why keep games sealed? whats the point?

thisjustanother

thisjustanother

CAGiversary!
why do i keep seeing posts from people saying they will buy 2 of the same game and keep one sealed. what do they do with the sealed copy. im quite confused about the reason in keeping games sealed. or why do they just buy one game and not do anything with it, be it play it or sell it.
 
some people just like to collect sealed games, just like those who collect sealed action figures and comics and such
 
sealed copies sells more than a used copy.

ie. Ninja Gaiden for the NES used is probably less than $10... brand new? then it'll be $200+.

someone pointed out awhile back selling a new copy of Marvel vs. Capcom 2 for Ps2 for $300+. i was just watching a RE Longbox for the PS1 sealed and new a few weeks back that sold for $400.
 
There also is another reason why we keep games sealed: we just don't get around to them. I've bought so many games since coming to this site that I just leave games sealed until I want to play them.
 
[quote name='erehwon']There also is another reason why we keep games sealed: we just don't get around to them. I've bought so many games since coming to this site that I just leave games sealed until I want to play them.[/QUOTE]

That's me. I figure, when I'm ready to play it, I'll open it. If, for some reason or another, that time never comes... well, game's worth more now. ;)
 
[quote name='erehwon']There also is another reason why we keep games sealed: we just don't get around to them. I've bought so many games since coming to this site that I just leave games sealed until I want to play them.[/QUOTE]

Yup, that's the reason I end up not opening half of my names. After coming to CAG, I just got games at such a faster rate that I started telling myself "I'll open it later".
 
I usually buy games when they first get cheap or have a good deal on them. I barely get around to playing any games at all and a lot of times I end up with games that I never open. It's true about the values of the games though. I bought a La Pucelle tactics for like $13 a while back and never opened it and ended up selling it on ebay. The difference between a mint OPENED, not nevessairly used, copy and a sealed copy was like a good $15 dollar difference. I ended up selling for like $25 while a used one was going for around $12. I bought the first Kingdom Hearts the day it went down to GH pricing but I was able to get an original version of it and I won't open it. I'll more likely buy a used one somewhere if I wanted to play it before I open it. That thin piece of plastic could mean the difference between the game being worth $5 or $100 a few years from now. I don't know why but that the way it is.
 
I have Conker (XB) still sealed. It goes for around $40. Used, it's about $10. This margin will only increase. I also have the Guy Game sealed on XBox. I haven't seen that on EBay in a while.
 
[quote name='DuelLadyS']That's me. I figure, when I'm ready to play it, I'll open it. If, for some reason or another, that time never comes... well, game's worth more now. ;)[/QUOTE]

Agreed, sometimes I will buy a game because it's cheap and then decide later I don't really need it and will sell it. I don't open games until I want to play them. I have a sealed Advance Wars DS I picked up from the CC clearance last year. If I decide I don't need it (though I plan to keep it), I can easily get $40 for it rather than $20 - $30 used.
 
I find it funny how some people say "It's worth a lot" yet they don't actually get around to selling it. They simply just hold it so they can say they have it. You know who you hoarders are! :p
 
[quote name='erehwon']There also is another reason why we keep games sealed: we just don't get around to them. I've bought so many games since coming to this site that I just leave games sealed until I want to play them.[/QUOTE]

I'm super-guilty of that. I've probably got at least 10 games still sealed, and many more that I've played only briefly. So little time, eh?
 
I buy them on the cheap and keep them sealed until I am ready to play them. Unfortunately between all the games I have to play as soon as I get them (Bioshock, etc.) and the ones I never have time to play, my unopened games is now in excess of 200. But I'll get to them eventually...or I'll die. In which case my kids will thank me.
 
I don't see games the same as action figures..

I like to use action figures to display, but that doesn't mean I have to take them out of the package.

games have to be taken out of the package to play. sealed games is a fad that I don't like in this community.. on one hand, we have people who only pick up games at yard sales and pawn shops and only for very very cheap.. some who buy every game as soon as they come out and trade them in before the price drops.. then even some who keep games in some kind of cryogenic freeze rooms where they are never to be touched or played..

I don't base my video games on prices they'll be down the line.. I just look at the price I pay for them and if i'm ok with it then thats ok.. I don't hoard copies of games just to turn a profit (usually.. i've only done it once with an amazing deal I found) but regardless, I usually buy video games to play, not to keep perfect or whatever.. I usually pick up disc only games too as they are usually cheaper or less desired...

I put the boxes/instructions in storage anyways and use huge binders that are near my game systems.. much easier for me..
 
I don't see the point of having sealed games for a collection either.

Collecting something like packaged action figures makes sense, because at least you can see the entire product on the shelf. The real 'product' of a game is what's ON the disc itself, not the package.

Having a sealed game collection is like having a collection of jewel/dvd cases with pics on them. Not much to display really.
 
