The Best (and Most Affordable) Way to Store Old Video Games
If you collect video games or keep a batch of your favorite childhood games, chances are you have a few carts and discs in your collection. Many retro games came in flimsy cardboard boxes, and I’m willing to bet I wasn’t the only person whose family ditched game boxes in favor of these giant CD binders.
While not every game needs to be stored in a box – SNES carts stack nicely on top of each other – a box is almost always preferable. A row of crispy game boxes not only look better than a pile of loose carts, they also securely protect small Game Boy or Nintendo DS games, and protect disc games from scratches and sun damage. Unfortunately, it’s hard to find an original box for any game older than the PlayStation 4 era, and the older the game, the rarer and more expensive these boxes can be.
The good news is that you don’t have to buy the original box to safely store and display unpackaged video games without resorting to giant containers or ugly CD bindings.
The case of reproductions
One of the best ways to store free games is repro boxes. “Repro” is short for “reproduction” and simply means that the item is a recreation of the original product. You’ll often find reproductions of video game cases, labels, and building instructions. Copies of game cartridges and discs are even common, but this discussion deserves a separate post.
Despite the generality, “Reproduction” is a bad word in some collectors’ circles and online communities. This disgust usually stems from the fact that collectors only want genuine, original items, but there is also the fear that scammers will try to pass off a reproduction box or game as the real thing and sell them at high prices.
However, if all you want is a box to safely store your game on a shelf – and you’re not trying to pass it off as the real thing – then there’s absolutely nothing wrong with using reproductions or custom cases. While not “authentic” packaging, it is more accessible and affordable than rare and expensive originals, and often more durable.
There are many companies and independent sellers producing high quality reproduction cases and labels. One of the best known is Custom Game Cases , which sells affordable boxes for numerous retro consoles and handhelds such as the SNES, Sega Genesis, Game Boy Advance, and more, as well as high resolution labels for hundreds of original boxes. games. Unlike the flimsy cardboard boxes that these original games came in, Custom Game Cases sell custom-made plastic clamshells to keep your games secure.
However, you can easily find cardboard reproductions from highly rated sellers on Etsy and eBay if you prefer to store your retro games in a more traditional cardboard box.
Reproduction boxes are not only about retro games. It’s also pretty easy to find reproductions for newer disc systems on these sites, which can be handy if you’re buying a used PlayStation 4 or 5 game that’s missing the original label.
Cases and labels for video games with their own hands
Cases for reproductions are not only more affordable, accessible and durable, but also individual. For example, maybe you prefer the Japanese cover of your favorite RPG to the North American version. Many retailers will offer cases with alternative or custom covers .
Or, if you can’t find the case or pattern you need, you can create one yourself.
Blank game boxes for just about any platform are inexpensive on Amazon, and high-res box art is easy to find on sites like Moby Games or Google Image Search. From there, you can print it yourself. In my case, I made a custom box for my Phantasy Star IV: End of the Millennium cart, which uses a (greatly superior) Japanese cover, but with the box’s original English text.
There are other do-it-yourself options, such as storing Game Boy or Nintendo DS carts in cassette cases, or SNES and N64 games in plastic cases with custom labels on the ends . Obviously, they are even less authentic than reproduction cases, but it can be interesting to present your collection in such an unusual way.