Amermoe

This isn't even a contest. SNES hands down! and I didn't even have a SNES growing up (was a sega kid). NES probably is a close second. SNES game covers are pure artwork... Everything else is fugly with exception to maybe genesis and saturn.

Shining Force II for the genesis. Was playing Phantasy Star III right before, managed to beat it a few weeks ago. Next on my list is Super Mario RPG! Never got around to playing it, super looking forward to it.

I was a sega kid growing up. My fondest memories was when my Mom finally agreed to subscribe to the Sega channel. At the time I only had 4 sega games that I would play over and over, and we were too poor to afford new retail Sega games. I think I had X-Men clone wars, Comix Zone, Columns, and Battle Toad and Double Dragon. I must of played columns for ages, I still love the soundtrack for it. But the Sega channel introduced me to so many titles I've never heard of. If anyone was around at the time they'd know exactly what I'm talking about. It was basically the netflix for games for the 90s, with a monthly subscription and it was done through a cable hookup connection and an original Sega console. Very revolutionary for its time. Every month they'd shuffle out and add new games to the catalogue. I never had to buy another Sega game again. I had so many memories with my genesis.

I have full sets of Marvel series 1-4, as well as most of the Marvel Masterpieces sets, except 1996, because that is absurdly overpriced as it had a very low print run. I doubt any of the Marvel Cards will go up in price, because they were sold in the millions. They are very nice to look at though and very fun to collect, which is why I have them.

Most of them are completely clueless when it comes to VGA. They think sealed video game collecting started with "WATA" and conveniently ignore the 12+ years of VGA sales. The trouble is, they don't realize that all the "good stuff" was already spoken for years ago. and most of it is already locked in VGA cases. So even if a population report does come out from WATA in the next year or 2, it will be highly inaccurate in terms of the supply overall. Once the WATA census comes out, and once big spenders understand that half the supply is split with a competing grading company, I guarantee a massive price correction will be underway. The more common games will drop, the rarer games will rise, of course factoring in demand. Something that long-time collectors knew from the beginning. The other part they can't grasp is that a VGA85 Left Bros like the one SealedWholesale is showing off is likely in much better condition than the one that just sold for ~155K, and that most VGA graded games on average are in much better condition than they are led to believe.

Rareucky's been collecting and selling games for over 15 years. He's sold plenty of VGA graded games, look at his feedback. The supply for games worth grading (pre-PS3/XBX era) has diminished significantly. Much of what is left is damaged items, and most of the graded games are in collector hands. If he grades damaged items, and they come back a low grade, it hurts his profit margin, and the ability to sell the game. So it makes more sense from a business standpoint to sell the game raw on the open market, and let the buyer decide if it's worth grading. Having said this, he's also graded many modern games, but some have sat for years without selling so the demand is not there (with a few exceptions). This is likely why he doesn't sell graded games anymore.

A one grade variance whether up or down does happen. I would not say it's common, but I can first hand say that I have had grades changed by VGA before. I had a game I thought for sure was mis-graded, and I reached out to VGA, and told them I wanted to grade it again. They warned me that the grade could be lower, and I took the chance. I did not de-slab it, they did it for me and I paid the grading fee again, which was another ~ $80. Turns out I was right, and it came out one grade higher. I tried it with another game, but it came back the same grade. Basically, what I'm saying is you take a gamble anytime you do this. You will lose the grading fees, and the grade might come back lower. But if you're really sure about it, it can work in your favor. Having said this, there has been stories of Bucky getting special treatment from VGA, so I would not be surprised if the rumors are true. However, VGA is not going to risk their reputation for one relationship, so even if the rumors are true, the shift in grade would only be by one point. It's a known fact that he holds the record for number of VGA100 games amongst sealed collectors, in some cases on impossible systems, such as GB/GBA/PS1 not just modern consoles (which he has plenty). BUT, it should also be noted that he buys cases and cases of games, and has access to dealers/distributors so it should not be a surprise to anyone.

