Why does it pain some of us to open sealed games?

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This is my *sealed* backlog for the 360. Yes, I buy more games than I can play, but no, as a collector I don't feel I'm wasting money. And no, I didn't pay anything close to $60 for any of these, more like $20 or less. I also have a DS and Wii backlog similar. Oh and, I've played Fallout 3, just not my copy.


I don't know what it is, why it is that it pains me to break a seal. I'm not a sealed collector. But the longer I go owning a game I've not opened, the more I don't want to open it. I hate just gutting into the copy, knowing there are thousands out there already gutted. Being such a cheap ass, I could never bring myself to buy two copies of the same game. Being someone who doesn't have time, and probably would never have time to play all of the games I get, maybe I think someday years down the road a sealed collector would shit a lung for this lot. So this is why I try to avoid buying new when it makes sense, but sometimes it actually doesn't when a new copy is cheaper.


I'm thinking about doing it all in one swoop, to make it less painful. Maybe a mass unboxing-video. Might be for my own good.


Anyone else get into the same mess?

I don't do this with games, but I am like that with paper money. When I get a crisp bill from the bank machine, I can't bring myself to fold it or spend it. I carefully hold it by the edges and put it in a sleeve when I get home. Am I a money/coin collector? Hell no. Do I have silver and paper currency stashed away for reasons beyond my comprehension? Yes.

If you think not opening games is weird, try not spending money and trying to beat inflation.

Most of those titles won't be worth a lot, years down the road. If you had a rare title, it might be in your best interest to keep it sealed, but none of these titles fall into that category.

Yes, I feel the same way. However, there are cases when it's better to leave a game sealed, as well as times where it doesn't make sense to keep a game sealed. I'll give you a couple of examples.

First is my sealed 32X Primal Rage. It may not be the most rare 32X game, but it's pretty much a given that sealed copies of more uncommon games will start to become legitimately rare down the road. I'm keeping this copy of PR 32X shrink wrapped for posterity. Heck, I've even been thinking of sending it into VGA to have it graded and slabbed for both potential value increase as well as preventing any kind of damage (well, other than more sunfading, unless I buy a UV-resistant case).

Concerning the other side of the coin, there are often games that were so heavily mass produced, it's very common to find them sealed still. A more modern example is Drill Dozer on GBA. This game has been easy to find sealed, even today. If you find one, it probably won't cost you much more than a cart only copy and there will be loads more where that one sealed copy came from. My situation is a little different though. I have a pirated Drill Dozer, a legit cart with the manual and a sealed copy. Given the circumstance, there is no point in opening the sealed copy.

Hope this helps a bit in your decision, sort of. :)

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Originally Posted by gamevet

Most of those titles won't be worth a lot, years down the road. If you had a rare title, it might be in your best interest to keep it sealed, but none of these titles fall into that category.

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That may be, but who knows. If a collector ran across a large lot of sealed Genesis games, would that be something even if not all of the games were top notch?

I would freak just to see that many sealed Genesis titles in the same place.

For me it really depends on the game/age. Let's say I was at a flea market and found a sealed copy of Mortal Kombat for Genesis and Sonic 2 for Game Gear. I wouldn't open them due to the fact they've been sealed for so long. Even though they are very common games. But if I found more than one copy I would open one for sure. Guess it's kinda like a time capsule feeling opening a sealed game that's been sealed for years.

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Originally Posted by Guntz

Concerning the other side of the coin, there are often games that were so heavily mass produced, it's very common to find them sealed still. A more modern example is Drill Dozer on GBA. This game has been easy to find sealed, even today. If you find one, it probably won't cost you much more than a cart only copy and there will be loads more where that one sealed copy came from. My situation is a little different though. I have a pirated Drill Dozer, a legit cart with the manual and a sealed copy. Given the circumstance, there is no point in opening the sealed copy.

Hope this helps a bit in your decision, sort of. :)

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By 360 standards, I would imagine most of the j-rpg and hack-n-slash titles I have would be on the smaller side when it comes to the number of copies produced. Of course, 360 standards probably aren't anything as small as 32X, no matter the title.

Then again, there are games like Destroy All Humans: Path of the Furion, that are already becoming very uncommon to find, going for $100 sealed on eBay as well as a handful of other titles that have climbed back up to full retail. One popular title, Dead Rising, is going for over $100 for sealed copy of the non-Platinum Hits.

It really just makes me wants to visit VGChartz and re-analyze which of these have sold the least, to determine which ones to keep sealed. Damn!

When I buy a sealed game, my intention is to rip it open and claim it "MINE" :3

I think your just a typical odd classic gaming guy like the rest of us, i cant stand to see a console not used so every time i see one at sales doesn't matter if i already have 10 of em, i make an offer. But honestly i don't think many games will be rare in the future since gaming is so much bigger these days.

Because you've got a kind of psychosis? ;)

But really, I enjoy opening a sealed game. That fresh scent of printed paper, the shiny, untouched CD or cart, a smooth manual... to know you're the first to handle it and give it the purpose it was made for as you pop it into your system. After all, game's aren't meant to be sealed forever. They're made to entertain, and they can't do that stuffed on a shelf with the wrapping still on them. It's a waste of space and money in my opinion to leave a game sealed.

