Why do so many "new" PAL MGS4's look like this?

Doesn't seem to have shrink wrap and there's that plastic running up the middle...? Is this a legit seal? SO MANY MGS4's are like that.

Is this common for new PAL PS3 releases? My collection is 99.99% USA/Japan so I have very little PAL knowledge.

Because it's a Konami game, and as everyone knows, Konami aren't renowned for sealing many copies of their games. This is most likely a store seal to ensure contents are secure

If you want a factory sealed copy, you'll have to source one which has the cardboard slipcase - Although the slipcase is not sealed (Something of an annoyance, and seems to be common practice these days I have noticed), the game underneath is sealed with the usual cellophane with PS3 tear strip

Gemini-Phoenix wrote:
If you want a factory sealed copy, you'll have to source one which has the cardboard slipcase - Although the slipcase is not sealed (Something of an annoyance, and seems to be common practice these days I have noticed), the game underneath is sealed with the usual cellophane with PS3 tear strip

Here where I live, the slipcase is also sealed. I need to pick a copy before they are sold out.

Is this also common with PS2 Konami releases?

violentsnake wrote:Is this also common with PS2 Konami releases?

Yes, it's common with almost every Konami releases.

Geez what a pain in the ass. So basically if I want to collect all the Metal Gear PAL releases, and want sealed version of course, I'm in for quite a headache?

violentsnake wrote:Geez what a pain in the ass. So basically if I want to collect all the Metal Gear PAL releases, and want sealed version of course, I'm in for quite a headache?

Not so much. The PS2 games are hard to get hold of, but not impossible. MGS III (Standard retail version) is the easiest to get hold of with the PlayStation 2 tear strip. The Metal Edition of MGS III is also quite easily found, although ccommands a high price. Substance and Subsistance are the two hardest to get hold of on PS2, but the Xbox version of Substance is much easier to source. There's two versions of MGS II (Retail and Pack-in). Acid, Acid II, and Portable Ops are pretty easy to get, although Portable Ops Plus is harder to find sealed. Digital Graphic Novel I have yet to see sealed...

The above shouldn't be too hard to get, provided you have the cash to spend - I could probably provide you with links to auctions where you can get hold of nearly all the above in sealed condition if you wanted!


The black label version of MGS will probably be the hardest to find. Even the Platinum version is rarely seen sealed. Special Missions come and go every now and again. The double box set (MGS plus Special Missions) is quite hard to get hold of, and you'll be very lucky to see an MGS Premium Box sealed. Twin Snakes for the GameCube is extremely rare to get sealed - I have never seen one, and am after it myself. It received a Player's Choice version, but this too is just as hard to get sealed.

Sepeh wrote:

violentsnake wrote:Is this also common with PS2 Konami releases?

Yes, it's common with almost every Konami releases.

As per the link to the Konami thread I PM'ed you!

So I'm happy I have the limited edition of MGS4 sealed ^^

Jaffar Sholva wrote:So I'm happy I have the limited edition of MGS4 sealed ^^

I have been eyeing this up. I didn't find out about it until after the launcch, so missed out and now greedy eBayer's want upwards of £120 for a sealed copy. A worthwhile investment do you think? Will it retain its value or even increase? I paid over the odds for Halo III Legendary Edition and also both Steel Battalion's, only for them all to devalue by half

Gemini-Phoenix wrote:

Jaffar Sholva wrote:So I'm happy I have the limited edition of MGS4 sealed ^^

I have been eyeing this up. I didn't find out about it until after the launcch, so missed out and now greedy eBayer's want upwards of £120 for a sealed copy. A worthwhile investment do you think? Will it retain its value or even increase? I paid over the odds for Halo III Legendary Edition and also both Steel Battalion's, only for them all to devalue by half

I was also able to catch one copy for my collection. It was never released here in Finland where I live but Gamestop managed to import some copies.

I bought it for 100€ from our local "eBay" website.

Gemini-Phoenix, did you tried to send me a PM? I didn't quite understand what you meant with that Konami thread message.

I also paid about 100€ for MGS4. I think it's worth and will increase in future. Everyone wants to play MGS4, so they open even the special edition. As you said GP, you didn't find it after the launch. This is for me the sign, that it will get very rare. With GTA IV it was not the same. The price class was the same with MGS4, but after the release I found a lot of them even on ricardo ("swiss ebay") and I bought one for 'only' ~78€ including shipping. So I'm lucky to own a sealed MGS4 special edition.

But I paid too much for DMC4 CE. And I'm not sure if I should buy the special editions of Brothers in Arms 3, Far Cry 2 and Sacred 2 on release date. I can only say that collecting sealed PS3 games is really intresting and not as easy as it maybe seems.

Sepeh wrote:Gemini-Phoenix, did you tried to send me a PM? I didn't quite understand what you meant with that Konami thread message.

No, the PM was for Violentsnake, and was a link to my Konami thread

Jaffar Sholva wrote:This is for me the sign, that it will get very rare.

I heard rumours that the release was limited to 15000 copies.

Still if it's not true, I think that it will become one of the rarest PS3 releases.