I know this is a bit of a taboo subject amongst the general gaming community, but it's news all the same, and may interest the small minority to whom it applies.

A new forum site has recently just been set up aimed at collector's who prefer to collect factory sealed video-games, called Sealed Game Heaven ( http://forum.sealedgameheaven.com , http://www.sealedgameheaven.com ), and has already so far been reported on by Kotaku.com; InsertCredit.com; And also BitParade

The forum features in-depth guides and discussions regarding sealed games from all regions, as well as useful information regarding what to look out for, as well as the differences between factory seals and reseals. It also has another section where members have posted pictures of their impressive sealed game collections for your viewing pleasure!

Even if you are not a fan of this unique collecting phenomenon, it may still fascinate you or even provide enlightenment!

So what dou you think about this type of collecting sealed games?

I'm all for it. Gotta love those seals. Who doesn't love seals?

My favourites are cigarette pack wrappers and baby seals.

So,to play a game that you want to keep sealed,do you have to buy two games?Download it?Don't play the game?
Something must be out of my reach.

It was interesting to look at the pictures of collections, especially the PAL versions of N64 and SNES games. The artwork is different and, at first, I thought I was looking at bootlegs.

I think this type of collecting can be nearly as difficult as trying to find complete skeletons of dinosaurs. And almost as costly.

I can see collecting sealed stuff from one series - like trying to have a complete Castlevania game collection, or maybe a certain VGM artist/series collection - but collecting sealed games just to collect sealed games is pretty foolish to me. Don't get me wrong: I love me some sealed goodies... but that's only because I get excited to hear/play what's on the inside.

It's like sex. Instead of actually having it, you get sorta naked in front of the other person and just look at them.

"Hey dude, did you get laid last night?"
"Nah, man, but me and Debbie totally got half-naked and then stared at each other for an hour and a half. It was totally satisfying."

There's also a joke in here somewhere about buying used VGM because the seal has already been broken and it's cheaper than buying new, but I'm not digging for it.

I'm obcessive for condition, so I try to find games sealed if possible, and I'd probably spend more money then most for some.  But, seriously, I do buy these things to play them.  Also as fascinating as this site is, as the insert-credit guy (Tim Rogers?  I don't really remember) said, these are the guys that force the price up of these games in the first place!!

Really? I've always been partial to Leopard seals myself. They're fast, strong, cute, and somewhat dangerous... reminds me of a girl I once dated. Damn, I liked her! 

cheers,

-avatar!

I would guess that those who collect sealed games view them more as collectible objects rather than games to be played with, so in their mind, collecting isn't silly or pointless. It's no more or less pointless than collecting anything else that does nothing but sit and collect dust.

Personally,I collect dust,so am I silly?Or just dirty?

I hear if you collect enough of it, you can make a killing on eBay.

www.dustbunnyheaven.com

-Mike

I can understand and appreciate the whole sealed game collecting community, but how does the community know if something has been resealed?  I mean, it's pretty easy to buy a resealer and just reseal a bunch of opened games with boxes.  Short of the original packaging having a sticker or something on the seal, I don't know how they would know.  Seems like a risky hobby

They could open it and check!  Oh wait...

This entire thread is making me realize again just how much I love this community. ^_~

I've never seen a re-sealed game that was able to emulate what an actual sealed game looks like.  It's not hard to tell if you know what to look for.  That being said, I can usually  find at least some sense in some really dumb things people do, but to collect sealed games and not play them is about the dumbest thing I ever heard.

yeah thats right!

I can't say that I collect games or even keep the ones I have sealed but everyone has their own hobbies. It is just that games are expensive and when I get them the first thing I would want to do is open it and start playing straight away.

As you guys know I am quite new to the joys of buying videgame music cds but I would prefer to listen to it than keeping it sealed too specially if it cost quite a bit. I got to say that as always Zane you make me laugh with your fantastic comparisons.

This makes Neo-Geo AES cart-collecting look sane by comparison..

i still have 2 unopened packs of underwear from xmas '99, i wonder what they're worth...

Heh, i thought you were going to go for the 'unsealed but still wrapped condom' joke..

