Is this Game New??

[retro junkie]

This week I decided to purchase Time & Eternity for my PS3 from ebay. A used one was a few dollars less but being a few dollars I thought "hey" I will go ahead and purchase this game new. That way I would have the booklet and everything. When I received this yesterday, I noticed, there seems to be a couple of hole punches through the bar-code. It has what appears to be the original factory cellophane wrapper, folds, etc.  What is this? Has anyone ever purchase a game that was like this? Everything is crisp and new. It does not look used at all. The only other time that I have seen this is in a used or refurbished game.

I didn't know whether or not to post this in this section. But if we stay on topic, the subject of the packaging, then maybe it will be okay?

[targetrasp]

I never saw it in video games but it was a common practice to put a hole(s) in the upc of an item that's not being sold at full value, typically on a secondary market. 100 copies of a cd are made, retailers order 80. Some places destroy the left-over 20 %, some send it to secondary channels. The originator isn't getting full value for the item so they're marking it. It keeps the retail value higher, and incentivizes those who do not wait for something to hit sub retail markets, as well as keeps retailers happy that the item they're paying high wholesale for isn't going to the secondary markets unscathed for pennies on the dollar. Designer jeans get the label taken off, or blacked out, cigars get a different band, or are sold in bundles instead of in their cigar boxes, media sometimes got a hole in the upc. Many manufacturers deal with secondary markets when it comes to returned, overstock, new-old-stock, etc. often distinguishing the product in some way. I've also heard tale that some manufacturers do this on promotional and evaluational materials, on a very rare occasion, making them more collectable.

[retro junkie]

 
More collectible? And I have opened this up.........and played it some. Oh well.

[targetrasp]

I doubt that'd be the case on video games. I think marking promo copies by notching or using cut-outs went out with vinyl records...

[BLUEVOODU]

hm... I'm not familiar with this game.  @targetrasp is right on the discount games.  The same thing for CDs as well.  ALTHOUGH I don't know why they did it.   I remember a few CDs such as Anthrax Sound of White Noise that sold for $5 at Best BUy and it looked like someone buzz sawed through the case and I believe part of the UPC.