Wow, I never knew they changed the art on Gun.Smoke. Can't believe they didn't do the same to Mega Man given its popularity and, well... the art on that one Nice ones Adam.
well the mega man art wasn't offensive except as artwork.
Its been speculated the gunsmoke art was changed either as a result of the word 'bar' or possibly as a result of the teepees in the screenshots of the first version re sensitivity to native americans. Whatever the case, both of those changes were made
Does anyone have a conclusive breakdown of the Captain Commando stickers? Which games, and where in the variant line they were? Nice Darkwing Buck. I met him in Disneyland when I won my Capcom tourney. He was a jerk.
Where do you keep finding this shit?!?!?!? I think the only 90s I've come across (meaning, in my collection) were either for the Jaguar or not worth shit all even graded...
Where do you keep finding this shit?!?!?!? I think the only 90s I've come across (meaning, in my collection) were either for the Jaguar or not worth shit all even graded...
I was just about to say the same thing. Where are these all found at?
Bucky beat me on that Darkwing too!---it looked too perfect to be true, but I guess it was!! And what an incredible Burgertime!!! I still play that game & I am horrible at it
Is it just me, or are NES games not being graded as strict anymore? Maybe you guys have just been finding a treasure trove of minty stuff lately, but it just seemed like a year or two ago you hardly ever saw NES with a 90. If so, how many of you have actually sent something back for a re-grade?
Is it just me, or are NES games not being graded as strict anymore? Maybe you guys have just been finding a treasure trove of minty stuff lately, but it just seemed like a year or two ago you hardly ever saw NES with a 90. If so, how many of you have actually sent something back for a re-grade?
Nah, there's really no change. Look at that elevator. Find a flaw, I dare ya. I did find a largish collection of high grade stuff a while back and I know at least one other boardie who did too. So it's no surprise. You get good grades when you send in mint games. When you don't, you dont
Sweet game!! Does this have the H-seam? I've seen so many w/o it I get confused as to how it was sealed?
Legit copies like this one have the h seam. You don't see many legit ones. You really never see them. I'll take a pic of the back for you later
Just to finish the thought on this Am. You're right that there are a large number of elevator actions without the h-seam. It appears a good number of copies were resealed at the store or distributor level. I remember one seller had 22 of these in a single auction. But they ain't legit, its a h-seam game, all games from that time mid 1987 time period are unless its something that came in a non-standard size box/package (like arkanoid and athletic world, stack up etc).
Is it just me, or are NES games not being graded as strict anymore? Maybe you guys have just been finding a treasure trove of minty stuff lately, but it just seemed like a year or two ago you hardly ever saw NES with a 90. If so, how many of you have actually sent something back for a re-grade?
Nah, there's really no change. Look at that elevator. Find a flaw, I dare ya. I did find a largish collection of high grade stuff a while back and I know at least one other boardie who did too. So it's no surprise. You get good grades when you send in mint games. When you don't, you dont
Are you positive on this Dan. I know a few people who have told me that their Nes stuff has been getting way better grades the last couple weeks. So much so that they have been sending their lower graded stuff back in for re-grading. Seems to me no one would do that unless the standards are easing up some? These are all experienced VGA guys collectors too.
Is it just me, or are NES games not being graded as strict anymore? Maybe you guys have just been finding a treasure trove of minty stuff lately, but it just seemed like a year or two ago you hardly ever saw NES with a 90. If so, how many of you have actually sent something back for a re-grade?
Nah, there's really no change. Look at that elevator. Find a flaw, I dare ya. I did find a largish collection of high grade stuff a while back and I know at least one other boardie who did too. So it's no surprise. You get good grades when you send in mint games. When you don't, you dont
Are you positive on this Dan. I know a few people who have told me that their Nes stuff has been getting way better grades the last couple weeks. So much so that they have been sending their lower graded stuff back in for re-grading. Seems to me no one would do that unless the standards are easing up some? These are all experienced VGA guys collectors too.
The simple answer is there's no material change and so that's what I went with.
