Whats the difference between red and black nintendo strips?

[Martits]

Im trying to get a new sealed copy of zelda twilight princess wii but have noticed some of them have red tearaway nintendo strips and some have just black text for 'Nintendo'. What is the difference? Which ones are more collectable?

[Evermore]

Red ones are older and black are the new ones that Nintendo have been using for a couple of years.

[fujiHunter]

Forgive my ignorance, but do all *new* factory sealed Wii games have the nintendo red/back tearaway security strips on the shrinkwrapp, or are some just wrapped in bog standard shrinkwrapp (with no security strip)

[Martits]

Thats a good question. I was also thinking that as I am doubting the authenticity of a sealed Okamiden on the DS I got as it didnt have the strip.

I was thinking maybe just first party games had the strip but I dont know.

[Evermore]

As far as I know only Nintendo games have Nintendo seals. The seals on third party games will look virtually identical, so if Okamiden is badly sealed it might be a fake. There are a lot of fake copies of it around, so if you didn't buy it from a reputable business then it might be a knock-off.

[ninty]

Red strip cost you twice as much , black strip cheaper

[fujiHunter]

Are all *new* games sealed though I saw a shelfull of 'Metroid: Other M' in Asda at the weekend. All were supposedly new, however, none were sealed in cellophane which seemed a tad strange!! Anyway, not only were the cases all really scabby, but there was actually a used copy in the replay section that externally looked newer!!

As an aside, I was also wondering if all titles wrapped in cellophane have some sort of tearaway strip on them Whilst I appreciate that only first party Nintendo games have red/black Nintendo strips I have noticed that most other games still have tearaway strips alhough these are blank (except for the red recycle symbol). Does anything get wrapped in plain cellophane without some sort of tear strip The reason I ask is that years of buying CDs and Dvds has left me very cynical over over an item's supposed condition. Resealing and recasing *used* goods to disguise true origin is a scourge.

[Martits]

All new games come sealed but most high street shops tear the cellophane off and keep the discs seperately in drawers. In my opinion this makes them used so I will not buy a new game from them. Especially because staff dont know how to handle discs and leave finger marks and scratches on them.

IM not sure if all games have a tear away strip though. As I mentioned before, my Okamiden was sealed but did not have the strip. The shop could not confirm if it was resealed by them or the original seal as they get their stock new from other overstocked shops and sometimes reseal the new games.

Anyone know if they all should have the tearaway strip?

[Evermore]

All new games come sealed but most high street shops tear the cellophane off and keep the discs seperately in drawers. In my opinion this makes them used so I will not buy a new game from them.

I agree with this. I don't see why shops don't put in those red tags in then on the side hole.

I still buy unsealed games if the price is right and the box is in good nick.

[aztecca]

One is red and one is black that is about all the difference.When you open it up and play the game it will play exactly the same as well.Although a red tear strip does look a bit sexier on a shelf.

[Negative Creep]

All new games come sealed but most high street shops tear the cellophane off and keep the discs seperately in drawers. In my opinion this makes them used so I will not buy a new game from them.

I agree with this. I don't see why shops don't put in those red tags in then on the side hole.

I still buy unsealed games if the price is right and the box is in good nick.

People would still steal them with a red tag on, the only real prevention is to either remove the disc or move them out of reach behind the counter

[Freestyler]

All new games come sealed but most high street shops tear the cellophane off and keep the discs seperately in drawers. In my opinion this makes them used so I will not buy a new game from them.

I agree with this. I don't see why shops don't put in those red tags in then on the side hole.

I still buy unsealed games if the price is right and the box is in good nick.

Hmm... Every time I've bought a brand new game from GAME they've always gone into the back to bring out a sealed copy and the box I took to the counter gets returned to the rack.

I suppose if you're buying for sealed value you can always ask for a sealed copy instead of one that's opened to remove the disc. Or go somewhere that will do that for you.

Money talks and shopkeepers listen!

[Evermore]

People would still steal them with a red tag on, the only real prevention is to either remove the disc or move them out of reach behind the counter

True, but the security on the door should mitigate this.

People will think twice about stealing them because you can't get the disc out of the case if the red tag is still in there.

In an ideal world you would have "dummy" boxes on display.

[Martits]

In an ideal world you would have "dummy" boxes on display.[/quote]

I agree. The red tags can tear the seal if you wanted to keep the game sealed.
Also, big plastic cases work too. They cant be too expensive and they must be less hassle than putting the discs in drawers.

The original boxes can also get scratched and dirty by consumer handling if they are on the shelf.

I just can't believe that staff aren't educated on how to handle a disc. They leave fingerprints on the read side and sometimes "guess" where the hole is by sliding the disc to the centre of the box, leaving a scratch. Its basic stuff. I've had to take stuff back because I would have been better off buying a second hand game.

[Evermore]

The original boxes can also get scratched and dirty by consumer handling if they are on the shelf.

I just can't believe that staff aren't educated on how to handle a disc. They leave fingerprints on the read side and sometimes "guess" where the hole is by sliding the disc to the centre of the box, leaving a scratch. Its basic stuff. I've had to take stuff back because I would have been better off buying a second hand game.

I really am loath to buy opened games because of the above, but if the price is right I will pick them up - just like how I will buy second hand games if they are cheap and in good condition. I mostly buy sealed though - about 80% of the time.

When you fork out full price for a video game though, its not much to expect it to be given to you like how it left the factory. If shops unseal games for disaplay then what is the point in firms like Microsoft and Nintendo sealing them in the first place??