CGC Video Games Clarifies Seal Grading Scale and Types

Evaluating seal type and condition is a crucial part of video game certification. First-party and third-party publishers alike have used a variety of seal types across the decades, and verifying which type of seal was used during a video game's production cycle is critical to proper authentication. The seal's grade is also important because it explains how the game has been handled during its lifetime. 

When certifying sealed games, CGC Video Games considers both the seal type and seal condition to determine the overall grade of a submission. It's important to understand the various types of seals that are used in video game production and the grades that CGC Video Games uses to certify a sealed submission. 

CGC Video Games uses the following definitions to assign a seal type to sealed submissions:

Seal Types

Glued

Glued seals are a type of seal where the flaps of the box are glued shut rather than sealed with plastic wrap. These seals were common during the late 1970s and early 1980s, with Atari pioneering the seal type. Other publishers such as ColecoVision and Intellivision also used glued seals for their games. Occasionally, some video games used glued seals and were then also sealed in plastic wrap.

H-Overlap

An H-Overlap is a type of seal where the plastic wrap overlaps horizontally along the back of the box. The seal will also meet two seams that run along each side of the box. H-Overlap seals were common during the 1980s and 1990s and were used by many first-party and third-party publishers across various console libraries.

H-Seam

An H-Seam is a seal in which the plastic wrap forms a horizontal seam along the back of the box and meets two seams that run along each of the box's sides. Nintendo and its third-party publishers used the H-Seam for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and the Game Boy console libraries.

LRB

An LRB seal is a plastic wrap seal with a seam that extends along the left, right and bottom sides of the box. The seals have been used since the 1980s and are still commonly used today by third-party publishers.

LRT

An LRT seal is a plastic wrap seal that extends along the left, right and bottom sides of the box. Like the LRB seals, the LRT seals have been used since the 1980s and are still commonly used today by third-party publishers.

LTB

An LTB seal is a plastic wrap seal that extends along the left, top and bottom sides of the box. Like the LRB and LRT seals, the LTB seals have been used since the 1980s and are still commonly used today by third-party publishers.

RTB

An RTB seal is a plastic wrap seal with a seam that extends along the right, top and bottom sides of the box. Like the LRB, LRT and LTB seals, the RTB seals have been used since the 1980s and are still commonly used today by third-party publishers.

Sticker

With a sticker seal, a sticker is placed over the top flap of a box, the open side of a case or over a slip-sleeve. Sticker seals are most often seen on Nintendo's original Black Box games for the NES. Other publishers also use sticker seals, such as Sega for their Master System games.

Tube

Tube seals are plastic wrap seals with a seam that runs along the top and bottom of the box. These seals were primarily used in the 1980s and 1990s by Sega and some other publishers.

V-Overlap

A V-Overlap seal is a seal type where the plastic wrap overlaps vertically across the back of the box and meets two seams along the top and bottom of the box. First-party and third-party publishers both used V-Overlap seals on their games during the 1990s.

V-Seam

A V-Seam seal is a seal type where the plastic wrap forms a vertical seam across the back of the box (without overlapping) and meets two seams that run along the top and bottom of the box. Nintendo and its third-party publishers used V-Seam seals for many games in the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Nintendo 64 console libraries.

Y-Folds

Y-Folds are a type of seal where the plastic wrap folds around the case and overlaps on the sides to form a "Y" shape near the corners. Y-Fold seals are the most common type of seal used on modern video games.

Distributor Seals

"Distributor sealed games" are games that were once sealed by the publisher or factory but were opened and re-sealed by the distributor prior to retail sale. There are a variety of reasons that distributors may open and re-seal a game, including replacing a ripped or damaged seal or checking a game for quality control purposes. 

Regardless of why these games were resealed, the seal was still broken and replaced prior to the retail process. While CGC Video Games will certify distributor sealed games, these games will receive a green Qualified label because they are not entirely original. This will better differentiate distributor sealed games from factory and publisher sealed games, which will receive a blue Universal label. Distributor seals are not graded.

Seal Grading Scale

After identifying the type of seal on a submission, CGC Video Games will grade the seal's condition. There are seven possible seal grades:

A++

An A++ grade is given to near-perfect original seals with negligible handling or manufacturing defects.

A+

An A+ grade is given to very well-preserved seals with good eye appeal. there will be several minor handling and/or manufacturing defects.

A

An A grade is given to an above-average original seal with a single defect or an accumulation of small defects.

B+

A B+ grade is given to an average original seal with a major defect or an accumulation of moderate defects.

B

A B grade is given to an original seal that shows significant evidence of handling with several moderate-to-major defects.

C+

A C+ grade is given to an original seal that shows significant evidence of handling with several major defects.

C

A C grade is given to a heavily defaced original seal with several major defects. Some pieces will also be missing.

The only factory and publisher seal types that do not receive a seal grade are glued seals. These types of seals are unique, because they do not have a physical seal that is separate from the game itself. Since glued seals cannot be accurately graded on the Seal Grading Scale, glued seals will instead receive a grade of O for original.

CGC Video Games is dedicated to providing collectors and dealers with expert and impartial third-party authentication, grading and encapsulation services for sealed, complete in box and cartridge-only video games. Every game certified by CGC Video Games is backed by the industry-leading CGC Guarantee. To learn more about CGC Video Games, click here.