VGA Graded Games

I came across this article that referred back to GameSniped.com. A group called the Video Game Authority (VGA) has a grading scale, much like the scale used for comics, to grade a game's physical quality. This is both good and bad. The good is that video game collecting will have a little more than personal value. The bad is that a person can fake a perfectly sealed copy of Zelda and make it seem like it has never been opened, when in fact it has numerous scratches and cosmetic defects. I've fallen victim to this a few times at a local reseller. Not a big chain like EB or Gamestop or whatever they are now. This store would buy/trade for credit and resell the games. I've come across a few games that looked new behind their shiny coats of shrink wrap when, in fact, they had horribly scratched cases and fingerprinted disks. Hopefully, the Video Game Authority consists of a group that will be able to spot a fake or a re-seal.

The other down-side is, of course, that prices on retro game collecting will go up. It may not be as easy to get that original copy of Final Fantasy, Contra, Zelda, Bionic Commando, etc. for that awesome package deal of 100 NES Games for $50 on Ebay. I had purchased a couple of these lots a few years ago and got some great stuff for a great price. A few of these even had boxes complete with the original instruction manual and black plastic sleeve. Sweet.

Here is the original article...
VGA Graded Games

A Star Wars Lot



Adventures of Tron for Atari


The strange thing is that every game I've seen, so far, with the VGA rating is an 85 NM+.