Wata announced a new Pedigree Collection called the “Midway Portfolio Collection” on Friday afternoon, consisting of uncirculated video games preserved by a former Midway employee.
Historically, Wata has been conservative when it comes to Pedigree collections, a designation applied by various grading authorities across comic books, coins and video games to identify specific collectibles with notable provenance. The distinction is reserved for only a handful of the most notable collections in the hobby — a subjective decision largely based on the scale and significance of the collection.
The employee’s name has not been made public, however, Wata says he “had a hand in the development and creation of over 50 games during their career with Midway” and acquired each of the games after production, when employees were given free copies. The employee kept each of the games sealed over the span of decades with the intention of creating a portfolio of his work.
As the employee nears retirement, he decided to begin selling the games on eBay with the help of another person, who runs the eBay store “SUGOTT28.” In the process of selling the collection, some titles were submitted to Wata for grading, at which point the company recognized what it deemed a historic Pedigree label.
“The rationale behind preserving these games as a physical testament to one’s career has ensured that pieces of history from one of the greatest companies to grace the video-game scene have been preserved and with the Pedigree is now formally recognized,” the grading company wrote in a blog post.
In what is almost certainly a first in the industry, raw games from the collection are still available on the eBay store and Wata says collectors who purchase games from “SUGOTT28” now or have in the past will be able to submit them to Wata, along with proof of purchase, to request the title is given the Pedigree label.
The company also provide a list of three order numbers of games already graded which are eligible for reholdering to be included in the Pedigree, should the owners decide to resubmit.
Will Stern is a reporter and editor for cllct.