Sealed game collectors hoarding all the cool toys
by Kyle Orland 
{ Sep 16th 2007 at 5:00PM }
You know what pisses us off? People who collect toys but keep them sealed in the box instead of playing with them. Or people who buy comics but never dare read them for fear they'll harm the all-important grading condition. So you can imagine how we feel about Sealed Game Heaven, a new international forum community for collectors of factory-sealed copies of video games.You might think this obsession with keeping games encased in a thin sheet of cellophane is all about preserving their value as collectibles, but you'd be wrong. As forum administrator Pascal explains, "I think sealed collecting is more than an investment. A game which you played more than 40 hours for example is a part of your life. ... If you get a sealed copy of this game you can remember those days every time you pass it." Well, sure, but with an unsealed copy you could relive those days by actually, er, playing the game, right?
To be fair, there is something appealing about the idea of having a game preserved for all time exactly how it once existed on the store shelves. But we can't help but think Oscar Wilde's famous description of cynics also applies to these sealed collectors -- people who "know the price of everything and the value of nothing."
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
frrs @ Sep 16th 2007 5:10PM
I agree.
rokerovakero @ Sep 16th 2007 5:12PM
the hardcores want to be considered cool, and keep doing the same old stuff the nerds do, do you see where I'm going with this? at least with magazines and toys you know it's working, optical media will last 15 years tops, in the best airless enviroment, and I doubt games are packed in some thing as secure as that... Boys will be boys...
Sean D. @ Sep 16th 2007 6:08PM
15 years tops? What're you talking about? I'd expect that stuff to last forever. I still listen to CDs that I bought in the late 80s when I was in High School. Why would optical media have an expiration? I've had some 10-year-old-plus CD-Rs expire on me, but never manufactured media.
FermitTheKrog @ Sep 16th 2007 8:03PM
I call bs.. My Sega CD games are just over 15 years and they have zero problems. My Turob Grafix CD games are over 17 years old, they have no problems. Get your facts straight.
vidGuy @ Sep 16th 2007 9:20PM
It's called CD Rot and it's the reason why you shouldn't store anything long term on only optical media.
Synner @ Sep 16th 2007 9:29PM
It's Called urban legends, and it's the reason you shouldn't believe everything you hear. Took all of .02 seconds to return about 50,000 google results
The Disc Rot Myth
Media obsolescence isn't the only thing people fear after committing a personal library's worth of data to CDs and DVDs. But some worries--namely, fear of disc rot--are not fully warranted.
Like a bad seed, the myth of disc rot self-perpetuates, cropping up every now and again as a sudden and mortal threat to your copious collection of prerecorded and self-created discs.
The myth was once rooted in fact. It is true that back in the 1980s, with the first generation of prerecorded audio CDs, the edges of the discs were not always sealed properly, which allowed moisture to get into the disc. Replicated, prerecorded discs use aluminum for the reflective layer; when moisture came into contact with the aluminum on prerecorded discs, explains Byers, it in turn oxidized, causing the aluminum to become dull. "That's where the term 'rot' started," he says.
But that problem was quickly identified and overcome. "The manufacturers learned what was going on, so now the edges of discs are sealed with a lacquer," according to Byers. Though the problem is typically associated with CDs, Byers notes that the potential for interaction with oxygen is the same with both CD-ROMs and DVD-ROMs.
The so-called rot issue does not apply to recordable discs. For one thing, recordable optical media do not use aluminum; instead, they use silver, and very rarely gold, or a silver-gold alloy, for the reflective layer. "If the silver comes into contact with sulfates [i.e., pollution, or high humidity], it could affect the silver, but the likelihood of that is less than the likelihood of moisture coming into contact with the aluminum on prerecorded discs," says Byers.
rokerovakero @ Sep 16th 2007 10:32PM
I'm talking from my experience, I don't know how it would apply to every brand in the world, what I'm talking about is optical discs will never be as reliable as plastics. hard drives suffer from the same thing. What new format will we be using in 10 years and how long would it last, who knows, but I wouldn't put any faith on the stuff for collecting for posterity, this is just a trend started with old cartridges gettting nostalgia money trying to get a younger crowd that started gaming during the dvd-rom years.
If you like to collect cds and dvds and have them sealed inside a closet, go ahead, the technology is still pretty new to know what would happen in 50 years.
My fathers used to collect records, and many were sealed, history showed that lp records weared down every time you played them so I guess he has a few nice $$$ in that pile, I have tons of dvds and games, but I enjoy them, I really don't know how much monetary value they will be worth in the future, but right now, they are very valuable to me every time I play one and avoid scratching them since experience has showed me how fragile they are. thank god Bluray is adding a few more plastic layer to fix the previous format's very big problem.
fluffbox @ Sep 16th 2007 11:30PM
That only applies to writable discs since it's the organic dye in the disc that's decaying over time. Pressed discs don't have this problem because they're constructed differently - instead of using organic dye, the pits are physically pressed into the media. Most production optical discs (like games) should last a lifetime if they're taken care of.
