WATA Pop Reports are HERE

[RH | 4,908]

Wata’s grading scale is nonsense.  They are way too inconsistent (and yes, I completely understand that even the most thoroughly outlined process is going to have a degree of relativism with each grading) but it’s been well documented that the grades vs. condition of the games are all over the place.

I don’t know if that mega SM64 for that 9.8 A++ was worth that score or not, but I would be almost willing to bet is that the grading standards are probably much more stringent when that game was sold.  We all l ow there was strong evidence of collusion between Heritage and the founders of Wata so I am assuming that was owned by one of them and they had it graded higher than it likely deserved.

But my point is this.  I bet if you took that SM64 and uncased it, as well as all of the other top-shelf SM64 games that have been graded by Wata, I bet you’d be hard pressed to find the $150,000 one.  In fact, I’d also almost be willing to bet that if you took the top 10 highest graded VGA SM64s and added them to that pile, you’d probably choose a VGA SM64 as one that was the best in the lot, and that’s strictly because they seem to have stricter rules and have been grading much longer.

I just don’t trust Wata.  They had too much shadiness with their establishment and my personal experience was horrible. There scores are meaningless to me at this point.

[Gulag Joe | 582]

You can say the same thing about PSA and a gem mint 10 Mickey Mantle. Still doesn’t change the fact that there’s only 3 and it’s been permanently enshrined into pop culture. The 9.8 A++ SM64 is forever a symbol of ultimate prestige.

[GPX | 1,370]

6 minutes ago, Gulag Joe said:

You can say the same thing about PSA and a gem mint 10 Mickey Mantle. Still doesn’t change the fact that there’s only 3 and it’s been permanently enshrined into pop culture. The 9.8 A++ SM64 is forever a symbol of ultimate prestige.

I think your unwavering support of WATA and the Mario64 9.8A++ is commendable. Although I think you’re being heavily WATA-biased or perhaps in denial.

As a sealed/graded collector, I can tell you from first-hand that what you see in the pop reports doesn’t correlate with how many that’s out there. I’m tempted to make a thread to talk about this further. One day soon perhaps.

Anyway, you’re still missing the point. A lot of the collectors in general aren’t really saying a Mario64 9.8A++ is damn common. What we’re saying is that the Mario 64 isn’t rare enough to warrant a million plus dollars! Which has proven to be prophetic since you now see the market readjusting itself this year. If none of us here are being honest with our comments, then people throwing their life savings on a Mario 9.8A++ might make a big loss. Which would kinda suck.

[final fight cd | 186]

55 minutes ago, GPX said:

I think your unwavering support of WATA and the Mario64 9.8A++ is commendable. Although I think you’re being heavily WATA-biased or perhaps in denial.

As a sealed/graded collector, I can tell you from first-hand that what you see in the pop reports doesn’t correlate with how many that’s out there. I’m tempted to make a thread to talk about this further. One day soon perhaps.

Anyway, you’re still missing the point. A lot of the collectors in general aren’t really saying a Mario64 9.8A++ is damn common. What we’re saying is that the Mario 64 isn’t rare enough to warrant a million plus dollars! Which has proven to be prophetic since you now see the market readjusting itself this year. If none of us here are being honest with our comments, then people throwing their life savings on a Mario 9.8A++ might make a big loss. Which would kinda suck.

Are you saying there are non millionaires who just sat on their mint m64s without trying to capitalize during the hype?  Or am I missing your point completely?

[inasuma | 1,203]

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Edited July 30, 2023 by inasuma

[inasuma | 1,203]

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Edited July 29, 2023 by inasuma

[inasuma | 1,203]

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[inasuma | 1,203]

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Edited July 30, 2023 by inasuma

[MrWunderful | 2,927]

A 3 month old necro bump over a strawman argument is a bold move. 
 

Worst.Shill.ever.

[Gulag Joe | 582]

“Wata is corrupt and everybody knows it that’s why there’s still only 3 SM64 9.8 A++.”

[a3quit4s | 4,102]

WATA corruption is so five minutes ago. We need a new conspiracy theory. Gulag Joe is actually Deniz!

[CIB_Wholesale | 418]

1 hour ago, a3quit4s said:

WATA corruption is so five minutes ago. We need a new conspiracy theory. Gulag Joe is actually Deniz!

 

hopefully gloves makes the transaction feedback icons bigger

 

0 transaction feedback and yet so many words

[inasuma | 1,203]

im just gonna post the new data in a separate thread. lol

[MrWunderful | 2,927]

2 hours ago, a3quit4s said:

WATA corruption is so five minutes ago. We need a new conspiracy theory. Gulag Joe is actually Deniz!

I mean, he is the one that bumped the thread 3 months later. This could the most exciting thing in an otherwise mundane life, so lets let him have it!

[a3quit4s | 4,102]

31 minutes ago, inasuma said:

im just gonna post the new data in a separate thread. lol

I’d create a blog to actually have useful information. Threads are always going to devolve to dumpster  

[Gulag Joe | 582]

Every 3-4 months there will be a new comment from Mr. Wata reminding everyone that there is only 3 SM64 9.8 A++. The reminders will stop whenever your moms pull out all those lost pallets and submit them for grading and make that total go up. It won’t though. And it’s hilarious.

