Wata's Future Plans (for other game types)

[undamned | 6]

I saw that Wata recently started doing some Turbografx game boxes.  Has anyone heard what their future plans are for other systems/games?  I'm mostly curious about Famicom and Super Famicom.  I sent them a message a few weeks ago regarding a forecast on such games and got zero response, so I thought maybe someone here may have heard rumblings.

And somewhat related, does anyone know if they have plans to do Japanese games at all?  Megadrive games will fit their Genesis cases fine, but it's possible they won't want to venture there if they lack knowledge of that library and its nuances.

-ud

[retro.magnus | 136]

Good luck getting a reply from them since Megan left (from what I've heard). It's unfortunate that they're just radio silent on every platform of communication. 

I remember in some Instagram live Deniz said something about not doing Japanese games bc they just don't know enough about them, so who knows. 

[Gloves | 11,761]

Wait, are you telling me they don't grade everything?

[MrWunderful | 2,926]

I watched two episodes of Pawnstars last nite, and Deniz was on both lol. They had him inspect the game his company graded

[DefaultGen | 5,400]

Hopefully it's not coming. It's painful enough watching someone pretend to care about Punch Out. I'm gonna be seeing people talking about how much they love the classic box art of Popeye no Eigo Asobi.

They've graded Japanese N64 games which have different sized boxes from US versions though.

[CodysGameRoom | 2,008]

33 minutes ago, MrWunderful said:

I watched two episodes of Pawnstars last nite, and Deniz was on both lol. They had him inspect the game his company graded

"Yes, I'm an expert of what I do. "

[Gloves | 11,761]

11 minutes ago, DefaultGen said:

Hopefully it's not coming. It's painful enough watching someone pretend to care about Punch Out. I'm gonna be seeing people talking about how much they love the classic box art of Popeye no Eigo Asobi.

They've graded Japanese N64 games which have different sized boxes from US versions though.

I prefer the Japanese box to the NA box at least half the time, and it's legit something I might pivot to at some point is grabbing the CIBs for games I like the art for. So I do hope that there's not some sudden jump in price for them. I know there's been a few and I'm already late to the "get em cheap" party, as it were, but as it stands a Super Mario World CIB for instance is easily had in JP compared to here, and it's a decent example of just straight up better box art.

[DefaultGen | 5,400]

SFC games have like the best Nintendo art of any console and CIB they cost what SNES carts do sometimes.

Imagine having this wimpy, black bordered tree stump

Compared to the whole ass tree

But again shhh, keep these cheap. Japanese games don't matter! It would devalue my TM, matte sticker, no code, all-wheel drive, 212 horsepower, dual-zone automatic climate control US first prints if people started caring about these.

[Gloves | 11,761]

3 minutes ago, DefaultGen said:

SFC games have like the best Nintendo art of any console and CIB they cost what SNES carts do sometimes.

Imagine having this wimpy, black bordered tree stump

Compared to the whole ass tree

But again shhh, keep these cheap. Japanese games don't matter! It would devalue my TM, matte sticker, no code, all-wheel drive, 212 horsepower, dual-zone automatic climate control US first prints if people started caring about these.

We are on the same page, you and I. 

[Code Monkey | 2,005]

Do people check their website before posting these questions?

 

[TDIRunner | 2,725]

3 hours ago, DefaultGen said:

SFC games have like the best Nintendo art of any console and CIB they cost what SNES carts do sometimes.

Imagine having this wimpy, black bordered tree stump

Compared to the whole ass tree

But again shhh, keep these cheap. Japanese games don't matter! It would devalue my TM, matte sticker, no code, all-wheel drive, 212 horsepower, dual-zone automatic climate control US first prints if people started caring about these.

Have you seen this book?  I have it and it's pretty nice.  

 

https://www.bitmapbooks.co.uk/products/super-famicom-the-box-art-collection

[undamned | 6]

46 minutes ago, Code Monkey said:

Do people check their website before posting these questions?