The more involved answer would be to say that...
a) I think their grading is improving in that they aren't as scared to use a fuller spectrum of the grades available to them. For a long time if it wasn't a gold and it wasn't ganked it got an 85. Now you might get an 80+ or even 80 and if its *really* messed up, well damn you might be in the 60s or 70s. I don't think that's an overnight thing but a gradual process of refinement as they've graded more and more stuff. And its a good thing because it helps collectors differentiate the mint from the not so mint. On the top end, if a game is truly truly cherry then perhaps you have a better shot at a 90+ or whatever because in the same way stuff with flaws got 85s it seems like if you go far back enough in history they never gave out anything higher than 90 either. So the range that gets the most action, the85-90 I don't think has really changed but the extreme high (very rare) or extreme lows (common) get grades that better suit the games. IMO. For example. I sent in an unopened case years ago and nothing got higher than 90+, straight from the mint sealed case. Today I bet there would be a couple 95s in there, as rengozu saw when he sent in his flight of the intruder case. And that's as it should be, if the middle copies in a perfect case can't get a 95, what can?
b) A little while back, maybe 6 months ago? I dunno. There was, very briefly, a bit of a pendulum swing to unreasonably tough grading. That's corrected back to normal. So if you sent in during the brief window where things had gotten too tough, then maybe you could regrade up. But IMO that period was a small blip which met with quick customer negative feedback and was corrected.
Bottom line, as always, see if the game warrants the grade. There will always be and have always been, with this grading company and any other in any other field, examples that are tweeners and are going to result in a soft 85+ or a tough 85, for example. And there will always be some small pendulum swings in grading. Graders are human.
But, on the whole, IMO, things are as they've always been and are as consistent as one could reasonably ask for. That elevator action is a 90 today and it would have been a 90 a year ago, three years ago, five years ago.
Thanks for your post buddy. Good information. I knew that they had been getting tougher like you said awhile back and were hearing about it negatively. I just figured they eased up as a result of that. I agree it would be nice to see more of a range of the grades as it makes it seem impossible to get a perfect score of as you said the middle copies in a case can't beat 90+ or 95.
Well it's hard to follow up all of that! Even more to follow up these games!!
Agree with what Bronty has been saying. The stuff that he is showing is very special. He found something special and is showing it. As a sealed NES collector with the same goals as he once had years ago, feel privileged to see his stuff! No way your going to find gold copies of the majority of stuff in this thread; period. If you do, your going to pay for it. Typical collectors don't find stuff like this, especially first print NES stuff!! It's not just lying around. For the rest of us, finding just a copy of some of these titles is amazing. Like the Elevator Action being discussed, it is very rare to find legit h-seam sealed. Last VGA population report showed 3 graded copies. Bronty's, mine , and a 2008 graded copy that was sold by Brian's Toys years ago that hasn't popped up since. Licensed gauntlet is very rare too. I am sure, as in any case, there are members who might have copies that simply just haven't shared or care to share .
With regards to the VGA grading, several of us "complained" about the tough grading roughly between September 2012 - February 2013. Supposedly new graders were hired. I would say this would be a time frame to consider for regarding some items. I know for a fact that I am resending some of my 85's I received during this time frame. They should have been graded 85+ (or I think they should have). This falls into line of what Bronty was saying and what most of the box collectors know. There are 85's and really damn nice 85's.
Last item, special title below, going to beat Dan to the punch on this one, Lode Runner!!! Only know of two sealed copies and no gold graded ones. Resending for regarding to indicate non-rev a on the label even though it appears that there never were rev-a copies of this title. Either way, still need the detailed report. Thanks to Dan for helping me land this one!
Is it just me, or are NES games not being graded as strict anymore? Maybe you guys have just been finding a treasure trove of minty stuff lately, but it just seemed like a year or two ago you hardly ever saw NES with a 90. If so, how many of you have actually sent something back for a re-grade?
Nah, there's really no change. Look at that elevator. Find a flaw, I dare ya. I did find a largish collection of high grade stuff a while back and I know at least one other boardie who did too. So it's no surprise. You get good grades when you send in mint games. When you don't, you dont
Are you positive on this Dan. I know a few people who have told me that their Nes stuff has been getting way better grades the last couple weeks. So much so that they have been sending their lower graded stuff back in for re-grading. Seems to me no one would do that unless the standards are easing up some? These are all experienced VGA guys collectors too.
