Graded Nintendo Switch 2 games are appearing at auction

This Thanksgiving week, some gamers are putting their hard-earned money into some killer Black Friday deals, like the PlayStation Black Friday sale, where not one but three Game of the Year nominees are on sale. Meanwhile, others are putting that money into graded Nintendo Switch 2 games.

wait, what?

Right now, as of the time of writing, there has been an increase in classifieds on eBay for Switch 2 games. For those who don't know, people, especially collectors, submit stamped copies to agencies like CGC or WATA, get the game graded on a 1-10 scale, then resell them online, where people, for whatever reason, are bidding on them.

For example, there is currently an ongoing bid for an A++, 10.0 copy of Mario Kart World. It is currently sitting at $78 with four days left. For one, it doesn't even make it to the $79.99 that the game costs at retail plus an extra $40 to grade it, according to CGC's website.

It's not the only game being sold online, as the Switch 2 version of Donkey Kong Bananza and Mario Party Jamboree are all being resold.

In one example, which was first shared on Reddit, a bundle of Bananza and MK World has a list price of $649.98. I wish I was kidding, but it's true.

“They're already confused about grading video games,” one person wrote in a response on Reddit. “Grading video games that you can still find on the shelves is something else.”

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The graded games phenomenon isn't new, but it seems that Switch 2 first-party titles are increasing in popularity.

Like most trading cards, Funko! Graded pop and comic books, games have been part of the collectible craze for some time, and Switch games have been a particular target for grading collectibles, as TheGamer reported in July.

It's just that now, switching 2 first-party titles seems like a big goal. Part of that probably has to do with the fact that the turnaround time for grading is a little over two months, meaning people are just getting their packages back.

At the same time, it probably has something to do with how popular some Nintendo titles, like Pokemon, have become and how expensive they've gotten over the years. Collectors probably think they're tapping into an undiscovered market by authenticating copies of games and hoping other collectors buy into the craze.

Anyway, this isn't even the first Switch 2-related controversy with graded games, as back in June, people started grading Game Key Card copies of games, despite the fact that some games had an expiration date on the bundled codes. It seems that collectors have learned their lesson on that front and moved on to a few others.

Seeing as someone recently spent $42,500 on a sealed copy of Fortnite that was also graded, we're probably all confused with our criticism. So, I don't foresee a world where Mario Kart World, the bundled Switch 2 title, somehow becomes this golden goose.