Is this Graded Game Price Explosion Natural?

Thanks to Sheath for sponsoring this podcast segment! Go to sheathunderwear... for 20% off your order today!
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Is the current graded-game market explosion natural, or are other factors at play? We discuss!
➡Support us and get goodies: shorturl.at/fswBU or on Patreon: / cupodcast
➡More info @arstechnica.co...
#gamecollecting #retrogames #wata

[@leeartlee915]

I feel like Pat and Ian are some of the only people on the net who are talking the truth about this gross practice.

[@sunstruck]

check out Shawn @ reserved investments channel - good stuff also.

[@leeartlee915]

@@sunstruck yeah I watch him as well. To be honest, the way he talks makes me feel like I’m an idiot or something. I don’t think he means to be condescending but that’s how he comes off. But he does know his shit.

[@sunstruck]

@@leeartlee915 haha little timmy pointdexters. I don't think he means it... just a really smart dude sharing knowledge.

[@hellboundTX333]

When a video game that was produced in the millions sells for more than a 1959 les paul, which is known about 1000 exist, something screwy is happening.

[@chaosdimension6433]

Meh, rock is kinda dead anyway,

[@DanielRivera-on5qh]

Bro not even a rare guitar... you could buy multiple houses with 1.5M or 875K

[@BKDDY]

but how many of those millions are graded & graded this high? none but this one.

[@eunhwastevens]

@@BKDDY i think in the next 18 months, over 100 of these super mario 64 will be graded in 9.8 A++. Its a sham and if you can't see that, hopefully thru mistakes u will

[@yotvvan2472]

Yea or even a video game console that only has one known example the Nintendo PlayStation and it still sold for less.

[@KerzacTransformed]

The market for sealed games will bust when the sellers realize they are their own customers

[@tampabaytradeday786]

Well said!

[@bayfactor9384]

Wrong

[@xyrzmxyzptlk1186]

Wouldn’t it be funny if these sealed games were opened someday and found to contain defective circuit boards, the wrong game or maybe a block of wood. I know it’ll never happen because God forbid you ever break a seal but that $1,560,000.00 game would plummet in value very quickly. 💸💸💸💸💸💸

[@bayfactor9384]

@@xyrzmxyzptlk1186 I was thinking like that 10 years ago. But no one will care in 25-100 years... They will own one of those sealed copy, and play a remastered version on the cloud.

[@xyrzmxyzptlk1186]

@@bayfactor9384- You’re probably right. It wouldn’t bother me in the slightest to play Mario 64 on an emulator. Then I could use the $1,500,000.00 I saved to buy a fleet of cars that’d beat Tony’s Ferrari down the 1/4 mile. 🏎

[@TheSoliloquist]

I actually did want to recapture the nostalgia of Bart vs the world recently … I saw it on eBay for five dollars, and thought, “Nah”

[@TheKingbee66]

Pat, if you sold your collection right now you might have enough seed money to create your own console

[@PatTheNESpunk]

The #CUConsole?

[@MonoSimio]

@@PatTheNESpunk You mean the Completely Unnecessary Console? Sorry pal, Tommy beat you to that.

[@xyrzmxyzptlk1186]

@@MonoSimio - Good answer. 🏆

[@tommyanomaly6193]

Why would you throw money into a pit when you could basically retire on Pat's game collection?

[@xyrzmxyzptlk1186]

Does Patrick have a hoard of sealed, graded games stashed away somewhere? I just knew he was a Closet Collectionist…

[@JackieTheBold]

"Everything we love is manipulated in some way." That's a very depressing thought. I mean it's true but it's still a bummer that people can't enjoy something without someone eventually trying to monetize that hobby.

[@ParallelUniversity]

Would you rather have a 5 car garage full of luxury and sports cars, orrrrrrrrrr.... hear me out... a Mario game that you can't play?

[@quezcatol]

If you can afford to spend 1.5 million on Mario, money is most likely a non issue anyway

[@eduardor9390]

They are not collectors, they are collectionists!!