Good point, Heritage is not in the business of doing VGA, so it must be daunting having to re-slab thousands of games to reap the rewards of this insane market especially so after he single handedly put VGA on the map. If this market trend is to be believed, that would put his collection in the millions, so probably still wouldn't be a bad trade. Bucky is a collector at heart though, I think it will take a lot more than money for him to sell out. After all, let's not forget he's been selling his "entire collection, that has taken him years to acquire" for the past 10 years, .

Imagine how rarebucky must feel right now.

I feel bad for you. Unfortunately it is a reseal, these types of seals were done by the stores, and they inserted their own store security label inside. I've had the same thing happen to me on a couple of PS2 games, the one that stands out to me is Contra: Shattered Soldier, which I bought from Amazon so wasn't able to inspect it. I had to replace it with an authentic copy, which fortunately wasn't too difficult to find. Best advice I can give is to always ask for photos when purchasing, and don't be afraid to ask questions. For this particular game, you can very easily tell if is authentic by the Sony security label which came with all of early-mid launch PS2 games. At some point late in the console cycle, Sony decided not to include the security seal with their games, but if you were around at that time, you should know exactly which games had them and which didn't. Again, sorry to hear about this. I know very well the feeling of getting burnt in this hobby...

There are so many great games for the SNES, I feel like the list would never end, some of my favorites have already been mentioned, but one game I have not heard anyone mention just happens to be one I consider one of the all time best for the system and it is a Fire Emblem game: Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War I consider this to be one of the best entries in the Fire Emblem series, and definitely deserves a look, if you're into turn-based tactical RPGs. It only came out in Japan, so technically is a Super Famicom release, but it has been translated and is fully playable in english. Another great rpg from Squaresoft which is also a translation from Super Famicom is: Front Mission 1 Great game and is what started the series, other great US released snes games: Demon's Crest Robotrek Breath of Fire 1 & 2 - great square rpgs Secret of Evermore (sequel to Secret of Mana) Castlevania: Dracula X - iconic platformer Blackthorne - loved that game I could go on with this list, but I'll just leave it there.

Good lord.... if anyone's curious, this VGA90 FFVII auction just ended. I predicted $5k but at $9300...even I didn't see that coming...If it was the Y-Fold, probably would've cracked $10k...

An 85 will have minor visible flaws, while a 95 is near flawless to the naked eye, at least in theory. Some flaws are heavily weighted in the score, and it depends on each console and type of game and box. cardboard boxed games are generally graded on creasing, corner dings, sun fading, corner pokes, hangtab condition, inking, wear just to name a few. Disc games are generally graded based on cracks (very heavily weighted), scratches, corner damage/pokes, security seal alignment/condition (if exists), drilled holes, etc. Condition of the cello is very heavily weighted by VGA and combines to make up the entire score. Wata rates the cello separate from the box and assigns it its own grade. The cello itself is typically rated on scuffing, tears, yellowing, marking, rubbing, water damage, tightness, etc. These are just some examples of damage, there are many more. Other factors also come into play at the very high grades, such as eye appeal, centering, sharpness of corners etc. But really GPX and RH are right, any grade will be subjective based on the grader.

Just want to point you to this eBay auction currently going for a VGA90 copy of FFVII Black label "Realistic Violence" print. It was listed just hours ago (with 8 days remaining), and already is over $2000 with 8 bidders and over 9 total bids. Just to give you some perspective about what the value of that item is in that condition among collectors, if there was any doubt before. I would be shocked if it doesn't hit $3k, and if I had to guess at that grade (which doesn't come up often), the auction will probably end north of the $4-5k territory. This is not due to the remake hype, the item was always collectible. If it goes over $5k then yes, I would say the remake had a hand in that. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Final-Fantasy-VII-Playstation-1-PS1-First-Print-VGA-90-Not-Wata-Mint/203095308384?epid=214699225&hash=item2f496c7860:g:WhMAAOSwaFFfUCcD

