He actually opened it...NES fans may cry...

[arfink]

I see people drooling over un-opened/NOS video game equipment and all I can say is "wow... these people have no life at all." Seriously, why would anyone want one of these things MINT anyway? I could buy a $5 cheapie that all it needs is a little TLC to bring it back to life, and viola, I can get all nostaligic without paying an ungodly amount of money for a unit which works and is NOS. It's like there is this myth that things that are that old won't work reliably unless their NOS.

I guess I don't really care too much though- it's all the people who actually buy NOS stuff like that who keep the prices of the used equipment down. Just think if they wanted to pay lots of money just because it was used by someone back in the day? That would be terrible for all us cheapskates. Actually, people already do this- it's called antique collecting. I hope that atrocity is never visited upon the video game community.

[samus]

oh. my. god. my first reaction was shock. and now i'm about to cry..

[nickerous]

I have the exact same boxed NES and took a good look at it after reading this thread. Never knew the Super mario Bros game included a box, and didn't think it was included with mine, but after pulling everything out, the box was in there.

I don't believe I ever looked inside the box because the seller included 3 Fun Club Newsletters inside the box as a bonus item. Turns out all paperwork is included with mine and some baggies. The controllers have the cord wrapped around the controller, so they are obviously not brand new. Didn't realized boxed NES systems carried that high a price tag....maybe I should put mine on ebay. I certainly did not pay that much for the one I have.

One last thing....I've studied both box flaps and don't see any kind of tape residue. Were these boxes even sealed? If mine was, the seller did a FANTASTIC job of removing all traces of the tape/seal.

[teraflop122]

Is "sealed" even the appropriate word here? I don't really remember opening any of the old systems when I was a kid, but all the new systems are "sealed" with nothing more than a round piece of tape. As for damaging the "value" of a collectors piece, only the most anal of collectors could assign a decreased value from removing an insignificant piece of tape. Even then...in my experience, the little pieces of tape only last a few years before spontaneously failing anyways.

[Ecksem Diem]

I feel that Joystiq put it rather succinctly when they stated that "Oscar Wilde's famous description of cynics also applies to these sealed collectors -- people who 'know the price of everything and the value of nothing.'"

I dont see the problem with people collecting sealed games. Sure they can't play with them, but I don't see it any different than collecting coins, stamps, or art.

Video games don't appreciate in value on a level that even begins to resemble the rate that coins and stamps appreciate value at. As for art, if you had a Picasso, hanging it on the wall and admiring it (the only thing that can be done with it) wouldn't depreciate its value. On that note, stamps and coins can also be observed, whereas sealed video games cannot be played or even have their manuals read.