Record-breaking auction prices for video games may be fraudulent
Wata Games and Heritage Auctions are involved in a scandal involving the artificial inflation of prices for retro games.
Australian journalist Karl Jobst claims that grading firm Wata Games and auction company Heritage Auctions artificially raised prices of retro games.
Founded in 2017, Wata Games rates the quality of physical video games and awards them a score out of 10. They then place them in protective plastic cases. These copies are worth a considerable more amount of money than a non-graded game. Many of these games are then sold through Heritage Auctions at inflated prices. Since Wata Game’s founding, the value of graded retro games exponentially skyrocketed.
The allegations come from recent purchases made for video games at extremely high prices. Super Mario 64 and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim both sold in Heritage Auctions listings at inflated prices. In addition, Wata graded both games.
This is not an isolated incident, however. In 2019, a sealed copy of Super Mario Bros for NES sold for $100,150 through Heritage Auctions. In the sale, the game was purchased from three buyers. One of the buyers was the co-founder of Heritage Auctions himself Jim Halperin.
Following the purchase, Wata Games CEO Deniz Kahn stated in a press release from Heritage. Kahn stated that this purchase indicates a continued upward trajectory in the value of retro games. This year, a Wata graded copy of Super Mario Bros sold for $2 million.
Jobst claims the actions of these companies directly manipulates the second hand market. The two companies drive speculation of games as an investment to spike prices. In return, the two companies in the center of the surging prices see high profits.
To hear more of Karl Jobst’s claims, watch the video below.
Via NME
