Sealed Games

[IntellivisionDude]

What is your opinion on sealed games. I consider myself more of a gamer than a collector and would rather play the games then have them sit on the shelf untouched. I figured a hardcore collector may freak out if someone unsealed a game.

 

I brought this up because i just won some auctions this morning for some sealed Intellivision games.

 

As of right now i only collect for 1 system, the Intellivision. All other systems i own, i only buy games that i want to play and if the game sucks i sell it.

 

The way i look at it is, that if the game is sealed that means the game will be in better shape to play.

 

I know it really doesn't matter since they are my games and i can do what i want but i'd still like to hear some opinions.

[+cvga]

I'm more of a gamer also although I do enjoy collecting boxes and instruction manuals. If I had an extremely rare game that was still sealed and I wanted to play it, I'd probably look for a trade instead of unsealing it. However, it wouldn't bother me at all to unseal a fairly common game.

[+save2600]

IMO - Sealed games are cool to look at sitting on a shelf (specially when the price tag is still on), but so are opened boxes too. I think it's safe to say most of us are gamers and as such, we're going to enjoy actually playing our games - not just admiring 'em from afar. If you're obsessive enough to collect both sealed AND opened copies for play, that's cool too. Just takes a different (more serious) kind of collector is all.

 

BTW: I open ALL my games if they came shrinked. As an LP collector, I have the mindset that shrinkwrap does more harm than good as it shrinks through the years and dog ears the corners of boxes or otherwise warps them. The damage shrinkwrap does to an LP is absolutely horrible, yet so many people think it's "protecting" the jacket. lol

[iwan-iwanowitsch-goratschin]

It would be a shame to open rare sealed games eccept for the very common ones. I am more a collector but I also like to play the games......therefore

I have a bunch of loose carts and opened boxed games......

[Ransom]

I'm more of a gamer than a collector. I only want to own fun games, and I don't want to own any games that just sit there on the shelf. So I don't normally leave sealed games sealed.

 

That said, I did buy a number of disk-based games for the A8 back in the early 90s that have remained unopened because I have other copies of them. So I do have some sealed games that will probably remain sealed for a long time to come.

[Rev]

me personally have had about 20 intv sealed games come into my collection,nothing rare.one day i just opened them all.i had a blast doing it and do not regret it.....but if came across an extremely rare sealed game on any system i would not open it.

[zylon]

I wouldn't have a problem with opening sealed games unless they were extrememly rare. As for Intv, I buy whatever I find so of my 10 games, only one is boxed, the rest are loose. I haven't opened any of my sealed atari games since it's so easy to find loose ones to play.

[+cmart604]

I consider myself both a gamer and a collector. When I got back into Intv about ten years ago I just wanted to play all the games I'd had as a kid, and then wanted all the games no matter what form or shape they were in so I could play those that I hadn't tried back in the 80's. That grew into "Hey, these are great looking boxes, I should collect them all to display,", which of course morphed into "I wonder how many of these I can find sealed". This hobby of ours can be quite addicting...luckily I have an understanding wife, even if she can't quite understand why I think it's cool that new games are being released for a 30 year old system

[Rev]

I consider myself both a gamer and a collector. When I got back into Intv about ten years ago I just wanted to play all the games I'd had as a kid, and then wanted all the games no matter what form or shape they were in so I could play those that I hadn't tried back in the 80's. That grew into "Hey, these are great looking boxes, I should collect them all to display,", which of course morphed into "I wonder how many of these I can find sealed". This hobby of ours can be quite addicting...luckily I have an understanding wife, even if she can't quite understand why I think it's cool that new games are being released for a 30 year old system

 

 

 

my wife thinks i am crazy as well

[Rik]

I really don't see the need to have a game cosmetically perfect just to play it,its the game itself that counts.I used to buy sealed games and pay top dollar for them.I no longer do that.If a game works,that's all that counts for me.Buying sealed games just got too pricey for me,as i have other higher priorities now to spend the money on.To me,its just plain lunacy to pay top dollar for a sealed game,just to open it and destroy its value.I'll buy sealed games only if they're at a loose or unsealed CIB,etc,price,which you can at times still find.I used to buy sealed games at a higher price and open them anyway,i thought WTF am i doing? :?If collecting video games was more like collecting art,rare paintings,fine wine,etc,in other words,"profitable"then maybe i still would collect sealed and leave them that way.But no,video games wont make you rich OR wealthy.I collect for the love of playing.