Mitsuo @ Sep 17th 2007 3:11AM
I still have the old school floppy disks. Like the TRUE floppy disk.(forget the size, but their the bendy ones) And they still work. Yes I do still have a computer that can run them. it's a 486, boasting a impressive windows 3.1 OS and a turbo button that makes it go from 32 to 64! :flex:
Point: dat shit still works 20 + years later.
Poisoned Al @ Sep 17th 2007 12:49PM
CD-Rot does happen, if you're stupid enough to leave to damn things in direct sunlight or leave corrosive mataral all over them like fingerprints (your skin is acid after all) or run a belt sander over it like that fucker before you at Blockbuster seems to do.
LaughingTarget @ Sep 16th 2007 5:18PM
I lump this in with people who just like to hoard money. Games, like money, aren't good for anything if it just sits around collecting dust. Games are meant to be played, simple as that.
Rubang B (NDF - Heart) @ Sep 16th 2007 5:20PM
You tell 'em Orland. All 300 of my NES carts are opened and ready to rock. I say eat on the good China.
Orion @ Sep 16th 2007 5:28PM
yes, but its different for games than things like figures. for me, i think star wars figures for instance are a lot less impressive looking without the box and packaging. figures are more like statues, ie: art. and look natural standing around on display. so keeping these sealed vs lets say a video game that really should be opened to experience it's full joy is more acceptable.
just my opinion.. i think its wrong to group collectors who collect sealed games vs collectors who save sealed figures.
plyx @ Sep 16th 2007 5:32PM
I've got a factory sealed copy of Ocarina. I still play the game sometimes on the Gamecube, too.
Grant @ Sep 16th 2007 5:39PM
"You want me to dress up like Thor? I'll dress up like Thor! I'll dress up like Iron Man!"
fwacce @ Sep 16th 2007 5:39PM
Some people like to be reminded of how when they were young, they went to the store and bought something that they had been waiting for. To keep something as new as it was on the shelf, is something special to some people. It's really all about memories, not including the investors.
The more important question is why do you care? What difference does it make if someone wants to keep something sealed or open it and play it? How is your life going to change if someone leaves the cellophane on a game? And why would you go out and find a forum on the internet and come back here to post and complain about it, when it doesn't affect you? To me, it's always been more about someone's own ego as to why you would insist on telling other people what to do with their stuff.
Live and let live.
Crrash @ Sep 16th 2007 7:53PM
why do i care? lets see...
theyve got all the goddamn rare games im looking for! they wont even play the games! If they dont play them they should sell them, so someone else can enjoy it...
rokerovakero @ Sep 16th 2007 10:44PM
remember, people will always find something to collect somethings last, while some other don't. I guess it's really whatever you think is worth, the sad thing is when people just do it to get money. That's why we got 9 different covers for Gen 13 #1 in the 90's.
jodyanthony.com @ Sep 16th 2007 5:47PM
I also think its dumb. although i do have a factory sealed copy of ET for Atari, heh.
Shmil @ Sep 16th 2007 9:12PM
i could go to new mexico and dig up a pile of those if i want, but that is still cool none the less, i don't think i've ever left anything in the packaging, though i do still have the box for my n64
Synner @ Sep 16th 2007 9:33PM
Those were actually unearthed and destroyed after the word got out. I read it in this great history of video games book, I got. Great book worth the read, here's a link if anyone is interested.
http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-History-Video-Games-Pokemon/dp/0761536434
if posting this isn't allowed, sorry, but this is a must have for anyone who likes this site.
Kazi @ Sep 16th 2007 5:49PM
When I buy a robot that pirates games for me I tend to buy the games I love and keep them wrapped up in their crisp cellophane (I order them online too so I don't get games with stupid price tags on MY CELLOPHANE). Half of my DS collection is still wrapped (The other half happened before I got my robot -glares at Sprung-). It's great having the best DS games still wrapped sitting around your desk.
Mr Khan @ Sep 16th 2007 5:49PM
You realize that the "collect and preserve now, cash in later" mentality nearly killed the Comic Book industry back in the early '90s
not that that'll happen in this industry, though, but still
baby sea tuna @ Sep 16th 2007 8:15PM
Yeah. I've still got 10 worthless copies of X-Force #1 sitting in a box somewhere.
Lesson learned.
Arturis @ Sep 17th 2007 12:58PM
Yes, but do you have New Mutants issue 100, where the New Mutants decide to form X-Force? ^_^
Brad Lee @ Sep 16th 2007 5:53PM
Wow, and I thought keeping action figures and other toys (yes toys) sealed was creepy. This ups the creepiness factor even more.
