When is it worth getting a game graded?

[YOURTURN | 1,256]

Anywho... I want to repeat the fact that I will not be grading games anytime soon. And will specifically detail every reason why I had them graded when I do.

So instead I want to show some of that gaming love to @OptOut by quoting the #1 thing I think he will agree with:

“That guy selling the DuckTales prototype is smoking crack!” –DuckTales producer Darlene Lacey’s reaction to seeing a VGA prototype cartridge being auctioned for $5,000 (or best offer)

[Tyree_Cooper | 745]

Even he knows the seal should have had a tearstrip. Literally all they had to do was google the name of the game + sealed and they would have seen a legit sealed copy. So instead of stopping there and returning the game, they removed the seal (= the most obvious proof of it being a repro), and graded it. lol.

But yeah who am I to tell them they suck? I'm not a professional video game authenticator with a diploma from a US university.

Everybody makes mistakes, sure.

Your entire argument omits the fact that it is a Japanese release.

Oh yeah wait, let me get my US copy of Dracula X for the PC Engine. But the PAL is cooler.

Your entire argument omits the fact that graded Japanese ports are not that common.

Eh? My entire argument omits the fact that I like fried tofu.

Your argument dismisses the fact there is no "definitive database" for all authenticators to use.
Your entire argument omits the fact that not many are true experts on Japanese ports.

it's their effin problem. Not sure about what you grade? Stop and return the game. Honesty, you know?

Just me alone, the shitty guy who's not a professional video game grader with a badge on my expensive hawaii shirt, know of at least 3  guys with a legit sealed copy of this game. This is one of the 10 most famous PCE games ever, and one of the top 2 CD-based Castlevania games that everybody and their dog know about. It has only become hard to find sealed in recent years, due to it being Castlevania, and due to -guess what- the grading craze. So it's too bad these graders know nothing about one of the most recognisable PCE game ever released. Next time don't grade it if you're sure

You are not a professional authenticator and have no idea how hard the job really is.

Pretty easy if they get rid of repro evidence and grade the game as legit CIB. my niece can do that.

You have not worked for any of the grading companies you claim to be an "expert" on.

Yeah. When did I say I was an expert on grading companies again?

Your entire argument deflects the responsibilities of the submitter.

Because that is not what I'm talking about.

And you constantly mention the same product, but also failed to notice that it is CIB (i.e. NOT sealed).

The fact they got rid of the seal and CIB'ed is one more layer of fail on the whole story. They failed on every angle on this story. And asking the customer to return the game is the cherry on the top.

[Tyree_Cooper | 745]

don't get me wrong, i agree with the guy in the 2 videos, i agree the seller is an a*hole, i think we agree on pretty much everything. you're just defending wata because it was a mistake on their part. they've made mistakes over and over again and i think the collecting scene would be MUCH better off without wata and any other gradind companies. this is the only thing we seem to disagree on peace and love

[YOURTURN | 1,256]

1 minute ago, Tyree_Cooper said:

you're just defending wata because it was a mistake on their part.

Where's your proof, Mr. Troll Slip-Up? Oh wait, there is none.

All I did was REPEATEDLY state that once the submitter receives their graded item, they are primarily responsible for the product. Meaning that lack of willingness to correct any mistakes is not the grading company's fault. Versus the validity of your distrust only being valid if the grading company refuses to fix that mistake.

That is not defending, but rather one of many reasons why I would contact a grading company before I do business with them. As well as the number of reasons why I am also saying that grading companies like CGA have done worse. Despite them fixing their mistakes when it came to the Toy Toni scenario.

LINK: http://www.nintendoplayer.com/feature/vga/

The above report literally says VGA has done some shady shit in the past. So bad that Wata could have given this copy of Excitebike Chlamydia and people would still say, "Well at least they did not authenticate prototypes under false pretenses." As opposed why there was an ungraded copy of Excitebike at a Wata-HA orgy.

So back to me... I don't have a delicate ego system, thus I don't care about rare games like most do. And I don't use any that I may get as an excuse to say anything that is an abuse to my own intellect. I only collect games that I have concluded to be an overall interest to me. Thus the only reason why I would get them graded.