The simple answer is there's no material change and so that's what I went with.
The more involved answer would be to say that...
a) I think their grading is improving in that they aren't as scared to use a fuller spectrum of the grades available to them. For a long time if it wasn't a gold and it wasn't ganked it got an 85. Now you might get an 80+ or even 80 and if its *really* messed up, well damn you might be in the 60s or 70s. I don't think that's an overnight thing but a gradual process of refinement as they've graded more and more stuff. And its a good thing because it helps collectors differentiate the mint from the not so mint. On the top end, if a game is truly truly cherry then perhaps you have a better shot at a 90+ or whatever because in the same way stuff with flaws got 85s it seems like if you go far back enough in history they never gave out anything higher than 90 either. So the range that gets the most action, the85-90 I don't think has really changed but the extreme high (very rare) or extreme lows (common) get grades that better suit the games. IMO. For example. I sent in an unopened case years ago and nothing got higher than 90+, straight from the mint sealed case. Today I bet there would be a couple 95s in there, as rengozu saw when he sent in his flight of the intruder case. And that's as it should be, if the middle copies in a perfect case can't get a 95, what can?
b) A little while back, maybe 6 months ago? I dunno. There was, very briefly, a bit of a pendulum swing to unreasonably tough grading. That's corrected back to normal. So if you sent in during the brief window where things had gotten too tough, then maybe you could regrade up. But IMO that period was a small blip which met with quick customer negative feedback and was corrected.
Bottom line, as always, see if the game warrants the grade. There will always be and have always been, with this grading company and any other in any other field, examples that are tweeners and are going to result in a soft 85+ or a tough 85, for example. And there will always be some small pendulum swings in grading. Graders are human.
But, on the whole, IMO, things are as they've always been and are as consistent as one could reasonably ask for. That elevator action is a 90 today and it would have been a 90 a year ago, three years ago, five years ago.
It was about 6 months ago or so when i got my dragon fighter back at a 75+ when I was sure it would have graded an 80.
are you coming to Portland Dan? I'd love to get your insight on it's condition and if you think it'd re-grade higher.
Comments
Its been speculated the gunsmoke art was changed either as a result of the word 'bar' or possibly as a result of the teepees in the screenshots of the first version re sensitivity to native americans. Whatever the case, both of those changes were made
Originally posted by: JNovo79
Where do you keep finding this shit?!?!?!? I think the only 90s I've come across (meaning, in my collection) were either for the Jaguar or not worth shit all even graded...
I was just about to say the same thing. Where are these all found at?
Originally posted by: rarebucky
Bazinga!
You had to outbid me on that one. Facepalm. And I outbid you for one title that came back 85+. gah. You won on that day, good sir. Great piece.
90+ lethal weapon
Graded spelunker
Licensed gauntlet
Gold mario 1
2x battle toad & dd
Wtf!!!
postman was nice today. thx Robin. Nice to reunite this bad boy with some of its old brothers and sisters from the same collection.
I like that burgertime, but if I can be obnoxious enough to say so myself, this is freaking sweet too
Sweet game!! Does this have the H-seam? I've seen so many w/o it I get confused as to how it was sealed?
Legit copies like this one have the h seam. You don't see many legit ones. You really never see them. I'll take a pic of the back for you later
Is it just me, or are NES games not being graded as strict anymore? Maybe you guys have just been finding a treasure trove of minty stuff lately, but it just seemed like a year or two ago you hardly ever saw NES with a 90. If so, how many of you have actually sent something back for a re-grade?
Nah, there's really no change. Look at that elevator. Find a flaw, I dare ya. I did find a largish collection of high grade stuff a while back and I know at least one other boardie who did too. So it's no surprise. You get good grades when you send in mint games. When you don't, you dont
Originally posted by: Bronty
Originally posted by: 1upped
Sweet game!! Does this have the H-seam? I've seen so many w/o it I get confused as to how it was sealed?
