Should I open it?

[takashirose]

Today I just bought a sealed Vigilante game for $15.  Do you think it is a good idea to open it?  Is it a rare game?

[Joe Redifer]

Open it.  I received a sealed Fantasy Zone as a present from my girlfriend about 8 months or so ago.  Damn right I opened it and played it!  It wasn't "resealed" or anything like that, either.  It was the original factory seal.

[SignOfZeta]

f*ck yes you should open it. What the hell...

[takashirose]

I open all of my Turbo games except Bonk's Adventure because I got it on the Gate of Thunder game disc. They had a used Vigilante for the same price, but there is nothing like opening a sealed game.  For the TurboGrafx games I upen the top plastic and have it in the seal insidy another poly bag.  I do that for most of my games.  Kind of like comic books.  Thanks for your opinions. 

[nat]

I bought the last unopened copy of Blazing Lazers from TZD like three months ago. It is still sealed, but mainly only because I had a spare cart for playing purposes.

[esteban]

Yes, you must open it. However, when I have a sealed game, I sometimes wait for a special occasion to open it. I know, that sounds lame (or incredibly nerdy!), but I actually have a lot of fun doing this. I actually do this for unsealed games as well (usually games I have never played before or beloved games I've finally re-acquired).

All I'm saying is have fun with it! Invite a friend over and have a Vigilante party!

Disclaimer: The following sentences reveal things you might not want to know about me. You have been warned.
For example, I'll have a party with my brothers / nerdy friends, the "main event" is opening a sealed "Timeball" and playing it. When I finally re-acquired Master of Monsters for Genesis, I didn't play it right away. It was an abused loose copy with no label on the cart, but it didn't matter: I knew I had to wait for my brother to visit before I would play it (he loved the game back in the day).

Part of the reason I do this is because I'm very busy. But the main reason is that I am "delaying gratification" in order to reward myself for getting stuff done (i.e. I have yet to play Kiadian 00 because I still haven't finished painting base moulding in several rooms). I denote specific games as rewards for specific tasks. Then I have nerdy parties.

[malducci]

Don't forget to smell the manual immediately after opening it! 

[Hobo Xiphas]

Marty Goldberg recommends that you open all sealed games as most of the time they were resealed anyways.  Also, sealed stuff tends to compress, it and eventually damages game box. 

If you don't open it, you don't get to experience the new game smell or even play the game.  What is the point of not opening it?

[GUTS]

To resell it later for shitloads of money, except in the case of Vigilante which will never be worth anything.  I opened my Shining Force CD that I paid $20 for a few years ago, played it once, then shelved it.  Now I see that if I had kept it sealed I could of resold it for $100 or more.  f*cking gay.

Plus there's also the fact that its like a piece of history, I mean how many sealed Turbo games could possibly be left out there?  I wouldn't open a sealed one unless it was one I bought from TZD or something that I knew would always be completely worthless because it sucks (like Vigilante).

[Joe Redifer]

Don't forget to smell the manual immediately after opening it! 

Do you sniff the manuals of used games as well?  Some of the facial reactions from doing that can be pretty funny.

[SignOfZeta]

To resell it later for shitloads of money, except in the case of Vigilante which will never be worth anything. 

Yeah, sure, but games that actually increase in value are such a super small section of the market as a whole. I seem to have several, but that's because I buy stuff when it is released instead of buying games as a badge of the hardcore a decade later. Example: Radient Silvergun was on clearance for months over at NCS, now ota are paying $300 for it.

Games are a piss-poor investment if there ever was one, and if one is never opened, then an investment is all a game can be. Just look at all the PCE titles on eBay that were $70 once, and are now Buy It Now for $3.50.

[takashirose]

Thanks guys.  I opened it, but only where the flap is at the top.  What I do with Turbo Grafx games is after reading the manual and taking out the game, I only put back the jewel case and manual into the box; the hucard and sleeve I put outside the box in the same poly bag.  Yes, I put a poly-bag on as many games I could. 

How do you know if a game is resealed?  The Vigilante game had a label that sad "new" and it still has the proper hang tag that was never used to hang that game up.  Talk to you later Turbo people. 

[Necromancer]

I don't think that you can tell if a game has been resealed - if it is in perfect condition and properly resealed.  You could wipe all finger prints off of your fresh Vigilante, reseal it with appropriate plastic, transfer the little hang tag thing, and nobody would ever be able to tell the difference.  Of course, most resealed games are not going to be in such pristine condition with no fingerprints, case scratches, scratches on the CD or back of HuCard from insertion, etc.  Fingerprints really stick out like a sore thumb on the black section on the back of the manuals and are difficult to remove if left on for years.  Good choice on your opening method - you'll maintain the quality condition and still be able to play the game. 

[takashirose]

I started doing that with Turbo games.  On the CD games I try to open one side of the shrinkwrap.  My Lords of Thunder shrinkwrap isn't in that good condition even though I take it off and put it back on after use.  But I put it in a poly bag. On most of my games I do that.  WIth all new games in dvd like clamshells I take all of the shrinkwrap off and put it in a poly bag.  That's the best I can do.

[FM-77]

Why not just put the stuff in a bookshelf? They won't melt, there's no need to put them in plastic bags.