WATA Games RELEASES POP reports! Let's ANALYZE the RESULTS for GRADED & SEALED NES Games!

** WATA Games has decided to take a step in the right direction and release population reports for the original NES Nintendo Entertainment System. Let's analyze the numbers. There are going to be a lot of disappointed starry-eyed speculators as these numbers will ONLY increase over time! **
Email for Antique/Collectible Consulting Services: [e-mail]
Patreon: / reservedinvestments

[@PickUps]

got alot to say I personally have sold 5 copies of arch rivals from my shop over a 5 year period. There is hundreds in Central CA alone, people just arent shipping them in. Lots of closet collectors who simply do not grade games. Id argue that less than 1 percent of all sealed games are actually being sent in for grading. Not only are these pop reports telling for wata, but it doesn't take into account that there is also a ton of VGA graded copies out there as well.

[@TravisSurtr]

I think you're probably right about that. For instance, I have 5 sealed copies of Mega Man 64 in excellent condition. But I'm not going to have them graded. Not saying that it's a rare game, but it's to your point. I have a bunch of other sealed games as well. At the fundamental level, I don't really mind graded games, but I totally dislike what market manipulation has done, which is why I'm not participating.

[@PickUps]

@@TravisSurtr regardless of the manipulation, I've dealt with litterally 100+ sealed collectors. I know one guy personally with 20k sealed items, of the vintage Era. There is a metric ton of this stuff out there and the graded market is not a reflection of the available stock.

[@HOMIE_Sanity]

@@TravisSurtr I think if you plan to keep them in new condition getting them graded or at least capsulated is a must at least in the sense they are protected at the very least from any mishap. getting it graded isn’t necessary about the highest grades tho I’m sure everyone wants a 9.0 or higher it’s about protecting it. And for the small price to pay based on the what that game sells for even ungraded it’s just protecting your investment could just get them encapsulated just to protect not to grade that is the smart thing. Who knows what could happen and also for monetary also if you have it graded you have documentation of what it should sell for even in event of fire flood theft. Not getting a game grade that is of decent value is a mistake if not for at least personal piece of mind. You wouldn’t want to know if you have a 9.6 that would sell for 10k of times got rough? Or if you did god forbid have an accident you have proof of value and the insurance comp would have to pay up. Paying 60 dollars to have proof of value is worth it esp if a game in new condition sells for 1500 or so. I’m not saying 100 dollar games but highly collectible ones? Should get them graded and again it’s easy to know the value of times get rough all the work is done. No wondering for the buyer or seller. If the game has sold in the same condition before.

[@elpresadorstribute4337]

@@TravisSurtr can I buy one from you?

[@DescubreVideojuegos]

You can really tell by Shawn's smile how much he's enjoying seeing those numbers and confirming all the stuff he has been telling us during the last 3 years. But well, it was expected, it has been experience talking during the last 3 years

[@splugereport]

I'm literally tearing up, I can't believe this happened, thank you so much to everyone involved! This means the most to me I mean a basic function of a grading company has finally been implemented! Next all we need to do is work on that app....

[@stevenewsome5306]

It’s a good start but I feel like we’re only half way there. When vga releases their reports, we can add the comparable grades and get some true numbers. In certain fb groups people are saying “I have this game graded by wata and it isn’t in the pop reports”. One individual contacted them and was told it would be updated. I still don’t feel like they’re being 100% transparent, but it could be honest mistakes, only time will tell.

[@davestevens3252]

Considering the Speed Runs are now sitting 6 months late, turbos are what 12-18months late now? Not sure about Warp Zones but at least a few weeks. This is the population report dated 1 November but includes no Speed Runs from May onward, no Turbos from over a year... all subsequent to the real craze. The buyers are going to far be more scarce than sellers.

[@ChokeslamToHell]

@@davestevens3252 That’s unclear, actually. Grading is largely on time and the large majority of stuff there is in “post-grading” status, so the question is whether that information is included. The wait is a supplies and encasing/shipping issue.

[@cireyar]

I cant help but wonder how many sealed cases Nintendo has siting around on old shelves slowly leaking out.

[@EZDoes1t]

Nintendo? I guarantee you they have Zero cases sitting around. Terrible use of inventory to sit on fully depreciated assets for decades. The actual space that they could use to push inventory for years multiple times over would be worth more than a sealed pallet of NES cases taking up the same space.

[@leeartlee915]

Yeah, Nintendo themselves don’t have these games in their warehouses (of course there could be SOME exceptions but by and large, they want old stuff gone to make room for new stuff). What IS possible is factory cases sitting around in distributors warehouses. In fact, we know for a fact that this is the case. And then some of those cases were picked up by individuals.

[@PWheat23]

You looked like you really enjoyed making this video! I have to give WATA props as well. A little over a year ago, u mentioned writing WATA games about population reports, so I did. They wrote me back then but also, just yesterday, wrote me letting me know the reports had been released. That was pretty cool of them. Thanks for the video!