And Wata? They are an 80 mile drive from where I live. Versus CGC, which resides in Florida. So seeing that it is more cost effective to try them out once the new cases debut, how is me trying them out a "defense" against your nonsense? Is that your ego so delicate that me willing to use them automatically means I am defending them? Nope.

Realistically, I can go on. But in a case like this, you need to grow up and move on. Because all I care about, where Wata is concerned, is the idea that they will not do the same half-assed job VGA did with my only submission to them.

[Tyree_Cooper | 745]

Just one more photo in their album of screw-ups, if they ever needed more.

No, I don't have a delicate ego, and I'm grown enough to avoid grading as a whole. And there's nothing I need to "move on" from. Just commenting stuff on a forum.

Have a wonderful day and see you around

[YOURTURN | 1,256]

31 minutes ago, Tyree_Cooper said:

No, I don't have a delicate ego, and I'm grown enough to avoid grading as a whole. And there's nothing I need to "move on" from. Just commenting stuff on a forum.

Ummm... Nice Freudian slip. Because I never said you were one of those people. 

Then again, if you want to compare literal fuck ups... I am nearing "Year 7" of not being able to see a Doctor. All because my budget is limited to SSI, and Human Resources has put me in an infinite loop ever since I found out a glitch in their system has made them not acknowledge my legal name.

But I guess the fact Wata did another screw up is far worse than what I am going through. Just because you just want to say what you want to say, etc. 

Edited January 11, 2023 by FenrirZero

[YOURTURN | 1,256]

Seeing that my lack of sleep means that I am done with yet another self-entitled derailment... I will just cap off my time here by saying that I have a 2-tier system that helps me in topics like this one:

1. If I can create a short, or long, term business out of grading games. Short-term means that the work needed is a way to transition to a wider, more long-term business model. So if I have the money, an idea what will sell, and which business model that'll sustain me... It is worth getting graded.
2. If I have a game series, or franchise, that I am 100% sure will be with me for years... I'll have what I can get graded, with the rest being graded once they have been obtained. (With my current focus being the Final Fantasy franchise on PS5, with PS4 being rare cases. I am also looking at other SE titles to fill in the wait time.)

That is pretty much it. That derailment is not new to me, as I had to deal with another who chose to vilify graded Star Wars figure collectors. While acting like their opinion matters more than the topic being just like this one.

Thus why I need to talk to "sane" people who can be neutral to grading companies. 

Oh... And I am hoping that my PS5 "early purchase" sticker variant of Crisis Core Reunion looks good in the new Wata cases. I think the silver sticker and their matte grey will compliment each other. 

[Hammerfestus | 3,823]

6 hours ago, FenrirZero said:

I found out a glitch in their system has made them not acknowledge my legal name.

 

[YOURTURN | 1,256]

6 hours ago, Hammerfestus said:

Sadly, you have mistaken me for the guy who sold all of those overpriced Wata games on HA. 

EDIT: But seriously, @Hammerfestus... I hope that you, @kiljo, @Murray, @JamesRobot, and @OptOut do not seriously think my ongoing scenario is a joke. I will not say what lead to the name change, but will say that even unintentionally taking my suffering lightly is not cool.

Edited January 12, 2023 by FenrirZero
I still like you guys, but what I am going through is anything but fun.

[Hammerfestus | 3,823]

4 hours ago, FenrirZero said:

Sadly, you have mistaken me for the guy who sold all of those overpriced Wata games on HA. 

EDIT: But seriously, @Hammerfestus... I hope that you, @kiljo, @Murray, @JamesRobot, and @OptOut do not seriously think my ongoing scenario is a joke. I will not say what lead to the name change, but will say that even unintentionally taking my suffering lightly is not cool.

My bad.  I was just playing around.

[OptOut | 8,881]

11 minutes ago, Hammerfestus said:

My bad.  I was just playing around.

Playing with fire there bud. You mess with @FenrirZero you mess with ME! 

[Hammerfestus | 3,823]

1 hour ago, OptOut said:

Playing with fire there bud. You mess with @FenrirZero you mess with ME! 

[YOURTURN | 1,256]

1 hour ago, Hammerfestus said:

My bad.  I was just playing around.

Thanks for understanding. The name change scenario is tied to why I am not living in Osaka. And the hole "glitch" situation currently has me want a stage magician to pull out a sealed copy of Hudson Hawk out of my ass, pay Wata to grade it, and use whatever profits I get from the HA auction. 

