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To unseal or keep sealed, that is the question!
Posted: Mon Aug 18, 2008 10:25 am
by jonthomas83
Ok, so this was inevitably going to crop up at some point. I have, on numerous occasions, faced that dilemma, should I rip it open and see what's inside or should I keep it sealed up!
I have a few thoughts...
- I like to enjoy my collection. Reading the literature, displaying the figures and games, playing the disks, hearing the CD's etc etc. So I find it very hard to keep something sealed.
- I don't think I'd sell any of my collection at any point in time because I have made that mistake in the past with my PC Game collection and ended up buying them all back again. You never get stung twice if you learn from it the first time. However, it would be a good investment for my unborn children though. But instead, I'd probably like to leave my collection to someone who would appreciate the items, if that happens to be one of my kids then great.
- However, I would consider keeping it sealed if it was an item that was completely written in a foreign language that I don't understand.
- If I knew it was mega rare e.g. MGS Gold Shareholders Premium Version, I'd keep it sealed
- I'd keep it sealed if i knew I could snap up the same item in a worse off condition (cheaper), but would purchase it to enjoy the items inside.
- I'd leave an item sealed if I couldn't play it, e.g. a different region game or DVD. But as I've said before, I probably wouldn't buy those items for my collection as I only tend to buy items that are English, PAL and region 2/0. So I can enjoy them! Except art books, I like looking at pictures, so language doesn't bother me really.
- I'd leave it sealed if it were a game I could not play because I don't have the console e.g. if the MSX versions of MG or MGS2:SS came sealed (never going to happen but lets just say for example).
I'm sure I had more thoughts than this but they've escaped me for the time being!
Anyone else have any thoughts about this? Violent Snake, do you have any particular reason you keep all your items sealed, except for the fact that it makes a good byline for a website..."The SEALED MGS collection!"

Re: To unseal or keep sealed, that is the question!
Posted: Mon Aug 18, 2008 10:35 am
by 87th
I personally open and use everything I buy. I wouldn't want to spend £100 on a game and not play it. I can see why people keep their items sealed, though. It shows a real dedication to the hobby of collecting games, and it keeps things feeling "new", even when they're a couple of decades old. For some people it's a difficult decision to make, but personally, if I spend a lot of money on something, I feel entitled to use it.
Re: To unseal or keep sealed, that is the question!
Posted: Mon Aug 18, 2008 11:54 am
by micster
87th wrote:I personally open and use everything I buy. I wouldn't want to spend £100 on a game and not play it. I can see why people keep their items sealed, though. It shows a real dedication to the hobby of collecting games, and it keeps things feeling "new", even when they're a couple of decades old. For some people it's a difficult decision to make, but personally, if I spend a lot of money on something, I feel entitled to use it.
Im exactly the same, I spend a lot of money and I dont want it to just sit there on a shelf never being used. I buy to use - Apart from models.
Re: To unseal or keep sealed, that is the question!
Posted: Mon Aug 18, 2008 4:03 pm
by gixo
The things i got sealed are
Metal Gear Solid 3 LME (because i got another one opened)
Metal Gear Solid 2 LE (because i got another MGS2 opened, and they are the same)
Metal Gear Saga Vol. 2 (because i already had an iso at the computer)
a book from the MGS3 Premium Pack (because it's all japanese text)
a DVD from the MGS3 Premium Pack (will probably open it later, because the pack didn't cost that much actually)
So i keep the things i don't need sealed. I collect because i love the series. Then of course i will play them.
Re: To unseal or keep sealed, that is the question!
Posted: Mon Aug 18, 2008 6:16 pm
by violentpig
If you're concerned about value, keep sealed. Just don't buy something sealed if you plan on opening it (unless it's at retail price) as you'll just save money buying a used one.
Trust me, it's hard to do at first but you get used to it. After a while you'll get so anal it'll be harder for you to break a seal than it ever did to keep something sealed. You'll never regret not opening something as you always have the option to still do it.
You may however regret opening something when you try and sell it down the road.
I think maybe I'm just really uptight about collecting. If you think I'm bad with games you should see me with my comic collection.
Re: To unseal or keep sealed, that is the question!
Posted: Mon Aug 18, 2008 10:16 pm
by JimboKudo
gixo has brought up a point (indirectly but still), people who want to play their games can leave them unopened, and download an ISO. This wouldn't be illegal to use, since you would already own a copy of the game, and you would still have the seal on whatever it is. Using a program like Swap Magic, you could even use the ISO burned to a disc in your ps2. I wouldn't ever do this, because it would feel like I was taking the true value away from the item by not holding the disc in my hands and placing it in the ps2. I never sell my games anyway (I own Oni and Fighting Force 2, which are both completely horrible), so it doesn't feel like I'm doing too much harm.
I feel for the collectors out there though. I remember having bought 5 games at a time, and I didn't open one of them for around half a year. IT WAS REALLY HARD TO BREAK THE PLASTIC. And not just because I couldn't find a knife.
Re: To unseal or keep sealed, that is the question!
Posted: Mon Aug 18, 2008 11:12 pm
by violentpig
What I do for new releases is play it, then I usually finish it in 30 days so I take it back to where-ever I bought it and say it was defective and they give me a new sealed copy.
So I get to play it AND keep it sealed. Alot of places in North America will do a no questions asked exchange. No way you can get a refund on open software. I wouldn't DL a game to play it as I wouldn't want anything to be stripped/removed/compressed. Plus burned copies have failed for me in the past.
