HOW TO GRADE RETRO VIDEO GAMES
Understand cardboard crispness, shrink-wrap seam lines, disc scratch metrics, and whether professional grading (Wata/VGA) is worth it.
Professional game grading (Wata, VGA, CGC) remains a highly polarizing topic in the retro collecting landscape. Understanding how grading operates can help you decide if sealing a game in a hard acrylic slab is right for your collection.
[1] HOW GRADING SYSTEM METRICS WORK
Grading agencies evaluate three distinct sub-grades to calculate an overall numerical score (usually out of 10.0):
- Box Crispness: Lack of cardboard creasing, corner crushing, edge wear, or color fading.
- Manual Integrity: Lay-flat status, lack of rusty staples, page folds, or owner names written inside.
- Seal Quality: Tightness of shrink-wrap, presence of an authentic horizontal overlap seam (Nintendo hang-tab overlap), and absence of scuffs or corner punctures.
[2] IS GRADING WORTH THE COST?
As a rule of thumb, only rare, popular, and high-demand games in pristine factory sealed condition (grade 9.0+) benefit from professional grading. Slabbed loose cartridges or common sports games in low condition do not regain the $50-$100 cost of grading fees. Ensure your item possesses genuine historical demand (e.g. Zelda, Mario, Metroid, Pokémon) before investing in professional grading.
[ℹ] NEED AN APPRAISAL?
Now that you understand the underlying market factors, use our automated systems to find the value of specific individual releases in your catalog.