Try entering a game, though.  Doesn't work.  "Mario" doesn't even register anything.  Since the time I sent them my inquiry, it appears they have added a bunch of place holders.  Still no forecast on when those will be usable.

-ud

[MrWunderful | 2,926]

7 hours ago, CodysGameRoom said:

"Yes, I'm an expert of what I do. "

I mean, I consider them experts, and trust wata’s grading (and case technology) but it just feels weird to bring them in on a game graded by his own company.
 

I would think bringing him in on a non graded game would be a better fit. 
 

But what do I know?
 

 

[MrWunderful | 2,926]

4 hours ago, TDIRunner said:

Have you seen this book?  I have it and it's pretty nice.  

 

https://www.bitmapbooks.co.uk/products/super-famicom-the-box-art-collection

Wow thats a cool book. Might have to pick it up!

[fcgamer | 4,719]

I honestly think they would be making a huge mistake entering into that market, and it's not due to me not wanting the prices to increase (I already have more than enough, I'd be satisfied even if I stopped buying games). 

Here's the honest truth of the matter. The staff at Wata just don't know enough about that stuff, so how can they accurately verify and grade it? Even for people such as @OptOut and myself, who are surrounded by the stuff, we are still discovering new information and new things, and either of us would be "experts" compared to anyone at Wata, I'd reckon.

So entering into that market just raises the likelihood for tons of mistakes to occur, since it's the sort of market that they aren't experts at, and similarly, I'd presume that it would be a drastically smaller portion of people sending items in, do you can't even "learn from doing" very well.

[undamned | 6]

On 3/31/2021 at 9:07 AM, Gloves said:

I prefer the Japanese box to the NA box at least half the time, and it's legit something I might pivot to at some point is grabbing the CIBs for games I like the art for. So I do hope that there's not some sudden jump in price for them.

As long as you are just looking for CIB, your are safe on most games.  If you are going for "unopened," the market is pretty hot already and you will likely get beat up pretty badly (especially if it's a popular seller.  That alone can cost you 2x).

13 hours ago, fcgamer said:

Here's the honest truth of the matter. The staff at Wata just don't know enough about that stuff, so how can they accurately verify and grade it? Even for people such as @OptOut and myself, who are surrounded by the stuff, we are still discovering new information and new things, and either of us would be "experts" compared to anyone at Wata, I'd reckon.

So entering into that market just raises the likelihood for tons of mistakes to occur, since it's the sort of market that they aren't experts at, and similarly, I'd presume that it would be a drastically smaller portion of people sending items in, do you can't even "learn from doing" very well.

Yeah, you may be right.  Plus, from what I know, one of the main reasons to use Wata over VGA is the option to list with Heritage Auctions and I'm guessing that Heritage will not be listing JP games for a long time, if ever.

Can't wait to see the first graded repro of SFC Rendering Ranger or PCE Saphire 

-ud

[Jono1874 | 144]

On 3/31/2021 at 8:52 AM, DefaultGen said:

Hopefully it's not coming. It's painful enough watching someone pretend to care about Punch Out. I'm gonna be seeing people talking about how much they love the classic box art of Popeye no Eigo Asobi.

They've graded Japanese N64 games which have different sized boxes from US versions though.

Anecdotal, but I was told by a Japanese friend that retro gaming enthusiasts over there don't particularly like that we're importing their games to begin with.  I have no idea how true that is is isn't, but it wouldn't surprise me. If a bunch of westerners started buying up all their supply because WATA created a rush, I imagine there would be resistance of some kind.

[fcgamer | 4,719]

36 minutes ago, Jono1874 said:

Anecdotal, but I was told by a Japanese friend that retro gaming enthusiasts over there don't particularly like that we're importing their games to begin with.  I have no idea how true that is is isn't, but it wouldn't surprise me. If a bunch of westerners started buying up all their supply because WATA created a rush, I imagine there would be resistance of some kind.