I have one sealed game right now basically because I purchased it Saturday and have not played it yet.. Usually I will open them all just to make sure the game is not loose in the case or something.

I agree the value of games is the game itself but to some people having that sealed game gives them a sort of assurance or something and to people that are flipping them for profit well the thin plastic makes all the difference unless it is the people that are flipping for trades at stores..

As long as it is complete and not all scratched to hell I could care less eventually I will sell all my PS2 RPG's and most of them will be worth something down the road and if not oh well...
 
Even when I know I won't get time to play games I've just bought, I open them up anyway. Keeping most games sealed adds no value to me.

However, I do have many sealed PC games still, (Doom 3, KOTOR, System Shock 2, etc.) since I own multiple copies of these games anyway. It's one thing to rip open a game I know I will eventually play at some point, but it's fruitless to open many copes of the same game when I'm only going to be using one copy.

What will I do with my sealed games? Other than System Shock 2, I'll pretty much just keep them. Sealed PC games are worth next to nothing, and I don't see myself doing an injustice by preventing one person from not playing my copy. (most of my games aren't rare and can be downloaded from Steam anyway)
 
i always keep games sealed until i am ready to play them...this way if i never do get the chance to then it is much easier to sell New rather then opened but unused...I am a collector but i am more concerned with the items being complete rather then sealed

i currently have a ton of games that are sealed but not due to me not wanting to open it, just that i ended up not having the time

i learned my lesson with my old Dreamcast collection...i had every single US release except for Rainbow Six Rogue spear...they were all brought new by me and i opened almost all of them but i did not play all of them and when i sold them off i could have gotten quite a bit more then i did if they were still sealed
 
LOL I only have games that're worth jack still sealed, stuff like Suffering: Ties That Bind and one of the Burger King games.

Other than those two, I think I eliminated all of my sealed games when FYE had the trade deal a while ago.

Well, all except my sealed copy of Psychonauts for Xbox from the Kmart clearance.
 
I think I have like 20-25 sealed games for PS2, all of which came from clearances and such. I think the only ones that will be of any value are Karaoke Revolution 3, Disgaea 2, Suikoden V, and possibly Katamari Damacy. But they all have quite a while to go. I dont particularly enjoy collecting sealed games, I find it far too expensive for it to be worth it, even for collection/display purposes. I would rather have 10 copies of various rare games, rather than 1 sealed copy of a rare game. Example: the entire Final Fantasy library versus a sealed copy of FF7.
 
LOL I sold my copy of Katamari Damacy to a friend a week or two ago for $15, since it was just collecting dust here and they had been looking for it for a while for them and their kids to play.

So, I made them happy and I got money for a game I think I played about 4 times maybe.
 
Only a few of my games are sealed...but if they are, there are certain reasons for that

As said earlier - value of games go up by a crapload when they are still sealed
an example is my copy of advance wars ds - it sells for nearly $30 used but doubles when its sealed

Another reason is I may not have the system yet that plays the games...I've been getting loads of PSP games (on clearance of course) until just recently were opened since I got the new psp slim

Lastly, I have a fear of opening game and not liking it thus having it lose some value but I guess its sometimes worth the risk as I've come to love strategy games ever since Advance Wars on the gameboy
 
Similar to many of the other CAGs here, I don't bother opening games until I'm ready to play them. After all the I've spent on CAG, I must have 300+ sealed games...!!
 
[quote name='SDC']I'm super-guilty of that. I've probably got at least 10 games still sealed, and many more that I've played only briefly. So little time, eh?[/QUOTE]
pfft, 10 games sealed? I have a good 200 still sealed. Not enough time to play them and I am also a collector. (not necessarily of sealed games, but mint complete games as well). Of course this sounds like a lot of games, but my collection is over 1600 games so that is only about 1/8 still sealed.
 
i sort of got into the sealed game collecting after about a few months of not being able to play any of them. someone i know actually buys the game, keeps it sealed, and downloads a copy (don't be stupid like him!). he never used to do that. just lately since the sealed copies could be worth alot someday (whenever that day will be).
 
[quote name='YoshiFan1']Agreed, sometimes I will buy a game because it's cheap and then decide later I don't really need it and will sell it. I don't open games until I want to play them.[/quote]I'm the same way. School is making it even more difficult to get through my sealed backlog.

But lately, all of the multiple copies that I'm buying will be given away as gifts this coming holiday season since I have a bunch of friends who recently bought or will be getting a PS3/2, PSP, or DS Lite.
 
For collection value...and sometimes, it takes forever to get around to them, so the resell is higher. I've actually been able to take a sealed game I bought of Ebay cheap to Walmart for return...

 
[quote name='urzishra14']I don't see games the same as action figures..

