchin'.

[DreamTR]

This was a long time coming, people have been talking about this for years.

[suckerpunch5]

simple solution. no one use it, and don't pay more to people who do.

[Dangerboy]

As a person who proved the "seal" on a game no matter how well it looks doesn't mean squat, it'll fail quite miserably. Even a decently scratched box (like a PSX longbox) will look fine underneath the shrink.

Bad, bad idea.

[udisi]

I think sealed game grading is pretty useless, but if this is in anyway successful, I can see them starting to grade completes/cart only's etc, and that may actually catch on.

[kataboom]

i dont think its that bad of an idea. some collectors are pretty serious & would take it pretty far by having a 3rd party grading service grade their stuff. not for me though.

[backguard]

Yes but I can understand "professional" 3rd party grading on fragile collectibles with cardboard (like cards, or MOC action figures)... but on sealed videogames? What's the point? Like I said, except for the few oddball NES/SNES games which came in a cardboard box, what's there to grade to begin with? A plastic DVD case? A Sega shockbox (hell, did they even sold those sealed to begin with?)?

yeah - basically all they are grading is some plastic wrap. lame.

[GrandAmChandler]

Won't acknowledge it or grade any of my collection.

Stupid.

[cyberfluxor]

We've seen these things before including an insane member last year. More than likely this will not be accepted by the classic and retro collectors on sites such as this one but for those that just use auction websites to find their games, they *might* demand this to ensure they're buying a quality product. However, due to the gaming community being primarily composed of gamers a sealed grading organization will fail or be accepted by few.

*might* is very loose because it's highly questionable. Comics and Video Games do fall into similar crouds but are on different spectrums of entertainment mediums. How many Comic Stops are opening?

[Vectorman0]

I don't see how this is going to work with the inherent difficulty that often arises when determining the legitimacy of the sealed game. They would need to hire some extremely well versed experts from a place like here, and even then, there are times when little is known about how a certain item was sealed, or may just be hard to tell. Maybe they will deny items that are too hard to tell, but what is the point of sending it in if you only have a certain chance of it actually being graded. And what about games that never came with anything sealing the box/case closed?


The time will come when a reseal will be approved, and all respect for and trust in the graders will be lost.