I don't see the sense in it, but to each his own I guess. I have a friend that absolutely demolished my DKC2 box, and he never understood why I was so upset.   Plus, I get pissed whenever Gamestop try to sell me an unsealed game for a "new" price.

Wait, you got underwear for Xmas? Although, I think everyone can agree that underwear is something we'd all want to buy sealed.

YES. This pisses me off to no end, especially when Gamestop seems to be the only store that will stock something I want. Dunno if its the same everywhere or not, but I hate having to show up on launch dates just to get a factory sealed copy before the idiots behind to counter rip each open to remove the disc to stash away in the "vault".

Probably why I have to order most of my games online now.

One of the Gamestops in my area has a new trick that beats anything I've seen them do before.  You know how they normally put the price sticker and bar code thing on the top right of the case and on the bottom of the spine?  And how normally it's on the outside of the plastic?  This particular Gamestop TAKES THE PAPER INSERTS OUT and then PUTS THEIR STICKERS DIRECTLY ON THE INSERTS.  Great, so now if I buy a game from you, I'll never be able to get those off without ruining the package entirely?  THANKS SO MUCH.  I'm never shopping at that particular store again.

About the stickers being directly on the inserts themselves, they can be removed without damage to the art-insert if you peel it slowly and carefully off, i'm sure of it because i just did it with that copy of Twilight Princess i bought last week.

And especially now in the summertime, the scorching heatwaves help the stickers come off with relative ease.

Maybe a little of both!
Maybe you are PigPen's real-life incarnation?
( :

That depends on the adhesive used on the sticker.  Some stickers can come cleanly off, but not others.  I've had some stickers that Gamestop used that didn't come off cleanly.

What pisses me off to no end is that Gamestop can open a game and put the case on the shelf so everyone can put their dirty paws all over it, then when you buy this "new" game you get the disc back in the case with no factory seal (which is the definition of a "new" game, in my eyes). But if you bought a new game, opened it but didn't play it, you couldn't return that game as new... even though that is their definition of "new" according to what happens when they remove the disc, don't play it and put it on the shelf. Hypocrisy! Double standards! Shitty PS3 games!

That happened around here last year, so I stopped shopping at that particular store. Then I saw it happening somewhere else, so I stopped shopping at that store. Then... the closest GS to my house started it, too. My COA was to stop buying games at Gamestop; I haven't been in one in months. I think the last game I bought at GS was No More Heroes. But that one was new... I mean shrinkwrapped. From here on in, I only purchase games online; I know what it's like to sell games, and I'd rather buy from an actual person selling second hand than some soulless retail mammoth that tries to push Madden preorders to every man, woman and child that walks in the front door.

EDIT: I should mention that when Joe said "Gamestop TAKES THE PAPER INSERTS OUT and then PUTS THEIR STICKERS DIRECTLY ON THE INSERTS", I'm pretty sure he means that they put the stickers in two places - one on the top right where the price usually is, and another on the SPINE of the insert, so if you file it on your shelf with your other games you will see a barcode where the name of the game usually is. Classy!

I'm with you there bro! I hate Gamestop! I purchase from amazon (they have daily deals which are amazingly good), or better yet from an honest-to-goodness person! I remember years ago I walked into a small store (ie not a retail) which specialized in video games, and I saw FFT which had just come out. The guy was like "oh it's a great game, I'll sell it to you for $5 less than you can find it anywhere else if you want it" that was awesome! And it was brand new. Of course that store no longer exists, it's been driven out by shit like gamestop. Makes me sad, but the same thing is true for many things (food, clothes, electronics, etc). Still, if you look hard enough, you can find good quality products from small places. I purchase at my local Co-Op and farmer's markets. Now, if only there was a video game/music farmer's market

-avatar!

ps Drop me a line, I'll be in Boston soon!

I don't feel inclined to pass judgment on other people's hobbies.  My attitude is that if you enjoy it, you can afford it, and it doesn't hurt anyone, then go for it.

Here in the UK most of the stores also try to sell you opened up games as most keep the disks inside a cabinet. Just like you guys I decided to start buying more online not only for this but because how cheaper games are.

It is to be added that for some reason there are stores that take out these litlle cards that give you stars in the nintendo website from opened games sometimes!