[@DrunkMoblin]

Already seeing people on IG breaking open VGA cases and regrading at WATA. People are garbage. Sealed collecting isn’t game collecting.

[@DanielRivera-on5qh]

This is a great argument for why markets are trash for human societies, although it shouldn't have to take something so monstrously absurd to make people think that we have life backwards

[@PatTheNESpunk]

Thanks again to Sheath for sponsoring! Go to sheathunderwear.com/CUPODCAST for 20% off your order today! --- What do you think about the current graded game market? I Ars Technica article @arstechnica.com/features/2021/07/collectors-are-as-confused-as-you-are-about-that-1-56m-super-mario-64-sale/

[@thenostalgiafactor5023]

Game grading is such a waste of money and serves no real purpose.

[@xyrzmxyzptlk1186]

Well put. Can’t argue with that logic. 🤓

[@CrimsonFox36]

No. It's an inside job. Which is the polite way of saying "it's fraud"

[@H1KE]

This stinks of some kind of fraud or money laundering type BS.

[@migueldias8546]

17:00 Or why not put 1 million dollar on an unique item like the Super Nintendo CD-ROM Adapter that was just sold recently... Isn't that the best proof they are not interested in collecting? It's all about the number of copies of each items looming in the dark... Indeed...

[@KartKing4ever]

Yes. These graded sealed collectors aren't collectors like us. They're rich people who prove that there is too much money in the world. They should go back to comics and toys and stay the hell away from the rest of us. It's horrible. Every grandma with a Mario 64 thinks it's worth something now when it's not worth diddly dick.

[@dragotobias1939]

So your games is worthless. You are a true collector

[@KartKing4ever]

@@dragotobias1939 I collect them to have and play them, not for an investment. I couldn't give less of a shit of the value of the stuff.

[@jambobbyb124]

Sir it’s a sealed copy of Mario 64 in a small plastic case with a sticker attached. I think it’s easy worth 4 million 🤔 not only is it “sealed” just think of the “value”

[@IanNewYashaTheFinalAct]

8:50 Ian would never feel schmoozed unless he was offered a *free hoodie and a ride in the CEO’s Ferrari* 🚘

[@madjoe8622]

WATA doesn't publish how many games are graded. That's enough to know there's a scam going on with these sales.

[@jonhufford6980]

Let cgc join the party. They’ll show the records of who’s buying what, when and where. Show statistics. Take wada off their monopoly.

[@juggalo4life247mfrs]

It's artificial inflation that's ruining the retro game scene...i don't care how nice a game is,there's no game worth 1.5 million.the games aren't worth it because of they're age,and the high numbers of each title produced...

[@villipend]

I just can't see the point of grading a sealed game. They're not actually grading the game just the box art and the glue. Since it's sealed how do you really know what's even in the box? How do you know if the game even works? This is different than comic book grading where each page is looked at and comic book actually still functions as a comic book. For sealed games it shouldn't be called video game grading but rather video game BOX grading.

[@xyrzmxyzptlk1186]

Exactly. To be properly graded you’d have to break the forbidden seal, and Lord knows you can’t do that. The whole “Sealed” phenomenon is ridiculous and getting more and more ridiculous all the time. It’s a damn shrink wrap……..big deal. Open it up and use the game for it’s intended purpose. 🤪

[@Cincinnatijames]

This is as "organic" as $20,000 ebay sales of common Disney VHS's

[@adamhoffoss5768]

Natural or not, I hope whomever bought these actually used their own money, cause they will NEVER get it back.

[@atrocity3010]

The best way to recapture the nostalgia of your beloved childhood games is to recapture them inside a case, assign them numbers, catalog them, and add them to your investment portfolio. Of course. I'm glad I got most of what I wanted for my collection before this nonsense started with big money ruining the hobby. Even Mario 64 CIB prices have shot through the roof ever since this story hit.

[@iTadakimAsu85]

The fact that there's such a disparity between loose cart prices and sealed graded games is another huge red flag for me, further proving its not about the experience of playing the game.

