Opened my first vintage sealed game today

[disjaukifa]

Speaking of exposure to air ... One interesting thing that I noticed about my Incredible Wizard cart was how the label, which is mostly white, is mottled by age. I'd assumed that wear and tear did this, but I pulled it new out of the package and the label looked old but not used.

 

That could be caused by heat, if the game was every boxed in an non-air conditioned room. Its really difficult to keeps these games in great shape, heat, humidity and extremely cold temperatures can all be damaging to these games.

[jferio]

I highly doubt that the seal was air-tight. Oxygen (and other impurities in the air) would have interacted with the base metal to cause this corrosion -- e.g. look what happens to silver when it is stored.

 

As a note, it's highly, highly unlikely that a game will be well sealed enough to keep things inside the wrap from oxidizing, like cartridge connections. Especially since I don't recall any game of any significant vintage having silica packets tossed in with the contents, and that's with opening up a cache of Atari games a few years ago.

 

On the other hand, I enjoy the novelty of opening up a game of that vintage that I will be the first to actually play.

 

I don't go out deliberately hunting down sealed games to buy to do this to. While I believe the games should be played and not just displayed, I'm not willing to pay the "premium" for a sealed game over a complete in the box game.

[desiv]

Speaking of exposure to air ... One interesting thing that I noticed about my Incredible Wizard cart was how the label, which is mostly white, is mottled by age. I'd assumed that wear and tear did this, but I pulled it new out of the package and the label looked old but not used.

I've heard that some of the mottling on labels is actually the glue used seeping up to the front of the label..

 

My Coleco mini PacMan, the white label on the top is like that. Not sure if that can be remediated at all..

 

desiv

[fiddlepaddle]

what was the first one that you opened just to play?

Pretty much every game I bought back in 1980, 81, 82 was sealed. And I opened every one!

 

Who else bought a shrink-wrap machine so you can reseal every game after you play?

 

By the way, anybody know where you can get NOS 1978 shrink-wrap?

[Seob]

what was the first one that you opened just to play?

Pretty much every game I bought back in 1980, 81, 82 was sealed. And I opened every one!

 

Who else bought a shrink-wrap machine so you can reseal every game after you play?

 

By the way, anybody know where you can get NOS 1978 shrink-wrap?

Ebay?? Shrink wrap machine

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 380358326560

[jaybird3rd]

I posted my views about opening sealed games last year:

 

1. A shrinkwrapped cardboard box is not a time capsule or a suspended animation chamber. If something has remained in its original packaging, it's probably a safe bet that it's free of sun damage and of the ordinary wear and tear that it might have endured out of the box, but otherwise, there is no guarantee that it has been "preserved" any better than a similar item that's been opened and well cared for. Even inside the box, it's still vulnerable to extreme temperatures and magnetic fields, rubber and foam components still dry out and deteriorate, and cartridges are still vulnerable to corrosion, bit rot, and other effects of age.
    
   
2. It is inevitable that, sooner or later, somebody or something is going to break that packaging open. It might be you, or it might be your teenage grand-nephew who inherits your collection after you die because none of your other heirs know what to do with it, or it might be a hungry mouse in somebody's basement, or it might be some machine in a scrap yard or recycling plant. The experience of opening it for the first time won't mean as much to anybody else as it would mean to you, so why shouldn't you enjoy the privilege?
    
   
3. In the years since people began working to preserve classic games, anything that you own has probably* already been dumped, copied, scanned, photographed, or otherwise preserved for posterity. You can play it in emulation or copy it to blank media, and you can download scans of the original manuals and other materials. By leaving it sealed, you're only denying yourself the experience of opening it and of touching and feeling the contents with your own hands, which is about the only thing a sealed copy can still offer you.
    
   * However, you should always do your research before you open a game to see if it's one of the many titles that have not yet been dumped or scanned; if it hasn't, you can play a role in preserving it! But again, that's something you can't do until you open it.
    
   
4. Leaving the shrinkwrap on the box can actually damage it over time. I hope this isn't a surprise to anybody, but shrinkwrap actually shrinks, and if you leave it on the box for years and years, it can shrink to the point where it crushes and deforms the box. I've seen this happen to many Atari 7800 boxes, even those that have been sealed up in Atari's original cases and master packs.
   

These are the reasons why I'm usually not too hesitant to open sealed games.

[theredlineboss]

Since I'm a cheapskate, I generally don't wind up with sealed games. One of the few I have gotten was Robotron for the Lynx. Only got that because it was cheaper than the loose carts, oddly enough. No hesitation or regrets with opening it up, though I might for an older, rarer game.

 

-Rob

[vanderveen88]

I did this only once, with a copy of Royal Dealer for the Intellivision. I tore the shrinkwrap but left it on the box, if only to preserve the Woolworth's sticker on the front. (They had marked it down at least once.)

 

There seem to be lots of sealed common Inty games floating around, even here in Saskatchewan. I often come across sealed games at two of the game shops I frequent here, never for more than $5. So I didn't feel terribly guilty about it.

[theking21083]

I don't buy sealed games unless they are the same price as an opened copy. Hell I don't even buy boxed games unless they are the same price as a loose copy since I don't collect boxes. The few sealed games that I had, I opened. I don't see how it being sealed is going to make the game any more valuable. I buy games to play just as much as to collect. If anything I would want to pay less for it since you can't verify if the thing even works. I have opened about 10 sealed Intellivision games and a few Atari 2600 and NES games so far.

[godslabrat]

What Jaybird3rd said. Games are meant to be played, and I can't think of anyone who would enjoy opening a sealed game as much as I would. I'm the nostalgic and sentimental sort. I don't often get the chance, but I do skim for NISB NES games, and relish opening them up.

[mondor1]

I bought a sealed copy of Circus ATARI I opened it and it played.

[boxpressed]

Just did it again. Galactic Invasion for the Astrocade this time. Sealed Astrocade commons are still pretty plentiful. Fun game. The sound capabilities of the Astrocade blow away its contemporaries. Unreal.

[IntellivisionDude]

[boxpressed]

Nice. The Astrocade labels are mottled as well. Opening a $6 Astrocade game is not as daunting as your effort, so much respect!

[A_Locomotive]

I've opened every single sealed Lynx and Jaguar game I've bought. The oldest I've opened was my copy of Space Attack for the 2600 I got from the.golden.ax when I got my console from him. When I opened my package and saw that sealed box I just couldn't resist. Left the shrink wrap on it though, only cut off the top of it.