GPX

Hype + rare + BS = mega bucks! Which part don't you get?

Yeah, I meant F1 World GP. Damn, too many racing games gets me all confused! lol Seems to be a similar marketing decision along the line of Ken Griffey Jr being exclusive in Australia for the Pal version. Baseball not very popular in Europe, most probably.

@OptOut, is this the same game as F1 World Championship GP? Interesting how Brazil has this game while US never got it. If they think it wouldn’t be profitable to sell in the US, then why convert it to NTSC in the first place?

I’m not discounting hype by any means. You need to hype things up to garner the right kind of interest in your market. What I’m sceptical about is the amount of “artificial hype”, by that I mean fake news/false claims/blatant lying. Examples: - “turned down offers 1-3 million” - “everyone would want a piece of this rare history” Once you start off with false claims, then in my eyes, you’ve started the ball rolling for a shill bidding process. Effectively, the end price is not a true reflection of the market. And why I talk about hype more than other factors? Because that’s the main thing sellers can lie about. You can’t really lie much about condition or rarity status.

So has the live auction ended yet? (VGS is my only source of current gaming news)

The issue is though, everyone seems to correlate and extrapolate rare video game items to that of a rare video game. I did mention 50K if there was no hype, meaning that's what I feel would be the end result if simply let bid on Ebay without all the "publicity stunts". And here's my line of thought (if there was no hype): - Has any video game console (prototype, rare, or whatever) ever sold more than 20K? Certainly I've not heard of any outrageous offers on a console prior to this current console auction. Then you have to wonder why it's all of a sudden 10 times more than what it's possibly sold for in the past, or 20-50 times more with the end auction result. - oh but GPX! A rare video game sold for 100K and alledgedly some other stuff is going for more than that recently! Well that's a fair point I suppose, but then I'd argue a rare video game with Mario and a first print sticker-sealed, is desirable by pretty much any gamer/collector out there on Earth. How many of us are into collecting console prototypes? - lastly, if console prototypes are hot property, then we'd hear about them peaking 100K prior to any video game reaching that status. So how I see it, there is much less desire for a rare console than a rare game. --------------- Anyway, just throwing some rationale at the situation. I understand that 2 crazy billionaires could be bidding right at this instant, and I might end up with egg on my face.

I’d offer $2000 for it. Though I think it probably deserves to be more, maybe around $20,000 to $50,000 (without the hype). More complexing questions: If the auction is going to a live auction after the online bidding, what is the incentive for bidding so high earlier on in the online bidding? Furthermore, why need to continue into live bidding and not just conclude at the online bidding?

Anyone got further updates or further thoughts on this auction?

@OP if you’re curious enough, give grading a try. Regarding which is the better service option? If you’re genuinely in it as a collector and not to resell, then best you pick the one that suits to your visual satisfaction (ie. imagine what your game would look like if graded by VGA and WATA).

After reading your posts, I would like to apologise for using the “douchebag” word in my previous post. This particular case seems more to me like an issue of grading itself and not necessarily buyer or seller is entirely at fault. I just would like to point out: - seller should take pictures in the least of front and back, because any flaws at the back (not shown) can easily put off a buyer upon receiving it. As collectors, we tend to focus on the front and back surfaces, regardless of sealed or nonsealed. - buyer (@OP) should accept grading isn’t an exact science and that there can be discrepancies (for several reasons) between items of the same grade; if in doubt, need to ask for more pics before jumping on a purchase.

I'm just poking fun at the Atari and older machines. I loved it back in the 80s and constantly playing it at a friend's house. Initially I didn't think too much, just felt 1985 was a good starting point, bearing in mind the general moods and discussions of this forum as a whole. As a side note, interesting to see 2010-2014 period isn't getting much love judging by the current polling.

There are 2 separate issues here from what I can see: 1. Is it worth a 85+? Definitely not! What could have went wrong? - error by the grader - damaged caused by the person putting the game into the acrylic case prior to sealing it - error by the typist eg. it may well have scored 85, but the typist had put it as an 85+ (this is where i think went wrong) - someone swapped the game after being graded (this is unlikely, as too much effort and not much gain for the seller) 2. Was the seller a douchebag for not highlighting the flaws? Definitely! Significant flaws need to be highlighted, it shouldn't really matter the grade - this is the basis of a good buyer-seller interaction. Just because it's a graded game, does not mean the seller can just list one photo and assume buyer can't be pissed off after purchase. The seller is likely to be taking advantage of buyers that are new to the graded scene and don't know exactly what they're looking for. In the very least, the seller is poor in his description (not mentioning the flaws and not showing pics of the flaws), and more so if he's selling a graded game, knowing deep down he is selling to a certain group of buyers that are extra picky than the usual group who buy non-graded sealed games. If it was me, I'd ask for a partial refund and take it as a lesson for future purchases.

Let me explain.. Firstly, yeah suck it AtariAge! Secondly, the poll is aiming to seek the most popular era of current gaming. From the general vibe on here, gaming is geared at 1985 and thereafter. If there are any Atari gamers who plan to game mostly Atari 2600 games this year, let me know so I can add it to the poll. Otherwise, suck it Atari!

