Sega Genesis sealed John Madden Football

[fcgamer | 4,723]

On a different, yet related note, a few further questions to ask:

#1: Does anyone know where in the process games are sealed? Before being shipped off, or assembled and shrinked upon arrival in destination country of sale?

#2: Does anyone have pictures of other EA cardboard and clamshell sealed games? I'd like to see pics of both, the more the merrier, please post.

[fcgamer | 4,723]

Unfortunately, the "expert" is about to get a history lesson soon.

[Hammerfestus | 3,835]

Dude.  That was a really random and petty story to tell.  

[fcgamer | 4,723]

3 minutes ago, Hammerfestus said:

Dude.  That was a really random and petty story to tell.  

Yeah, I know. But it followed his theme of "shitty attitudes".

 

[fcgamer | 4,723]

3 hours ago, jonebone said:

End of day you'd now probably have to pay at least $10k to get it graded in declared value and worry about getting it across borders.  I told you to get it graded in July 2020 if you were serious about selling, waiting has only costed you thousands of dollars in the meantime.  You shit on grading plenty but now that it's convenient for you of course you'd be interested.

I beg your pardon, am I the one generally shitting on grading? I rarely even view the grading/ sealed forum, of course I think the whole thing isn't organic, but there are much much larger mouths than mine speaking opinions about grading.

I said a few years back I'd sell Madden for about 35-50K is what I was asking, IIRC.

In recent years my philosophy has been that if I see a game that I don't have, for a platform I collect, for a decent price, in the wild -- I buy it, document it, and shelve it.  That's why I have this one.

5K isn't enough for me to sell, I've likely paid four figures for games before, that sort of money isn't life-changing. Five or six could be though, hence why I've even dusted this one off.

Is it just because it's convenient for me? Well who knows, I listed it for grabs years ago since it doesn't really fit into my collection.

[Kguillemette | 1,544]

Why don't we settle this by opening the box up and make sure the contents inside are in fact brand new? Then test the game out and show us pictures to make sure it works properly. And show us the board to make sure it's genuine and not another cheap bootleg.

Amateurs.

[OptOut | 8,883]

FINE. 

75 bucks, and a six pack of extra strong Belgian lager. 

Take it or leave it. 

[fcgamer | 4,723]

44 minutes ago, Kguillemette said:

Why don't we settle this by opening the box up and make sure the contents inside are in fact brand new? Then test the game out and show us pictures to make sure it works properly. And show us the board to make sure it's genuine and not another cheap bootleg.

Amateurs.

Set up a go fund me for 30 K, I'll do that; if it's new I keep the money, but I'll send the game to someone on VGS, if it's resealed, all the money donates to VGS.

[fcgamer | 4,723]

26 minutes ago, OptOut said:

FINE. 

75 bucks, and a six pack of extra strong Belgian lager. 

Take it or leave it. 

I hate lager though, strong lager us rough. If we were talking Abby ales though, dubbels or triples or quads

I still do like that painting your in-laws have, haha. Throw in the extra house and it's a deal

[Mijael | 347]

4 hours ago, fcgamer said:

That shit attitude? That's rich, coming from the guy begging me to send his game non flat rate box back in 2014 or whatever, just so you could save $0.50, when I specifically stated in my sale thread everything was going out flat rate, and under market price, as I didn't have time to fart around with things since I was only home for a week.

You want to talk about shit attitudes, that was definitely one of them.

 

 

[fcgamer | 4,723]

6 minutes ago, Mijael said:

 

How much butter you got on that sucker?

[inasuma | 1,203]

11 hours ago, OptOut said:

Lol, you're shitting me dude, surely! You can't seriously expect me to believe you degenerates have actual lives! 

Anyway you know me, I'm an impatient SOB!

i appreciate you lol

[GPX | 1,369]

It most probably is a legit seal - possibly a localised seal variant. This is something that only the locals (sealed collecting) might have the most knowledge on. 

Regarding the price on your copy, it could be anything between 4-6 figures. Who the heck knows?

Some points to factor in though:

- the recently sold on HA is in much better condition. 

- HA likely to have exaggerated bidding.

- this Madden is likely to be of more value since the passing of Madden.