So open them, play them, and enjoy them. And if someone can't do that, then they should give/sell the games to someone who will.

I've never kept games sealed, but really, it's probably gonna end up being a good investment. At least for some of the games. A lot of old games that are brand new sealed are selling for hundreds of dollars on ebay, so who knows. Maybe one day you'll come across a small fortune thanks to it

Games are meant to be played, so I open em and play em. I don't let a thin slice of plastic get in my way.

Well, there is one point in keeping these sealed. I'm pretty sure most current gen. consoles will be more or less broken in 20 years, so it's not like you'll be able to play the games anyway. Good luck finding spare parts.

I own a sealed copy of Shining Force CD, but the only reason I haven't opened it is because I don't have the Sega CD RAM Cart yet, and I'd rather just leave it sealed until I'm actually going to play it. In the past I have purchased sealed copies of older games (Sonic CD & Sonic Jam are the two that jump immediately to mind) when they were cheap enough and/or complete used copies weren't readily available, and I have never had any qualms with opening them up. Games are meant to be played.

I'll never understand the desire to have a game/keep a game sealed. Sure there is potential for the game to be worth moo-lah 20 years from now, but games are to be experienced....and the experience of looking at a sealed game is dull.

And yes, I know you can buy *two* copies...but I really shouldn't have to purchase two.

i've only owned maybe 4 sealed games 1 of which I opened. the game I opened was lords of thunder for sega cd, because the sealed ones seem to sell for the same amount as the used versions thats why I picked that up at the time and I wanted to play it.

the other 3 sealed games i've owned are kirby super star for snes and thunderforce II for sega genesis and phantasy star IV, I bought those for the same prices as the used copies were going for at the time. I just never got around to opening those 3. i'm not a sealed collector so i'll probably just sell those 3 eventually.

I have owned a sealed system at one point, it was a sega master system that I got brand new in 04 or 05 for $50. I opened it and played it because I knew it wasn't something I was going to sell and because I bought it to play it.

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Originally Posted by Cornholio857

For me it really depends on the game/age. Let's say I was at a flea market and found a sealed copy of Mortal Kombat for Genesis and Sonic 2 for Game Gear. I wouldn't open them due to the fact they've been sealed for so long. Even though they are very common games. But if I found more than one copy I would open one for sure. Guess it's kinda like a time capsule feeling opening a sealed game that's been sealed for years.

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This is more of my problem. I don't really care about the return investment in the long run, but it's the strange sick sentimental attachment combined with the "time capsule" theory. I do want to play the games, so I'm pretty sure I'll open them. I never intended to accumulate so many sealed ones. I hate having the opportunity to preserve something, most would never think about preserving.

No one thought of leaving a game sealed back in the day, so if you run across one, it's probably because they just never got around to it. It's interesting to see something like that still in original factory condition.

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Originally Posted by SF78

Well, there is one point in keeping these sealed. I'm pretty sure most current gen. consoles will be more or less broken in 20 years, so it's not like you'll be able to play the games anyway. Good luck finding spare parts.

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Obviously that would make physical games less desirable. By that time, everything from the Atari 2600 library to current gen will be available in digital form, surely. The generation of people who actually care about physical media are pretty much over with.

Personally, I prefer keeping sealed cardboard games over plastic cased ones. Anything cardboard and/or sealed will always be worth more than something in a plastic case due to the ridiculous amount of damage a cardboard box can be subjected to.

On another subject, somebody said they have a sealed copy of Kirby Super Star. Given how insane the SNES collecting scene is right now, I recommend never opening that game. Lots of high profile games are gaining value, especially when they are sealed and in good condition. It's so easy to find cart only SNES games, there's no real reason to opening a sealed one...

I imagine that the equivalent in sealed Genesis games would be a bunch of sealed Acclaim, EA, and Accolade games. =P

So if I am not mistaken you'd get maybe $10 each in 20 years. That is less than what you paid and not much more than if you'd sell 'em right now.

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Originally Posted by WarmSignal

This is more of my problem. I don't really care about the return investment in the long run, but it's the strange sick sentimental attachment combined with the "time capsule" theory. I do want to play the games, so I'm pretty sure I'll open them. I never intended to accumulate so many sealed ones. I hate having the opportunity to preserve something, most would never think about preserving.

No one thought of leaving a game sealed back in the day, so if you run across one, it's probably because they just never got around to it. It's interesting to see something like that still in original factory condition.

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Yep, I can see buying a sealed game to play it. Yes, that's what they're for. But regarding the time capsule feeling opening a sealed game, it's actually a really cool feeling knowing that whatever game I'm opening has been sealed for years and I'm the first to open it. It's almost like when I got my Genesis 6 Button Arcade stick. I bought one a few months ago and it was never used. (I didn't know this upon purchase, what a great surprise!)I opened the box and it had all the paperwork, plastic and brochures. Everything. It's kind of a hard feeling to describe, but I can say this, it feels good.