I had a helluvalotta action figures back in the day, and I opened and played with all of them. Sure I could have made quite a bit of money by now if I had kept them in prime condition in the original packaging, but all the money I would have made selling them would probably have been pissed away through years and years of therapy.
I'm not saying all collectors should seek therapy. I'm just suggesting that refusing to open and play with a toy/video game simply because it will deminish its value is a sign of some serious repression issues.
Muuust f-fight urges to have f-fun, it will pay off later!
samfish (SDF- Green Lantern Ring) @ Sep 16th 2007 11:49PM
"Wow, and I thought keeping action figures and other toys (yes toys) sealed was creepy. This ups the creepiness factor even more."
mmm...no, not really. You've obviously never met people who buy factory sealed erotic anime toys.
amba @ Sep 17th 2007 5:03AM
Samfish- people who keep factory sealed erotic anime toys are often still factory sealed themselves.
gamermasterman @ Sep 16th 2007 6:04PM
everyone has their own thing they like to do i guess
i open all my games, withing a few minutes after getting home, if i wait that long :P
i open all my action figures & die cast cars, i even have a few rare ones.
i like collection stuff and i know ill never sell it.
i prefer having my figures open so i can pose & display them nicer
Carlos @ Sep 16th 2007 6:04PM
i say let's go to their houses with torches and burn their videogame collections!!!
Rubang B (NDF - Heart) @ Sep 16th 2007 6:07PM
::grabs pitchfork and torch::
Kazi @ Sep 16th 2007 6:21PM
::puts on his robe and wizard hat::
Rubang B (NDF - Heart) @ Sep 16th 2007 6:33PM
::casts Level 3 Eroticism::
Ratchet the Lombax @ Sep 16th 2007 6:12PM
Well I have a number of games still in their original packaging and I don't intend on opening them. They are mostly from the old systems like NES, SNES and Atari so if I want to play them I can either play the copy I have open or more conveniently play them on a computer, PSP or XBOX. I will agree that buying a game just to hold on to it for the future is kinda silly but since most of the people that do this most likely have another copy of the game open that they can play it's not such a big deal. After all how does it hurt you if they don't play it it's their game let them do what they want with it.
Kyle Orland @ Sep 16th 2007 6:25PM
@fwacce, I care because these collectors keeping the game sealed and not selling it means one less copy of that game that's available in the market to someone (like me) who might want to buy it and actually play it.
Lanturn of Ash @ Sep 16th 2007 6:41PM
Well, if that's you're reasoning you have no point at all. I can see you maybe getting pissed if you wanted to play Rez or something, but you should still easily be able to find a copy without a problem. I have a few sealed games, my most important ones being Halo 2 CE (Got it at Toys R Us for $10), and my GC Zelda Collector's Edition.
If you guys wanna bitch about how I keep them wrapped instead of play them I'd like to point out that I have over 1600 Halo 2 games played and Ocarina of Time is my third favorite game.
Ratchet the Lombax @ Sep 16th 2007 7:00PM
Well I have a sealed copy of Panzer Dragoon Saga for the Sega Saturn that I've never played. So if you want to give me the $250 that it's worth then you can have it and play it or do whatever you want to with it as I will have my money and won't care. I will admit that I never really understood why someone would pay that much for one game but as long as someone is willing to do so I will continue to collect my rare games.
Rubang B (NDF - Heart) @ Sep 16th 2007 7:20PM
Scum like you are the reason I can't find Ikaruga for under a million bucks!
Ratchet the Lombax @ Sep 16th 2007 7:49PM
@Rubang B (NDF - Heart)
It's not my fault that you didn't buy it when it first came out. Plus a simple search on ebay resulted in a number a copies one for as little as $45.99 a far cry from a million dollars.
Also what is the difference in me having a game unopened on my shelf and playing the same game in my system? Either way it's a copy your not going to get to play and I get the same amount of joy out of it. I never understood why people want others to live their lives a certain way. Everyone enjoys things differently and you can't change that so deal with it.
Crrash @ Sep 16th 2007 8:01PM
well there are millions of reasons why you dont buy a game when it first came out. You dont have enough money. you have a strict 1 game per month policy. you used to think the game was bad/not worth 50 bucks... etc.
usually if someone buys a game but doesnt play it, he sells it to someone who will play it. But those people dont care about playing it and yet want to keep the game. Either they have 2 copies of the game, one sealed, one unsealed (in this case they shouldn't have bought the second one and let someone else buy it) or they only bought 1 sealed version (in other words they dont care about the game, and shouldn't have bought it so that someone who did care could have bought it)
hvnlysoldr (NDF ) @ Sep 16th 2007 8:28PM
I repeat the call for Kyle Orland (and all other Joystiq and affiliated bloggers) to have avatar(s).
