Wata graded ROM hacks

[Code Monkey | 2,005]

23 minutes ago, CodysGameRoom said:

Why do you staunchly defend them even after they screwed you personally but fucking up your Zelda game? I don't understand it. 

It's because I'm an objective person. I'm not defending Wata as a company for all that they do, I'm simply defending a situation that's being misunderstood. Wata does some strange things and made a major mistake with my game but I don't think they did anything wrong in this specific circumstance being discussed in this thread. Therefore they deserve to be defended for this specific instance.

My other, separate, unrelated incident is different.

[MrWunderful | 2,926]

We need to separate grading from authentication.
 

You can assign a number based on condition to anything, period. It doesn't matter if its real, fake , counterfeit, pirate, bootleg, whatever. 
 

 

[B.A. | 1,139]

13 minutes ago, MrWunderful said:

We need to separate grading from authentication.
 

You can assign a number based on condition to anything, period. It doesn't matter if its real, fake , counterfeit, pirate, bootleg, whatever. 
 

 

That's right, it says right on there that it's a bootleg. They are telling you how pretty the plastic wrap around the bootleg is. Why that is valuable to anyone is beyond me, but to each their own and all.

[Gulag Joe | 582]

PSA doesn’t grade reprints of cards. I think wata should move away from grading rom hacks and other reproduction games, it muddies the waters of authentication vs just grading something.

[CT | 90]

34 minutes ago, Gulag Joe said:

PSA doesn’t grade reprints of cards. I think wata should move away from grading rom hacks and other reproduction games, it muddies the waters of authentication vs just grading something.

I agree. Also, it lends itself to deceptive Ebay listings. I do not see the word 'Repro' or 'Rom Hack' anywhere in the text (or title) of the Ebay listing for this game. And it uses the phrase "This is a high quality way to own this version of Pokemon Crystal."  The listing does say to make sure to look at the photos, but we know what they are trying to do here.

Very deceptive.

Edited November 2, 2022 by CT

[Nintendopower4ever | 88]

I thought it was interesting when they graded a SNES Super Mario All-Stars + Mario World as a CIB with the original cart and manual mixed with a reproduction box because the game was only ever a system pack-in? lol

[Link | 2,707]

2 minutes ago, Nintendopower4ever said:

I thought it was interesting when they graded a SNES Super Mario All-Stars + Mario World as a CIB with the original cart and manual mixed with a reproduction box because the game was only ever a system pack-in? lol

It's authentic! They were hired to grade the condition and that is what they did. Nothing wrong with that!

[Nintendopower4ever | 88]

30 minutes ago, Link said:

It's authentic! They were hired to grade the condition and that is what they did. Nothing wrong with that!

What made me laugh is they give a pretty high percentage of the overall grade to the box (40% maybe?) with CIBs and the cart and manual were shitty (6/6.5 ish), but the repro box score brought the overall total grade up to like a 7.5 or 8 with a 9+ on the box lol

[MrWunderful | 2,926]

10 minutes ago, Nintendopower4ever said:

What made me laugh is they give a pretty high percentage of the overall grade to the box (40% maybe?) with CIBs and the cart and manual were shitty (6/6.5 ish), but the repro box score brought the overall total grade up to like a 7.5 or 8 with a 9+ on the box lol

Just out of curiosity, did they call out the box as reproduction?

[Nintendopower4ever | 88]

7 minutes ago, MrWunderful said:

Just out of curiosity, did they call out the box as reproduction?

Yeah it was on the label. It was one of those comic speculator guys, (redhoodcomics I think it was) that burned out fast and faded away back to the shadows. They wanted like $7-800 and then pulled the ebay listing after they probably got tons of hate about it lol

[MrWunderful | 2,926]

2 hours ago, Nintendopower4ever said:

Yeah it was on the label. It was one of those comic speculator guys, (redhoodcomics I think it was) that burned out fast and faded away back to the shadows. They wanted like $7-800 and then pulled the ebay listing after they probably got tons of hate about it lol

So then it was described properly? 

[final fight cd | 184]

4 hours ago, Nintendopower4ever said:

I thought it was interesting when they graded a SNES Super Mario All-Stars + Mario World as a CIB with the original cart and manual mixed with a reproduction box because the game was only ever a system pack-in? lol

that is crazy! whether they mark the case as reproduction or not, that is just nuts.  they will literally grade anything.  i would love to see a graded wata game graded.  or even better, a wata graded VGA graded game.  it makes me wonder their true motives.  is it to serve the gaming community or is it strictly to make money? it sounds like all they care about is making money.  and with their gold rollies they all wear, it def shows that's what they are doing. 

Edited November 3, 2022 by final fight cd

[B.A. | 1,139]

15 minutes ago, final fight cd said:

that is crazy! whether they mark the case as reproduction or not, that is just nuts.  they will literally grade anything.  i would love to see a graded wata game graded.  or even better, a wata graded VGA graded game.  it makes me wonder their true motives.  is it to serve the gaming community or is it strictly to make money? it sounds like all they care about is making money.  and with their gold rollies they all wear, it def shows that's what they are doing. 

Right from the start their website said front and center "We Grade Anything!"  so long as it fit into one of their premade cases of course.  

[CodysGameRoom | 2,008]

[MrWunderful | 2,926]

2 hours ago, final fight cd said:

that is crazy! whether they mark the case as reproduction or not, that is just nuts.  they will literally grade anything.  i would love to see a graded wata game graded.  or even better, a wata graded VGA graded game.  it makes me wonder their true motives.  is it to serve the gaming community or is it strictly to make money? it sounds like all they care about is making money.  and with their gold rollies they all wear, it def shows that's what they are doing. 