[@qmto]

can't wait for the market to crash.

[@The90sGamingGuy]

No these prices are unnatural.

[@chocolocojames213]

My unopened Mario 3D collection will be billions in years 😆😆😆

[@neverwin2518]

I can't say it with absolute certainty but the whole WATA/Heritage Auctions arrangement feels scammy....

[@KingKoopa01]

I would be interested to know If this will affect (CIB) Video game prices as well...?

[@xyrzmxyzptlk1186]

Nah. I’ll bet this will only affect sealed, graded crap and the saps that deal in it. 💩

[@shoked99]

Most graded speculators only care about the grade. If it's not a 9.8 sealed they don't care. And it doesn't matter what game.

[@mikekz4489]

Once more real, though still speculative, collectors get into this, then we'll see what the natural market does. There's got to be some cooler heads in the bunch that will stop and think before they bid.

[@tedfrankenstein1317]

Why does WataGames benefit from higher game prices? Well, it's quite simple. They are collecting an extra 2% on declared value above $2500 for "liability." This is straight from their site, "** Liability is included in the base price for games valued below $1000. Games valued from $1000 to $2499 are gradually charged more on a sliding scale for liability. Games valued $2,500 and up are charged an additional 2% of their declared value. If we find games on an order are undervalued we may have to adjust pricing on the order for correct liability costs." You can take a look at this on their pricing page.

[@InfiniCalendar]

I'll sleep easy tonight knowing Pat is looking after my junk.

[@AlferdGonzal]

Wonder how long these game prices would go up for before it corrects.

[@jwt4810]

Non of what's going on has taken away my enjoyment of collecting video games. Am I surprised? Yes. Should a common game like Super Mario 64 be worth 1.5 mill? No. But who am I to tell someone how to spend their money? And if I could get 1.5mill for a sealed game your damn right I'd sell lol. In the end though all I see is a few ultra wealthy people overpaying for sealed games. So if you have any of this sealed stuff now is the time to sell boys and girls.....

[@xyrzmxyzptlk1186]

Well said.

[@shane_MK]

The money is being made now. Current buyers are more and more likely to be left holding the bag.

[@johnfairhall6480]

Be assured, WAD won't grade many or any more SMB 64's 9.8. Suddenly they hold the keys to millions of dollars for other people and I bet they take advantage of that.

[@SuperMoleRetro]

They don't publish the units originally sold and they don't publish the qty graded or grade assigned. This is all crap. How many millions of units were produced for this game? Over 5 million? Old comics are a much different story (old being 1960's and prior). What was the print run on those? 50K-100K? Not 5 million. This is all crap and the big spenders now are going to be the losers in the end. I get having truly rare games (Air Raid VCS) graded and encased, but this common crap is a joke.

[@TheMicWillExperiment]

I know you’re always good for an ad you’d see on The Joe Rogan Podcast 😂😂😂 Where’s the lawnmower 8.0

[@TJWPatriot]

Why is this video unlisted?

[@nicholasvalentino4378]

I just got the notification. My best guess is that it was pre-uploaded to save time and set the premier at a specific time. You're just some sort of wizard that got to see it early.

[@hellboundTX333]

I’m gonna take a dump in a box and send it to WATA to be graded… I’m gonna be rich!!!!

[@xyrzmxyzptlk1186]

If you can fake a convincing re-seal it might just work. Good luck. It won’t be me buying it but I certainly hope some rich Collectionist does. 💸

[@retro8287]

You should ask the n64guy on KZbin about his sealed graded collection of n64 games from VGA if their is a double standard since his wasn't graded by WATA whats the price difference gonna be lol. That will clarify if WATA is blowing smoke......