[@TOSStarTrek]

I can remember when they found a warehouse of forgotten Star Wars Action Figures and it destroyed there value for decades. Forgot all the details. Happened a long time ago.

[@ReservedInvestments]

In a galaxy far, far away....(sorry, just had to)...

[@leeartlee915]

I’d love to see you do an updated video with the newer pop reports, specifically around the N64 and SNES reports.

[@XenoShogun]

*Looks at Sports Card graded card market with 15,000 PSA 10 graded copies of a card, going for thousands." Slowly starts selling..

[@alexkador285]

been here since you had 200 followers, and still going strong I see, as always Sean solid advise, solid channel

[@ReservedInvestments]

Thank you kindly!

[@Foslopac]

I don’t know, Shaun. Compared to other pop culture collectibles like comics and sports cards, these numbers seem surprisingly low. I know they’ll only increase, but these numbers could all triple and still command higher prices over the foreseeable future, IMO. I’ll be watching the auctions!

[@PotbellyPunch]

I don't trust wata to be telling the truth. I think they have the real numbers are 5-10x what they are publishing

[@absoluteclownworld]

I thought the population reports would have been higher tbh.. I was thinking like 100+ 200+ 300+ copies of a decent amount of titles..

[@ReservedInvestments]

We are only three years in...this is the floor, not the ceiling.

[@absoluteclownworld]

@@ReservedInvestments Oh I know the population reports will go up more for sure but I thought by now the population reports would have been much higher. I'm thinking 1000+ of some of the popular titles like Zelda and the Mario's. Guess we will see in time.. I would thought the mass amount would have been graded already during this massive boom in prices lol.

[@ChokeslamToHell]

@@ReservedInvestments Of course, some collectors have been looking for 20+ years and will attest to the difficulty finding these. With all the money that’s been thrown around the past few years, I highly doubt people are sitting on hoards of this and not participating.

[@davidprice26]

Agree, it doesn’t seem a lot really. I think the killer for all this collecting is the nostalgia factor. I know it’s going to be a while but it’s in 20-30 years time people aren’t going to care about NES, SNES, SEGA MEGADRIVE. We will all be pensioners. The kids of today are going to give zero fucks about any of it

[@rajanaldo]

@@davidprice26 Get on the Fortnite PS4 sealed copies 😛

[@dagreenshiz]

I am pretty green on video games but am very knowledgeable with TCG's. 4 Punch-Out 9.8's is very small. The number of boxing fans chasing this is higher than video game collectors likely. The fact that thy came from a case I don't think it matters unless your implying more cases are likely out there. Michael Jordan 1986 Fleer over 20,000 graded and 321 PSA 10's all achieving more than 500k now. With only 4 9.8's this can very easily turn into a bidding war among millionaires which is why the price is likely so high. just my two cents enjoy your content boss!

[@unstoppableExodia]

But that’s just from WATA in the three years they’ve been operating. They could have more in the backlog that are yet to be graded and added to the population report. And then there’s the copies that vga have graded which will be in their own population report soon. And then there’s probably more copies in cases in the possession of OGs like Tim Atwood

[@dagreenshiz]

@@unstoppableExodia agree lots of speculation but still likely a lot less that a Jordan fleer. Will see what the VGA report shows. Which sadly won't be 100% true as people have cracked and resubbed to Wata.

[@littlebee7147]

Theoretically, there should be more cases because Tyson is still alive. I would not be surprised if people have held onto a case so that they start selling once Mike Tyson dies.

[@handrewmillan4293]

theres more u dope, this is only the beginning and only 1 company, wise up your selective hearing

[@dagreenshiz]

@jshowa o lmfao 👌

[@boxwi]

There are 8,000+ PSA 8 Fleer Michael Jordan rookies. Eight THOUSAND. That's only the PSA 8 grade. And they still sell for ~$8,000 each. So it's all relative. How many sealed Super Mario Bros or Zelda exist in total?

[@ParallelUniversity]

The majority of people who collect NES games don't care about boxes or seals, they just want the games. Very few actual sealed collectors out there. Millions of sports card collectors out there. That's the difference.

[@bobtheninja8000]

Exactly. I appreciate Shawn's analysis but these numbers are very low compared the amount of games produced. I was surprised the numbers were so low compared to Shawn's opinion that these are high figures. I know that this just the beginning but Video games have a higher base then Comics, coins and even some cards etc so only 62 graded Final Fantasy copies out of 1.3 million copies sold is very very low. Lets assume there are 500 copies between VGA, WATA and CGC in the coming 10 years. That is still a very low sealed existence. Context is import.

[@TravisSurtr]

@@bobtheninja8000 How are these numbers "so low"?