[Gulag Joe | 582]

Anyway, the most interesting thing I found in the new updated pop reports is NBA Jam for snes. I’ve never seen a copy that has Barkley as a playable character.

[GPX | 1,370]

On 7/30/2023 at 5:31 AM, final fight cd said:

Are you saying there are non millionaires who just sat on their mint m64s without trying to capitalize during the hype?  Or am I missing your point completely?

Firstly the relative rarity isn’t just based on the 9.8A++, but the total population that has been graded. From last check, there was over 150 Mario 64 that was sent for WATA grading. This isn’t a small number if we’re talking about genuine rarity. Bear in mind there’s also a stack of Mario 64 already graded by VGA, which is a different set of population report from VGA. There are more nuances but I don’t want to write an essay just yet on this topic. Just trying to help you get the gist.

[fcgamer | 4,727]

17 hours ago, Gulag Joe said:

Every 3-4 months there will be a new comment from Mr. Wata reminding everyone that there is only 3 SM64 9.8 A++. The reminders will stop whenever your moms pull out all those lost pallets and submit them for grading and make that total go up. It won’t though. And it’s hilarious.

Nobody cares though! Literally nobody, aside from you and a couple investors with deep pockets.

Find somebody who has this on their bucket list, sealed, in that condition. Likely the vast majority of Mario 64s produced and then sold weren't even in that condition from shipping carton to display shelf...so is there some sort of nostalgic appeal here that wouldn't be satisfied with a B+ or A- rating sealed? 

The only folks who care about this are part of that incestuous club of WATA sealed worshippers. Nobody else cares, TBH I'd much rather own that golf peripheral than this, any day of the week, and I reckon the vast majority here would agree with me.

Yeah sealed Mario 64s in high grades make me go from hard to soft, almost make me wonder if I should be taking viagra. I prefer actual grails rather than investor-fueled ones.

[Andy_Bogomil | 815]

18 hours ago, Gulag Joe said:

Every 3-4 months there will be a new comment from Mr. Wata reminding everyone that there is only 3 SM64 9.8 A++. The reminders will stop whenever your moms pull out all those lost pallets and submit them for grading and make that total go up. It won’t though. And it’s hilarious.

What do you think a SM64 9.8 A++ would go for today?

[a3quit4s | 4,102]

8 minutes ago, Andy_Bogomil said:

What do you think a SM64 9.8 A++ would go for today?

Maybe 30-40% of last sold value, next time it sells will be worse. Doesn’t matter though, whoever pumped up the market by buying it has already quietly sold off all their other graded games at super inflated prices due to the sale of that. They have earned back the $1 mill investment and then some and are watching the market crash. Seems odd that the bidding got up to that $1 mill mark though huh. Good round number to market around. The lateness in delivery of pop reports is also awesome. Good thing whoever runs Heritage wasn’t already fined for manipulating coin prices 

The whole thing is asinine. 

[Gulag Joe | 582]

2 hours ago, fcgamer said:

Nobody cares though! Literally nobody, aside from you and a couple investors with deep pockets.

Find somebody who has this on their bucket list, sealed, in that condition. Likely the vast majority of Mario 64s produced and then sold weren't even in that condition from shipping carton to display shelf...so is there some sort of nostalgic appeal here that wouldn't be satisfied with a B+ or A- rating sealed? 

The only folks who care about this are part of that incestuous club of WATA sealed worshippers. Nobody else cares, TBH I'd much rather own that golf peripheral than this, any day of the week, and I reckon the vast majority here would agree with me.

Yeah sealed Mario 64s in high grades make me go from hard to soft, almost make me wonder if I should be taking viagra. I prefer actual grails rather than investor-fueled ones.

The point of this exercise isn’t for people who care about SM64 in 9.8 A++ condition. The point is that people in this chain, and others, made wild claims of pallets of perfect condition copies of this game existing and it just isn’t the case.

[Gulag Joe | 582]

9 hours ago, GPX said:

Firstly the relative rarity isn’t just based on the 9.8A++, but the total population that has been graded. From last check, there was over 150 Mario 64 that was sent for WATA grading. This isn’t a small number if we’re talking about genuine rarity. Bear in mind there’s also a stack of Mario 64 already graded by VGA, which is a different set of population report from VGA. There are more nuances but I don’t want to write an essay just yet on this topic. Just trying to help you get the gist.

What are you talking about? The exact game being discussed is the red label release. There have been less than 100 graded by Wata to date. Three 9.8’s and five 9.6 and the rest are blah. Most of those known to be graded by VGA have been crossed over prior to or after the million dollar sale.

[Gulag Joe | 582]

1 hour ago, Andy_Bogomil said:

What do you think a SM64 9.8 A++ would go for today?

More than the last one. Prob 2 mil.

[MrWunderful | 2,927]

5 hours ago, Andy_Bogomil said:

What do you think a SM64 9.8 A++ would go for today?

Is someone involved with any of the pandemic graded game shadiness selling it? Maybe 10 mil. Or 100 milion. A billion? 

Edited July 31, 2023 by MrWunderful