Edited February 4, 2010 by Rik

[icemanxp300]

I collect sealed games mainly for the nes. I have a few that are worth many times more than cart only. I frame my favorite ones. I have no interest in sealed games that are not near perfect. The shrink wrap must be fully intacked and not many flaws.

 

I kinda collect more now than play. So I kind of look at my collection as art and a sealed game is the best condition you can get for that game. I also really like boxed complete as well. I am really picky on all my stuff really don't want anything if it is not in good condition and as far as cd games go if it is not complete I don't want it all all.

 

As for opening a sealed game I would totally flip. I have a sealed mario 1 that is worth like $500 compare to a $10 cart. I have others such as link, dragon warrior, pocky and rocky 2. Sealed collecting is very expensive so generally try and trade from my collection for them.

[IntellivisionDude]

2 of the sealed games i bought i can't even play i don't believe. SCOOBY DOO`S MAZE CHASE and MR. BASIC MEETS BITS`N BYTES. Which i think i need the ECS to play? I only paid roughly $30 shipped for them both. It may have cost that much unsealed i think. They are being shipped from a seller who lives in VENEZUELA so i have no idea which version of the games i'm getting. I was skeptical buying from another country but he had good feedback. He appears to have boxes and boxes of sealed games. Hope they are legit.

 

Here's one of his auctions right here. What do you guys think?

 

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 280460162572

[iwan-iwanowitsch-goratschin]

Venezuela must be the unofficial landfill of sealed classic games......

[zylon]

A lot of the Super Pro Systems ended up down there. They were available through mail order.

[jeremysart]

Shamefully, I have opened some more rare sealed games like Diner and Tower of Doom, but I really wanted to play them, and they are still worth enough complete unsealed.

As for my sealed copy of Congo Bongo and Fathom.. not going to open any time too soon.

[+save2600]

As for my sealed copy of Congo Bongo and Fathom.. not going to open any time too soon.

How do you know they're really in there?

 

Could be a pack of those children's faux bubble gum cigarettes hiding inside. lol On a serious note... I'm sure you can tell the difference between factory sealed and re-shrunk, but people have been duped in the past!

 

 

[the-topdog]

I am both an avid gamer AND an avid collector. If I run across a factory sealed game, I snag it. There are a few reasons for this, the least of which is the value...

 

One: PRESERVATION. I get a sense of pride having a pristine specimen of a game for preservation sake. As these games get older and older it gets harder and harder to find examples of how these games were truly released.

 

Two: HISTORY. I think of it as a reference library, something I can show and share with others. I have opened boxes of most of my sealed games that I can play with my friends, then afterwords, I can show them the actual sealed version of what we just played.

 

Three: TRADING STOCK! You can get more delectable video games in trade for your sealed titles... and who doesn't want more yummy video games?

 

Four: MOOLAH. The least important reason for me, but it is still valid. A factory sealed game holds more intrinsic and monetary value than a loose game or even an open boxed game. Even common titles will eventually become more sought after over the years as time rolls by, and a factory sealed specimen will be highly sought after.

 

...that about sums up the reasons to keep a sealed box sealed. But that doesn't stop me from getting cheap loose versions of every sealed game I have to play the hell out of them.

[Rik]

A little while ago,while on Ebay,a majority of ColecoVision games were loose.Now due to demand,a lot are now mint in opened box or sealed in box.Now,i wish they were loose,as i cant really afford the sealed game prices,and i really don't want to pay top dollar for a sealed game and open it.Funny how your needs change after a while ,i used to hate loose games.

[Philflound]

I am both an avid gamer AND an avid collector. If I run across a factory sealed game, I snag it. There are a few reasons for this, the least of which is the value...

 

One: PRESERVATION. I get a sense of pride having a pristine specimen of a game for preservation sake. As these games get older and older it gets harder and harder to find examples of how these games were truly released.

 

Two: HISTORY. I think of it as a reference library, something I can show and share with others. I have opened boxes of most of my sealed games that I can play with my friends, then afterwords, I can show them the actual sealed version of what we just played.

