Hole punched bar codes...still considered complete?

[taisansoldier]

Hey guys. As some of you may know, if game company employees get free games, they're sealed just like regular games except many times the bar code is hole punched. Do you guys consider the game any "less complete" due to the hole punced bar codes?

[Ed Oscuro]

This came up recently!

http://www.digitpress.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=41630

Now, nobody bought the game at that price (it's been relisted), but it's pretty much just as complete. The hole can be a sign that it was gotten in a special manner...but I'ds say it might be considered to detract from the value of a game slightly, depending on the game.

[Cmosfm]

This is usually just a matter of personal opinion. Usually just matters to the person collecting.

Personally, I don't care, doesn't really bother me. Now, if it was a rare game or something, yeah, it would. And it would also kill potential value of it too. But as for a copy of Crash Bandicoot for PSone, no big deal.

[Oobgarm]

Completeness? I'd wager that it's complete still if it's only a small drill hole. Now if the barcode was totally cut out or something, then I'd say no. I had a Hot Shots Golf Fore! that was like that.

As it was iterated in the other thread: Small holes note that the item was not paid for by regular means; usually a promo, gift, or giveaway of some sort.

I agree with Ed and Cmos on the value thing, if it's really tough to get, it would diminish the value a bit more than if it were more common.

Eye of the Beholder, I suppose.

[Ed Oscuro]

Behind door #1, we have a game...with a hole drilled in it!
Behind door #2 lies...the same game without a hole drilled in it!
Door #3 holds the firey pit of death!

Which will you choose, Contestant?

Hate to say it, but this is really a common sense issue =P

[taisansoldier]

Sorry I didn't notice the previous topic. (Search shall be my friend)

My personal opiniion...a hole punched in the barcode would be better than a hole drilled into the case, no? To me, barcode with a hole, but factory sealed, would be complete as it was unopened, regardless of means of obtaining the game. Drilling a hole into a sealed case? To me, that's more like vandalism. But then again I'm biased...just got a load of free games from work

[Ed Oscuro]

Well, I just posted that previous topic. It wouldn't really answer your question - it was more of a "how can a game get a hole in it?" example.

[tholly]

its "complete", but not mint......its like having a game with a bent manual or a manual missing a page or something


def. not worth the same as a "normal" copy...


in my eyes, i would get rid of it and get a better copy if i had the chance, but that is because i am a perfectionist

[The Insomniac]

Well in the music industry, if a CD case has a hole punch or a cut, that almost always means that it is an advance copy. Maybe they do the same with games?

[max 330 mega]

i can say, that a little hole in the barcode doesnt mean shit to me, if it were in the cover cutting out someones face or part of the art, yes, but a barcode? who cares!

[josekortez]

Hell yes they're complete. People who don't get free games shouldn't make the rest of us try to feel bad.

[taisansoldier]

I don't think it's as bad as a bent or creased manual. It's just a hole punched in the back insert on the barcode. Not an actual hole through the entire case.

My understanding is, the publishers punch the holes on the back insert's barcode, then seal them like normal games. These punched copies are given to companies to give to empolyees as freebies. The hole through the barcode is just so that we can't go to stores and try to scam them by returning them, claiming we lost our receipts.

[PhoeniX]

What about other markings that suggest employee purchase, I have several games that were purchased at the Xbox launch from the Microsoft employee store, these games have big stickers on them that can be removed. Are these "marked" games less collectable?

If protos and reviewer copy games are now sought after by collectors, why aren't these?

[Ed Oscuro]

Hell yes they're complete. People who don't get free games shouldn't make the rest of us try to feel bad.

They're damaged...if you've got proof you got said copy for doing something special (i.e. you've got a shirt that says "I won grand balloon boffin man prize @ Gameztop! or a stamped flyer, say...a picture would do it, too) you might get money for it. Otherwise, it's just a tradein...whee.

What about other markings that suggest employee purchase, I have several games that were purchased at the Xbox launch from the Microsoft employee store, these games have big stickers on them that can be removed. Are these "marked" games less collectable?

It'll take a while for the market in now-current gen protos/betas/cool stuff to get under way. If I had any sense I'd be putting more money into it, but I don't buy as an investment...plus you'll probably have to hold onto those for a few years (at least) for them to be considered an investment.

[nesmaster102]

i have seen it on a sega cd i think at a fleamarket and they sold it for the same as the unholed copy plus i want that ff7