US Customs Ruins Sealed, Graded Copy of Pokemon Yellow

A copy of Pokemon Yellow for the Game Boy worth thousands of dollars was ruined as it passed through US customs.

As GamesRadar reports(Opens in a new window), this copy of Pokemon Yellow was sealed and had been graded as A+ 9.2 by Wata Games(Opens in a new window), which specializes in providing an accurate measure of quality. The 9.2 relates to condition of the box, cartridge, and manual, while the A+ relates to the quality of the seal. In this case, both were exceptionally high.

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A photo of what happened to the game was shared by Stephen Kick, CEO of developer Nightdive Studios, which is currently working on System Shock(Opens in a new window). Kick explained how a friend of his had received the sealed and graded game, but US customs had broken the acrylic case, ripped off the seal and discarded it, and for some reason they also decided to cut the front of the box off.

The A+ 9.2 rating clearly no longer applies and the value of the game has all but disappeared. For reference as to how much value has been lost, another A+ 9.2 copy of Pokemon Yellow is currently listed on eBay for $9.000(Opens in a new window).

US Customs officers typically check documents, scan packages, and can carry out random checks and open parcels if they feel it’s necessary. In this case, it’s unclear why the game had to be opened and damaged so severely. Whatever the reason, thousands of dollars has been knocked off the value of the game.