How bad can a game disc get scratched up until it becomes unplayable?

This is the reason why I hate buying used games sometimes because they're always never in good condition. But I think a few little scratches that don't look too deep is passable. But it still gives me a uneasy feeling.

Anyway,how does everyone else feel on how bad a disc can be until it becomes defective or unplayable? Also, if anyone has a knowledge about how discs work,what scratches matter on the performance of a disc?

I like my discs in good condition, but if I can't find a rare game, I do get a used copy. But when there are a few scratches here and there, I hate it. But as long it still works it's cool, but sometimes I feel uneasy about it because the disc might skip or crash during the middle of play.

This is like the Tootsie Roll question, lol. Dunno, I read somewhere that only deep scratches matter in a CD or DVD, but I really don't know.

For the reasons you mention I always buy new copies of games (i'm also very fussy about boxes and instruction booklets being in as near mint condition as possible). If, like you say, I can't find a new game and have to get second hand, I always ask to examine the disc at the counter before I pay for it (and if they have more than one copy I ask to choose :P ). When buying on ebay I make sure there is a detailed enough photo of all the items (box, disc, instructions etc) layed out, and don't mind paying a little more to buy something in mint condition. So I don't know how badly something needs to be scratched before it doesn't work, and i'm doing my best not to find out the hard way.

At the moment I'm trying to get all the good games of the N64, and it's so much better knowing that cartridges as so much more durable ... the problem with N64 games of course is with the cardboard boxes!

I, like you, am also very hesitant to buy used games, because of scratches.

I worked at Gamestop for a year and nine months, and have seen my fair share of horrendous discs. And you and everyone else should be extremely hesitant when buying used games that have scratches. Here is why.

During my time at Gamestop, I learned many things. One important thing I learned is that used games are the games that are pushed, and you and everyone else probably knows this. The thing most people do not know is that most employees, at least the ones I have encountered, care less what kind of condition the games are in. If a game does not meet the employees approval, condition wise, the employee takes a few bucks off of the trade in value so the game can be refurbished. Some employees I have encountered can care less what shape the disc is in, and they take everything they see. Mostly because at Gamestop, a employees performance is based on many factors, including the percentage of transactions that were trade ins.

So here is a scenario, a customer comes in wanting to trade in a butt load of games for store credit. The employee looks at the games, and informs the customer that this amount of money has to be taken off of the games because they are scratched and have to be refurbished. Now, the customer is already getting next to nothing for his or her trades, and is now getting even more taken off of his or her trades. So, the customer says no thanks and takes the games back. The store just lost some trades. So, the next time the employee gets trades, he or she will be very lenient on the condition of games, so their trade in stats will be good.

So, what are the scratches you should look for. The big one is circular scratches. If you ever saw a 360 game eaten by a 360, the scratch is usually a perfect 360 degree circle. Never by anything with circular scratches. My old manager taught me this next one. He was very anal about used games and only bought them if they met his expectations. He told me to take my fingernail and drag it over any scratch I saw. If I felt my fingernail go inside of the scratch and come back out, the scratch was to deep and would cause problems at a certain point in the game.

In the end, you always have a warranty on used games, so you can always bring them back if they crap out. And ultimately, it is up to you if you want to purchase it or not. If it does not meet your standards just pass. there is always another copy out there.

If I remember right the way data is stored on a CD/DVD is its all stored just under the top of the disc (Right under the label) and then from the bottom of the disc up is layers of plastic to protect the data.

The way the scratch removers work is they skim off a layer of the plastic protection which usually is whats scratched. I would agree with the finger nail thing and if there are any scratches on the top of the disc I wouldnt buy it.

I used to buy a bunch of used games so I went out and bought a disc repairmachine for about $50. It wont make your disc look brand new but they willwork (which is more importiant in my opinion).

I learned this leason the hard way just recently. I bought a used copy of Nuclear Strike and it's almost impossible to play. I tried washing it to get the smears off, but then I later found out that it was scratched up.

It still works, but when I start to play it for a while, the graphics start to spazz out and everything turns purple and blue shapes. Eventually it just gets to the point where it's impossible to play because of the glitches that occur in the game.

Well, I guess I should have expected this much. I bought it for $3.50, one of the case hinges are missing and there's a crack onthecoveras well. I bet someone took good care of this game.

This was pretty much the only bad experience I had in buying used games though. If I wanted to find a more rare game, I'd sooner search on Ebay or Amazon. I doubt I'll think of getting a game in this condition ever again.

Its the severity of the scratch that determines if a game is unplayable, not the amount. Surface scratches usually don't affect gameplay. Those are the ones you usually see: the thin, faint, hairline scratches. The ones you need to worry about are the thick, deep scratches (they'll usually be somewhat white too, at least compared to other scratches) since those are the ones that destroy the data. Actually, a better name for those would be grooves since the damage is carved into the disc rather than scratched on. I've had a bunch of a games I've bought where the discs were covered with small scratches but the games played fine. On the other hand I've gotten games where a small, 1/10th of an inch deep scratch caused the entire thing to fail to play.

i bought oblivion new, and now it has lots of scratches. it still works fine, but takes a little longer to load. you can always get someting to repair discs, like skipdoctor.Xeros606

no one seems to know this!!! if you get the bottom of a game scratched nothing happensthe bottom of the cd is plastic so the information on the the cd is under the label if you get the label scratched your bone

I, like you, am also very hesitant to buy used games, because of scratches.

