Welcome to the world of video game collecting! As a collector, understanding the lingo is crucial. It helps you get exactly what you’re looking for and ensures you know what you’re buying. Here’s a comprehensive A-Z dictionary of video game collecting terms to get you started.
Artist — The person behind the game’s original box artwork.
Baggie — A plastic bag in which most cartridge games were originally packed.
Black Box — The original first line of NES games came in black plastic boxes.
Board — Circuit board.
Cart — Abbreviation for game cartridge.
Certification ID — Number that corresponds to a specific game certified by Wata.
CIB — Complete In Box.
Clamshell — Plastic game box type that snaps open and shut, e.g., Sega Megadrive games.
Color Touch — Ink applied to a video game box or manual after manufacturing to cover up defects.
Competition Cartridge — A game used in a competition, usually limited to a specific country/region.
Console — Video game system (normally for use with a TV).
Counterfeit — Game components created by someone other than the original publisher to resemble the original deceitfully.
Country of Origin — A game component’s location of production.
Crease — Fold in a manual or box that may or may not break the color printed on the fold.
Database ID — Number corresponding to a particular game in the Wata database.
Details — Basic historical significance of a game listed on Wata’s matrix code and printed on games with 3D labels.
Disc — Medium for a game contained on a CD/DVD/Blu-Ray/etc.
Donor/Recycled — Used original game components salvaged for use in another project, usually a homebrew or reproduction game.
Dust Cover/Sleeve — Piece that comes with some cartridge games used for storage and to prevent dust and damage to the pin connectors of the exposed circuit board.
Endlabel — Part of the label on some cartridge games that wraps around the end, making the game title visible when stacked.
Error — A factory flaw or mistake that is not a variant but is unique and unintentional.
Exclusive — Variant of a game that is only available through a specific channel.
Factory Sealed/Sealed — Video game in the same sealed condition as when it left the factory.
Fiber (%) — Recycled material percentage listed on some Nintendo boxes, creating a minor variant.
First-party — Game components made by the company that manufactured the system the game is made to play on.
Foil — Metallic printing on certain variant game components.
Game Component — Main pieces that comprise a CIB: the Cart, Manual, and Box.
Game Specific Insert (GSI) — Insert, such as a poster or map, specific to only one game. GSIs add value to a CIB.
Grade Details — Information listed on Wata’s matrix code and 3D labels containing component grades, seal rating, and other notes pertinent to a game’s condition.
Grading/Certification — Process of impartially and professionally assessing a game’s authenticity, contents, and condition, assigning a grade using objective standards.
Grading Scale — Numerical scale used to quantify the condition of a video game. Wata’s scale ranges from 0.5 to 10.0 with 23 levels.
Greatest Hits/Platinum Hits/Player’s Choice/Etc. — Low price reprints of a system’s best-selling games to drive more sales, creating unique variants.
Hack — A game created by altering an existing game’s code to create unique characters or levels with the same basic gameplay mechanics.
Handheld — A portable video game system, convenient for travel.
Hangtab — Video game box manufactured with die cuts on the back to hang the game on a hook for display or sale, characteristic of early NES boxes. Also refers to a thick plastic sticker placed on the back of a game for the same purpose.
Homebrew — Video game made by an individual or small group as a passion-driven endeavor, released in limited quantities through non-commercial/retail channels.
Incorrect Married Part (IMP) — A game component from a different title or print variant than the one it is included with.
Inner Box — A structural or centering piece that holds the contents inside a game’s box.
Insert — Various pieces originally included inside a game’s box outside of the cart, disc, or manual.
Kiosk Demo — Game used at store kiosks for demonstration purposes.
Label — Sticker placed on a cartridge to identify a game. Also used to describe the information portion of a Wata holder.
Licensed — Game made under the license and approval of the console’s manufacturer.
Loose — Cartridge only, without other game components.
Longbox — Box variant type named for its extended length compared to most standard box sizes.
Manual — Instruction booklet included with a game that explains how the game is played, also called instructions.
Married — CIB game with one or more components from different copies of the same game.
Mock-up — Item made by a game publisher to preview the finished product for internal review or promotional purposes. Typically refers to a box.
NES — Nintendo Entertainment System.
NES-GP — (Game Pak) Variant designation seen on the back of NES Black Box games.
NES TM/R — Variant designation referring to the trademarking of the word “Nintendo Entertainment System” on the front of NES Black Box games.
Not For Resale (NFR) — Specifically branded game or box, usually intended for kiosk demos, system pack-ins, or promotional use.
Pack-in — A game variant made specifically for inclusion with a game system or other peripheral.
Pedigree — A game from a recognized collection with exceptional provenance, quality, size, or other unique outliers.
Population — The number of known examples of a game or specified variant, usually filtered by state or grade.
Port — Conversion of a game originally developed for a different console.
Promotional Copy — Game designated as a premium for a specific reason, as a giveaway or redemption option.
Prototype — Cartridge made by a game publisher for internal development and testing purposes.
Publisher — Company that releases a game for sale; may be the same or different from the company that developed the game.
Publisher Specific Insert (PSI) — Insert included by a game’s publisher for a series of games they have released.
Ramp — SNES cart design directly below the label on the front, open face.
Rating — Evaluation of a game’s content by the ESRB, VRC, or other game rating board to act as a buyer’s guide for parents and consumers.
Raw — A video game that has not been certified.
Region — The country of release and compatibility for a game, not to be confused with the country of origin or where the parts were made.
Reproduction (Repro) — Game components created by someone other than the game’s publisher to offer a cheaper substitute for the original, or fantasy pieces of games not released in different markets.
Restoration — Video game component with material added (including color) to improve its appearance or repair damage.
Rev-A — Revision A, denoting Nintendo’s change from a 5-screw cartridge design to a 3-screw design on NES game components.
Seal Rating — Wata’s grade assessment for a factory seal that covers a game’s box.
Seam (Description) — The characteristic type or method used in the manufacturer’s factory seal for a given game (H-Seam, Y-Seam, V-Seam, etc.).
Shell — Casing of the cartridge that houses the circuit board running the video game’s program.
Slab — Certified video game in a case or holder.
Slot — SNES cart design directly below the label on the front, slotted.
SNES — Super Nintendo Entertainment System.
SOQ — Seal of Quality, usually relating to Nintendo’s various forms used on NES games (Round SOQ, Oval SOQ TM, Oval SOQ R).
Standard Insert — Insert included by the manufacturer inside games both published by first and third-party companies across many titles.
State — Wata certifies games in three states: Sealed (factory sealed), CIB (complete in box), or Cart (loose cartridge).
Sticker Seal — Alternative method of sealing a game rather than shrink wrap; the box is sealed with a small sticker.
Styrofoam Block — Piece of Styrofoam inside a video game box that ensures the contents do not shift.
System — Console, portable, or platform on which a game is compatible to play.
Test Cart — Non-retail cartridge used by repair sites to test video game components.
Third-party — Game components made by a company other than the manufacturer of the system the game is made to play on.
Unlicensed — Game made without the approval or licensing of the console’s manufacturer.
Unreleased — Game that was partially or fully developed but
Now that you’ve mastered the lingo of a true retro game master, it’s time to dive deep into the sealed video game market: https://golisto.com/blog/d4e489de575c/Sealed_video_game_market%3A_The_rise_of_the_market%3A_part_1
A beginner’s guide to video game collecting: Part 4 was originally published in Golisto on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
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