This week it was announced that someone was scammed at an auction. Of course, in reality they weren’t scammed, they just had no idea what they were doing. After a sealed original copy of Mario 64 sold for more than $1 million, a sealed copy of Skyrim sold for $600. This is bonkers on so many levels, but the main reason that it’s mental is that you can still go into a physical store, or online, and buy a sealed copy of Skyrim for about $5. The only difference that this auction copy had was a grading and plastic case, and even that said it wasn’t in perfect condition. I don’t know about you, but this person seems to have more money than sense.
I totally understand those with the cash buying sealed copies of the most iconic games in history. I myself would love to own that sealed copy of Mario 64, but I’d never pay that much for it. After all, if you pay that much for it, it’ll never get played. That game is now going to sit in a safe and accumulate value for the next 20 years. Only to be sold again for $10 million. I’d much rather buy a used copy of the game, which I have, and play it on the original hardware.
Clearly, millionaires are starting to see the value in buying and keeping sealed copies of video games. The only issue is that they don’t have the knowledge to back up their interest. You can send a game off to a company and have it graded regardless of when it launched. With that in hand, you could post it on an auction side and probably end up with a lot of money right now. What we’re seeing is the start of the same fad that’s now in full swing with Pokemon Cards. Those with the money will start to buy up these games. That’s not a terrible thing in one sense because at least they’re safe and preserved. However, it’s sad to think that someone with no interest in the industry will own a relic that means so much to so many and never show it off.