Question about label damage to discs

[video_gamer324]

Does label damage really affect the playability of a game? The reason I ask is because I traded a small stack of games today, and the guy pulled a couple games from my pile and told me that he couldn't accept them because they each had a minor scratch on the label. He said that the scratches go straight to the data on the discs and ruin them, but I told him that the games had played fine for me (which is true). He then replied that the games would probably "freeze up in the 4th quarter or something" (his words), and at that point I figured he was BSing me but I didn't feel like arguing. Is there something I'm missing, or is this guy just feeding me lies?

 

[bluekeith75]

Actually he is correct, the data is directly below the label. Sometimes even a small scratch on the label side will ruin a disc.

 

[Alpha2]

Seconded, While generally game disks are more durable than say a CD-R The data is still located in the same place. That's why you can use something like the Disk Dr. and never have to worry about damaging the game since it's only the plastic thats being scrubbed off.

Whether or not the scratches your games possesed was really enough to worry about is up for debate as we havent seen them but it's definatly worth watching out for if you buy second hand games.