I worked at Gamestop for a year and nine months, and have seen my fair share of horrendous discs. And you and everyone else should be extremely hesitant when buying used games that have scratches. Here is why.

During my time at Gamestop, I learned many things. One important thing I learned is that used games are the games that are pushed, and you and everyone else probably knows this. The thing most people do not know is that most employees, at least the ones I have encountered, care less what kind of condition the games are in. If a game does not meet the employees approval, condition wise, the employee takes a few bucks off of the trade in value so the game can be refurbished. Some employees I have encountered can care less what shape the disc is in, and they take everything they see. Mostly because at Gamestop, a employees performance is based on many factors, including the percentage of transactions that were trade ins.

So here is a scenario, a customer comes in wanting to trade in a butt load of games for store credit. The employee looks at the games, and informs the customer that this amount of money has to be taken off of the games because they are scratched and have to be refurbished. Now, the customer is already getting next to nothing for his or her trades, and is now getting even more taken off of his or her trades. So, the customer says no thanks and takes the games back. The store just lost some trades. So, the next time the employee gets trades, he or she will be very lenient on the condition of games, so their trade in stats will be good.

So, what are the scratches you should look for. The big one is circular scratches. If you ever saw a 360 game eaten by a 360, the scratch is usually a perfect 360 degree circle. Never by anything with circular scratches. My old manager taught me this next one. He was very anal about used games and only bought them if they met his expectations. He told me to take my fingernail and drag it over any scratch I saw. If I felt my fingernail go inside of the scratch and come back out, the scratch was to deep and would cause problems at a certain point in the game.

In the end, you always have a warranty on used games, so you can always bring them back if they crap out. And ultimately, it is up to you if you want to purchase it or not. If it does not meet your standards just pass. there is always another copy out there.

Empire730

That happened to me when I bought a used X360 copy of Burnout Revenge. I swore off used games after that.

I really like how this was bumped from a year ago. :lol:

Anyway, just a bit of advice- if your game is on its last legs and you're about to just toss it, try toothpaste. Now, your game will look atrocious after you've cleaned it with toothpaste, but 9 out of 10 times, it works like new. My friend's Viva Pinata disc wouldn't play at all, and while he was apprehensive (and damn near ready to hit me after he saw the disc after the cleaning), it worked like it was brand new.

I really like how this was bumped from a year ago. :lol:

Anyway, just a bit of advice- if your game is on its last legs and you're about to just toss it, try toothpaste. Now, your game will look atrocious after you've cleaned it with toothpaste, but 9 out of 10 times, it works like new. My friend's Viva Pinata disc wouldn't play at all, and while he was apprehensive (and damn near ready to hit me after he saw the disc after the cleaning), it worked like it was brand new.

Vampyronight

Yeah, I totally forgot I made this post a year ago!

I, like you, am also very hesitant to buy used games, because of scratches.

I worked at Gamestop for a year and nine months, and have seen my fair share of horrendous discs. And you and everyone else should be extremely hesitant when buying used games that have scratches. Here is why.

During my time at Gamestop, I learned many things. One important thing I learned is that used games are the games that are pushed, and you and everyone else probably knows this. The thing most people do not know is that most employees, at least the ones I have encountered, care less what kind of condition the games are in. If a game does not meet the employees approval, condition wise, the employee takes a few bucks off of the trade in value so the game can be refurbished. Some employees I have encountered can care less what shape the disc is in, and they take everything they see. Mostly because at Gamestop, a employees performance is based on many factors, including the percentage of transactions that were trade ins.

So here is a scenario, a customer comes in wanting to trade in a butt load of games for store credit. The employee looks at the games, and informs the customer that this amount of money has to be taken off of the games because they are scratched and have to be refurbished. Now, the customer is already getting next to nothing for his or her trades, and is now getting even more taken off of his or her trades. So, the customer says no thanks and takes the games back. The store just lost some trades. So, the next time the employee gets trades, he or she will be very lenient on the condition of games, so their trade in stats will be good.

So, what are the scratches you should look for. The big one is circular scratches. If you ever saw a 360 game eaten by a 360, the scratch is usually a perfect 360 degree circle. Never by anything with circular scratches. My old manager taught me this next one. He was very anal about used games and only bought them if they met his expectations. He told me to take my fingernail and drag it over any scratch I saw. If I felt my fingernail go inside of the scratch and come back out, the scratch was to deep and would cause problems at a certain point in the game.

In the end, you always have a warranty on used games, so you can always bring them back if they crap out. And ultimately, it is up to you if you want to purchase it or not. If it does not meet your standards just pass. there is always another copy out there.

Empire730

yeah i agree with you, because our Game, most of the employees just look to make sure the disk is correct for the game and just close the case and scan, they don't bother checking the condition of the disk. So literally you could take a scratched up to **** disk in and they wouldn't bother checking it.