Why are some copies of the game "graded" higher than the others if they are all the same copy of the same game?
We discovered a new variant of Super Mario Bros
11–20 of 36 posts
Re: We discovered a new variant of Super Mario Bros
#12Why are some copies of the game "graded" higher than the others if they are all the same copy of the same game?
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Re: We discovered a new variant of Super Mario Bros
#13Something that I wonder about when I see the 'final' results like these NES cartridges sealed in a graded plastic box as a collectible. Surely the market value of these will only hold up as long as they're within the normal lifespan of the people for whom the original NES is a nostalgia item? For example: If you were born in 1978 and were 7 to 8 years old when your parents bought the original NES and brought it home…
For an anecdote in a different direction, my father bought a Ford model T a few years ago. Now, "classic" cars of the 60's and 70's are still very popular among those who lived through that time. Maybe your family had one or there was a particular car you wished you could have had. I don't think the model T works like that. Next year, all model T's will be 100 years old, so even if you are 95 today, when you started driving, the newest model T would have been a 20 year old car.
I've been with him to a couple of the local model T club meetings. The demographics are interesting. I was the youngest person there. My dad (late 60's) was the second youngest. But you have to remember that nobody alive, even the real geezers, has experienced a time when a Ford model T wasn't an old car. So by all means, it seems like this hobby should have died out decades ago, even as it continues to die out today. Very strange.
As it stands, it looks like a decent condition Model T can be bought these days for 10-20K, only a bit more than the inflation-adjusted original price. But, I don't really know what the collectors market was like at peak nostalgia.
Re: We discovered a new variant of Super Mario Bros
#14Do we know if the actual binary on the cartridge is the same ?
My first thought too. Someone dump the rom!
Re: We discovered a new variant of Super Mario Bros
#15Why are some copies of the game "graded" higher than the others if they are all the same copy of the same game?
The physical quality of the cartridge itself: Some might have scratches or off-centered stickers for example.
While most of them would be pristine to a regular user, these small nitpicky details might matter to collectors and help differentiate between two of them.
Re: We discovered a new variant of Super Mario Bros
#16I don’t really have any doubt that these are ‘real’ - but the article author has, to me, a strange amount of confidence in video game ‘grading’, especially since he himself is an expert:
From what they could see, there was very little doubt that these games were real. Of course, the grading process would 100% confirm that, but at face value, this looked like the real deal.
Re: We discovered a new variant of Super Mario Bros
#17I hate grading companies, they are a part of the retro industrial complex which made old consoles (ones that were manufactured in the millions, mind you!) and games so expensive. Old stuff should be sold at old stuff prices. Look at the New 3DS, it's approaching the launch price!
Re: We discovered a new variant of Super Mario Bros
#18I don’t really have any doubt that these are ‘real’ - but the article author has, to me, a strange amount of confidence in video game ‘grading’, especially since he himself is an expert: From what they could see, there was very little doubt that these games were real. Of course, the grading process would 100% confirm that, but at face value, this looked like the real deal.
confirming a game is real is one of the things psa is good at. the problem is a lot of graders act in suspicious ways when it comes to assigning scores at the high end.
you get a lot of reports about collectors sending a game in, getting a score thats obviously low for what they have and sending it again just to get what they originally expected. some of it might be human error but it could also be on purpose to make customers pay the fee twice.
there are also allegations of giving a high score like 9.6 or 9.8 to games that dont deserve it, like the record breaking mario bros cart a couple years back, to create artificial hype and get more volume at affiliated auction houses (i think karl jobst was the first one who reported on this).
and its basically confirmed that graders do "population management" where scores are based on the number and price of equal graded items on the market instead of just the quality. if high grades are too common prices go down, and if its too rare they get less trade volume and disappointed customers.
Re: We discovered a new variant of Super Mario Bros
#19Something that I wonder about when I see the 'final' results like these NES cartridges sealed in a graded plastic box as a collectible. Surely the market value of these will only hold up as long as they're within the normal lifespan of the people for whom the original NES is a nostalgia item? For example: If you were born in 1978 and were 7 to 8 years old when your parents bought the original NES and brought it home…
You get some inter generational nostalgia going on - I inherited my grandmothers NES which I have fond memories of playing any time I visited her.
I don’t play it as much as she did (I have modern games in my backlog to play as well) but I do occasionally buy more NES games to add to the collection.
Re: We discovered a new variant of Super Mario Bros
#20I was expecting to read about a new variant of the game ROM itself. But, this just sounds like a new, slight variant of the packaging.
It almost feels more like stamp or coin collecting, than video game collecting as I understand it.