[@DanielRivera-on5qh]

@@bobtheninja8000 there's not even any significance to them being sealed. They were meant to be opened. Not surprising so many people didn't open their sealed copy of sesame street. Honestly I thought it was crazy that there are no high grade 10 yard fights. But again what's the significance?

[@darklavalizard]

Agreed! While I am very skeptical about the graded game market, it doesn't matter what the pop is if the demand for those games is super high. There will never be enough copies in high grades available to satisfy the demand and completely crash the price.

[@jebrennock]

As always, great content!

[@heyhonpuds]

Haven't laughed that hard for a while. Good stuff.

[@chuck...]

What part did you laugh at

[@reddzone99]

Expected there to be a lot more NES games graded at this point.

[@unish25]

That's what I thought....I am a bit baffled

[@reddzone99]

@@unish25 super low numbers. A lot of this stuff will end up in collections.

[@stefanoconsiglio3177]

I don't think the database is updated completely. They also say theyre in a backlog so there's a good chance that there's some paperwork and graded games that aren't even out yet / this massive backlog of games that have yet to be graded. They wouldn't want to dump all their numbers at one time rn with the Spotlight has been on them for manipulation, I bet in 6 months when less are watchin the population numbers will go up high af. I expected way higher numbers

[@CraigSnyder]

great analysis, thanks for taking time after the gym

[@Drew-wb2jo]

In what world are these high pops??? Do you not follow the sports card/comics/Pokémon markets at all?

[@ReservedInvestments]

Do you not realize that if you want to own a copy of SMB you don't need to own a factory sealed copy? If you want to buy a Jordan rookie card, there is only ONE way to own it...you are comparing apples and oranges here...

[@cflores883]

I wonder how many graded copies of Mike Tyson’s Punch Out Deniz Kahn knew about when he appeared on Pawn Stars and valued it at $80k 😂

[@chenglong54]

Can't wait for Pokemon blue and red to appear for the gameboy pop report. The Timmies and Kimmies are going to feel that one and feel it hard.

[@PotbellyPunch]

I would bet there's 300+ of each

[@roccojoco]

Shawn, there are BILLIONS of people on this planet and MILLIONS who gamble, so by my math the ONE sealed copy of Hot Slots in a WATA 9.0 is PRICELESS.

[@ReservedInvestments]

One hundred million billion trillion dollars! Hahahahaha!

[@TheStevenHedges]

It will be fun to see how much this effects prices over the next few months.

[@handrewmillan4293]

very little

[@PotbellyPunch]

This is pretty well in line with what I expected. I suspected that it might be more like a few hundred for the popular NES games

[@hhectorlector]

great vid! of course that's to be expected with gym-fresh Shawn!

[@doctordistracto8390]

Kind of interesting, the big uproar as I recall was over the million dollar plus N64 Mario stuff. Almost 15 years newer and 15 years deeper into a generational explosion in gaming interest, but they're only releasing nes numbers? I could be wrong but god you've got to have that sinking feeling in your gut if you're one of the guys who bought that.

[@tomneijnens4048]

Thank you very much

[@cslack5266]

great work, good video

[@JohnnyEvilsVids]

I stayed to the end. I'll absorb this and may post an opinion to this video over the coming days.

[@suazaa8719]

I think these numbers are quite a bit lower than I would’ve thought actually. Obviously they’ll rise over time but even pops in the thousands shouldn’t tank the value on popular titles like Zelda, Mario, etc. that are in high demand. There are, what, 5000+ 1st edition Charizards that have been graded, value is doing just fine. 25,000ish black lotuses printed, value just fine. If the demand is there, these things aren’t going to zero overnight.

[@PattysCards]

The pop counts are so low for these tho? Don’t you think this only helps resale value with there not being many in the market

[@ReservedInvestments]

No, I think it actually helps shine a light on that fact that we are only three years into this 'craze.' As such, I would be scared if I was a buyer paying $80,000+ for a 9.8 copy of MT Punch-Out right now. These numbers are worse than I even originally thought. Compare these numbers to that of vintage Star Wars figures...that we know of. Scary, very scary...

[@bat2275]

You mentioned variants. I'd like to hear more commentary about Canadian variants. I know that it's a big thing with comic books. It's one of the biggest trends of the last 5 years. But these video games also have Canadian variants because by law they had to put English and French on the packaging. And Canada has one tenth the population of the usa. So by default the Canadian variant will be much scarcerer than the USA version.

[@mrmovieprop]

True but most people prefer the version they grew up with. This is why tri logo star wars and other rarer foreign packaging variants often sell for less.

[@handrewmillan4293]

w games its US

[@gimyong6351]

i thought it will be interesting to do a case study on warehouse finds and how they have impacted the collectible. off the top of my head, i can recall a few in comics eg. shazam.