[@TheCreepypro]

when you start seeing shit like pinball and star voyager being sold for the outrageous prices being listed you have to think something suspicious is happening even if you know very little about the hobby

[@MrCozzdogg]

Did anyone else think he said Jim Halpert? When he was talking about Heritage Auctions

[@magicknight8412]

These people are purely about making money for themselves or their conflict of interests, just like buying and selling stocks. They have NO interest or knowledge of the game really. Normally this should not affect the actual gamers/us, but it has the effect of ANY sealed games suddenly rocketing up in price. I buy sealed games of my favourite childhood games to have on my shelf, as I play the actual opened/used game for nostalgic reasons. Just totally inflated prices to create a market for themselves.

[@SuaveCerealKiller]

The inflated prices only affect those with more money than sense.

[@garyw595]

man, ian gets upset at pat so often. lol cracks me p how he is all in his emotions.

[@liamboyle6345]

This is not on the irs/sec radar at all, the guys who bought the sm3 is caught holding the bag. This is the limit....they went too far.....

[@slimthumbtak]

We've all been Kahn'd.

[@BuChan89]

Has the Better Business Bureau looked into this situation?

[@blastprocessing6223]

Make Ian wear those underwear on his head during an entire podcast.

[@xyrzmxyzptlk1186]

I’d buy that for a dollar. 💸

[@gahongabazoon2862]

Do you guys not have phones?

[@WillyTung]

If it wasn't ruining our hobby I'd say them them steal money from these stupid rich.

[@RetroHabit82]

Too high prices Too quickly Not natural for collectibles

[@BKDDY]

No, but no expensive game even thats $500 has had a natural/normal price increase.

[@adenlind840]

Really sold those boxers well, bravo

[@Kamakazi_-tp2lb]

yeah its this kind of crap that makes me buy repros of games I want because the cost of the real deal has just gotten too damned high for me to buy. So yeah I will spend $25.00 to get a Gimmick or Duck Tsles 1 and 2 cart no problem there repro or not they play the same and in the end that is all care about is playing the games I love.

[@SuperMoleRetro]

You guys sponsor anything.

[@lordrayden3045]

PSA? Aren’t t they the ones that are so far behind woth cards they told people to stop sending them in

[@sonixthatsme]

I have a sealed captain quazar for 3do. Am I rich now?

[@adenlind840]

Final fantasy was 140k super Mario world was 360k or something Jesus get it right

[@johndee759]

I don’t think this real. It’s probably a fake buy that made up the price. This is not rare at all.

[@Bludgeoned]

Pretty soon Ian and Pat are gonna have WATA goons knocking on their door...

[@devilmikey00]

You know you've truly made it when you can hire a goon to harass someone. I hope to be questionably wealthy enough to have goon money someday.

[@xyrzmxyzptlk1186]

Tommy’s got a Goon Squad. Maybe WATA’s got a Goon Squad of their own. 💪

[@Mulerider4Life]

Emulation is taking over for most people.

[@liamboyle6345]

Where are these cases of games dude? Are they held up by pirates ?

[@RecetasMaricel]

🎎

[@vintagefeelsFL]

Almost EVERTHYING 2nd hand is up right now. You should see the state of the used car market right now due to shortage of chips. The over printing of cash right now isnt helping either. Even the price of used game systems is up.

[@chibiauthor]

thank god i dont care about sealed game!

[@TrollbotTB]

Joe Biden: underwear ? Come on man!

[@superbn0va]

The word conspiracy theory is a very of most misleading term

[@stevebanning902]

Wata = Moon in hebrew. Nuff said

[@gnagarysteventon]

Showwwww Me The Moneyyyyyy!!!! Lol I love it and its exciting and interesting and when you can make alot of money off of it who wouldn't like it shit you only have 1 life to live so live it and enjoy it and stack cashola while you can and invest that cashola and do it all over again and again flipping is fun there's alot of money to be made out here why not just go for it and enjoy the wave while your on it thats what I say I know im surfing the waves no doubt about that everything in life is about making money everything you do its involved in pretty much if people want to spend there money so be it ill gladly except there payments dollar by dollar

[@VCR_Repairman]

I remember these guys shitting on sealed & graded games back in 2010.. but now that people are buying copies of breath of the wild off the shelves and having them graded...theres going to be a glut. And how do you grade a switch game, theres no cardboard, no barcode, no jewel case that can crack....