With the advancement in technology, video games have come on by leaps and bounds. The dots and pixels from the 80s are now becoming photo-realistic masterpieces. The simple nature of gaming back then is now becoming more complex than a movie with full-on plot twists! Everything seems to be moving forwards, and so many more choices in genres for you to pick with moderns consoles and downloadable games. With the above in mind, I find it fascinating how some of us are fondly sticking to gaming of yesteryear, whether it’d be from the 80s, 90s or beyond. Personally, I’ve been stuck in 2008, playing repeatedly (or perhaps obsessively?) 2 games on Xbox Live on the 360 - Defense Grid and Geometry Wars 2. I love them for their addictive high-scoring nature, as well as simple pick-up-and-play mechanics with gaming in short bursts. Which era have you been “stuck on” in your gaming? Or another way of looking at it, which era will you likely to stick with in 2020?

It really depends on your intentions I think. If for pure preservation, selling to a private collector that you know would cherish the game and not to immediately resell, would be perfectly fine. If though you feel the item is special enough to be witnessed in person by the masses, then that’s the point of a museum.

Probably the funniest game with its off-beat humour was Monkey Island on the PC. Another game that made me laugh out loud, was Mystical Ninja on the SNES. Party games with peripherals (eg. Eyetoy, Wiimote, guitar etc.) generally bring out the laughs by nature of its social interactions. Most laughs I’ve personally had with these types of games were the original Eyetoy, Guitar Hero and Wii Sports.

Short and sweet - what game(s) made you laughed the most when playing it? What game brought out the biggest, ugliest smile you’ve ever given during game time? (Your face would be looking something like this => )

You can look back now and say “abscesses ain’t so scary!” Potentially life-threatening, but often can be fixed. As opposed to life threatening conditions such as a stroke or a heart attack, which are more at the extreme end of the “life threatening scale”. Funny you just bought a gauntlet IV, as I recently sold my copy through eBay! If you’re looking to game to forget the post-op pain, perhaps buy a Genesis-mini? A lot of awesome games in that compilation, and I plan to get one in the coming weeks.

I think you’re looking at it purely from the pre-existing hype - historical importance popularity and rarity. I’m acknowledging all the above and with extra observations of the current bidding patterns. - why such a high amount so early in the bidding? - I haven’t looked at the actual bidding, but some posts above state there has been a cancellation of a high bid. It does make you wonder.. - all this 1-3 million dollar talks - how did the owner come up with this value? - final point, how do we know this is actually one of a kind? There could possibly be a few more, or a few dozen more, locked in a shed somewhere. Actual one of a kind is a lot different to Potential one of a kind, particularly in value. I’m probably more keen on seeing who the winning bidder would be and what they plan to do with this item, more so than the actual end bid.

I’ve read hundreds of gaming mags back in the 90s so I’m fully aware of the historical significance of this item. The backdrop is certainly cool with its link to 2 of the biggest gaming giants currently in battle. However, it is arguable that this is the most precious gaming item in history. There are plenty of candidates for the coolest gaming item in history. Examples: - rare limited collectors edition of games or consoles before it. - sealed one-of-a-kinds of 80s and early 90s games (eg. Sticker-sealed first print Nes Mario) - rare tournament prizes - rare prizes sent by gaming companies for special gamer’s achievements —————————— The Nintendo PlayStation no doubt is a popular item among the gaming enthusiasts, but the big question is that how many actually care to spend 6 figures or more? And at what price point do we agree it’s a legit bid versus market manipulation?

I think there are 2 separate issues here: - can a person do whatever they want in their own home, as long as it’s legal and not harmful to themself or others? Yep! - is reproduction boxes/games bad for the collecting hobby? Yep! (I agree with you here). I believe if the intent is to create repro boxes and never to resell them, then that’s fine. The problem is that if the repro box looks near authentic, and they go for sale, they will likely reach a buyer with evil intent to scam future unsuspecting buyers thinking that they’re buying the real thing. It sets up a high probability of a negative outcome. Also, it peeves me a great deal seeing some repro games/boxes being listed on eBay as “brand new”. Scum sellers!

This is just bonkers. How are people justifying these sorts of values? And why is the bidding so high so early on in the bidding? Is anyone getting any shill bidding vibes, or is it just me?

The intrinsic value of the original data on the EPROM you’re talking about is likely only relevant to those who seek it: - gamers who want to play on original items - preservationists (from a functional perspective) There are other types of buyers though, examples: - preservationists (from a physical condition perspective) - collectors to display for art/nostalgia ——————— So with all the above, I can see collecting would still carry on even if one day the disc/bit rot will occur to the majority of the games.

Excellent work! Hopefully you won’t just vanish in a few years and we then start seeing things like... WATA 9.6 A+ Gloves collection pedigree

Back then it would have been more appropriate to label it “the biggest collection with no killer titles”. That 750K looks an interesting number. Could history repeat itself?