[@FooPanda]

To add onto there always being potential for more examples to be found, I have the feeling modern graded Charizard cards won't keep value. 6,000+ copies graded is a giant population.

[@Stampede215]

Def was eye opening seeing these POP Reports. Can't wait for them to release other systems data.

[@rajanaldo]

This means that factory sealed cases contained multiple sealed copies. Is Shawn saying there were about six sealed copies per case?

[@Minilopo18]

Hi Shawn, im a fan of your videos but it seems to me theres a sort of parallel argument going on between you and some of the other commentators. Is what you are saying is that the price discovery on the premium condition rarity commands in graded video games for sealed as opposed to other "lower forms of rarity" such as CIB is broken? Not that there should be premium at all; which seems to be how your comments have been interpreted and responded to? I do not hold any graded video games myself, im too busy with ancients. But i can see that there is (and pre-2017 was) a organic collectible market there. it is the current price points that seem to be the problem. At much lower price points had the market not been manipulated there could have been healthy short-medium term % growth potentially but that scenario has been robbed from people with genuine interest in this market in my opinion

[@ty2k]

Thought of your channel immediately when I saw this news. Good on you for repeatedly calling for this information to be released. I imagine your haters will be extra salty today.

[@ReservedInvestments]

Why, but of course! 😉

[@pmera]

I'm amazed at the comments in this video. Are there really so many people that think these numbers are high? Or that there's that much interest in sealed and graded video games?

[@MartinvanZ]

There is a market for these games. That's not the point. There are plenty of people that would like to own a nice sealed copy of let say Zelda 1. But how much would they willing to pay for it? You could get a nice sealed version of that game for about 3-400 dollars ten years ago. Now one sold on auction for over 800.000 Sure not every copy will sell for those prices but just take a look at ebay and you will find them for 10.000+ The thing is. If there are hundreds of these out there, they will not be worth anywhere near 800.000. 1.000 maybe, I can see plenty of people paying that. The video is based on the current speculation. Buying a copy now for let's say 20.000 might be overpaying in the long term.

[@RetroHabit82]

I wonder will WATA have separate pop counts to distinguish between first print titles and their second or third print counterparts especially if they were done by a different company?

[@rajanaldo]

They do. If you look up Fallout 3, there is a subsection for Do not sell before...(DNSB)

[@NotoriousCIB]

Hey Shawn, as we get closer to the new year, I wonder if it’s worth it to do a video about the lowering of the monetary threshold that online sellers hit before online platforms report selling information to the IRS. $20,000 down to $600. Since collectibles get taxed at 28% capital gains, do you think people are going to get blindsided by this new legislation next year and won’t find out until it’s too late? I know that it has always been an online seller’s responsibility to pay those taxes, and that hasn’t changed, (you’re supposed to pay regardless of whether the IRS sends you a 1099K or not) but your average Joe likely doesn’t know that, and doing the equivalent of a garage sale online could hit small sellers hard and unexpectedly when it comes time to pay taxes. Do you think lowering this threshold will discourage some small sellers from selling online, and will we see a reemergence of some defunct local platforms (like Craigslist) to sell games? I’m curious to know your thoughts.

[@absoluteclownworld]

I thought this wasn't going to pass? Anyways Let's Go Brandon!

[@NotoriousCIB]

@@absoluteclownworld Political statements aside, I think this is why it’s important to have a video about this. It did pass, and a lot of people aren’t aware of this going into 2022.

[@DualBrainMTG]

Dragon warrior baby! I got that giveaway copy!!! What a great game!

[@stereodark]

If I had a case of sealed NES games I would send 1 at a time for grading to avoid tanking the price further. Just think about it, these numbers are likely very low.

[@vedu8519]

Why wouldn't you have sent them all in before the pop reports were released? Why would anyone wait until AFTER the pop reports release to start grading them? And why would you not sell them into the peak?

[@mostkasualplayer9640]

I would love to have some of these sealed games but there is no way in hell I'm paying these ridiculous amounts if money ...when I was a kid we couldn't afford new games,I'd like to get one just to open it

[@mattelder]

But Shawn, you don't understand.... good to see WATA release this. I would imagine it is an attempt to get ahead of the backlash from Carl etc. That said, good video and would like to see more of these and also your suggestion fo revisiting in 6 months.

[@DualBrainMTG]

Oooh, yes let’s do an update in 6 months

[@ivanvargas2425]

Gabbo from pixel game squad just found a stack of new sealed games at a thrift store. One of them being Mario Bros 3 and another being Final Fantasy. I myself have 3 nes games that need to get graded just not sure if I should go with WATA or VGA. And I'm just a gamer/ very casual collector.

[@davestevens3252]

I think this illustrates one thing, only buy it at the value you personally place on the item. Do not buy it because you think someone else might value it more. There will be aplenty of sealed games surfacing, faster than the consumers, and "must have" buyers, of Jaleco's Pinball Quest will come to the table.

