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Loose Games The Salvation of Lost Souls
| | Loose games are definitely the red-headed stepchildren of the video game collector. Regardless of how many hours of enjoyable game play they provide, I always find myself harboring a certain disdain for these orphans. I can organize till my heart's content and yet they don't even come close to presenting as well as their CIB counterparts in my Room of Doom. In all honesty, I find myself utilizing them as 'spacers' or 'props' for their CIB brethren rather than integrating them fully into my collection. I love the game Halo and (believe it or not) the actual disc (pictured to the left) still plays great, even though my brother's dog got at it like it was a piece of fresh steak. The only reason this would be displayed in my collection would be as a conversational piece. Now that is just wrong. As any CIB purist will tell you, the solution is to simply re-buy a game in its complete state. I wholeheartedly agree, but let's face reality - not many people (including me) have the unlimited discretionary funds at their disposal to do this. I just want to be able to proudly display these strays, while keeping my financial investment at a minimum. To accomplish this, there are basically two areas that we need to focus upon - the casing and the accompanying artworkcover. Let's provide some redemption for these lost souls - all for around $1 per game!! | Game Casing | The first step in our 'orphan makeover' is to get them a new holder. Seeking out some of the oddball packaging (Sega CD, CD-i, 3DO, etc.) is not really an option since we need to keep the total cost per game at about $1. The table below shows what replacement case to use for a respective system, along with some popular web links on where to purchase (these will open in a new window). Standard CD Jewel Case
Approximate Cost $0.24 | You can use these for any of the CD based systems, including the TurboGrafx (Hue Card - with modification). I am not a big fan of these, but they do save on space. Systems that originally came in this packaging were the Sony Playstation (for the most part), Sega Dreamcast (various colors). TG-16CD, Philips CD-i (without the big box) and the Bandai Pippin (though deeper). The Casio Loopy and Bandai Playdia also came in modified versions of this CD case. Purchasing Quick Links: eBay Amazon BlankDVDMedia.com | | Standard DVD Case Approximate Cost $0.38
| This is my preferred method of storage for loose disc-based games. Tall, plenty of room for artwork, manuals, easy to display, etc. - I love DVD cases! This was the standard casing for the Sony Playstation 2, Nintendo GameCube and NUON titles. In addition, this is the casing of choice for Sega CD, Panasonic 3DO, Philips CD-i, NEC PC-FX, Memorex VIS and the original longbox Sony Playstation games. Purchasing Quick Links: eBay Amazon MediaShelving.com | | Wii DVD Case Approximate Cost $0.42
| The standard casing for the Nintendo Wii is the white DVD case - nothing flashy but highly effective in it's presentation. I haven't had the need to replace any of my Wii titles as of yet, but these will run you a few more cents. Purchasing Quick Links: eBay Amazon MediaShelving.com | | Xbox Xbox 360 DVD Case Approximate Cost $0.51
| These translucent green cases are designed for Microsoft Xbox and Xbox 360 games. These are a little bit trickier to find. You will pay through the nose for them on the various auction sites - I definitely recommend getting a lot of these and split them up with you buds. This will save you a boatload of cash. Purchasing Quick Links: eBay Amazon MediaShelving.com | | PS3 BR Case Approximate Cost $0.62 | This frosty clear Sony PS3 case can be rather expensive. Sometimes you can score these pretty cheap on the mainstream sites, but don't expect them to have the signature Sony logo on them. If you want that be prepared to shell out another $3.50 or so per case.
