Ranking Activision game wear

[goatdan]

Hey everyone,

 

While I'm new to this board, I'm not new to Atari collecting in any way. My name is Dan Loosen and I, along with my great friend Gary Heil, run the GOAT Store, LLC who hosted Atari Jaguar Festival 2K1...

 

Anyway, recently I was going through a lot of the Activision games that we have in stock and putting them into a new inventory system that we created, and I didn't know what to think of a lot of the games that I was looking at.

 

Can anyone else tell me how much Actiplaque you would think would costitute ranking a game as 'poor label' compared to a fine label. Right now, I'm very meticulous -- but should I not be seeing as how almost every Activision game has this problem?

 

Thanks in advance!

[Fretwobbler]

Hi Goat Dan,

 

Welcome to the only board on the web where you wont get abused or flamed:-)

 

I'm not the best person to ask on that subject as I believe the true value of a game is the game itself - my collection runs at about 200 carts and I dont really want any more because, well because the rest of the games are sh1t.

 

out of the thirty or so Acty's I have the majority are mottled but I'm not bothered because all the games work.

 

Probably not the answer your looking for but I thought I'd give you an alternative view

 

 

Adam

[Lemmi]

Something like this Frostbite game brings the value way down even if its a fun game (whats with Frostbite mine looks exactly the same way)

http://www.atariage.com/cart_page.html?Sof...wareLabelID=199

 

Then a Game like Freeway which is spotless i would pay alittle more even if it is a common game just because it is spotless

http://www.atariage.com/cart_page.html?Sof...wareLabelID=192

 

I dont know if i helped in anyway but this is how i look at games in the wild, when someone wants $5 for a game that looks like Frostbite i try to talk them down to a reasonable price, because it just looks so bad

[goatdan]

Fretwobbler:

 

That's not just your view... that's my view too! I'm happy as long as I have the game. I have a copy of Ram It that isn't in perfect condition, but it doesn't matter because it is Ram It! Besides that, most of my collection was played with as a kid for a long time, but I wouldn't trade carts for the world!

 

Unfortunately, when I'm trying to determine if I should say 'poor label' or not, my idea isn't the idea that holds true...

[goatdan]

Lemmi:

 

Thanks for the examples! I only wish I had enough time to take pictures of all of the different items that we have, but unfortunately I'm in over my head as it is.

 

Is there any cut off point that you would determine between the two? The Frostbite cart usually falls into our "give away game" category, while the other one would be darn near perfect. Is there an example that you have of one that has some damage that you would still consider to be a "good" condition copy?

 

Thanks!

[Fretwobbler]

I think label quality and box condition will play a bigger and bigger part in the value of cartridges as (a lot of) time goes by.

 

In a hundred years time I think it will, and should, seriously affect the value of a game, but right here, right now, I buy a game if I want to play it, not look at it.

 

Having said all that though I can understand Alex and Albert wanting the best possible label for the scans archived here at Atariage because they are for display purposes - and in many,many years to come - historical significance as well(think Stanley Gibbons, if you know who he was).

 

Adam

[Lemmi]

But i have to agree with Fret and you on if i dont have it and its the only copy ive seen in ages i would still get it (thats why i got Frostbite in such bad shape)

 

Well heres one, Dolphin (i dont have this one either and would probably get it in this coindition)

http://www.atariage.com/cart_page.html?Sof...wareLabelID=147

 

This one is a better example of what your looking for http://www.atariage.com/cart_page.html?Sof...wareLabelID=375

 

And this would fall closer to your Give away Bin, but i would still buy it if i didnt have it, and its pitfall (a classic) http://www.atariage.com/cart_page.html?Sof...wareLabelID=360

 

[ 02-05-2002: Message edited by: Lemmi ]

[Albert]

Heh, this is pretty amusing as almost all the Activision carts we have scans of are from my personal collection. And many of them are in pretty bad shape. Here are some examples of carts that have a small amount of Actiplaque that I would consider to be in good condition (at least for an Activision label):

 

Boxing

Chopper Command

Fishing Derby

Grand Prix

Ice Hockey

Kaboom!

Starmaster

Tennis

 

Most of these have a touch of Actiplaque, but aren't nearly as bad as they could be. Now, granted, games that are pulled new from a box are probably going to look even better than these. But for games found in the wild, the above are above average examples.

 

..Al

[Albert]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Fretwobbler:

Having said all that though I can understand Alex and Albert wanting the best possible label for the scans archived here at Atariage because they are for display purposes - and in many,many years to come - historical significance as well(think Stanley Gibbons, if you know who he was).

---

 

At some point we'll make an effort to go through all the labels we have online and solicit better versions of the ones that are in poor shape (such as the Dolphin label that Lemmi pointed out). That hasn't been a very high priority for us yet, as we're still in the mode of shoveling new content onto the site (not that I see that ending anytime soon.. ). But we're always happy to replace existing scans with better ones if people send them our way..

 

..Al

[Fretwobbler]

Albert - not counting my picture label HERO's and Pitfall 2, Freeway, Dragster and Decathlon which dont seem to be affected that Spider Fighter is in MUCH better condition than all of my Activision titles

 

Adam

[Lemmi]

Man i wish i had a Scanner (and if i did, that i would know how to use it )

 

I would be filling up your mail box with alot of better pictures

 

but as seeing that i dont even have a printer, i dont see a scanner in my future anytime soon

[Fretwobbler]

Ive got a scanner on my "toobuy" list. I could probably help with a few red label atari carts tha Al has mentioned earlier this evening he requires, but Activision - no way.

 

Adam

[goatdan]

Fretwobbler:

 

Unless you are planning on scanning things that are flat exclusively, I would consider investing in a good digital camera instead of a scanner. I've had a scanner for about three years now, and it was a complete waste.

 

Digital cameras on the other hand...

[Lemmi]

I wonder what the Activision guys think now looking at the horror of what there labels turned into over the years

 

And i think they should have made all there labels a dark dark color, those are harder to see the faults (untill it hits the white lettering)

 

And i got a Ice Hockey game boxed from Twit and it has no marks on it at all (and will never be brought out of the box again), and my original one is a complete mess

[Albert]

quote:

---

Originally posted by GOAT Dan:

Unless you are planning on scanning things that are flat exclusively, I would consider investing in a good digital camera instead of a scanner. I've had a scanner for about three years now, and it was a complete waste.

---

 

If you can only afford to get one or the other, I would definitely recommend the digital camera. If, however, you run a website and have need to scan thousands of flat items (boxes, carts, manuals, catalogs, etc.) to put online, then a scanner is a necessity. And so is the digital camera, to take pictures of hardware, for instance.

 

Unfortunately, digital cameras are considerably more expensive than (most) scanners. $500 will get you a respectable digital camera, but you can get a decent scanner for only $100 (don't ask how much my scanner was, though).

 

..Al