Have you ever heard of marketing? The idea that they were somehow about the community was pure marketing. Their goal is to get every last piece of crap into a case that they can-but in my opinion there is nothing wrong with that as long as they are not misrepresenting the authenticity of items.

 

Don’t get me wrong, grading a reproduction bootleg and then trying to get $1000 extra for it on the secondary market is a fucking stupid huge waste of money but who cares?  Like @B.A.said, they said they will grade anything. 
 

Their entire business plan is based on inflating the value of sealed games, so they can charge you more based on “prospective value”.  As long as the sweaty investor Bros keep funneling them games, it will continue.

[a3quit4s | 4,086]

3 hours ago, B.A. said:

Right from the start their website said front and center "We Grade Anything!"  so long as it fit into one of their premade cases of course.  

Grading Deez Nuts!!!

I’ll show myself back out

[fcgamer | 4,717]

Oh Deniz, I saw his whole act for what it was years ago.

[CT | 90]

3 hours ago, fcgamer said:

Oh Deniz, I saw his whole act for what it was years ago.

If they remove the human element from grading, it might be interesting.  It is way too arbitrary right now. I guarantee if you give a game to 3 of their 'expert graders,' you would get 3 different grades. I have an old 'PSA 10 gem mint' baseball card that is clearly not centered.  Until there is full transparency, Wata isn't grading the game, it's just some random person with hopefully 'some' training. I would be really curious of the process for the games getting the top grades, does anyone at the top sign off on the item that gets a 9.8 A++?

Edited November 4, 2022 by CT

[Nintendopower4ever | 88]

2 hours ago, MrWunderful said:

 

I like Deniz and Kenneth and I don't mind grading and authenticating collectibles in general. I don't really care what they grade but keep it consistent. It's like when they first started and were grading reseals as NS. It all just confuses the noobs lol
 

[RH | 4,882]

Believe me, I have no love for Wata. At all.

But I agree with @Code Monkey. I think this is a case where Wata grades what’s sent in and they remain agnostic about the contents, it legitimacy as being official and what not.  I’m fine with this because where do you draw the line.

In my opinion, grading something like this allows for the additional grading of homebrews and such.  Unless you’re 100% against grading, I doubt any of us disagree with homebrew grading.  By allowing for homebrews, ROM hacks and repros, they are putting the onus on potential buyers to verify that they are getting what they want.

I agree this was a dumb move on the person who submitted it and it’s obvious these are ugly fakes.  Still, if you want to get into high-dollar collecting, you need to learn to verify what you are getting whether it’s encased in acrylic or not.

[ThePhleo | 2,184]

Funny enough, I made a joke DIY grading system using a subtractive scale from 1.000 to 0.000. Basically, everything starts as 1.000 and you deduct a standard amount of points per damage.

A box for example might have 25 points that need to be inspected.

1. Do you have the box?
2. Does the box have any missing sides?
3. Does the box hold its contents on all opening ends?
4. Does the box show signs of color fading?
5. Does the box have any rips or tears?
6. Does the box show signs of opening wear?
7. Does the box show signs of edge wear?
8. Does the box show signs of corner wear?
9. Does the box have corner dings?
10. Does the box have any missing ink?
11. Does the box have flaking or peeling paper layers?
12. Does the box have any signs of warping or waving?
13. Does the box have any signs of bubbling or pitting?
14. Does the box have any signs of crushing or creasing?
15. Does the box have any large punctures (over 1mm)?
16. Does the box have any small punctures (1mm or under)?
17. Does the box have any heavy scratches or deep scars?
18. Does the box have any light scratches or scuffing?
19. Does the box have any mold stains? (living or dead)
20. Does the box have any odor?
21. Does the box have any sticker or labels?
22. Does the box have any staining?
23. Does the box have any writing?
24. Does the box have any touchups?
25. Does the box have any residue from glue or other adhesive?

Each one of those will have their own grading scale, and then points will be deducted in different amounts from each side.

For example, here's "Color Fading"

Does the box show any signs of color fade?
	None	Negligible	Minor	Moderate	Severe	Extreme
Front	±0	-0.050	-0.125	-0.250	-0.375	-0.500
Back	±0	-0.045	-0.113	-0.225	-0.338	-0.450
Left	±0	-0.038	-0.094	-0.188	-0.281	-0.375
Right	±0	-0.038	-0.094	-0.188	-0.281	-0.375
Top	±0	-0.033	-0.083	-0.167	-0.250	-0.334
Bottom	±0	-0.025	-0.063	-0.125	-0.188	-0.250

I made this as an attempt to create a DIY grading system for myself.

Also, it’s possible to go BELOW zero, so there are some default inhibitors built into the system.

For example:

• score can’t go under 0.100 if you have all six sides of the box.
• score can’t go under 0.200 if it can hold its contents

Edited November 4, 2022 by ThePhleo

[OptOut | 8,871]

My grading scheme is a lot simpler, we grade here on a one-point scale:

1. Does it play?

Yup = Dank.

Nah = Garby.

We're seeing some truly amazing grades coming in, Dank levels are rising exponentially! 

[Sumez | 2,927]

Please stop sending money to this bogus company

If you want your game kept in good condition, buy box protectors. If you want to know what condition it's in, look at it.

[Tyree_Cooper | 738]

Hell yeah I've been saying this for way too long. Let more people start to realise how useless their service is. They are only useful to themselves, driving prices of games up.

[ThePhleo | 2,184]

6 hours ago, OptOut said:

My grading scheme is a lot simpler, we grade here on a one-point scale:

1. Does it play?

Yup = Dank.

Nah = Garby.

We're seeing some truly amazing grades coming in, Dank levels are rising exponentially! 

P..lay? What a foreign concept.