[@mikesquires4277]

I get the supply is much higher then comic books but id i also say the demand will be much greater for nes games in the future.

[@runsame]

HAHAHA great video, thanks. :)

[@69mankini]

I owned a game called Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom for NES. It was accidentally given to me. I never opened it because it didn't look fun and by then I was moving on to newer systems. I wish I knew what I did with it.

[@ParallelUniversity]

Only 5 of those in the WATA pop report. If you could get at least a 9.6 you would have the best copy graded by them (as of this report)

[@image_comics9224]

Great video!!! Was looking forward to this one 👍...

[@leeartlee915]

So what does Sean define as “rare”? Just curious… is it something with less than 10 copies?

[@GlasshouseaquaticsGHA]

Am I crazy to think even 100 copies only is still rare. I mean even if you just take the views of your video, for a weird example. But if all those people wanted a copy of anything and there is only 100 of them, it’s not easy to get your hands on right?

[@rjturnernc]

Those pop counts do not seem high at all. If the market of collectors grows along with pop counts, it's not allot. The price will reflect it either up or down.

[@Lmatdhr]

Agree…these pops are very very small for such well known pop culture collectibles. I feel like he’s being hyperbolic saying that there’s so much of this.

[@reddzone99]

@@Lmatdhr it really is. And most of this stuff won't be on the open market. Pop counts probably aren't going to explode either. You should see how much abuse to the game boxes went on back in the day when these games were packaged by hand on an assembly line.

[@KeyKiller74]

So did VGA release pop reports as well? like to know the combine graded market for NES games are for Mike Tyson & others.

[@ReservedInvestments]

Not yet, but it is coming...

[@Lmatdhr]

Thank you for this analysis. While I agree some of the prices are out of line with the relative rarity, I think I do disagree that these pop reports are super high. They are pretty low relative to a lot of pop culture collectibles out there. I think it’s a long term market with some staying power based on this so far. I don’t own any graded games except one copy of FF9 I had laying around I got graded myself so not an expert in this market but if I were I wouldn’t be too surprised by these numbers. Will be interesting to see how the market reacts.

[@ReservedInvestments]

So how come vintage Star Wars figures graded in AFA in higher grade are not selling for six to seven figures then? Answer: That market was NOT manipulated.

[@jfmayer83]

You misunderstand the point that Shaun was making. No one is saying the market is going to disappear, but it is done being the speculative market it was. Your Final Fantasy 9 isn't worth anymore than a modest premium over an ungraded copy because it is not rare--that's the point that I believe is being made. Large dollar values go to genuinely rare and unique items. Anything with dozens of copies in circulation is neither. And, the number of copies of graded games for later generations is only going to be larger since manufacturing increased, the market grew, and collecting became more commonplace. Playstation and later population reports are going to be dense. Sure, 80 may not seem like a small number relative to say, the population of the United States, or the number of people who buy video games but that is not who is engaging in this market; it's a very small subset of people that are even interested in graded video games. I have played since i was a kid in the 80's, have kids who play games now with me, and I have 0 interest in owning any graded games. The real money comes from people who believe there is UPSIDE one buying these items at their inflated market prices. Everything that has come out in these last several months shows that there isn't any apart from some genuinely rare and unique items that are also desired.

[@Lmatdhr]

@@ReservedInvestments totally agree with the manipulation. Hard to assess true supply and demand until now. Now we know the supply. The demand is the X factor. I think the demand for vintage games is higher than vintage Star Wars figurines so that could be a factor.

[@stefanoconsiglio3177]

Theoretically maybe for a complete collector who wants to complete their collection you would think the ones that have the lowest population reports such as arch-rivals word only has five known to exist sealed, would actually be one of the more expensive games, rather than a game that has 300 sealed. I mean I know hype behind a product like Mario no matter how many sealed it'll fetch a premium compared to other games,

[@popzapx]

oh wow. This will be good.

[@Kiryu_YTgt]

Could you expand on when you sold the 4 other Mario Bros 2? Did Wata grade them? Did you sell them on Heritage or Ebay and when? All I ever saw on your channel and on ebay was the Snow Bros. and DW 4 carts.

[@ReservedInvestments]

I stopped showing a lot of items of value on this channel as of late.

[@acidjaguar]

For clarification there are 12 graded Gradius copies as you mention at 15:30. But you ran out the numbers of Gotcha! as there are no known 9.8s on Gradius. There is one solo 9.6 Gradius followed by 2 9.2s and it gets worse from there.

[@zoiks6631]

I can’t believe that WATA couldn’t release in the form of an easily searchable online database. The list they put out looks like it was put together by an intern using Microsoft Excel.

[@ChokeslamToHell]

There’s a search function at the top?

[@Foslopac]

Seems pretty easily searchable to me. Even searches partial words in real time.

