Nostalgia has always been powerful, but in the last five years, it has become a legitimate asset class. The days of tossing a game cartridge into a plastic bin at a garage sale are over. Today, a sealed copy of Super Mario 64 isn’t just a game; it’s a piece of history with a valuation that rivals vintage Ferraris and Basquiat paintings.
For the uninitiated, the sudden explosion of the graded video game market can look like a bubble. But for those paying attention to the mechanics of modern collecting, it’s a logical evolution. Just as comics had CGC and trading cards had PSA, video games needed a standard to turn “old toys” into tradable commodities.
That standard comes in the form of third-party grading.
If you are looking to enter this market—whether to preserve a childhood favorite or to flip a garage sale find for five figures—you have to understand the landscape. And right now, that landscape is dominated by a rivalry between two giants: VGA (Video Game Authority) and WATA Games.
This isn’t just about picking a label color. It’s about understanding two different philosophies of collecting, two different markets, and ultimately, which plastic slab will make your investment worth the most in the long run.
The Shift: From Player to Investor
To understand grading, you have to stop thinking like a gamer. Gamers care about gameplay and might rely on how game emulators work to revisit their favorites; collectors care about provenance.
When a video game is sent to a grading company, it is no longer meant to be played. It is encased in a tamper-evident, UV-resistant acrylic case (often called a “slab”) and assigned a numerical grade based on its condition. This process solves the biggest problem in high-end collecting: trust.
Before grading, buying a “mint condition” game on eBay was a gamble. One seller’s “mint” is another buyer’s “garbage.” Grading standardizes this. It creates a liquid market where a “9.8 A++” generally trades at a specific price point, regardless of who is selling it. This standardization is exactly what allowed big institutional money and high-net-worth individuals to feel comfortable dropping $100,000+ on a single game.
The Old Guard: Video Game Authority (VGA)
Founded in 2008 under the Collectible Grading Authority (CGA), VGA is the grandfather of the industry. For over a decade, they were the only game in town.
VGA built its reputation on strict, clinical accuracy. Their approach to grading is often described as “purist.” When you hold a VGA slab, it feels different. The acrylic is thick, heavy, and museum-quality. The label is understated—usually silver or gold—and focuses entirely on the grade.
VGA uses a 100-point scale, though in practice, most investment-grade games fall between 75 and 100.
- Gold Level (85+): This is the gold standard. A VGA 85 is widely respected as a truly mint item.
- Silver Level (75–85): Excellent condition but with minor flaws.
- Bronze Level (Below 75): Good condition, but usually not investment grade for modern collectors.
The philosophy here is consistency. A VGA 85 graded in 2010 looks and feels the same as a VGA 85 graded in 2026. Because of this, VGA commands immense respect among long-term, hardcore collectors who value the physical preservation of the item over market trends. You can view their current submission tiers here to see if the turnaround time fits your schedule.
The Disruptor: WATA Games
If VGA is the strict professor, WATA is the hype man. The real game-changer was how WATA aligned itself closely with heritage auction houses, effectively marketing video games as high-art assets. Most of the headline-grabbing million-dollar sales—like the $1.5 million Super Mario 64—are WATA slabs.
Entering the scene much later, WATA Games completely revolutionized the market by adopting the visual language of comic book collecting. They understood that for video games to go mainstream, the product had to look good.
WATA slabs are sleek, modern, and stackable. But their biggest innovation was the label. A WATA label doesn’t just give you a number; it gives you a history lesson. It lists the specific print run, the region, and notable details about the box art. For a generation of collectors who care about “First Prints” versus “Player’s Choice” reprints, this data is invaluable.
WATA uses a 10-point scale (similar to comics), with 9.8 usually being the realistic ceiling for “Mint.” Crucially, they separated the grade of the Box from the grade of the Seal.
- The Box Grade (1.0 – 10.0): How crisp are the corners? Is there crushing?
- The Seal Rating (C – A++): How tight is the shrink wrap? Are there nicks?
This granularity allowed for a new type of “super-grade.” A WATA 9.8 A++ became the “holy grail” metric that fueled the massive auction prices we saw in the early 2020s. WATA aligned itself closely with heritage auction houses, effectively marketing video games as high-art assets.
The “Turf War”: Which One Should You Choose?
This is the most common question for beginners, and the answer depends entirely on your end goal.
The Case for WATA: If you are looking to sell, WATA is currently the market leader for liquidity. Because of their detailed labels and aggressive marketing, WATA games often fetch higher premiums at public auctions, especially for mainstream titles like Mario, Zelda, Halo, or Pokémon. The “investor” crowd—the guys coming over from crypto or sneakers—recognize the WATA slab instantly. It is the currency of the hype market.
The Case for VGA: If you are a long-term holder or have niche items, VGA is often superior. There is a segment of the hobby that believes WATA grades are “inflated” or too loose. These purists will pay a premium for high-grade VGA copies because they trust the strictness of the scale. Additionally, VGA’s custom casing is better suited for odd-shaped boxes (like Big Box PC games or console bundles) that WATA’s standardized slabs sometimes struggle to accommodate.
Analyzing the Asset: What Actually Matters?
Before you rush to submit your childhood collection, you need to know what graders look for. The difference between a $500 game and a $5,000 game is often invisible to the naked eye. Before you even look at the condition, check the raw value on a site like PriceCharting. If the game sells for $20 loose, it’s likely not worth the grading fee.
1. The Seal (The “Y-Fold”) This is the most critical component. Most authentic retro games (NES, SNES, N64, Genesis) have a horizontal seam on the back known as a “H-Seam” or “Vent Holes.” Disc-based games usually have a folded seal on the top and bottom known as a “Y-Fold.”
- The Danger: Re-seals. Scammers will take a used game and shrink-wrap it with a cheap heat gun. Both VGA and WATA are experts at spotting this. If your seal looks messy, loose, or lacks the correct vent holes, do not send it in. It will be rejected.
2. The Corners and Edges Cardboard is fragile. A single “whitening” spot on a corner—where the ink has rubbed off to reveal the white paper underneath—can tank a grade. Crushing is arguably worse. If a box has been squashed, even slightly, the structural integrity is compromised.
3. The Fade Sunlight is the enemy. A box might look crisp, but if it sat in a shop window for three months in 1998, the red ink on the spine might be faded to pink. This “sun fade” is a major detractors for high-end grades.
The Future of the Market
Is the “gold rush” over? In some ways, yes. The initial mania where everything skyrocketed has cooled off. We are now in a stabilization period, which is actually healthier for the market.
The “junk slab” era is ending. Collectors are becoming smarter. They aren’t just buying any sealed game; they are hunting for “key issues.” A sealed copy of a random annual sports game might not be worth the cost of grading, but a cult classic like Super Tecmo Bowl or a blue-chip like GoldenEye 007 remains a serious asset.
Whether you choose the strict tradition of VGA or the modern appeal of WATA, the principle remains the same: Condition is King. Dig through your attic, check the closets, and look closely at those old boxes. You might be sitting on a fortune and not even know it.
