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Thread: Why unopened?

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    Cherry (Level 1) Ludwig's Avatar
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    Default Why unopened?

    I think collecting is a great hobby, but something puzzles me: Why do some people only want their games in the original wrapper and spend so much money on it? You never know what you get. For all you know it could be defective, and you never know if it's really new, or if it's actually genuine. Shrink wrapping is not that much of an issue. I know, there is a certain value in this, which also puzzles me, but to be honest if you are in it for that you maybe should have tried vintage wines. But honestly: Why?
    Last edited by Ludwig; 09-10-2011 at 12:48 AM.

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    I read a post or quote somewhere in the bowels of the internet from someone explaining why they went after sealed in box games. Their answer went something along the lines of how they loved the smell of a freshly opened NES game and the scent of that really brought them back to their childhood. I thought that trying to capture that bit of the past again made a lot of sense although I doubt that's why most go after pristine examples of past games.

    I guess that many people view it like gold and if they hold onto it for "just long enough" then they will make bank in the future and then there are those who really want a closed box copy to put on a shelf for collecting's sake. Personally I have never been a fan of that "keep it nice by not playing with it" idea. It always reminded me of an old man who saved his money all his life to buy an original Shelby Cobra or something..only to wipe it down with a diaper every day and let the internals rot from disuse.

    Nothing is really permanent and that's just the nature of existence so open your damn games and play with your hotwheels.

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    Insert Coin (Level 0) NBaco's Avatar
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    I can't speak for anyone but myself here, but I personally only buy a wrapped NES or SNES game if the price is reasonable and isn't something off the wall like 200$. I like the idea of getting a game no one else has touched. The problem is that most sites I've seen that offer a game still in the factory seal try to overprice it. I dunno about you guys, but I'm not too keen on paying 500$ for an unopened copy of Mario 3.

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    If one must buy sealed games, they should at minimum use proper box protectors. Handling steadily reduces their condition. A personal collection treated properly is epic.

    Insisting on buying costly sealed games to open and play, I think of those people with the same lack of respect they're treating the games. That forever reduces the supply of sealed copies with often little to no gameplay benefit.
    Lum fan.

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    Cherry (Level 1) Ludwig's Avatar
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    Hmn, if there is still money in it or not really is a thing of luck in my opinion, but i doubt that there is going to be much development in it. NES stuff can go for a couple thousands. Storytime: I play guitar and we had a huge rise in prices for vintage guitars in recent years. I talked to people and one thing got quite clear: People that blow up to a quarter of a million on a early gibson les paul for example are usually not famous, but people that are around 40-50 now, that used to see people like jimmy page play those, but couldn't afford a guitar when they where little, and now want that piece of childhood they never been able to have but always craved, and maybe they even ask themselves "what if i would have got it?" that's the type. This is a lot bigger than games though, i started playing with 13 and was put of by a teacher, and had to start again with 22, and yes it's one of those things that will torture you all your life, "could i have been a rockstar?" sound stupid but isn't. I had therapy sessions about that.

    I think part of that can be translated to games, but i doubt anyone would ever put down quarter of a million for a cartridge, and even at the current prices opening one is a huge deal. Judging by the date, this is a similar crowd, people that been little back then are in their mid 30's now. I actually know the smell thing very well, but i feel this can be experienced with many different product, and i don't think that this is all that's to it. Opening a package is meaningless, many do it every day, even though it's roughly the same experience, it's the playing part that made getting a new game special, and i get a better experience just from playing it than opening it. If it's the unpacking part then you can get almost untouched ones with everything in the package but without wrapping for as little as 50Eur. Maybe this is just madness?! Things are only worth as much as we think they are. (Making a cent for example usually costs more than it's face value, but it's value to us is still 1cent.)
    Last edited by Ludwig; 09-10-2011 at 02:19 AM.

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    I agree about the euphoric feeling you get when you open a sealed game. But again, it's a short-lived high. Personally, I'm pretty good with owning used games as long as they aren't visibly stained or have ripped inserts or manuals.
    Currently catching up on PSN, WiiWare, Wii U E-Shop and Xbox Live Arcade exclusives I missed.

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    Can a mod please lock this? It has been done to death and there are tons of threads which can be easily located with a search.

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    There was a member here, and I haven't seen him post in a long while, that bought sealed copies of games to actually play. He wanted to be the only one the games came in contact with.

    I do believe he would, in some cases, spend quite a bit of money on older sealed games only to pop the shrink wrap off to play. I think he also sold off his "used" duplicates as well.

    A tad on the OCD side if you ask me, but to each his own.