[fcgamer | 4,723]

Here's a history of EA:

https://segaretro.org/Electronic_Arts

As they started out with PC games, then unlicensed Sega games, plus as they did their own manufacturing with plants in both Taiwan and Puerto Rico, it seems obvious to me that the seals might not be the same as a licensed Sega game would have. I mean, are Color Dreams games sealed the same way as the licenced ones?

 

[GPX | 1,369]

2 hours ago, fcgamer said:

Here's a history of EA:

https://segaretro.org/Electronic_Arts

As they started out with PC games, then unlicensed Sega games, plus as they did their own manufacturing with plants in both Taiwan and Puerto Rico, it seems obvious to me that the seals might not be the same as a licensed Sega game would have. I mean, are Color Dreams games sealed the same way as the licenced ones?

 

It’s not a big stretch to think that there were likely different seal machines in differing countries/continents. Sealed variants are just as real and quite possibly as complicated as box variants. Unfortunately most seals outside the US are not as well documented and it’s sometimes more easier to assume something that is questionable as a “reseal”, but in fact, may still be a legit “factory seal”.

 

[fcgamer | 4,723]

Right, so I want to call @jonebone back into this discussion, and I will state the following to go with: if @jonebone refuses to comment or add input, I will take it as admission that what I say is true.

I was going through the TV Game Foundation Formosa reference library tonight when working on Family Bits, saw numerous advertisements such as the following, advertising Electronics Arts games. Unfortunately the advert is from 1991, though it proves that EA was marketing their games here in Taiwan. 

Then I also found other advertisements, such as this double spread advertising EA games clearly as "American versions" (美國版).

In the 1992 issue we can even see both the 92 and 91 John Madden games being advertised, sadly the advert only features "new" games.

My point though is that the evidence is clearly pointing towards Madden 90 being released here for Taiwan market, hence me finding it sealed in the dust shop. Given the evidence, it's more likely than not that my game has an original seal. 

i provided the evidence, I also put forth a different sealed EA game in another thread. It it's all fake or not legit, I ask @jonebone to weigh in on it...let's hear from the expert

[Gloves | 11,776]

1 hour ago, fcgamer said:

Right, so I want to call @jonebone back into this discussion, and I will state the following to go with: if @jonebone refuses to comment or add input, I will take it as admission that what I say is true.

If he doesn't want to argue with you over what he probably considers a dead topic on which he's already said his piece, that doesn't make your suppositions correct.

[YOURTURN | 1,256]

I'm with @Gloves on this one. All @jonebone said was that he pulled out of the sale because he was not 100% sure if the seal was legitimate. Atop of the fact he also said that he is burnt out on being helpful because any responses he gives tend to result in him being attacked (or flamed).

Both factors are things I relate with.

So instead of using two of my experiences, that don't involve you but have me side with his decision not to respond, I will say three things:

1) He said that the seal could be legitimate, but was not sure because of the game's point of origin. This was him trying to not lose money, any/all business ties with you, etc. if the seal turned out to not be legitimate.

2) He also said that the reaction you gave him is one of the reasons why he did not want to give any opinions on if he thought the seal was (or was not) original. This is similar to me responding to a "What's the difference between players and gamers?" when the question should have been "What's the difference between Madden players and gamers?"

3) If his response was used as a way to know if it is a first-party seal, a confirmation could have resulted in you having a rare variant. One he may have paid extra for. And all was needed was a local expert who knows the answer.

With that said... I have seen worse when it comes to those who are anti-grading. But I should also note that this situation is one that justifies his anxieties when it comes to him trying to be helpful. It's not fun, as my own experiences elsewhere will explain why I sometimes have social anxiety here. With some of it being me trying to be helpful to others.

So yeah. Calm down, turn it into a mystery that you need to solve, and let @OptOut buy you a beer. And if he buys you the wrong type of beer, guilt him into helping you find somebody who can tell you the answers you are seeking. As well as maybe guilt him into buying you a game you don't own.

Just because being offered the wrong type of drink when you are thirsty can be traumatizing. 

[fcgamer | 4,723]

Well, while I actually agree somewhat with both @Glovesand @FenrirZero here, I'm going to highlight the problem in it all. You guys are right, perhaps I should take a step back, similarly, @jonebone I'm sorry if you felt my attitude towards you was shitty; however, if something with this game doesn't change within the next year, I'm going to shred the shrink-wrap off, beat it with a hammer, and then bin it. It's got nothing to do with anger issues, rather it's to prove a point, just like I did with the Top Gun carts years ago.