 

Three: TRADING STOCK! You can get more delectable video games in trade for your sealed titles... and who doesn't want more yummy video games?

 

Four: MOOLAH. The least important reason for me, but it is still valid. A factory sealed game holds more intrinsic and monetary value than a loose game or even an open boxed game. Even common titles will eventually become more sought after over the years as time rolls by, and a factory sealed specimen will be highly sought after.

 

...that about sums up the reasons to keep a sealed box sealed. But that doesn't stop me from getting cheap loose versions of every sealed game I have to play the hell out of them.

 

I agree with everything you say.

 

Phil

[shadow460]

I but this stuff to play it. Even though I don't have an Inty, I probably would open a sealed game just to look through the docs. To me it is like a whole 'nother world in there.

 

I try to avoid sealed games if at all possible since I don't want to ruin the value they'd have for someone else.

 

I have been buying Laserdiscs recently. Someone mentioned the corners of LP's getting dog eared from shrink wrap. I've seen some LD jackets crushed by this also, and I don't think the heavier discs help at all. In addition, condensation within the wrap can destroy a poorly made disc. I honestly don't think I'd take a risk on one of these that's sealed unless it's cheap too.

[Philflound]

The majority of sealed Intellivision games I own came from a big buy at a flea market. There was a big truck who I think bought out the Wiz stock of video games and such. There were a few M Network 2600 games, but the majority of the stuff was sealed Intellivision games and Intellivoice units brand new. I remember spending like $125 or so. I bought 20 Intellivoice units at $2 each and the rest games at $1 each. I think I still have some sealed Intellivision games in my stock. I definitely still have the sealed ones in my collection.

 

Titles I remember being in there were AD&D, Astrosmash, 3 talking games except Tron, MLB, LV Roulette, Lock n Chase, Tron DD and Tron Maze, US Skiing, and maybe a couple of others. I actually ran out of money that day and didn't have much room in my friend's jeep. Else I probably would have bought them out. They may have had another 50 games and another 20 or so Intellivoice units.

 

The days when you could get cool stuff. This was about 12 years ago.

 

Phil

[Rik]

About twenty years ago,i was too busy schtrouping girls.God i wish i was collecting back then.Toys R Us still had all the 2600,INTV,CV,etc games in the display cases,and what did i do?I just walked by all those easily available games!.

Edited March 6, 2010 by Rik

[IntellivisionDude]

About twenty years ago,i was too busy schtrouping girls.God i wish i was collecting back then.Toys R Us still had all the 2600,INTV,CV,etc games in the display cases,and what did i do?I just walked by all those easily available games!.

 

 

Boy do i remember the Toys R Us days. Remember when my mother would let me pick out some games for Christmas. This is when all the INTV sports games came out. I remember getting Slam Dunk, Slap Shot, Body Slam, Centipede, Mission X, Diner. Etc. I even remember when they sold spare controllers for the Intellivision II. I regretted not picking them up after mine stopped working a few years later. A few years later Toys R Us stopped selling Intellivision stuff. I even remember seeing the INTV III in the display case. Unfortunately all my games were sold. I have bought back almost everything i owned back then. Just got to get Body Slam and Boxing and i'll have all the games back i had as a kid. Boxing is so common and cheap i can get that anytime i want. No hurry. I keep an eye open for Body Slam but it never shows up on Ebay. Even rarer games than Body Slam show up on Ebay more often than Body Slam. The last few months that is. I been looking everyday. But i know even if i do find it, it will be way out of my budget. And now that i'm broke. I have no budget. lol

 

Oops i got off topic. I wish i could relive those Toys R Us days. The feeling from buying those games back then can't be touched. I could go on all day.

[Philflound]

I forgot Shark! Shark! was also among the sealed games I got from that Wiz buy. Toys R Us I ignored for the most part because I spent 1984 and beyond buying C64 games and then onto PC games. My friend did get 4 copies of SW ESB for the 2600 from Toys R Us for 25 cents each. I got a copy from him which is now in my collection. Not Intellivision, but since we're on the subject of TRU, I figure I'd mention it.

 

Phil

[soporj]

My favorite game with a seal has to be Thin Ice!!!