With a few decades behind it, Electronics how have an established “history”. This has resulted in a rather curious change in how “aftermarket” revisions to the hardware are regarded by some.

A good example would be the labels on Video game cartridges. If for example a label is torn or ripped, a person might decide to replace it. It is possible to make nearly perfect replicas of the original labels. The problem arises however in that there are people who find this behaviour unethical; in their opinion, these “reproduction” labels should be labelled as such, because it is not part of the original.

To me that argument makes far more sense when discussing things like reproduction ROMs, where the actual game “Card” and contents of the cartridge differ from the original. In particular, in that case the reproduction is effectively created afterwards, and typically those who make them and sell them aim to reproduce wildly popular and expensive titles in order to try to “cash in” on the rising demand for titles that have a limited supply.

But I do not think that extends to cosmetic considerations. If you have a copy of Bubble Bobble with a label that has ripped off, you aren’t “destroying history” by cleaning off the old label and affixing a freshly printed one. You are restoring your copy of the game. That such things could then be sold and mistaken for a good condition original is irrelevant, because the market that values good-condition labels was built entirely around conditions where the labels could not be fixed in this manner, and rather than deny or question those who create and affix reproduction labels to fix their games, collectors and those interested in purchasing these things should be aware of how good condition labels may not be original.

If I own a game with a damaged label, it is not my responsibility to adhere to some invented set of rules about what I’m “allowed” to do with it. I own the physical object, I can do anything I want with it, including replacing the damaged label however I see fit. The same applies to any piece of electronics, collectible or not. There is no unspoken responsibility for an owner of, say an Apple II, to keep it in factory condition; installing or using modern alternatives for things like Hard Drives (SD Card adapters, for example) does not magically make them a traitor against humanity or whatever wild accusations many people seem to often make against those who make aftermarket changes or restoration to their hardware.

The Industry is still relatively young but it appears we have reached a point where collectors – and speculators – take themselves as seriously as, say, collectors of old coins. There is a big difference between an original Spanish piece-of-eight from the 1500’s and a Video game cartridge from 20 years ago, both in terms of value as well as cultural and historical significance, and I think considering them equal heavily inflates the importance of Video games and the associated hardware. The people that made and were responsible for these are largely still alive. We may as well suggest that former presidents who are still alive be encased in plastic to preserve their historical significance.

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