Thoughts on "Frankensteining" CIB Games?

[dvertov | 208]

I'm a mostly cart-only collector thinking about upgrading a few of my games to CIB, and I'm curious how "frankensteining" a full CIB set is viewed around here. I've tried to get the more obvious details straight in the past (making sure the seals match, getting the right dust cover with the right game, etc) but I'm sure I'm missing a lot of minutiae about variants. Also, it seems like so many CIB listings on eBay are so obviously cobbled together already that it's almost impossible for a casual collector to tell what is actually an original set and what isn't. Am I a monster for slapping together CIBs like this? Or is it no big deal?

[Code Monkey | 2,011]

I piece together my games all the time but if a cartridge and box don't match exactly, they go on separate shelves until I get the matching pieces. If I'm going to buy an item from someone and the pieces don't match, I'm going to offer them less as a result. I'll pay more for proper matching and I'll pay even more for completeness with all minor inserts.

To give you an idea of value, a complete Super Mario Bros. 3 sold on Heritage for $2150. The same box but with mismatched manual and cartridge sold for $80.

[Strange | 1,700]

Is there a good source that casual/newer collectors can read up on that explains how to tell which components go together and how to spot a Frankenstein’d CIB game? This might sound dumb to seasoned collectors but some of us haven’t been in the hobby nearly as long and have been interacting with the community like this for an even shorter amount of time.

[MiamiSlice | 3,096]

On 8/28/2020 at 2:45 PM, The Strangest said:

Is there a good source that casual/newer collectors can read up on that explains how to tell which components go together and how to spot a Frankenstein’d CIB game? This might sound dumb to seasoned collectors but some of us haven’t been in the hobby nearly as long and have been interacting with the community like this for an even shorter amount of time.

Don't know if there's a guide but I'm a CIB collector who is really picky about this stuff and here's what I've learned: 

1. Go on Youtube and find an unboxing video. You'd be surprised how many games have videos like these. I even found one for Holy Bible by Wisdom Tree! You'll see everything that came out of the box when the seal was removed. 

2. Post a question in this forum and try to find someone who is the original owner of that game. They can give you a definitive answer on what you should have. 

3. Make sure to check any codes that indicate which variant of a game you have, if there are multiple. Some games like Super Mario Land had a bunch of variants with slightly different inserts. 

4. Worst case, go on eBay and look at multiple listings of that game. Try to see if there are some inserts that keep showing up and look like they belong. For some games, like Fire Emblem for GBA, it's not hard to figure out which inserts were included just based on this. For others, like Super Mario Land, you'll quickly realize most are being frankensteined. 

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

It's totally fine as long as it makes you happy.

Personally, I do it all the time when it comes to minor variants. For significant variants I try to match the pieces, but even then, you should just do whatever works for you.

[cartman | 195]

I despise it. Every piece of material can have miniscule details, a tiny and barely visible number somewhere that indicates something, whatever the case may be. You find it on say one manual and on another you don't even though they come from the same game. You can never be 100% certain that what you're matching is identical to the specific game at hand and it causes fuckery and dissaray.

Edited August 30, 2020 by cartman

[O.G. CIB | 415]

On 8/28/2020 at 1:49 PM, dvertov said:

I'm a mostly cart-only collector thinking about upgrading a few of my games to CIB, and I'm curious how "frankensteining" a full CIB set is viewed around here. I've tried to get the more obvious details straight in the past (making sure the seals match, getting the right dust cover with the right game, etc) but I'm sure I'm missing a lot of minutiae about variants. Also, it seems like so many CIB listings on eBay are so obviously cobbled together already that it's almost impossible for a casual collector to tell what is actually an original set and what isn't. Am I a monster for slapping together CIBs like this? Or is it no big deal?

I think you are onto the right start with what you’re doing. I’m assuming you’re talking about NES.  If you’re matching the seals, Sleeves, etc you’re offer to a great start. You then can make sure the product codes match. To piece together other items such as posters and inserts it’s a little more work involved and there is a gamefaq post that has the known copies. Nothing in life is perfect and I don’t see a problem with putting things together for you’re own enjoyment. 

