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Sales of pristine quality retro game cartridges still sealed in their packaging have been making records recently. We reported in a previous article that an original copy of Super Mario Bros. for the NES was sold for $2 million. This set a new record, with a value that has been virtually unheard of in the video game collecting industry until now. And if it sounds too expensive for you, then it's probably because it is.
Youtuber and speedrunner Karl Jobst posted his breakdown on Youtube, concluding that Wata Games and Heritage Auctions have been colluding to drive the prices of graded retro video games up, forming a speculative bubble. He says that a series of conflicts of interest arise as Heritage Auctions only accepts WATA-graded games, whose Jim Halparin is listed as Wata Games' advisors, also the founder and co-chairman of Heritage Auctions. Along with Rich Lecce and Zac Gieg, Halparin bought a 2019 Super Mario Bros. copy for a record-setting amount of just over $100,000, which eventually sold recently for $2 million. These purchases appear to be used to drum up publicity.
Wata Games received some defense from PR firm Goldin Solutions, working for Collectors Universe, a collectibles grading company that purchased Wata Games last month. Writing to Kotaku, Goldin Solutions says:
Article Continues Below“Wata Games is the trusted leader in collectible video game grading and we’re honored to play a key role in this booming industry that we are incredibly passionate about. We’re humbled by the support of our thousands of customers who trust us to provide accurate and transparent grading. The claims in this video are completely baseless and defamatory and it is unfortunate that Mr. Jobst did not contact us to give us the opportunity to correct him.”
Meanwhile, Heritage Auctions wrote to VGC:
“Heritage Auctions wishes it had been given the opportunity to respond before the video’s publication, because there are numerous misstatements of fact and inaccurate conclusions contained within the piece. Heritage strongly refutes any allegation that it or its officers are involved in shill bidding, ‘market manipulation’ or any similarly illegal or unethical practices. Heritage prides itself on our transparency and being a place built by and for collectors. With this in mind, we welcome the opportunity to discuss the video-game marketplace further, and would invite Mr. Jobst to our world headquarters in Dallas to tour our operations and speak further with leadership.”
Whether or not there was any actual ill intent and conflict of interest between Wata Games and Heritage Auctions, one thing's for sure. The purchases made by Halparin and co. coincided with the rise of prices for graded retro games.