A. If you guys follow the thread, the whole "shitty attitude" began on my part right after the half million dollar sale. It was at that point that @jonebonepopped in and stated something along the lines of "I thought everyone knew it was a reseal", not offering any other comments initially. Now I don't know about the rest of you, but his answer definitely was made "without doubt", and to me that's a lousy thing to do to someone, especially when potentially tens of thousands of dollars are at stake here.

B. When I talked to Heritage Auctions, they initially were eager to send the game over to Wata for grading, and to sell on consignment if it indeed came back as legit unused (not even necessarily original seal).

Oddly enough, after Jone's statement and HA asking some "experts" (possibly even Jone himself), they now won't even look at the game.

C. I don't have the money to send it in to Wata myself, IIRC they work on a tiered system for their fees. And that's where we're at.

The magazine images I posted last night add credence to this being real, but in the popular opinion it's fake and always will be fake, due in part to a hasty statement made by a forum member that hadn't even seen the game in person, and likely didn't even know the whole story behind the game. 

So I'd love to have @jonebone come in here and have a more civil discussion about the whole thing, but until that time, it's hard not to view it as a case of "the expert making a 'bad call' to protect his own interests"

D. As far as solving mysteries, honestly I don't care about that at all - it's like the Sachen games or the blue Chiller by this point. Even if the truth did come out, if it's not the version of the truth that HA, investors, etc want, then it means little. I just want to buy a house, that's it. Don't care about being a millionaire or investor or anything like that.

[fcgamer | 4,723]

1 hour ago, FenrirZero said:

3) If his response was used as a way to know if it is a first-party seal, a confirmation could have resulted in you having a rare variant. One he may have paid extra for. And all was needed was a local expert who knows the answer.

The locals here know nothing about sealed games (games here mostly were not sealed, until the disc era), furthermore, the locals here just don't care about these things. 

I would have quit my Family Bits book years ago, but the only thing that kept me going (aside from the support and encouragement from you guys) is the fact that I felt the information should be compiled in one source, and the locals weren't about to do it themselves. The book they did do was an embarrassment, and honestly I feel that I shouldn't even be the one documenting these games but ...

[GPX | 1,369]

@fcgamer, I don’t really know the private issues between you and jonebone, but I would like to say one thing.

It irks me when a fake seal or reseal is put on a game, masquerading as a legit seal. Equally, it irks me when a seal is possibly a legit one, and due to insufficient data on a sealed variant, it’s assumed to be a resealed. 

With the evidence that you’ve shown and the signs of wear/tear consistent with age, I’m leaning strongly of the opinion that this is a legit seal, and likely to be a sealed variant. One more thing to add, sometimes due to lack of public awareness, it’s almost impossible to get an accurate answer on certain sealed games. Sometimes the only way to know for sure is actually opening up the seal to get your precise answer. Or accept that there is a small percentage of doubt on the seal authenticity.

This is the nature of sealed collecting, in essence, it’s not exact science.

 

[fcgamer | 4,723]

More advertisements and even game information. Again from 1991, but let's examine:

Here's a double spread, only featuring EA games. Let's look at how the games are advertised...yup, American versions.

Next page more of the same, sorry it's upside down.

Different magazine, more EA games...all referred to as "American versions", yet again.

And yet again the same situation, this one has the EA logo even, and of course like the others, referred to as American versions.

So of all the games in the shop, the only two that were sealed were the EA American version games, and the EA games were obviously heavily marketed and sold here, as evidenced by the photos I've been posting.

Yet the game is considered a reseal, without even having the experts look at it, thanks in part because of...

[OptOut | 8,883]

Hey @jonebone, how much do you reckon this one is worth?

As an aside, gotta say I really love the double thickness cases of the Japanese EA games! I think I'm gonna try for the EA subset, bulk out my shelves a little! 

[CodysGameRoom | 2,008]

On 1/29/2022 at 3:49 AM, jonebone said:

This was a reseal

 

[CodysGameRoom | 2,008]

On 2/21/2022 at 6:04 PM, FenrirZero said:

He said that the seal could be legitimate

Edit: I don't know why I can't figure out how to quote two things from two different pages on the same post but yea, he stated "this is a reseal" and so your statement where he said the seal could be legitimate is false. 

Edited March 14, 2022 by CodysGameRoom