I like to use action figures to display, but that doesn't mean I have to take them out of the package.

games have to be taken out of the package to play. sealed games is a fad that I don't like in this community.. on one hand, we have people who only pick up games at yard sales and pawn shops and only for very very cheap.. some who buy every game as soon as they come out and trade them in before the price drops.. then even some who keep games in some kind of cryogenic freeze rooms where they are never to be touched or played..

I don't base my video games on prices they'll be down the line.. I just look at the price I pay for them and if i'm ok with it then thats ok.. I don't hoard copies of games just to turn a profit (usually.. i've only done it once with an amazing deal I found) but regardless, I usually buy video games to play, not to keep perfect or whatever.. I usually pick up disc only games too as they are usually cheaper or less desired...

I put the boxes/instructions in storage anyways and use huge binders that are near my game systems.. much easier for me..[/QUOTE]

Isn't that hypocritical? What's the point of a toy? To be played with right? You're not touching them or playing them. You're perfectly fine with sitting a toy on the shelf never to be played with but you have a problem with the same thing as a videogame? Evidently you buy toys to keep perfect, but its wrong to keep games sealed?

What's the difference from having a sealed original Darth Vader from the first star wars, or a factory sealed Panzer Dragoon Saga, or Mint, never read, Amazing Fantasy 15?

At some point people started collecting these things, even though ironically by collecting the things it prevents the items themselves from acomplishing their original purpose. But to each their own.
 
Most of the games I have sealed were bought extremely cheap and I figure, why not buy a game for $5-10 and stick it in a drawer until you can sell it for $50 or $100, even it takes a year or two. I have a ton of games that I've bought for super cheap over the past few years, so whenever I want to buy a new game, I dip into my drawer 'o cheap ass sealed games, sell one or two and end up with a new game for about $10. or a new system for around $80-100. This has saved me shitloads of cash in the long run...like $1000s over the past 3 years.

I only buy and keep sealed games that are sure to raise in price though...
 
[quote name='pinoy530']Isn't that hypocritical? What's the point of a toy? To be played with right? You're not touching them or playing them. You're perfectly fine with sitting a toy on the shelf never to be played with but you have a problem with the same thing as a videogame? Evidently you buy toys to keep perfect, but its wrong to keep games sealed?

What's the difference from having a sealed original Darth Vader from the first star wars, or a factory sealed Panzer Dragoon Saga, or Mint, never read, Amazing Fantasy 15?

At some point people started collecting these things, even though ironically by collecting the things it prevents the items themselves from acomplishing their original purpose. But to each their own.[/quote]

very good point. took it right outta me.

to add to that, i really don't think urzishra14 has caught up for the past few years that games have been very profitable, like action figures. the sole purpose is the same, its to make some money with it someday. and btw, you can always find a used copy, and save the sealed. no ones stopping anyone from doing that. i dont see that happening for action figures though.
 
I bought Ico last year at Wal-Mart for $15, kept it sealed, realized I wasn't going to play it any time soon (backlog....so....big), and sold it on eBay for $50 a couple weeks ago. Things like that make me keep my games sealed until I want to play them.
 
[quote name='scott2hotcott']I bought Ico last year at Wal-Mart for $15, kept it sealed, realized I wasn't going to play it any time soon (backlog....so....big), and sold it on eBay for $50 a couple weeks ago. Things like that make me keep my games sealed until I want to play them.[/QUOTE]

Wow, I picked up my copy (still sealed of course) a few years ago in the bargain bin at Fry's. It was $15 or less there, too, I think. Plus my Gamerush (now gone) had a few copies a year or so ago. That's the thing, though - who knows whether games like that are going to be worth a bunch or worth a $1 trade-in at GS. I see no reason to open a game until I'm going to play it. And even if I do want to play it (as others have noted) I'll search out a used copy if a sealed has become worth something. It's probably pretty hard to find a used Ico now, though, but I'll start looking ;). I did this with the PS2 Futurama game about 2 years back when I first realized games could be worth anything. I had found a new copy at CompUSA for $20. Despite the horrible reviews, I really wanted to try it out, but I held off at first. Then, a few months later, my GR actually had a mint used copy. I snapped that up and promptly sold the sealed one for $50 or so (I don't even want to see how much it might be worth now). I tried the used one out for one day and never touched it again :lol:. It's back on the 'log with 100's of other games...

Anyway, I'll chime in with all the others here in answer to the OP. If you collect an enormous amount of games as a result of this fine web site, there's no need to rip them all open if they are just going to sit on the backlog. Some small number of them may gain in value. But that's not the only reason to keep 'em sealed. I don't even open ones I KNOW are worthless. After all, they could always turn into gifts for people and it's always better to give someone a sealed game than your used hand-me-downs.
 