[@txag007]

I just pulled up the POP report and laughing at the amount of factory sealed copies of certain iconic NES games that have been graded!

[@alex12104]

You think a 100 sealed copies of a game is a lot when millions of people played them?

[@ReservedInvestments]

@@alex12104 Yes, because those millions are not collectors, and number two, even if they are, they can easily buy a cart only copy and call it a day.

[@alex12104]

@@ReservedInvestments time will tell but so far the market has only shown to grow. Definitely PSA and the other companies that are building out there game collecting division see the potential to invest millions. I love your videos and knowledge but this is one topic I disagree with you but that is completely fine.

[@txag007]

@@alex12104 Yes. If were are to think about these items as rare collector's items, 100+ copies that we know about aren't truly that rare. They certainly shouldn't be commanding such high prices especially like you said, millions of copies exist out in the world.

[@ParallelUniversity]

They made their money on the rush that took place after the first high value auctions. They probably waited for submissions to start to slow down before releasing the reports, and they probably have a warehouse full of games they haven't even started to grade yet. The true numbers of these might triple or quadruple in the next couple years, and that doesn't even include VGA, the copies WATA bought up and horded over the past few years, or the copies people are holding who didn't get them graded.

[@ChipHunter3]

125 copies of Legend of Zelda? ... I want one...

[@arhops9078]

are these inflated by the "crack game" you talked about before where people will send in the same game multiple times?

[@TravisSurtr]

Also, this doesn't even include VGA, and they've been doing this for years...

[@mocards2416]

as a collector, I kno C.I.B. games in good condition (in the near future. will be respected more... reason being, gaming is as popular as ever. like ball cards yeah conditioning is key, but it all will depend on the rarity of the game seal or not. a 1970s copy of colecovision original pac man for instance, age will be the key

[@mikethegreat7252]

I still believe wata will be responsible for collapse in prices. The company is extremely inconsistent with their grading and if you have a problem good luck getting ahold of them phone goes to vm every time which is full.

[@JohnSmith-zl8rz]

24:50 237 SM3 now, 3 more appear in just some hours after this video LOL

[@TravisSurtr]

I love it. Seven 9.8 Super Mario Bros. Can't wait for the N64 set.

[@ChokeslamToHell]

Do you think 7 is a lot? How many PSA 10 Jordans? Charizard PSA 10s? Only ONE is a hangtab btw.

[@MartinvanZ]

@@ChokeslamToHell there is no reason why a sealed mint version of a game would be worth more than a mint unsealed game. The grading is just starting for these games. I don't know much about pokemon. But with these games you need to also take in account the non sealed copies to assess the demand.

[@ChokeslamToHell]

@@MartinvanZ Totally disagree, mint sealed versions have always been in another stratosphere in terms of value. Look at that 500k Madden. A truly mint one is probably worth $500-1000, and truly mint Maddens CIB are basically impossible, those boxes are so thin.

[@MartinvanZ]

@@ChokeslamToHell I agree that it is very difficult to get a good mint non sealed copy. But what I meant to say was that the seal itself is not that big of a deal. It's the grade. But if you count the number of non sealed games. There are soooo many copies out there. Sure the 9.8 grades will always fetch a premium. But there might still be cases of these games out there non graded. They are worth something of course. But will the price still go up? Or has the speculation of these items being more rare than they truly are increased the price too much? The same goes for those pokemon cards. You might point at them now and say, see there are 121 psa 10 and they are going for 200.000+. But is that really a sustainable price giving those number of graded cards? Or are people currently just buying into the hype expecting the value to only go up?

[@ChokeslamToHell]

@@MartinvanZ Good question on how things shape up over time, but I can’t ever see the seal not being massively more valuable than you are letting on. It’s always been that way and the new market has established itself that way to an even higher degree. I do think non sealed mint will go up over time, but it’ll be nothing compared to sealed.

[@gimyong6351]

yet, there r still many collectors who are encouraged by the pop reports, thinking that the numbers r low. this suggests that this is the only census reports they hv read n hv no exp in other markets. data is one thing. the ability to make sense of it is another.

[@JohnSmith-zl8rz]

I have a lot sealed NES that are don't want send to WATA, I hate! grading companies. Fuck WATA! Scammers.

[@theory170]

Big Shawn!

[@panthar1]

To be honest, I think these numbers are lower than I expected. I get that it's only been 3 years.. A lot will really depend on the sustained demand of this collector market though. PSA alone has 44 9.0 or higher alpha black lotus's, and this has been public information for years, yet a alpha black lotus will still command a very respectable price in that grade. The real question is, the size of the market, will there be millions of video game collectors like there is MTG collectors or not? I think it's fair to say this hype has grown the market and interest, but, it has also been growing for many years prior, so who knows? I think you did pretty much prove the lunacy in people paying millions, which I 100% agree with you on. But, I also think MTG is a fair comparison when looking at population reports, I think it's well within market capacity to command high prices comparable to what a PSA 9 black lotus does.