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    I've read responses to this question where people say they like the way the light reflecting off the cellophane looks when the games are sitting on a shelf.

    I'd bet that a reasonable chunk of people who collect only sealed games with no intention of opening or playing them have Aspergers syndrome, and it's merely a manifestation of that.

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    Quote Originally Posted by theclaw View Post
    If one must buy sealed games, they should at minimum use proper box protectors. Handling steadily reduces their condition. A personal collection treated properly is epic.

    Insisting on buying costly sealed games to open and play, I think of those people with the same lack of respect they're treating the games. That forever reduces the supply of sealed copies with often little to no gameplay benefit.
    Anyone who spends the time and money tracking down sealed games usually has no intention of ever selling them anyway. Opening them does nothing to the "supply".

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    Most of the people who buy sealed games to begin with don't open them in the first place. They're just collectors who want their stuff to be minty for the afterlife I suppose.

    Blame NintendoAge.

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    People buy sealed games because they want to know it's an unspoiled beauty... they don't want sloppy seconds from a game that's been passed around like the village whore.

    Remember, as soon as you put that game in your system, it's just gotten dirt from every other system that cart has been in!

    --Zero

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    I have a couple of sealed atari 2600 and 7800 games but they're common and I really don't care if they're opened or sealed since I have loose copies anyway. I think it would be nice to have sealed games of my absolute favorite games but even then its not a big deal or something I'd go out of my way to own, certainly not for the prices some of these command.

    I find it interesting some of the comments about wanting to be the only one to touch a game or to play it because, back in the old days, video gaming was SUPPOSED to be a much more social activity. We looked forward to getting together with friends and playing games, trading and swapping, lending and borrowing. No one cared how much it was handled or played with or how many systems it had been in.

    My fondest memories of video gaming don't necessarily come from the game itself, but from the shared experience with family and friends. You don't get that from a sealed game on the shelf, you get it from opening it, having some friends over, and playing it together.

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    Except in the case of a really rare game, most games go down in value over time. A collector that buys used games has a collection value closer to what they spent than a person that buys over-priced sealed or new games.
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    Quote Originally Posted by soloman View Post
    Anyone who spends the time and money tracking down sealed games usually has no intention of ever selling them anyway. Opening them does nothing to the "supply".
    I meant once opened or damaged, that's one less copy available for collectors serious about buying good condition games they plan to keep that way. You're right it really isn't an issue on common titles. More the rarer ones few known sealed copies remain.
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    Quote Originally Posted by theclaw View Post
    Insisting on buying costly sealed games to open and play, I think of those people with the same lack of respect they're treating the games. That forever reduces the supply of sealed copies with often little to no gameplay benefit.
    It's disrespectful to the games to open them as they were intended? What about showing respect to the developers? Or does some plastic and cardboard deserve more respect than people that spent months making a game?

    Not that I think it's a smart practice. While I can relate more to the concept of enjoying the experience of opening up a game and then playing it rather than keeping a sealed game on my shelf until the day I die, it's more logical to just keep an old game sealed unless its value is comparable to an opened copy. It's just bonkers to open valuable sealed games. The amount of money that's flushed down the toilet (the amount you're making the game depreciate, that is) is just sickening to me. I couldn't do it. I would just sell the sealed game and use some of the money to buy a mint used copy.

    For people that really want to recapture that childhood experience of opening something that is now long gone from store shelves, just buy a $30 box of old Marvel cards or something. You can open dozens of packs for a small amount of cash. Surely there must be SOMETHING from each person's childhood that they can buy new for not much money these days, rather than spending $500 on some sealed game that will be worth $20 when you take off the plastic.

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    Not per se. You pretty much explained where I was coming from in greater detail. Both of our posts reach the same conclusion: Buying sealed retro games without care for their condition is wasteful. If you're going to play the game anyway and deteriorate it unavoidably, it's better to get one opened.
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    I like all my games to be virgins.
    <Sothy> its the internet <Sothy> who cares

    Quote Originally Posted by Daltone View Post
    This is a classic gaming site and the most active thread is a load of people wanking off to my little pony.

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    I somebody dropped a factory sealed copy of my favorite game in my lap, I would put it in one of those plastic cases and then make it the centerpiece of my gaming shrine. Other than that, no interest.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Graham Mitchell View Post
    I'd bet that a reasonable chunk of people who collect only sealed games with no intention of opening or playing them have Aspergers syndrome, and it's merely a manifestation of that.
    I have Aspergers and I don't understand the sealed games thing either. What's the point of buying a game if you're not going to play it? It's the same with people who pay to have their comics sealed in plastic. If you can't read it, why bother?

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