Well, I understand why people keep some stuff sealed. I do have a small sealed collection:

http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/i...el/sealeds.jpg

Of these, some are more interesting left sealed (smurfs, pogs - also have Spot goes to Hollywood) most cost me the same as unsealed copies would've and are meh anyway - and then there's Lords of Thunder - which I bought intending to open, and then couldn't bring myself to. Have avoided buying further sealed CD games I'd want to play for this reason, it's a bit sad. :/

On the other hand I have no problem opening current-gen sealed games. I usually unwrap them straight away even if I don't plan on playing them yet. I do have 3 sealed Xbox360 games, and one PSP game - but that's just because I don't have either console, yet.

Because you're allergic to plastic wrap.








@OT. In case you didn't get it.

Sega-16 sure as an anti-sealed sentiment. Am I going to be assassinated for holding a sealed 32X Primal Rage hostage? :p

Unless you have one of the Holy Grails of sealed games(Stadium Events, Dragon Warrior 3 nes version, Lufia 2, and exc), there really is no reason not to open a game, and if you somehow got a hold of one of the Holy Grail sealed games, you wouldn't be buying it to play anyway(since It's much cheaper to buy a CIB version, then a sealed version of said game).

It's faily easy to predict if a game is gonna become valueable in general, and games that belong to oversatuated genres(specifically FPS), aren't among the games that will ever be worth money, the same goes for any game that gets overhyped at the time of release.

If a company is willing to plaster a game on the TV, It's a good indication that they will over produce the game, because they are suspecting to sell millions of copies(making it eternally worthless as far as collector value is concerned).

The fomula for value is something like this, rarity Vs demand That means the game has to be exceptionally good, yet the company under paduced such(this doesn't happen often), pretty much(there's a few other things that can add value, specials games that aren't sold to the general public, and pre-order delux box sets) the only exception is if a game is pulled from the shelves, with a few selling before hand.

Remember, basically the only reason there is even a collector's aspect to the industy, is because alot of people liked X game, and some of those games were insanely rare, most of which went under the radar as well. You have pure gamers trying to get ahold of a game they heard was amazing, then you have hardcore fans of said game, trying to find a sealed version of a game that not only was under praduced, but was such an amazing game, just about everyone in existance has been opened.

Well there you have it, the perfect recipe for very valueable sealed games.

I personally would love a sealed Dragon Warrior 3, Lufia 2, and the ever elusive Faria game(Faria is a pretty sweet game, and super rare, but the only reason I really want one is, because I have one of the rarest gaming items ever, the special Mail order only Faria Map to go along with it).


To Guntz: Lol trust me, a sealed verson of Primal Rage Isn't ever gonna be worth much, the game is everywhere, and on top of that, there are a hell of alot better fighters out there. If you have some wierd bond with the game(like It's the first fighter you ever played), cool by all means keep it sealed, that's awesome(I'll probally pick up a Sealed Dragon Warrior 1 for a simular reason), but don't expect it to be worth any real money.

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Originally Posted by Guntz

Sega-16 sure as an anti-sealed sentiment. Am I going to be assassinated for holding a sealed 32X Primal Rage hostage? :p

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Not likely, as Primal Rage is pleh. Now if it were Chaotix, Kolibri, or... um... other decent 32x game, you might end up being taken from this place and cocooned in plastic film, without air, until you were dead - all ironically.

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Originally Posted by Smii

http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/i...el/sealeds.jpg

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I'll let this collection slide.

Because "Wayne's World" is better left a sealed game.

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Originally Posted by Christuserloeser

I imagine that the equivalent in sealed Genesis games would be a bunch of sealed Acclaim, EA, and Accolade games. =P

So if I am not mistaken you'd get maybe $10 each in 20 years. That is less than what you paid and not much more than if you'd sell 'em right now.

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Bethesda, Square Enix, Capcom, Sega, Namco, even Rare = Accliam and Accolade? I don't know about that.

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Originally Posted by Guntz

Personally, I prefer keeping sealed cardboard games over plastic cased ones. Anything cardboard and/or sealed will always be worth more than something in a plastic case due to the ridiculous amount of damage a cardboard box can be subjected to.

On another subject, somebody said they have a sealed copy of Kirby Super Star. Given how insane the SNES collecting scene is right now, I recommend never opening that game. Lots of high profile games are gaining value, especially when they are sealed and in good condition. It's so easy to find cart only SNES games, there's no real reason to opening a sealed one...

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I don't plan on opening my sealed copy of kirby super star since I found a used one for $7 a few months later in 2004, i've never owned a sealed snes game before that so it's kinda like looking at a time capsule.

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Originally Posted by WarmSignal

Bethesda, Square Enix, Capcom, Sega, Namco, even Rare = Accliam and Accolade? I don't know about that.

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You're right. I have to admit that I got no experience with modern games whatsoever. The most modern console I have hooked up to my TV is a Dreamcast. :sweat:

Still, what I was trying to say was that I don't think you should expect to earn a lot of money by keeping these games sealed. You might as well sell them now and it wouldn't make much difference.

this man has one of the biggest, neatest, most complete collections I've seen, and he doesn't keep one sealed item in it. I tend to agree with his phylosophy: