Could this possibly grade out as a WATA 9.8?

[jonebone | 1,307]

On 4/15/2020 at 2:18 AM, Amermoe said:

Hi Bronty, always respect your opinion, but I recently sent in 2 games that I was sure would grade ok, that ended up 75 on the VGA scale because of similar creases. Yes, granted it was not flawless, but one of them was in much better condition than the other. One of them had the crease in the bottom front edge, and the other to the back top left corner. The only other flaws I could find were corner pokes. The seal itself was flawless.

You misread Bronty's post then. 

On 3/16/2020 at 10:32 AM, Bronty said:

I think if the rest of the game is flawless it would get 85 no problem.

Now, chances are there are other small flaws, so I think the likely result is 80+ or lower I agree, but not just because of that side creasing.

As for wata, probably 8.5?

Your game isn't flawless.  It has more than just corner pokes too, it has corner dents (more damage) and whitened corners (more damage than just a tiny corner poke).  

I think Bronty was slightly too generous saying the game in question could be 85 if flawless otherwise... I think the amount of creasing looks more like 80+ or perhaps 80+/85 borderline "if the rest was flawless".  A VGA 75 game has a LOT of wear, a LOT.  Corners matter a lot and your Breath of Fire has signfiicant corner wear on almost all of the visible corners. 

Edited April 16, 2020 by jonebone

[Amermoe | 150]

3 hours ago, jonebone said:

You misread Bronty's post then. 

Your game isn't flawless.  It has more than just corner pokes too, it has corner dents (more damage) and whitened corners (more damage than just a tiny corner poke).  

I think Bronty was slightly too generous saying the game in question could be 85 if flawless otherwise... I think the amount of creasing looks more like 80+ or perhaps 80+/85 borderline "if the rest was flawless".  A VGA 75 game has a LOT of wear, a LOT.  Corners matter a lot and your Breath of Fire has signfiicant corner wear on almost all of the visible corners. 

Fair enough. I never said my game was flawless - just the seal - the grade is what I was expecting in the 75-80 range - the sticker also brings down the score. The real question for me is how do you weigh a large crease - which is a very significant flaw, vs. the box puncturing through the seal at some corners - roughly 1-2 mm in diameter. Visually, the crease draws much more negative attention than something that needs very close inspection. I have many 85s, and they are generally in very nice condition - not mint but generally no clear visible flaws and certainly no creasing - although one game I have is an exception and so I agree with Bronty on the lack of consistency. It's been my experience that creasing like that is a very heavy deduction from VGA. To take PS1 cases for example, any crack is an automatic 25 point deduction regardless of condition - I've tested this with them many many times. 

To Jonebone's and Bronty's point, I can see if a game is truly flawless (no scuffing, corner pokes, dents, stickers, seal damage, etc.), could in theory score an 85, but I don't think it's realistic - unless say it was opened freshly from a case.

[Bronty | 187]

I mean, you've got white at all the corners, a corner ding, a side crease, and on the side shot you can see damage on the other side as well.    Accumulation of defects.   That is not what I'd call mint except for the crease

[Bronty | 187]

On 4/16/2020 at 11:11 AM, Amermoe said:

 

To Jonebone's and Bronty's point, I can see if a game is truly flawless (no scuffing, corner pokes, dents, stickers, seal damage, etc.), could in theory score an 85, but I don't think it's realistic - unless say it was opened freshly from a case.

Jone beat me to it, but you don't get creased games from a case.    Conversely, there are lots of minty games that have a creased.    Alll that needs to happen is for a minty game to have too much weight put on it at some point in its history.    Its not some kind of white whale, it does happen.   

[Amermoe | 150]

2 minutes ago, Bronty said:

Jone beat me to it, but you don't get creased games from a case.    Conversely, there are lots of minty games that have a creased.    Alll that needs to happen is for a minty game to have too much weight put on it at some point in its history.    Its not some kind of white whale, it does happen.   

Ok, I trust your opinion on this Bronty. All I'm saying is the majority of my 85s, and I probably have 12 or so SNES examples of this, don't have those creases - except 1 or 2 and in those instances while visible the crease is very light. My 80s, and 80+ on the other hand generally do have creases. 

[Bronty | 187]

35 minutes ago, Amermoe said:

Ok, I trust your opinion on this Bronty. All I'm saying is the majority of my 85s, and I probably have 12 or so SNES examples of this, don't have those creases - except 1 or 2 and in those instances while visible the crease is very light. My 80s, and 80+ on the other hand generally do have creases. 

Sure, I agree with that entirely.   That's because they generally have other wear!   this game was presented, if I recall the conversation correctly, as having no other flaws, but that's really not accurate.

Edited April 17, 2020 by Bronty

[GPX | 1,369]

2 hours ago, Amermoe said:

Ok, I trust your opinion on this Bronty. All I'm saying is the majority of my 85s, and I probably have 12 or so SNES examples of this, don't have those creases - except 1 or 2 and in those instances while visible the crease is very light. My 80s, and 80+ on the other hand generally do have creases. 

I read through your post carefully and I think you made a solid case of it being 80/80+ under VGA grading (and assuming no other flaws).

From my personal experience with VGA, generally any game with a surface crease never gets a gold grade, so at best gets a VGA85. I’m also referring to minimal amounts of creasing. In the OP’s example, there is a moderate amount of creasing which I would presume to cause a further deduction, so likely 80/80+ assuming everything else is flawless.

[GetTheGreg | 105]

On 4/17/2020 at 10:28 AM, Amermoe said:

Ok, I trust your opinion on this Bronty. All I'm saying is the majority of my 85s, and I probably have 12 or so SNES examples of this, don't have those creases - except 1 or 2 and in those instances while visible the crease is very light. My 80s, and 80+ on the other hand generally do have creases. 

I can attest first hand to sending in what was basically a case fresh Dk64 that had a stress crease along the top side.  It came back 90.  

[Amermoe | 150]

18 minutes ago, Maertens29 said:

I can attest first hand to sending in what was basically a case fresh Dk64 that had a stress crease along the top side.  It came back 90.  

That's interesting, it does lead me back to the point of inconsistency and for a 90 it also raises some red flags for me. But out of curiosity, was it a very light crease, or a pronounced one like in the photos on this thread?