[@MisterCasket]

You've never stepped on a Switch case after a toddler chewed on the game cars did you?

[@dmckinney817]

At this point if the average collector can sell one of his games for six or even seven figures who are we to complain rich people blow their money on dumber shit than video games lets just ride the wave

[@jordanhoughton1948]

These price increases are as organic as Michael Jackson's nose.

[@RestorationRelaxation]

Underwear

[@paluxyl.8682]

Can't wait to see all the Disney Infinity stuff prices skyrocket ......... lol

[@vintagefeelsFL]

lol you seen some skylanders recently? Price is kinda up and nutty on some of the games and figs. Here's hoping for sure.

[@paluxyl.8682]

@@vintagefeelsFL Really ??? ....... I have totally forgotten about skylanders .

[@xyrzmxyzptlk1186]

What’s a Skylander?…………….kidding. It’s another item that’s worth no more to me sealed than unsealed.

[@Cory_]

Not gonna lie, those underwear are hilarious.

[@ganggreen1983]

Pat. Just sell your NWC carts. Honestly, can you really just sit on those useless collectibles when you know there’s suckers that’ll give you 100,000++++ for them? Just do it. Strike while the fomo is hot.

[@caloricfoil98]

No

[@jadahe2702]

Not collectable.

[@liamboyle6345]

How many of your listed assets are video games pat? Collecting is always about value. You are 100 percent going to sell your games, I don’t blame you. So don’t be cruel to investor, don’t mean they don’t game...

[@DanielRivera-on5qh]

Graded karnov lol

[@neatuhfajita9128]

Underwear commercial was not natural

[@PatTheNESpunk]

Naturally separated over here. :)

[@YouTube-Grifter]

How do I get a game graded?? I've got Duck Hunt still sealed, pal version.

[@ThePreciseClimber]

SEEEEAAAALED!

[@adamhoffoss5768]

You can submit it to a grading company of your choice. Cost depends on the value of the product or if they require you to have a membership. The companies have also been inundated with new submissions that they are backed up like a year or more? I looked into getting a couple graded a while back, but it just didn't seem to be worth it. For me, at least?

[@YouTube-Grifter]

@@ThePreciseClimber I know!! I'm not expecting millions obviously, but maybe thousands?? I'd love to keep hold of it forever but we need a bigger home for our growing family and this could help with the move.

[@urdad1984]

Man his ass is where he speaks out of

[@VantasyVan]

What’s with all the sponsors having to do with genitalia? Cringe

[@ponygrrrl]

Baby everyone’s got em

[@VantasyVan]

@@ponygrrrl just think about pats big fro on his Ballz….

[@bobkerr2755]

The sponsored content rarely ever has anything to do with the topic of the video that's being sponsored. I mean, you don't see a pepsi commercial on tv and expect the show that comes after it to be about pepsi do you?

[@VantasyVan]

@@bobkerr2755 duh!

[@xyrzmxyzptlk1186]

First you Manscape, then you tuck them in the gochies. It’s simple PatMath. 👃 👃

[@brendanroberts1310]

Ok be honest has anyone brought one of these wata graded games?

[@jrapocalypse]

no such thing

[@tampabaytradeday786]

Only noobs to the scene are buying solely with the intent of turning a future profit on what they think are good investments. Very few people actually WANT to pay thousands for a graded copy of a game that they could buy for a tenth of the price if not graded but still beautiful condition, CIB. Demand is very high for nice condition rare / quality retro games, but with graded stuff there's very low demand behind the price tags that sellers are affixing to them.

[@Blood-PawWerewolf]

Nope. They actually make it look like people are buying them but it it’s all just money being thrown around by investors and people who are connected with wata.

[@xyrzmxyzptlk1186]

Is there any way to prove that this $1,500,000.00 actually changed hands other than they pinky swear that it did?