I think this is a shame if true. I think both companies have their merits. While true a lot of the new investors entering the market only are aware of Wata, I think if you talk to many of the long-time sealed collectors, you will find that VGA is still the primary choice for certain games in their collections. For example SNES games are widely favored to VGA due to the box being horizontal rather than vertical. As well as for newer systems, or odd sized boxes that can only be graded by VGA. There is also a long history of VGA sales that would certainly be lost if omitted entirely, so not sure I would fully support this approach. I did want to mention, that while true you could always look at the graded sales and find a similar item's price, this is not true in the collection tracker. For example, If I were to add a rare game such as Haunting Ground for the PS2 in a graded condition, it would tally me a number of ~$300 and when I do the same for a sealed condition, it would give me a value of ~ $600 which is almost double. This is of course extremely misleading since graded copies typically would go for more or at the very minimum the same price as a sealed copy. I think as a rule, no graded copy should ever be valued less than a sealed raw copy, because in essence it is a sealed copy by definition. Of course I am interchanging graded with sealed, and omitting CIB graded, because I think they are the exception not the rule. And of course I understand condition is key to either graded or raw, but my understanding is that there is no method/plan for tracking condition and correlating it to price, because it would be an extremely involved undertaking. This brings me back to the FFVII discussion, I think the current price at $1000 for a raw copy is accurate as an average. I am aware that some have sold for much less. However, many of those lower priced sold copies had some sort of damage to them (drilled hole/cracks/tears in the seal etc.). Serious collectors will look for a near flawless copy, and that is where you will see the premiums. A gold graded copy of the game will almost always go in the several 4 figures (been that case much before the pandemic ~ last 5 years). A raw copy in the same condition will also go for the same amount if it has the right exposure. Here's another raw copy from ebay sales I didn't see cataloged (25 bids, ended July 29, sale price: $2639 - small flaw/tear in cello) https://www.ebay.com/itm/Final-Fantasy-VII-PlayStation-1-1997-Factory-Sealed-see-description-/133477060195?epid=214699225&hash=item1f13da4e63%3Ag%3A3cAAAOSwUgxfICa0&LH_ItemCondition=1000&nma=true&si=qFdMNcrltr7BhjQOouAxsMQU0d0%3D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Hi Magus, first I want to say thanks for responding. I think I speak for a lot of people for saying that we appreciate all the work you're putting into this. I didn't really clarify my earlier post, so I'll try to explain it better. I think the real issue I see is that CIB graded games are being lumped with sealed graded games, and what often happens is that graded games prices get priced for a value that is less than a sealed equivalent item. I know it's not an easy task to catalog graded games, because they are heavily score dependent, but I think there at least needs to be a distinction between (VGA Qualified/Wata CIB) or (VGA standard/Wata sealed). The price difference between the two types is extremely significant. You're right about FFVII, but I have seen graded prices hit the $2-3k on a consistent basis for the past few years on that game. The sealed market is all over the place I agree. It is very condition sensitive. The copy that went for $3k recently, was in near-mint condition, and would've graded high. Here's a few past graded examples I don't see catalogued: https://comics.ha.com/itm/video-games/-/-/a/7229-97269.s https://www.ebay.ca/itm/PS1-Playstation-1-FINAL-FANTASY-VII-7-Black-Label-New-VGA-90-Factory-Sealed-MINT-/173540077745?_trksid=p2047675.m43663.l44720&nordt=true&rt=nc&orig_cvip=true There's a lot more but unfortunately ebay does not keep the history live for more than a few months.

