How old does a sealed game have to be before you WILL NOT open it?

[Thom Grayson]

How old does a sealed game have to be before you will not open it?

Where is your personal cutoff point where something is more valuable unopened?

For me, I would say it's the N64/PS1 generation. Anything newer than that and it doesn't trigger quite the same 'wow, this thing is unusual' reaction when I find a still-sealed game.

[palmer6strings]

For me it kind of depends on the rarity/price of the game. For instance, 95% of the games on PS2/Xbox/NGC are $10 and below. But that handful that aren't, if I found unopened, I'd leave me that way.

[bender3455]

Good question!  I used to pick up games to play immediately, now I pick up games to play eventually.  So, now if I pick up something sealed, I keep it sealed until I'm ready to play it, whereas in the past, I'd open it immediately to play it.  I'll still open it, unless it's some major valuable title, regardless of system.

[Quazimoto]

I open 'em all.

- I shall wait for the gasps of shock and disgust to subside... -

Okay, now that you've calmed down a bit.  Unless a game is worth a big bundle be being sealed, I tear 'em open.  If I can run across a sealed vintage game and find that I can get enough to buy a really nice condition used copy and have some left over by selling said sealed copy, then I'll sell it.  Otherwise, that sucker's getting opened and I'll have some fun reliving the exhilaration I had when first cracking the seal on a new game back in the day.

Had both scenarios happen to me when I was going nuts collection Genesis games.  Had sealed copies of Sonic 3 and Batman that I sold and sealed copies of Sonic 3 (found two sealed ones at a flea market), X-Men 2, and Jurassic Park Rampage Edition that I ended up opening.

[TDIRunner]

Good question!  I used to pick up games to play immediately, now I pick up games to play eventually.  So, now if I pick up something sealed, I keep it sealed until I'm ready to play it, whereas in the past, I'd open it immediately to play it.  I'll still open it, unless it's some major valuable title, regardless of system.

I'm the same way.  I really want to try out those Resident Evil Chronicles games for the Wii that I just picked up, so I will probably open them eventually, but until I decide to play them, I might as well leave them sealed. 

Also, I've opened some sealed games because someone requested a scan of the box.  Now, I wouldn't do that for a super valuable game that I never wanted to open, but if the game doesn't have much value, I don't mind opening it to contribute to the site. 

[segamer]

It doesn't matter what generation a game is part of. Some recent games I've purchased and kept factory sealed copies of Devil May Cry 4 Special Edition  for PS4 and Xbox One. I also have factory sealed copies of Resident Evil HD and Strider for PS3. Depends on the game, not the generation.

[tiktektak]

I open almost everything. Games need to be opened.

[Arseen]

I open almost everything. Games need to be opened.

Yep I think I only have 2 game that are sealed on purpose, NHL 2011 (or was it 2012) with golden color steelbook (both the the Xbox 360 edition and PlayStation 3 Edition).

[wiggy]

I generally open games when I play them for the first time.  If that's a day after it came out, or a year, it still gets opened when I finally get around to playing it.  If it's far more valuable than a loose copy when I go to play, then I'll sell the sealed and get a loose copy.

[PinBiohazard]

I hate that plastic wrapping, I will open anything I get sealed, simple as, I don't really care about value, I'm not here to make money, I'm here to play dem vidya games!

[Ozzy_98]

For me, it doesn't matter age, it's if I have another way of playing it.  PSP for example, easy to download games, so any PSP games I get sealed stay sealed.  Wii, while easy like this, is kind of a pain to go through the menus and my wife dislikes it, so Wii Fit stuff gets opened, while other games stay sealed.

[oatmeal flavor]

I keep a lot of things sealed.  I have almost every atlus PS2 game sealed and a complete Wii U collection sealed. If I intend to play a new game I either borrow or pick up used.  As far as systems go I try to get every limited edition and keep them unopened. One of my favorite parts of my collection is my 3DS collection, every 3DS XL, new 3dDS, and most of the regular 3DS systems new in box. If I stop to think about it, it seems like a dumb thing to do but I like it.

[JaredUnzipped]

I open 'em all.

- I shall wait for the gasps of shock and disgust to subside... -

Okay, now that you've calmed down a bit.  Unless a game is worth a big bundle be being sealed, I tear 'em open.  If I can run across a sealed vintage game and find that I can get enough to buy a really nice condition used copy and have some left over by selling said sealed copy, then I'll sell it.  Otherwise, that sucker's getting opened and I'll have some fun reliving the exhilaration I had when first cracking the seal on a new game back in the day.

Had both scenarios happen to me when I was going nuts collection Genesis games.  Had sealed copies of Sonic 3 and Batman that I sold and sealed copies of Sonic 3 (found two sealed ones at a flea market), X-Men 2, and Jurassic Park Rampage Edition that I ended up opening.

I'm 100% with you on this. Games are meant to be played. They're not going to last forever. Therefore, play them while you can. I opened a sealed copy of Othello for the NES last month. Sure, it's not a valuable game, but I'd always wanted a copy because I love playing Othello in real life. I ripped that bad boy open and don't regret it a bit.

[Epitomalist]

I open everything.  As far as games go I just go for cart only, unless it is a disc obviously.

[Thom Grayson]

I would like to add to my original statement - how I find things is important to me as well.

I don't go out of my way to buy things I don't plan on opening. That's always seemed silly to me. The things that I don't open are most often older games that I find sealed at garage sales - for instance, a boxed N64 Madden game is more interesting sealed than open, especially since another can be picked up for equally cheap if I really wanted to play it.