Anecdotal as well, but from what I've seen, I'd reckon there are more Super A'can games and machines in the west than in Taiwan where they originated.

[DefaultGen | 5,400]

35 minutes ago, Jono1874 said:

Anecdotal, but I was told by a Japanese friend that retro gaming enthusiasts over there don't particularly like that we're importing their games to begin with.  I have no idea how true that is is isn't, but it wouldn't surprise me. If a bunch of westerners started buying up all their supply because WATA created a rush, I imagine there would be resistance of some kind.

I've seen imageboard posts both ridiculing foreigners buying fake games and mad that they're sucking games out of Japan. I have zero clue how representative that is of the general collecting community, but I would probably feel the same way!

[AdamW | 713]

I've noticed what seems to be an increase lately in Japanese sellers listing directly on eBay. The funny thing is they seem to be listing a lot of not-great condition boxes that probably would not sell on Japanese sites but which are selling fine on eBay since the expected standard for box condition seems to be way lower, heh.

[Brickman | 3,982]

I agree with fcgamer, they would be crazy to enter the Japanese market unless they have someone who knows their stuff.

I’ve only been into the Japanese collecting scene for three years but I haven’t found better knowledge then fcgamer’s stuff and I don’t see him joining WATA haha.

Also I hope they stay away from it because I don’t want to see what has happened to the US market happen to the Japanese.

[GPX | 1,369]

15 hours ago, fcgamer said:

I honestly think they would be making a huge mistake entering into that market, and it's not due to me not wanting the prices to increase (I already have more than enough, I'd be satisfied even if I stopped buying games). 

Here's the honest truth of the matter. The staff at Wata just don't know enough about that stuff, so how can they accurately verify and grade it? Even for people such as @OptOut and myself, who are surrounded by the stuff, we are still discovering new information and new things, and either of us would be "experts" compared to anyone at Wata, I'd reckon.

So entering into that market just raises the likelihood for tons of mistakes to occur, since it's the sort of market that they aren't experts at, and similarly, I'd presume that it would be a drastically smaller portion of people sending items in, do you can't even "learn from doing" very well.

The other issue is that if they do expand, a lot more time is needed by the WATA staff to learn all that information you mentioned. Which would then mean the waiting time for submissions would balloon out to triple or quadruple the expected waiting times. Which would mean...plenty of pissed off customers!

[YOURTURN | 1,256]

8 hours ago, Shmup said:

I agree with fcgamer, they would be crazy to enter the Japanese market unless they have someone who knows their stuff.

I’ve only been into the Japanese collecting scene for three years but I haven’t found better knowledge than fcgamer’s stuff and I don’t see him joining WATA haha.

Also I hope they stay away from it because I don’t want to see what has happened to the US market happen to the Japanese.

And you forgetting that I am rebuilding my Japanese game collection is why I forgot to add you to the list of executive producers on VGS Things. 

But in regards to what you said... A lot of Japanese resellers do use their own "grading system" when it comes to CIB games. If things go as planned, I expect to have a review on this while I spend a day in Akihabara. Maybe Nakano Broadway as well since Mandarake has one shop that is dedicated to video games.

As for grading games to this degree... I found that some stores will sell AFA graded figures if they are old enough. But when it came to VGA and Wata, I only found one. Both that, and the claims I was given, is why I am trying out CAS. Which are both Japanese releases, with the first being their first import title and the second being their first Dreamcast title.

Other than that... Both VGA and Wata use ineffective business models when it comes to the Japanese market. That is the only conclusion I have made without including CAS. And even then both the CIB and sealed game market is virtually the same. Which is why I am thinking of doing a cart collection once my sealed goals feel complete.

[undamned | 6]

Got an official response regarding Super Famicom and PC Engine:

[undamned | 6]

Update on SFC submissions since I previously posted, they confirmed that they would in fact grade SFC.  Then after going back and forth for for a few e-mails regarding game info specifics, they basically said, "wait, did you mean BOXED SFC?  Sorry, we can only do bare cart."  

-ud