Legit copies like this one have the h seam. You don't see many legit ones. You really never see them. I'll take a pic of the back for you later
Just to finish the thought on this Am. You're right that there are a large number of elevator actions without the h-seam. It appears a good number of copies were resealed at the store or distributor level. I remember one seller had 22 of these in a single auction. But they ain't legit, its a h-seam game, all games from that time mid 1987 time period are unless its something that came in a non-standard size box/package (like arkanoid and athletic world, stack up etc).
Originally posted by: Bronty
Originally posted by: Rengozu
Is it just me, or are NES games not being graded as strict anymore? Maybe you guys have just been finding a treasure trove of minty stuff lately, but it just seemed like a year or two ago you hardly ever saw NES with a 90. If so, how many of you have actually sent something back for a re-grade?
Nah, there's really no change. Look at that elevator. Find a flaw, I dare ya. I did find a largish collection of high grade stuff a while back and I know at least one other boardie who did too. So it's no surprise. You get good grades when you send in mint games. When you don't, you dont
Are you positive on this Dan. I know a few people who have told me that their Nes stuff has been getting way better grades the last couple weeks. So much so that they have been sending their lower graded stuff back in for re-grading. Seems to me no one would do that unless the standards are easing up some? These are all experienced VGA guys collectors too.
Originally posted by: Braveheart69
Originally posted by: Bronty
Originally posted by: Rengozu
Is it just me, or are NES games not being graded as strict anymore? Maybe you guys have just been finding a treasure trove of minty stuff lately, but it just seemed like a year or two ago you hardly ever saw NES with a 90. If so, how many of you have actually sent something back for a re-grade?
Nah, there's really no change. Look at that elevator. Find a flaw, I dare ya. I did find a largish collection of high grade stuff a while back and I know at least one other boardie who did too. So it's no surprise. You get good grades when you send in mint games. When you don't, you dont
Are you positive on this Dan. I know a few people who have told me that their Nes stuff has been getting way better grades the last couple weeks. So much so that they have been sending their lower graded stuff back in for re-grading. Seems to me no one would do that unless the standards are easing up some? These are all experienced VGA guys collectors too.
The simple answer is there's no material change and so that's what I went with.
The more involved answer would be to say that...
a) I think their grading is improving in that they aren't as scared to use a fuller spectrum of the grades available to them. For a long time if it wasn't a gold and it wasn't ganked it got an 85. Now you might get an 80+ or even 80 and if its *really* messed up, well damn you might be in the 60s or 70s. I don't think that's an overnight thing but a gradual process of refinement as they've graded more and more stuff. And its a good thing because it helps collectors differentiate the mint from the not so mint. On the top end, if a game is truly truly cherry then perhaps you have a better shot at a 90+ or whatever because in the same way stuff with flaws got 85s it seems like if you go far back enough in history they never gave out anything higher than 90 either. So the range that gets the most action, the85-90 I don't think has really changed but the extreme high (very rare) or extreme lows (common) get grades that better suit the games. IMO. For example. I sent in an unopened case years ago and nothing got higher than 90+, straight from the mint sealed case. Today I bet there would be a couple 95s in there, as rengozu saw when he sent in his flight of the intruder case. And that's as it should be, if the middle copies in a perfect case can't get a 95, what can?
b) A little while back, maybe 6 months ago? I dunno. There was, very briefly, a bit of a pendulum swing to unreasonably tough grading. That's corrected back to normal. So if you sent in during the brief window where things had gotten too tough, then maybe you could regrade up. But IMO that period was a small blip which met with quick customer negative feedback and was corrected.
Bottom line, as always, see if the game warrants the grade. There will always be and have always been, with this grading company and any other in any other field, examples that are tweeners and are going to result in a soft 85+ or a tough 85, for example. And there will always be some small pendulum swings in grading. Graders are human.
But, on the whole, IMO, things are as they've always been and are as consistent as one could reasonably ask for. That elevator action is a 90 today and it would have been a 90 a year ago, three years ago, five years ago.