Purchasing Quick Links: eBay Amazon OpenTip.com | | Universal Game Case Approximate Cost $0.57
| The Universal Game Case - our orphan's true savior. This marvel can hold nearly any cart that you have lying around. It is the same height / width of a DVD case, but is twice as deep (1"). Definitely purchase them in bulk - you will end up three times as much if you don't. Purchasing Quick Links: eBay Amazon MediaShelving.com | |
| Cover Art | Now that we have some new digs for our loose games, it is time to get them a little 'paint'. There are a few websites out there that offer downloadable artwork, but the best by far is The Cover Project. At this website, you can download very professional renditions of the original game's jacket, as well as some customized versions. With all cover art organized by system, the site is very easy to navigate and downloading the artwork is a snap. For each submission the author lets you know what game case the design was intended for. Simply down, print and place in your previously purchased game case and you are ready to roll. Here are some of their sample offerings (size scaled down for this article): Samples for use with The Universal Game Case Sample for use with a CD Jewel Case (FrontBack) Samples for use with DVD Style Casing To print the full-sized inlays at home costs around $0.20 (depending on your printer) per copy. This is based on using regular paper - not the shiny high-gloss variety (which you really don't need for this project). To send it over to your local Kinkos will run you around $0.53. This is not a bad deal either to be honest, especially if you do not have the means at your home to produce quality color documents. | In Summary | My bro is never going to get a free pass for letting his dogs destroy my copy of Halo, but for around a buck I can once again fully integrate it proudly into my main collection. Do not give up hope on those loose, misbegotten souls - new life is just $1 away. | NOTE: None of this is necessarily 'new' info, but I thought it would be helpful for all collectors, regardless of experience, to have this info all in one place. And no, I am not getting any kickbacks from any of the sites listed/featured in this article. I am listing them only as a possible resource for you. | |
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Are these anything like loose women?
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Oooo. Me like. I have a few games that would benefit from this soft of treatment. Props to ya, Marriott_Guy. Good info.
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This is blasphemy! I could never do it because I would still know that it wasn't real
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Had to do this when I bought my copy of Metal Slug Anthology a few weeks back. It's for the Wii but I only had a black dvd case on hand so it sticks out, I kinda like it that way though...
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I love the The Cover Project. They helped me change the look of my Dreamcast games. I can buy DC games disc only and be happy. Yes this may be considered blasphemy to the hard core collectors, but I'm not one of them. Games at my house are games someone in my house enjoys playing. My games look the way I want.
[img width=700 height=347]http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h150/UNFORGIVINGPAIN/DC/dccovers001.jpg[/img]
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I can never print good cover inserts for dvd cases. My printer always readjusts the picture size.
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@jcalder8:Nay, blasphemy in this context would either be printing off the covers and trying to sell it CIB or maybe printing the art, placing burned games inside the case and calling it/counting it as part of your collection.
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@dom meatball: I use a program called exPressit. (Free DVD and CD Label Maker Design Software). I just select the DVD cover Insert template and paste the cover I want to print.
Here is what I did to my Dreamcast games, if my links work this time. http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h150/UNFORGIVINGPAIN/DC/dccovers001.jpg http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h150/UNFORGIVINGPAIN/DC/dccovers003.jpg http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h150/UNFORGIVINGPAIN/DC/dccovers005.jpg http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h150/UNFORGIVINGPAIN/DC/dccovers004.jpg http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h150/UNFORGIVINGPAIN/DC/dccovers007.jpg
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I'm of a split mind on loose games. I don't particularly care for CIB with games that originally came in cardboard boxes, I just take them if possible. Games that came in plastic cases are another story... I hate not having the cases for them.
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I don't mind loose cartridge games at all, but I do prefer them CIB. But I don't think I could ever bring myself to make new boxes for them. In many cases that would cost more than the game originally cost me.
But I can not stand loose disc games. The only time I ever buy them is if there mixed in a lot of CIB games. The main reason I don't like loose disc games is because 99% of the time they're scratched to hell anyway, and they just don't look right in something other than their original cases. For my loose PSX/DC games I generally just put them into a slim jewel case, unless they have a manual they get a regular sized jewel case that I get from music CDs. Sega CD and Saturn games will go in jewel cases, but the manuals have to be stored separately. I usually just put a piece of paper on the spine with the name of the game and end their because I know I'll eventually replace it with a CIB copy. I've only got a few loose PS2 games, so I've gone the route of making new inserts for them and putting them in DVD cases. This is working fine for me now with only a handful of loose DVD-case style games, but if I ever get a bunch of them, I'll probably quit doing it and just wait until I can replace the loose copies with CIB copies.
@The Metamorphosing Leon: Yes, they are actually. They're cheap and get the job done, but you don't really want to keep them around.
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@NES_Rules: Haha, great.
Nice article, btw, Terry! (as usual)
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I can't stand loose disc games, they bug me beyond reason. Like NES_Rules said, they're almost always scratched. But why do people get rid of the boxes? Don't people like their games to actually work?
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I've been a fan of the cover project for a while now.
At the moment I'm remaking all my old PS3 covers into the new style. Love this place.
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Was actually printing out a few covers as I was reading this article, but from a different website. I will have to check this site out.
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Goto cdcovers.cc for all your cover needs for free.........
yer welcome
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