[Tanooki | 4,936]

I'm part of the who cares camp more or less.  If the box and the manual are the one intended for the game, that's it, that is all that matters.  I guess in a way the best question to ask yourself is this: If I were fed up and selling this ( ... ) off tomorrow, would a collector who knows better be able to tell I cobbled this together?  If the answer is NO, you're good.   I could see in the case of something mostly like NES and Gameboy era stuff with the stars or the -1 through -4 (or so) and knowing which variations of those go together, it could get maddening.

[DefaultGen | 5,413]

I'd rather not because similar to @cartman's sentiment, I'm worried about overlooked variants. One day people might discover that only so-and-so PCB date code goes with so-and-so box date code or minor manual revision and my CIB was technically incorrect because no one ever thought to check that. That said, no doubt I have many such minor mismatches due to the nature of people piecing together CIBs I've bought and life is too short to worry about every last game I own. I match the obvious stuff like seal of quality, publisher, etc.

Edited September 1, 2020 by DefaultGen

[O.G. CIB | 415]

1 hour ago, DefaultGen said:

I'd rather not because similar to @cartman's sentiment, I'm worried about overlooked variants. One day people might discover that only so-and-so PCB date code goes with so-and-so box date code or minor manual revision and my CIB was technically incorrect because no one ever thought to check that. That said, no doubt I have many such minor mismatches due to the nature of people piecing together CIBs I've bought and life is too short to worry about every last game I own. I match the obvious stuff like seal of quality, publisher, etc.

Cartman position while noble isn't realistic if you are a CIB collector.  Unless you purchase a game sealed or directly from a trusted source that purchased it sealed there is no way know. Even now there is probably a few people who keep up with date codes for NES games and a handful across all consoles.  In this case I rather be a Jack of all Trades and a Master of None.

[ScaryD | 237]

5 hours ago, Mr. CIB said:

Cartman position while noble isn't realistic if you are a CIB collector.  Unless you purchase a game sealed or directly from a trusted source that purchased it sealed there is no way know. Even now there is probably a few people who keep up with date codes for NES games and a handful across all consoles.  In this case I rather be a Jack of all Trades and a Master of None.

I agree. It is very hard to validate if all contents are original. This can even perpetuate into cart only collecting because of back swaps, etc. Sealed collecting is the only way to guarantee that no frankensteining has occured.

[dvertov | 208]

23 hours ago, DefaultGen said:

I'd rather not because similar to @cartman's sentiment, I'm worried about overlooked variants. One day people might discover that only so-and-so PCB date code goes with so-and-so box date code or minor manual revision and my CIB was technically incorrect because no one ever thought to check that.

 

21 hours ago, Mr. CIB said:

Cartman position while noble isn't realistic if you are a CIB collector.  Unless you purchase a game sealed or directly from a trusted source that purchased it sealed there is no way know. Even now there is probably a few people who keep up with date codes for NES games and a handful across all consoles.  In this case I rather be a Jack of all Trades and a Master of None.

 

This was my concern - I don't know what I don't know, and while I'm not worried about exact variant matches affecting the value of my own collection, I'd prefer not to add to the chaos already out there. I think my goal is probably going to be only combining CIBs if they're already obviously compromised, like they're missing a manual or the seals don't match, etc.

[TDIRunner | 2,743]

In a perfect world, everything would stay original, but realistically, that's not going to happen once something gets opened.  Therefore, I don't have a big problem with people doing it.  With that said, I still try to avoid it simply because I haven't had good luck piecing things together.  I find it's just easier to buy something complete.  

[DefaultGen | 5,413]

My incorrect part story from when I first started collecting way back is I thought all games were supposed to have Nintendo branded dust sleeves and I thought the metallic ones were cooler, so I replaced every CIB single game with a metallic Nintendo dust sleeve. I still haven't got around to correcting it all and it's been over 10 years 

[ThePhleo | 2,185]

It’s fine by me.

There’s nothing wrong with finding a circle seal manual and a oval TM cart with an oval R box.

The one that really bugs me is when I see a data East poster in a Capcom game...that’s just plain old silly.