But in all fairness those waits were a good enough excuse to see if you guys are still sane, and still not as broke as I am.

1 hour ago, OptOut said:

Playing with fire there bud. You mess with @FenrirZero you mess with ME! 

Thanks dood.  If anything happens I'll let you be Wang Chi to my Jack Burton. 

[GPX | 1,369]

1 hour ago, FenrirZero said:

Thanks for understanding. The name change scenario is tied to why I am not living in Osaka. And the hole "glitch" situation currently has me want a stage magician to pull out a sealed copy of Hudson Hawk out of my ass, pay Wata to grade it, and use whatever profits I get from the HA auction. 

But in all fairness those waits were a good enough excuse to see if you guys are still sane, and still not as broke as I am.

Thanks dood.  If anything happens I'll let you be Wang Chi to my Jack Burton. 

Sometimes you and the opposing argument can be both right. Just something to think about so hopefully you can chill a bit more. Also, don’t take this forum too seriously, and you’ll be ok.

[YOURTURN | 1,256]

22 hours ago, GPX said:

Sometimes you and the opposing argument can be both right. Just something to think about so hopefully you can chill a bit more. Also, don’t take this forum too seriously, and you’ll be ok.

That is just it. When it comes to actual arguments I always try to find something worth agreeing over. Heck, as obnoxious as anti-grading people can be here, they are not as bad as those elsewhere. All I do to tolerate is Google "AFA graded game collectors" and see what others have parroted elsewhere. 

The part where Wata made a mistake when they should have spotted those differences was problematic. But they were not the only grading company to do it, which is why I also agreed with your request that Wata not be discredited for that lone mistake. Atop of the fact that all submitters should be held responsible both before they submit it and after they get it. With that reason being that those who do not research this either treat it as an NFT or a Devil's contract. Which is why I spent a lot of time trying to make heads and tails on the legal stuff, who did shadier stuff, and why they should realize that being an authenticator is not as easy as it sounds.

Then again... I want to point out that the issues tied to my name change is not an argument. Nor something I can take lightly. All I can say is that I'd rather be an auctioneer at Heritage Auction that be in this predicament. 

[T-Pac | 7,513]

On 1/13/2023 at 12:03 AM, FenrirZero said:

Then again... I want to point out that the issues tied to my name change is not an argument. Nor something I can take lightly. All I can say is that I'd rather be an auctioneer at Heritage Auction that be in this predicament. 

A friend of mine who is very similar to you unofficially changed his name a year ago to "start fresh" and help separate himself from some severe trauma in his past.

It seemed to help his state of mind a lot, and I hope the same happens for you, dude.

-CasualCart

[inasuma | 1,203]

On 1/11/2023 at 1:15 AM, Tyree_Cooper said:

Eh? My entire argument omits the fact that I like fried tofu.

wow, what's next, you gonna leave out that video games are for NERDS?

[inasuma | 1,203]

I suppose I should add my $0.02 because this is an internet forum after all.

Regarding the Rondo of Blood, I think it's a combination of very silly mistakes and circumstances.

Wata should have known it was a repro. They removed the seal, so they knew they were dealing with PCEWorks at that point, and should have at least investigated who they are (clearly nothing to do with Konami, but I digress). That was blunder #1. They also waited way too long to address this, which is blunder #2. Better late than never, I suppose.

The Submitter / seller Is a known bad actor in the community, and even if they were expecting "reproduction" to be plastered all over the label, would have likely listed it for a silly price anyway (apparently they originally listed it for $7k about two years ago).

At the end of the day, Wata screwed up, and they've admitted such in their own statement. I don't think any company is remotely capable of being perfect, but at the very least, with an official authentication department now, they'd definitely catch this kind of thing today. Despite an unfortunate mistake, I'm also happy they're focusing solely on licensed games now. A massive plus for everyone involved (it was always questionable to have accepted rom hacks/repros, goes without saying).

The downside though - this is a stain on Wata's already shakey record, and won't age well at all. It's already become clickbait by Pat and the guy who originally made a video about the listing. If we're being totally fair to everyone, even VGA, who has been around far longer, has graded some repros over the years (not saying one is worse than another).