[@ReservedInvestments]

You are correct, but if you want an Alpha Black Lotus there is ONLY one way to buy it. If you want a copy of SMB or Zelda, you don't have to buy sealed, that's the difference, and it is major. Why aren't vintage carded and graded Star Wars figures selling for 6 figures? That's one of the reasons...

[@panthar1]

@@ReservedInvestments Yeah, but I used PSA 9 because that's an exceptional quality black lotus, meant only for collectors, not players. MTG has the same player/collector dynamic in the market to vintage video games in a lot of ways too. Your right, you don't have to buy sealed, but you also don't have to buy PSA 9, or for that matter Alpha if you just want a black lotus.

[@panthar1]

​ @Reserved Investments And, if PSA 9 is not sufficient, then look at 90's sealed MTG product. Just like with video games, you don't have to buy sealed MTG to play, yet, that also commands a big premium to collectors, or some people wanting to re-live opening those packs. I am not saying the markets are identical in every way, but there is a lot of similarities, that I don't think fit too well with star wars action figures, for one, I suspect there is a MUCH larger collector base/interest in retro video games or even MTG then action figures... I am of the opinion that the video game market can sustain some respectable prices on some of the big ones, just like P9 in MTG, at least for the next 10-20 yrs while us older millennials/young gen X's grow old. But, I do think some of the current prices are very inflated as well, so I agree with you, but also disagree.

[@Mitjitsu]

The only problem with this population report is that it doesn't take account of different variants.

[@ReservedInvestments]

It does. Click the little plus icon on side of the games listed.

[@perwin1979]

I enjoy watching your videos. But in this case, I think you're missing a thought. You assume large numbers of sealed games exist and much more will come to the market. Wata has not been around that long and sometimes dozens of a sealed game are available. But what is a large amount? You have to compare this to the amount of people who collect this. There will truly be thousands of people in the world who buy a sealed Zelda, Mario or whatever. The more collectors, the more a price remains fixed or rises. In any case, you know for sure that no more copies are made. You also assume that people buy it as an investment. There are plenty (like me) who buy it to build a nice collection. If demand exceeds supply, price will continue to rise or fall when supply exceeds demand. This will determine what the value will be. But there are also plenty of people who don't care that much and just build a top collection. You will be right that in the coming years and many games (sealed) both European versions and American versions will be revealed. But again if the demand is then the supply, prices will continue to rise and certainly the unique high-ranking copies of: VGA and Wata I look forward to your next video.

[@shenanitims4006]

Wha? There’s a lot of Metroids out there? As someone who grew up in the 80s, games as popular as Metroid, Mike Tyson, etc. would HAVE TO numerous. Contra was ALWAYS popular. So it makes sense there’d be boxes of sealed copies out there, as why would Konami stop producing it when the NES was still going strong?

[@brasscupholder6233]

Hype.

[@NicktheMan]

They need to separate the Classic Editions and Original games. I see a ton of factory sealed classic edition Metroid games, but very few of the original.

[@nexiamania]

17th!

[@dom19945]

Meanwhile, CGC is still dragging their feet on their TCG pop report.

[@Abstractpossom]

is anyone else watching this thinking these pop reports are insanely low haha, coming from the pokemon market, listening to these low numbers its making me want to start collecting wata games haha, I thought the way everyone was acting there was thousands sealed of each game, I think even if you 10x these numbers they're still low for a 40+ year market with a broad range of older collectors with higher wealth that are looking to collect their childhood sealed and graded.

[@ReservedInvestments]

Great, now compare a Pokemon card to a loose SMB. The average gamer or collector doesn’t need a sealed version to collect this stuff.

[@Abstractpossom]

@@ReservedInvestments I do see what you’re saying, and I love this Channel it grounds me for sure, but I do feel like a sealed copy in a high grade is like a trophy or a statement, it’s a pure embodiment of what you loved to play as a child, I personally would love to own some graded games, even though I have the copy that I can still play and enjoy, I think it just falls down to personal taste and what your income is, for me coming from the Pokémon collecting world, I see these numbers as small, but it’s all my personal opinion, these pop reports do make me feel safer venturing into wata graded game collecting for sure, and regardless of how we all feel about what their value should be we can all agree having a population report so you can collect/invest with more knowledge is a good thing,thank you for your reply! Love the channel

[@gimyong6351]

the same numbers are shown. some think they r low. some think they r high. only one group is right. the implications of either are severe. so it’s important to know the basis from which the two grps make these claims. my personal take: it takes a whole load of guts and cherry picking to assess that the numbers confirm the rarity that some perceived. a simple way to benchmark this: find a collectible from a more established market (doesnt have to be mature or antiques. u could just see comics for eg), and compare the prices. if that doesnt convince u, then it’s prob a data literacy issue.