Agree with what Bronty has been saying. The stuff that he is showing is very special. He found something special and is showing it. As a sealed NES collector with the same goals as he once had years ago, feel privileged to see his stuff! No way your going to find gold copies of the majority of stuff in this thread; period. If you do, your going to pay for it. Typical collectors don't find stuff like this, especially first print NES stuff!! It's not just lying around. For the rest of us, finding just a copy of some of these titles is amazing. Like the Elevator Action being discussed, it is very rare to find legit h-seam sealed. Last VGA population report showed 3 graded copies. Bronty's, mine , and a 2008 graded copy that was sold by Brian's Toys years ago that hasn't popped up since. Licensed gauntlet is very rare too. I am sure, as in any case, there are members who might have copies that simply just haven't shared or care to share .
With regards to the VGA grading, several of us "complained" about the tough grading roughly between September 2012 - February 2013. Supposedly new graders were hired. I would say this would be a time frame to consider for regarding some items. I know for a fact that I am resending some of my 85's I received during this time frame. They should have been graded 85+ (or I think they should have). This falls into line of what Bronty was saying and what most of the box collectors know. There are 85's and really damn nice 85's.
Last item, special title below, going to beat Dan to the punch on this one, Lode Runner!!! Only know of two sealed copies and no gold graded ones. Resending for regarding to indicate non-rev a on the label even though it appears that there never were rev-a copies of this title. Either way, still need the detailed report. Thanks to Dan for helping me land this one!
Originally posted by: Bronty
Originally posted by: Braveheart69
Originally posted by: Bronty
Originally posted by: Rengozu
Is it just me, or are NES games not being graded as strict anymore? Maybe you guys have just been finding a treasure trove of minty stuff lately, but it just seemed like a year or two ago you hardly ever saw NES with a 90. If so, how many of you have actually sent something back for a re-grade?
Nah, there's really no change. Look at that elevator. Find a flaw, I dare ya. I did find a largish collection of high grade stuff a while back and I know at least one other boardie who did too. So it's no surprise. You get good grades when you send in mint games. When you don't, you dont
Are you positive on this Dan. I know a few people who have told me that their Nes stuff has been getting way better grades the last couple weeks. So much so that they have been sending their lower graded stuff back in for re-grading. Seems to me no one would do that unless the standards are easing up some? These are all experienced VGA guys collectors too.
The simple answer is there's no material change and so that's what I went with.
The more involved answer would be to say that...
a) I think their grading is improving in that they aren't as scared to use a fuller spectrum of the grades available to them. For a long time if it wasn't a gold and it wasn't ganked it got an 85. Now you might get an 80+ or even 80 and if its *really* messed up, well damn you might be in the 60s or 70s. I don't think that's an overnight thing but a gradual process of refinement as they've graded more and more stuff. And its a good thing because it helps collectors differentiate the mint from the not so mint. On the top end, if a game is truly truly cherry then perhaps you have a better shot at a 90+ or whatever because in the same way stuff with flaws got 85s it seems like if you go far back enough in history they never gave out anything higher than 90 either. So the range that gets the most action, the85-90 I don't think has really changed but the extreme high (very rare) or extreme lows (common) get grades that better suit the games. IMO. For example. I sent in an unopened case years ago and nothing got higher than 90+, straight from the mint sealed case. Today I bet there would be a couple 95s in there, as rengozu saw when he sent in his flight of the intruder case. And that's as it should be, if the middle copies in a perfect case can't get a 95, what can?
b) A little while back, maybe 6 months ago? I dunno. There was, very briefly, a bit of a pendulum swing to unreasonably tough grading. That's corrected back to normal. So if you sent in during the brief window where things had gotten too tough, then maybe you could regrade up. But IMO that period was a small blip which met with quick customer negative feedback and was corrected.
Bottom line, as always, see if the game warrants the grade. There will always be and have always been, with this grading company and any other in any other field, examples that are tweeners and are going to result in a soft 85+ or a tough 85, for example. And there will always be some small pendulum swings in grading. Graders are human.
But, on the whole, IMO, things are as they've always been and are as consistent as one could reasonably ask for. That elevator action is a 90 today and it would have been a 90 a year ago, three years ago, five years ago.
It was about 6 months ago or so when i got my dragon fighter back at a 75+ when I was sure it would have graded an 80.
are you coming to Portland Dan? I'd love to get your insight on it's condition and if you think it'd re-grade higher.
Not the best, but damn hard to find sealed! At least it's above 60