Re: To unseal or keep sealed, that is the question!
Posted: Tue Aug 19, 2008 12:46 am
by gixo
violentsnake wrote:What I do for new releases is play it, then I usually finish it in 30 days so I take it back to where-ever I bought it and say it was defective and they give me a new sealed copy.
So I get to play it AND keep it sealed. Alot of places in North America will do a no questions asked exchange. No way you can get a refund on open software. I wouldn't DL a game to play it as I wouldn't want anything to be stripped/removed/compressed. Plus burned copies have failed for me in the past.
Haha <3 i've done the same. I think it's like 7 days at GAME in Sweden. And you can simply say that you just don't want it. And you will get the money back if the game is in perfect condition. However the manager got pissed at me the second time i tried ^^
but violent, you do got unsealed copys of the Metal Gear games to play, right?
And do you got any more sealed things? Let's start a thread with "Your other collectables"
Re: To unseal or keep sealed, that is the question!
Posted: Tue Aug 19, 2008 6:35 pm
by violentpig
Yeah I've got open copies of all the basic games. Only the basic first release one from each series though that I'll play now and then. E.g. I have the regular MGS3 open, not Subsistence.
I actually do collect alot of other things. Lots of other sealed video games and figures, however comics and sports cards are definately my powerhouse collections.
Re: To unseal or keep sealed, that is the question!
Posted: Tue Sep 23, 2008 3:18 pm
by jonthomas83
Can anyone tell me if this is a real factory seal or not?
It's UK PAL and as Violent said, Konami's PAL are not known to be sealed very often, this makes me suspicious!
http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/9749/dsc01242ll2.jpg
http://img184.imageshack.us/img184/8538/dsc01239ol6.jpg
http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/2016/dsc01240od3.jpg
http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/3330/dsc01241xu8.jpg
Sorry, had to make them links cos the pics are huge and I hate making threads massive with pics.
Also, does anyone have a list of PAL games (preferably UK) that actually came factory sealed? It'd be REALLY handy to know, just in case I'm going on a wild goose chase that isn't leading anywhere! lol.
P.S. Before anyone feels the need to do so, it really is uneccessary to tell me that "That's a really bad seal, I wouldn't buy it even if it were real!"
Re: To unseal or keep sealed, that is the question!
Posted: Tue Sep 23, 2008 3:37 pm
by lance
They look very fishy to me... I mean, from my experience in buying sealed games, they hardly have those "warped" sides of the shrinkwrap. And since MGS3 Subsistence, the shrinkwraps of MGS games have tiny small holes allover the plastic. I could be wrong. Just my opinion here.
Re: To unseal or keep sealed, that is the question!
Posted: Tue Sep 23, 2008 4:24 pm
by Lady Serpente
I bought a couple of brand-new games from some shops, and indeed PAL games' seals suck a bit, but for sure i'd say almost all of them (or at least the ones i have) got a, uh, 'plastic thread' in the lower area you can use to take off the wrap. Here's another weird thing: some UK seller told me about the MGS digital graphic novel that Konami didn't make it sealed at all (!!) but actually, when i bought an Italian version i got it sealed and with that plastic thread having PSP logo in all of it.
One more thing. That game you show there looks exactly how my Metal Gear Acid Mobile's plastic wrap is... and weird thing is it got some Italian law sticker (too much hard to explain in few words, let's say an holographic sticker which must be present on original products to show copyright taxes have been paid for it) UNDER that plastic wrap, when usually it always goes on the (already) sealed copy. Hmmm. I promise i'll add some pics tomorrow! *adds to the to-do list* (dang past midnight already ;_; )
(I apologize for the low-quality of my technical words, but i hope you got the idea anyway. Lv10 English please.)
Re: To unseal or keep sealed, that is the question!
Posted: Tue Sep 23, 2008 4:50 pm
by jonthomas83
lol, don't beat yourself up over it, I can understand you perfectly!
OK that's cool. I actually ordered my DGN (UK) from Konamistyle and it didn't come sealed at all so your friend may be correct as far as the U.K. version is concerned.
Re: To unseal or keep sealed, that is the question!
Posted: Tue Sep 23, 2008 5:57 pm
by violentpig
There's no way that's a legit factory seal. The seams just aren't very clean and it looks like a really cheap type of plastic (you can tell by all the nicks/pulls/tears/scratches)
Re: To unseal or keep sealed, that is the question!
Posted: Wed Sep 24, 2008 3:07 am
by jonthomas83
Thanks for the help guys, I'm still suspicious and I won't be bidding on it because the seal is too badly damaged but my aim with this was to see if the game came in a seal like this in the first place.
The guy came back to me and said:
Having asked a few other Metal Gear Collectors I found out that due to MGS2: Substance Ultimate Collectors edition not having a proper run at retail and was on a very limited release it came in the shrink wrap as shown in the photos.
He seems like a decent and nice guy but I'm not convinced by that seal though!
Re: To unseal or keep sealed, that is the question!
Posted: Wed Sep 24, 2008 5:28 am
by lance
Follow your heart's desire in keeping things SEALED or not... I love opening them up and if I can afford it, I'd like another copy of it SEALED...
Re: To unseal or keep sealed, that is the question!
Posted: Wed Sep 24, 2008 7:09 am
by TSi
+1 to what vs said, theres no way that is a factory seal.
shrink wrapped to the max =P