[Aatos | 35]

I have a confession to make: for some of the games in my collection, I’ve done the most unholy Frankensteining imaginable: I’ve combined NTSC game with PAL box!

It’s an abomination, I know. This was mostly N64, from a time when I was still unsure if I wanted to go PAL or NTSC. I accumulated nice PAL copies of some of the games, then later I realized I just can’t live with PAL, gameplay experience matters most so I ended up purchasing the US carts for those that had identical cart labels (besides the oval I know) and only fully replacing those with completely different art.

But yeah in the end, the black PAL boxes look nicer anyway than the green/blue US ones and it’s not like I plan to ever sell them or anything. (Suffice to say I also have no problem combining regular cib from pieces).

[TrekMD | 1,411]

I've done that myself.  I don't see it as a big deal, after all the end result is a CIB game.  I do have one game that I had to do mix up NTSC and PAL stuff to get it complete.

[ConsoleCollector88 | 8]

On 8/28/2020 at 1:15 PM, Code Monkey said:

I piece together my games all the time but if a cartridge and box don't match exactly, they go on separate shelves until I get the matching pieces. If I'm going to buy an item from someone and the pieces don't match, I'm going to offer them less as a result. I'll pay more for proper matching and I'll pay even more for completeness with all minor inserts.

To give you an idea of value, a complete Super Mario Bros. 3 sold on Heritage for $2150. The same box but with mismatched manual and cartridge sold for $80.

I assume this is for mint condition set CIB?

[Code Monkey | 2,011]

5 hours ago, ConsoleCollector88 said:

I assume this is for mint condition set CIB?

9.4 I think.

[BirdDogGaming | 218]

I can’t see why someone would be opposed to this. One of my favorite things to do is complete my loose games, and that goes for any console.

[MiamiSlice | 3,096]

49 minutes ago, thatgamernerd said:

I can’t see why someone would be opposed to this. One of my favorite things to do is complete my loose games, and that goes for any console.

If you are just doing it for yourself, go hog wild, you do you. If you are doing it with the intention of passing them off as CiB's, all I'm saying is either be certain that you have pieced together the correct matching pieces or don't pretend that what you have is actually complete...

[JVOSS | 1,762]

6 minutes ago, MiamiSlice said:

If you are just doing it for yourself, go hog wild, you do you. If you are doing it with the intention of passing them off as CiB's, all I'm saying is either be certain that you have pieced together the correct matching pieces or don't pretend that what you have is actually complete...

this is the best answer you must go with. do it for self by not for public sale. 

[GPX | 1,370]

I’d like to add another twist to the argument - CIB frankensteining is both good and evil.

The bad side is when people improperly match things and selling them off without mentioning so, which can create further chaos down the track for those unknowing buyers.

The good side is that sometimes frankensteining can be not only just a fun thing to do individually, but also a beneficial thing to do for the collecting community. Examples:

- a game was purchased with missing components of either box, manual or cart; then buyer reunites them with a missing (but correct) component.

- a rare game was purchased but with incorrect parts; buyer then corrects this by later buying and matching the correct parts. 

- frankensteining might be the only way to get the truly complete CIB without having to buy a sealed game and tearing off the seal.

[JVOSS | 1,762]

3 hours ago, GPX said:

- frankensteining might be the only way to get the truly complete CIB without having to buy a sealed game and tearing off the seal.

but not knowing what truly is in the box then how can you say its a true CIB, unless we all have a different meaning of what a CIB....

[GPX | 1,370]

15 hours ago, JVOSS said:

but not knowing what truly is in the box then how can you say its a true CIB, unless we all have a different meaning of what a CIB....

If you buy games for long enough, you tend to get a feel of what’s generally in a complete box - box, cart, manual, consumer pamphlet +/- posters/flyers. Buying from old retail stock will also give you a better idea. Then you can always compare CIBs listed online through ebay etc., to gain more info. 

Unless it’s an ultra rare item, I think by today’s amount of resources, we should be able to deduce most games and what is fully included in the games. And in the least, the matching game, box and manual.