Also I agree with the collection mentality being skewed. (has in box Greedo figure)
Rubang B (NDF - Heart) @ Sep 16th 2007 8:50PM
Well excuse me for having neither GC nor DC back in my PC phase. Now my Wii can play it but the last time I czeched online I was only finding some at $150 and $300 and such. Thanks for finding the deal, but sadly right now I can't afford it.
Kyouryuu @ Sep 16th 2007 7:53PM
I remember way back when Toys "R" Us was having a clearance sale. They were selling off NES stock for $15 apiece. I bought Final Fantasy. Truth be told, I never really liked the first Final Fantasy. I played it for a couple hours tops and got bored. But a few years later, that $15 sealed box would have sold for $115 dollars on eBay. Insanity.
I can't imagine games being worth collecting, to be honest. Perhaps the old Atari stuff, but once the medium really caught on, was it worth anything? I remember trying to hunt down Mega Man X3 when I was younger, just so I could have all of them to play. I eventually found it and had the complete set, but a few years later, Capcom released the Mega Man X Collection, making it a moot point. Game companies in general are not ignorant of what sold well in the past and eventually re-release things if they believe the sales are there. For that reason, unless collectors place some bizarre emphasis on the plastic of a SNES cartridge, I don't see why video games would be a collectible investment.
Of course, the Antiques Roadshow of 2107 will probably prove me wrong. XD
Sara @ Sep 16th 2007 6:46PM
I can understand keeping action figures sealed because that breaks the packaging forever and you really can't re-use it. Action figures do look better sealed.
But keeping sealed video games is really dumb. A video game is meant to be played. First of all you could just open it and get to play it while still displaying the box, this way you could still have your display and your fun as well. Many people do this.
Another interesting thing I have heard about the collectors of sealed video games is that since the cellophane has acid in it, in about 10 years boxes like the NES boxes will start to degrade and discolor, since they have had the original cellophane wrapping on them for so long. Lets see how much those sealed games decrease in value once this starts to happen, then people will be clamoring for open-box and complete games in perfect condition that are not discolored. This is something that you have to consider if you are going for a sealed collection for life.
Also I would seriously buyer beware if you are buying sealed games off ebay, YOU DON'T REALLY KNOW WHATS INSIDE THOSE BOXES YOU ARE BUYING, especially if you never open them up. I have heard so many cases about people buying sealed games then opening them up only to find a bunch of paper or some other weight inside it to make it feel like there is a real game in there. Think about it, some seller could have you thinking you are buying a factory sealed game when its just a box with stuff in it, and you may NEVER find out about this if you don't open the game. With the amount of re-shrinking supplies around nowadays its easy to get it almost exact to the point that it looks original. Lots of sellers also advertised games as factory sealed when they are really re-sealed, and lots of other sellers just sell shrinkwrapped games as brand new and factory sealed, so finding a true factory sealed game on ebay is rather difficult due to all the scamming, and its such an easy scam to pull off when collectors have all this money to burn. This is yet another reason to avoid buying sealed games, your bound to get duped someday.
Mike @ Sep 16th 2007 7:55PM
The Oscar Wilde tie-in doesn't make any sense. The collectors simply value something different - which is a far cry from valuing nothing.
Thierry @ Sep 16th 2007 6:47PM
The whole point of purchasing action figures is to play with them. Which of the following story is better:
1) I had so much fun playing with those action figures
2) I had so much staring at the sealed boxes of the action figures in the display cabinet
fluffbox @ Sep 16th 2007 6:47PM
I have a factory sealed copy of Resident Evil 4, but that's only because I bought the game 3 times.
rokerovakero @ Sep 16th 2007 11:03PM
One time, there was this tiny store that had a whole box of Cabbage patch kids cards, and was selling for $50, of course I got it, she said "don't open it!", "you wish bitch" I replied, so I got home and opened it up and it had a little gum stick, so I did a Homer and ate a few... I still remember seeing a little of my intestines while sitting on the toilet with a mother-of-diarreas. I could have been a character on one of those cards!
SaraAB87 @ Sep 16th 2007 6:50PM
I have found that when your living in a tight space, or when you have to move, or just when you get older and you realize, what the heck have I been spending my money on for the last years... you will regret collecting sealed things that you can't even use, then you will have to go to ebay and sell it all off, which is a major pain. Its much better to collect something you can use and play like video games, rather than collecting something like toys and action figures which are primarily for display.
Kangstarr @ Sep 17th 2007 3:03PM
I have about $10,000 dollars in useless cards, toys, and comic books sitting at my apartment. It was great at the time but looking back I wish I just saved that cash and invested it on some stocks or something haha....now they just clutter up my apartment and are basically worthless since there is always some guy on ebay that's willing to sell it for less than what you bought it for.
So don't buy crap! Look 10 years into the future and tell yourself if you are really going to enjoy that box of old Garbage Pail Kids cards.