[quote name='scott2hotcott']I bought Ico last year at Wal-Mart for $15, kept it sealed, realized I wasn't going to play it any time soon (backlog....so....big), and sold it on eBay for $50 a couple weeks ago. Things like that make me keep my games sealed until I want to play them.[/QUOTE]
Speaking of buying cheap and then selling.....I remember about 6 or 7 months ago, Target had Kirby Canvas Curse for the DS on clearance for $4.98. I bought 3, kept one and sold the other two on ebay. Two weeks later, the remaining copies (approximately about 12) were still there tagged at $4.98. I bought all copies(figured people had time to buy them if they wanted to by now) and sold all those copies for close to $40 each. One of my best flipping deals I ever had.
 
[quote name='scott2hotcott']I bought Ico last year at Wal-Mart for $15, kept it sealed, realized I wasn't going to play it any time soon (backlog....so....big), and sold it on eBay for $50 a couple weeks ago. Things like that make me keep my games sealed until I want to play them.[/quote]

I bought mine at a local Sears store, when it was about $10 last year or so. I let my one buddy borrow it, he played it all the way through and now, it's just sitting in my collection since I wouldn't dare trade it. Well, unless it were worth an insane amount in credit, which I know is NOT the case.

Same deal with my complete Baldurs Gate Dark Alliance 2, my buddy and I completed it and it's sat here.

Saddest game buy ever though, was my used but complete copy of Rez for PS2, which has just sat here since I don't dare play the blue bottom discs on my older model PS2.

I got it during the HWV 2/$20 deal and can't bring myself to play it for anything.

Other than those I have a complete copy of The Guy Game, which I've played through numerous times now(only the first couple episodes though) and lately, it too has been collecting dust.

I think I'm becoming more of a collector than a gamer anymore.
 
I see both sides of this debate; sometimes I even ask myself...what is the point of hundreds of sealed games that I know I'll never have time to play even if I wanted to? I guess I'm addicted to the "thrill of the hunt". Thanks, CAG, for creating a "sealaholic".
 
kinda fell into this subset by accident...too many games too little time. but I guess there is a perverted sense of pride knowing that you have something most people want and knowing you're not enjoying it the way that they want to. (aka playing it.)

kinda like this.

DSCN0010.jpg


oh I bet you'd like to tear through the shrinkwrapping and see what other crazy cutscenes there are...but you can't.

PS: for those who don't get why I'm using this as an example.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Genl242_ZU8
 
[quote name='IAmTheCheapestGamer']I think I'm becoming more of a collector than a gamer anymore.[/quote]

Unfortuantely, this is true for me as well. As I get older, with more responsibilities, I have less time to play games.

I have accumulated quite a few games (thanks to this website) and keep them sealed until I play them. There is no point in opening them until then as some of them will be worth something, others will be worth little. Some of the games I bought on impulse from a cheap clearance have made me the most money (Digimon Rumble Arena 2, Aliens Vs. Predators, Jurassic Park, etc.).

Personally, I like having the ability to walk up to my library of games, browse through the titles, and open up the next adventure.
 
[quote name='kell']Unfortuantely, this is true for me as well. As I get older, with more responsibilities, I have less time to play games.

I have accumulated quite a few games (thanks to this website) and keep them sealed until I play them. There is no point in opening them until then as some of them will be worth something, others will be worth little. Some of the games I bought on impulse from a cheap clearance have made me the most money (Digimon Rumble Arena 2, Aliens Vs. Predators, Jurassic Park, etc.).

Personally, I like having the ability to walk up to my library of games, browse through the titles, and open up the next adventure.[/quote]

Only time I find myself opening up a game before I'm ready to really play it, is when I see a nick or hole in the plastic, since I know I had a friend who bought a game and didn't open it.

Trouble is, by the time he did, it was LONG since past the time to return it saying there was NOTHING IN THE DAMNED CASE.

Someone had gently opened the game, taken the game and manual out and stuffed a cd-R and something else back in the case to make it seem ok. Luckily though, he only lost about $3-5 on that game.

So, anytime I see the plastic a little messed up, I crack the games open to make sure they're actually in there.
 
[quote name='IAmTheCheapestGamer']Trouble is, by the time he did, it was LONG since past the time to return it saying there was NOTHING IN THE DAMNED CASE.[/quote]

That sucks. I have thought about that as risk of leaving them sealed and have accepted it. That is one reason to try and get games where the wrap isn't jacked up.
 
[quote name='IAmTheCheapestGamer']Only time I find myself opening up a game before I'm ready to really play it, is when I see a nick or hole in the plastic, since I know I had a friend who bought a game and didn't open it.

Trouble is, by the time he did, it was LONG since past the time to return it saying there was NOTHING IN THE DAMNED CASE.
[/quote]

that definitely sucks...the funny thing is I have a couple games with wonky shrinkwrap...so perhaps I should open them (even though at this point it's kinda moot.)

still a lesson worth heeding.
 
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