The Blue Elephant Brigade

[Exzavier]

They 'grade' video games just like baseball cards. IMO, graded baseball cards ruined collecting for everyone especially kids and teens. In order to get any value at all for a baseball card now a days it must be graded. The grading costs around $10-20. They rate the card 0 - 10 (Mint) and therefore cards graded 7 are worth much less than one graded 10 Mint. Kids and teens cannot afford to get their baseball cards graded. Now the same thing is happening for classic video games AND PEOPLE ARE FALLING FOR IT!

Has anyone here had their games graded?

Honestly, who is falling for this? Just check ebay. All these are SOLD auctions.
ICE CLIMBER NES VIDEO GAME VGA 85 (Nintendo, 1985) - $6000
ICE CLIMBER NES VIDEO GAME VGA 85 (Nintendo, 1985) - $2200
The Legend of Zelda Nintendo Brand NEW VGA GOLD Q85+ NES Sealed - $1000
WTF on this on. This is worth $1-3.
Tomb Raider BLACK LABEL VGA 85+ NM+ New Sealed Playstation 1 PSX Lara Croft GOLD - $999
Super Mario Bros. VGA 80+ Nintendo NES - $3000
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game Nintendo NES Sealed VGA 85 - $900
Pokemon Yellow VGA 95 and Super Mario Advance 3 95+ - $1400

I can understand a Sealed NES game being worth more but $800???
Super Mario Bros 2 VGA 85 NES Sealed - $800
Super Mario Bros 3 NES Nintendo Sealed VGA 85+ - $760

I would really like to hear everyone's opinion on this. -Thanks

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"Fuckin' Amesome" --- Joe Flacco
"I love watching special effects on my iPad." ---Howard Stern

[CrushFearSynth]

As with any collection market, value comes from the rarity of the item. Some of those games went out of production soon after they were marketed, so they are going to have more value. And it is the collectors that determine the value based on what they are willing to pay for it. I don't think any of those games are worth one dollar of my money, but they are to some folks. Same goes with baseball cards.
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"The cheese stands alone." - Madhatte

[Immyls]

It all falls into the whole scarcity market. If your ideals with regard to copyright are sufficiently grey, and you want the data and not the physical object, then all of those are available for free. On the other hand, if you want to brag to your friends that you are in actual physical possession of a mint in the box Legend of Zelda, I pity you. Err, I mean, it would be more valuable... Either way, as in all collectors markets, price is driven by perceived rarity, and amount of bragging rights you get for possession of the object. And, as with all such markets, the people who were into it before it became a money making opportunity are angry that someone would dare to cash in on their hobby, without the genuine feeling that they bring to the table, but with more cash. So I say, personally, screw that. I am way more interested in the data (in this case the ability to play the game) then the object, which is just a slowly decaying lump of long chain polycarbons with a small amount of silicon and metallic doping. Go download the game, and let someone else be all pissy about it.
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A west bean pays the fish a soup.

[CrushFearSynth]

If someone wants to pay that kind of money for something, it's their business. Chances are I already own the original, and I definitely have the rom.
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"The cheese stands alone." - Madhatte