Expecting humans (graders, etc) to be perfect is just silly at this point in the grading industry, BUT some folks will make up their entire opinion based on one mistake and there's no helping that. lol Bad actors are a thing and although consumers deserve confidence in the services they pay for, there will *always* be cracks in the armor. All the "ha ha wata isn't so professional after all!!" people IMO are taking a reductive standpoint that's unrealistic, though I know their heart is in the right place.

Personally, my biggest takeaway as a consumer in this circumstance is to be pro-active about your games when buying and grading. Same with securing your passwords/using 2FA on digital services, put in the work to feel confident in your passwords... er... games. If you're a collector and intend to buy a game that costs some $$$ then there are definitely resources out there (such as /r/gameverify... with the caveat that sealed games aren't guaranteed to be represented evenly in that environment), although knowing where to find resources is another story and I don't have an answer to that. Hopefully folks know how to use Google.

Anyway, I'm one of those weirdos that sees nuance in this stuff and knowing the folks at Wata perhaps gives me a skewed perspective, but I know they mean well and are trying to do right by folks. I have other grievances, unrelated to authentication, just like everyone else, but on this specific issue, I'm not worried about authentication in scenarios like this moving forward.

Edited January 15, 2023 by inasuma

[YOURTURN | 1,256]

1 hour ago, inasuma said:

wow, what's next, you gonna leave out that video games are for NERDS?

For the record I am a registered Game Otaku, and not a nerd. So if you heard of anybody that looks like me had nerd out over something that is a game... Please note that I am not them. Because I am [looks at card] FenrirZero, Game Otaku.

Oh, and I also omitted the fact that I went to this one building in Higashi-Shinjuku that is home to Square Enix's base of operations. All in hopes of asking them a question. Which is something I did years before when I wanted to ask a KyoAni rep if Haruhi Suzumiya S3 would happen. Only to find out that I could not enter without a keycard. And ended up buying stuff I ended up not keeping at their Altonia store.

So feel free to use both the fact that I will not eat tofu in any form, and the fact that I did not have access to their office against me in any future arguments. 

1 hour ago, inasuma said:

The Submitter / seller Is a known bad actor in the community, and even if they were expecting "reproduction" to be plastered all over the label, would have likely listed it for a silly price anyway (apparently they originally listed it for $7k about two years ago).

From the sound of it I am wondering if he knew the game was a repro, and was hoping that Wata did not grade enough to know it was one. The thought goes back to everything I read about the Star Wars Tonigate scenario. With the difference being that not adding said information on said repro was intentional or not.

Of course, I am leaning towards intentional. Simply because even lies have details. And those who cry "Victim!" instead of making the effort to resolve it tend to want their details hidden. 

[YOURTURN | 1,256]

9 hours ago, CasualCart said:

A friend of mine who is very similar to you unofficially changed his name a year ago to "start fresh" and help separate himself from some severe trauma in his past.

It seemed to help his state of mind a lot, and I hope the same happens for you, dude.

-CasualCart

Thanks. The biggest irony is that I was going to do it for a whole different reason. One that would have been tied to my move to Osaka. As opposed to making the decision to do it there.

It's a messy story.

[oops | 85]

I think this comes down to multiple factors.

 

What is your goal in grading? It is worth grading a childhood favourite for personak collection.

 

If “worth” means when do we profit then the answer is it depends on market conditions. Some games even low grade will benefit from being graded, others actually sell for more raw/ungraded state. 

[YOURTURN | 1,256]

11 hours ago, oops said:

What is your goal in grading?

To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women. 

[oops | 85]

13 minutes ago, FenrirZero said:

To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women. 

weird, most people just want to build a portfolio

[darkchylde28 | 1,546]

23 minutes ago, FenrirZero said:

To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women. 

 

[YOURTURN | 1,256]

39 minutes ago, oops said:

weird, most people just want to build a portfolio

Not me. If I wanted to make a profit I would do "The Men of VGS 20XX" calendar. Not only can I make money selling those, but I can also make some added revenue from those who are helping anybody that has purchased it. 

That, and I actually prefer my goal of having a preserved collection that I can eventually display. Just because it costs money to keep those "investments" in their graded condition. Which is one of the few reasons why I stick with Japanese imports, as well as why I am currently focusing on Final Fantasy releases for the PS5.