Hi @Magus! Many of the graded game prices are off compared to sealed. For example, some of the most popular titles for SNES, like Zelda ALTTP, Dracula X, Lufia . Also, titles like FFIII and FFII in new condition are way off. FFIII sealed hasn't been $1k for the longest time. I can also say the same for black label FFVII for PS1 graded/sealed, there's records of this game selling for over $3k not so long ago, and it's currently hovering just under $1k. I'm sure I can say the same about many other titles. Just thought I'd point this out FYI. Also, do you track hertiage auctions, and would those make it into the price algorithm?

I understand your sentiment, and you are correct to say that has been the case for a long time, but this was before the hobby became public. At that time, the hobby was very niche, and only collectors/enthusiasts were dictating what was rare and valuable. It was also before some of the more popular titles were getting harder to find. Even back then however, Bronty's sticker sealed SMB was considered one of the most desirable finds in the sealed collecting community (which at the time, consisted of only a few known handful of people). It was not on par with a sealed stadium events, but it was close, and was only a matter of time before someone bit the bullet and decided to offer an absurd sum for it. It's public knowledge from Bronty himself, that he had a legitimate offer from a long-time collector, higher than the $100,150 price Heritage paid (I believe it was $105k), and decided to turn it down because it would be better for the hobby in the long term. Contrary to what some might think, I don't have a problem with one of a kind items like that going for astronomical prices. There's very few first edition Dr. Wright Mega mans in sealed mint condition, same with the sealed stadium events, and same with gold and grey NWCs. So the natural price appreciation for those items is understandable. What I take issue with, however, is common mass printed sealed games, with little to no historical significance, selling for thousands on the secondary market, and people believing that they are making a good "investment". This is the reason why the market is so volatile at the moment. Some people, mainly long-time collectors, will greatly benefit from the chaos that is ensuing at the expense of the vast majority, who will undoubtedly be wiped clean once the dust settles, the market stabilizes, the prices correct/adjust. It's sad.

The gold NWC cart is still considered the holy grail of video-game collecting, even among new collectors/speculators/investors entering the market. I don't believe this has ever been challenged (as of yet). Also, on average, a sealed stadium events, still outperforms a sealed Mario Bros or Mega Man in the same/similar grade. It's only the sealed variants of those titles that command more money, and in those cases, you could argue the variants are just as rare (if not more so) in those conditions, than a sealed stadium events. If it's just an argument over rarity, a well known popular title will win over stadium events any day of the week.

Comic collecting picked off mainly in the mid 70s, and prices reached peak values when CGC came around to grade them. Believe it or not, comic collecting went through several phases, and almost died out in the mid/late 90s. The Disney Marvel movies revived that hobby on a grand scale, and prices reached record values since. The problem is that those record prices are more or less at a peak. I don't think an Action comics #1 can go any higher than the $2-3 million it now commands at high grade, and the bigger question that market faces is who is going be there to replace the old collectors holding on to those high value items. This is why many knowledgeable people in that market are predicting a correction in the near future. Also I can think of plenty of examples of other pop collectibles that can survive an all digital age, case in point: old coins, Magic/Pokemon/Sports cards, cars, art etc. The amount of money being pumped into Magic and Pokemon cards right now by the younger generations is insane. Also, a mint Alpha Black Lotus still trumps any Super Mario Bros. sealed copy at any grade, and Magic was only around since the early 90s.

Ok, seriously, how do you find this stuff?

You did well on the Revelations Persona. I had a chance to get a Y-Fold copy at an auction, but it got bid up to over $1k, and that was way more than what I was willing to pay for an upgrade. The overlap copy typically sells for half of that.

The Y-Fold for parasite eve is very uncommon, but it does exist. Same thing for Persona 1. I actually wouldn't have believed Persona 1 came with a Y-Fold if I hadn't seen it myself, that's how rare that is. And you're right about Brave Fencer Musashi, but I believe it does exist in Y-Fold. Mine is the standard overlap.

If it makes you feel any better, Super Mario RPG is hot on my current play list, and Paper Mario is not too far behind...

Mario and Super Mario.... I know, I know, there I said it....I'm probably going to get crucified for it here...