#oneaday Day 698: A Non-Exhaustive List of the Perceived Value of Old Games, As Judged by the Condition of Second-Hand Games I've Picked Up Over the Years

I think the title is fairly self-explanatory. Let's get going.

Xbox 360 – During my brief time working at Game a few years, it wasn't at all unusual to receive Xbox 360 trade-ins that looked like they'd been sat on, shat on, used as an ashtray and fed to someone's dog. Manuals are usually missing and are often water-damaged or dog-eared if they are present. Discs are often scratched and cases often broken. Generally speaking, the more popular the game was in its heyday, the worse the condition second-hand copies will be in.

Atari 2600 – Typically found without boxes and instructions, and with labels worn or peeling off. Atari 2600 cartridges could survive a direct hit from a thermonuclear missile and still work, and it seems like a lot of people were both willing and eager to put that to the test.

PlayStation – A roll of the dice. Sometimes you'll get a jewel case in absolute immaculate condition; other times it'll be chipped, scratched, missing its manual and generally fairly abused. Not uncommon for the actual inlays and disc to be in reasonable condition, but for the case to be scratched to shit.

PlayStation 2 – A step up from Xbox 360, but not by much. Manuals still often missing and you take your chances when you discover whether or not the disc is scratched — particularly if it's a game on one of the old "blue CDs" — though once again the lesser-known games tend to be kept in better condition. Unless they were Simple Series games or anything by Phoenix Interactive, in which case you might want to break out the antibacterial wipes before letting them near your PlayStation.

Dreamcast – For such a widely beloved console, people don't take great care of its games. This is partly the fault of the incredibly brittle, fragile plastic cases they had here in the UK — though the discs are usually in reasonable condition. Manuals are often missing, though Dreamcast manuals were rarely particularly good anyway.

Nintendo Wii – Considering the popularity and ubiquity of this console for a while, it's impressive that many of the second-hand games you can pick up tend to be in reasonably good condition. Manuals are often present, discs are in decent shape and the white cases — which you might expect to show considerable evidence of grubby fingers — tend to be in fairly good condition for the most part, too.

PlayStation 3 – Variable in condition, but consistently much better than their Xbox 360 counterparts. Manuals are usually present, and Blu-Rays are the Atari 2600 cartridges of the optical disc world in terms of durability, so it's rare to find one in poor condition. More popular games might have battered cases, but for the most part PS3 games are in a reasonably good state.

PlayStation 4 – Generally in reasonable nick, with the usual caveat that more popular games tend to come in worse condition. PS4 games tend not to do manuals, so there's not really anything to lose, and see my previous comment on Blu-Ray durability; any dodgy condition will likely mostly be seen in the case more than anything.

Nintendo Wii U – Like the Wii, but with shinier discs and fewer manuals, since this was around the age we stopped getting manuals. If you're lucky you might have a poster-style instructions sheet. The games themselves are always in good nick though.

Xbox – The original Xbox's relative obscurity means that people tended to take reasonably good care of its games. Cases and discs tend to be in good condition, and manuals are often present. As with other platforms, more popular games tend to be found in worse condition, but lesser-known platform exclusive stuff can be found in great nick for reasonable prices.

Nintendo Switch – There's nothing to really lose or damage here, so Switch games are generally in excellent condition if you happen to grab a second-hand one. Good luck finding second-hand copies of the truly "collectible" games from limited-press companies, though.


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