Video games, like any physical item, can become very valuable on the secondary market. Many retro games are now worth thousands of dollars, and this increased value predictably leads people to treasure and hoard them in the same way comic book collectors do with rare issues from decades past.
Over the years, an entire industry has grown up around this need to acquire and showcase rare games, with organisations like WATA charging a fee to 'grade' particular games for the collector's market.
This leads to the somewhat bizarre practice of encasing graded games in plastic boxes so they cannot be played and enjoyed – but some collectors are taking things to the next level by doing the same thing with consoles.
As highlighted by Rerez's Shane Luis, a post was made on Reddit recently which shows a pair of New Nintendo 3DS systems encased in plastic after being graded. The consoles are both PAL-region Zelda-themed examples and are fully boxed.
"I hate when people get tricked into doing stupid stuff like this," says Luis. "NEVER EVER use a video game grading company to seal new consoles that include batteries. You're basically locking a battery inside a sealed plastic coffin that will either expand, leak, or explode. Beyond incredibly dumb."
While people are, of course, free to do whatever they want with their own possessions, Luis does raise a very good point – the rechargeable batteries inside these consoles will eventually start to expand, causing damage to the casing. If it's trapped inside a box, you'll have issues dealing with it.
There's also the fact that 3DS systems are rising in value, so it strikes me as rather silly to effectively remove two of them from active use in this way; the more consoles on the open market, the better it is for people who actually want to, you know, play these things.
Replies on Reddit are just as vocal, with one user saying:
"Yeah, you know those have lithium-ion batteries in them, right? And they have a tendency to swell up and eventually explode due to either environmental stress or being discharged for an extended period of time? All 3DS systems (and anything with a rechargeable battery) are essentially ticking time bombs but at least most of them you can get to the batteries to remove them, that's not the case here since you had them sealed in plastic so when the time does come and those batteries start bulging you're out of luck. Hope you realize how stupid this was before that happens, otherwise you're going to see that "investment" explode but not in the way you want."
How do you feel about grading and sealing up consoles? Let us know by voting in the poll below and leaving a comment.