[@pkmnbreedermax1494]

Very interesting. Based on the pops, I think we can assume that graded trading cards DO NOT equal sealed video games. People bought games to open and play, whereas collecting has always been a core element of TCG. So my sense is, there will always be a much lower # of sealed games compared to graded cards. I thought the #s sounded low at first, but I was comparing it to a completely different beast (Pokémon) that probably doesn’t have mutual correlation

[@RareManga]

Yo love u

[@poiluparadis]

I thought the content in this video was perfect for your channel.

[@phillipdow1279]

Not really interested in 27 minutes of population reports that I can just look up myself. I’m here for your “hidden” knowledge. Videos that make me look at my collections with a different lens. My favorites are the Q&As.

[@ReservedInvestments]

Thank you for the feedback! My Q & A videos are not as popular as some of my other videos, so I really appreciate this feedback! 🙏

[@chaosdimension6433]

I dont trust ANYTHING that comes from Wata games, for all I know this info could be manipulated

[@stefanoconsiglio3177]

Why doesn't wata like 9.7? 🤣🤣 I've watched the whole video and there wasn't any sealed 9.7 games lol

[@nightbotmike2388]

The people that profited the most from the graded video game market are: the grading companies and the auction houses. Don't kid yourself, they are laughing at everyone right now as they continue to rake in massive profits from the grading fees and auction premiums.

[@chuck...]

This pop report is only for nes games there is 100 other consoles out there

[@ReservedInvestments]

They stated they will release the pop reports for the other systems in the coming months.

[@awsmofo]

1st

[@iankan5634]

But these populations are very low compared to other collectibles. Therefore this should send the market higher. Simple supply and demand

[@ReservedInvestments]

Incorrect: If you want to collect a Jordan Rookie Card, there is only one buy to buy it. If you want to buy a copy of SMB, you don't have to get a factory sealed copy. You are comparing apples and oranges here. It is flawed logic.

[@Dn-bc1zi]

Why dont you think jordan rookie is more comparable to a first print mario or first appearance of mario rather than every single variant of mario 1 ever released sealed and non sealed? I dont want just any copy of mario... most collectors dont either, i want an early print hang tab preferably first print...

[@jedirun]

"Who cares about video game population reports, these sealed games are going to the moon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" - Timmy

[@chrisrhome6638]

To be fair, more people will want them as time goes on, so we will have to wait and see

[@ReservedInvestments]

Fundamentally false.

[@chrisrhome6638]

@@ReservedInvestments It is fundamentally true that this sector of collectibles is new, and still growing. Videos Games haven't become less popular, so in turn neither will the number of collectors grow smaller. It's fine if you don't agree, but a blanket statement with no explanation is no argument.

[@ReservedInvestments]

@@chrisrhome6638 How about 300 videos uploaded to KZbin answering this exact same question? Seriously, you cannot make this stuff up. You video game 'Timmies' are f'ing insane!

[@nicolascuenca254]

I haven't invested in this market but I'd say my counter argument to what you are saying is that compared to other graded collectables the numbers seem kind of low. I know you're going to say it's only been three years but I think that's a perception someone could draw from this. Oh and I have no intention of going into this but figured I'd just share that thought.

[@splugereport]

27 matte sticker cib SMB is going to have some folks flipping

[@JohnSmith-zl8rz]

I don't care about those high numbers, I want pay a lot of money for overpriced "rare games" -Timmy

[@vedu8519]

Spoiler alert: those aren't high pops...

[@JohnSmith-zl8rz]

@@vedu8519 those numbers will continue increasing, also there's many other copies on VGA, many others sealed ungraded, many other copies that will appear around in attics houses, since this video 3 more sealed copies of SMB3 appear, that's my sarcastic point with my initial comment.

[@vedu8519]

@@JohnSmith-zl8rz A lot of your same points can be said about almost any graded collectible market. But calling them "high" numbers right now is just flat out incorrect, especially given such a huge incentive to grade them because of the crazy prices they're going for. If there are all these supposedly sealed copies out there, why wouldn't people grade them to sell them knowing how much they're going for...?

[@JohnSmith-zl8rz]

@@vedu8519 I have around 15 NES sealed games, I don't care about grading, I refuse to support WATA.

[@vedu8519]

@@JohnSmith-zl8rz Who cares about WATA? Why didn't you grade them and sell them at the peak of the speculation and bubble? 😆 Do you not like money?

[@GermanGarageGames]

WATA…. The damage is done. That’s all

[@comiccowboy]

There are 3,607 9.8 copies of New Mutants 98 (first Deadpool) averaging $1800 a copy and 5,325 copies in 9.6. Some of these pop reports in games (while apples and oranges) are nowhere near that for tites released that same year