Collectors Universe Expands Into Video Game Authentication & Grading with Acquisition of Wata Games

Pioneering Grading Service Trusted With Ultra-Rare Items, Including Record-Breaking $1.56 Million Original Super Mario 64 Game

Wata Games Joins PSA & PCGS Under Collectors Universe as Video Games are Primed to Become the Next Booming Alternative Asset Class

Select Images of Recently Graded Rare Games Below & Here

SANTA ANA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Collectors Universe, a leading provider of value-added authentication and grading services, announces it is expanding into the collectible video game industry with the acquisition of Wata Games.

Wata Games is the trusted pioneer in the video game collectibles industry. As the foremost video game grading service, Wata elevated the collectible video game market with its focus on accuracy and objectivity and enabled the industry to grow quickly. The company’s grading process ensures complete transparency and integrity with detailed grading on a scale of 1-10. As the gold standard in video game authentication, games graded by Wata regularly sell for record prices. In addition to the $1.56 million Super Mario 64 sale, other Wata-graded games that have set records include a 1987 early production copy of The Legend of Zelda, which sold for $870,000 as well as a copy of Super Mario Bros. for NES, which sold for $660,000.

“We founded Wata to elevate the video game hobby and grow the industry overall by adding legitimacy, transparency and professionalism to it,” said Deniz Kahn, President and Founder of Wata Games. “Nat and the entire Collectors Universe team have demonstrated a commitment to expertise and are investing in the business for the benefit of hobbyists and consumers. With their expertise and resources, Wata will be better able to service its growing demand, fuel the hobby and provide new and long-time customers with the best experience possible.”

The acquisition of Wata Games marks the first major categorical expansion beyond trading cards, sports memorabilia and coins for Collectors Universe. Other Collectors Universe companies include Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) and Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS), both trusted leaders in their respective industries. This acquisition builds on the company’s mission to provide every hobbyist and alternative investor with the best customer experience, tools and information available.

“Collectibles across categories, including trading cards and sports memorabilia, are now firmly considered an alternative investment class by both hobbyists and investors,” said Nat Turner, Executive Chairman of Collectors Universe. “With those categories seeing a stratospheric rise recently, we’ve identified video games as the next area primed for similar expansion. We’re partnering with Wata because they are the experts in video game grading and there’s simply no other way to recreate the amazing and trusted company they have built.”

Wata will continue to operate as a standalone business with existing leadership. This expansion into the video game industry follows the acquisition of Collectors Universe earlier this year by an investor group led by Turner -- a longtime collector of sports cards and collectibles -- as well as D1 Capital Partners L.P. and Cohen Private Ventures, LLC.

About Collectors Universe

Collectors Universe, Inc. is a leading provider of value-added services to the collectibles markets. The Company authenticates and grades collectible coins, trading cards, event tickets, autographs and memorabilia (“collectibles”). The Company also compiles and publishes authoritative information about United States and world coins, collectible trading cards and sports memorabilia and operates its CCE dealer-to-dealer Internet bid-ask market for certified coins and its Expos trade show and conventions business. This information is accessible to collectors and dealers at the Company's website, http://www.collectorsuniverse.com, and is also published in print.