Ok seriously, where have all the manuals gone?

[Metal Jesus]

I was pretty ocd about my stuff when I was younger so I had a box full of GB/GBC boxes and manuals.

You are one of the rare ones... I always tore up the box and ditched the manuals for my GBA games. Now I regret it.

[Crynox]

Hmmmm, I've always take care of all my stuff, to the point of wanting to keep everything in 'as new condition' for as long as possible, I guess that's why I have lots of nice things. I even have immaculate spectrum games that are boxed and complete from when I was a kid. I was taught from a very young age to value stuff, I remember my father whacking me for bending the pages open on a book! It really annoys me when I come across wrecked stuff, it always seems so pointless. I never get rid of anything, I make a point of trying to keep it all perfect. My view is that if you buy something it's an investment and you should use it and look after it, forever.

[Mad_Hatter]

Yea, if I have kids, I'm going to teach them how to take care and cherish their things. Not to the point of making them OCD about it. But give them a little lesson every now and then. And tell them how I regret the things I destroyed/ruined and how I wish I took care of them.

My parents never tought me this. Heck, they would essentially help me get rid of this stuff. Lot of my lost stuff is because my parents tossed most if it.

[Crynox]

Yea, if I have kids, I'm going to teach them how to take care and cherish their things. Not to the point of making them OCD about it. But give them a little lesson every now and then. And tell them how I regret the things I destroyed/ruined and how I wish I took care of them.

My parents never tought me this. Heck, they would essentially help me get rid of this stuff. Lot of my lost stuff is because my parents tossed most if it.

That's because as a parent your house becomes a tip with stuff everywhere and all you want to do is get rid of things, (that the kids don't play with).

It's a bit of a problem in my house as one of my daughters is just like me, never wanting to get rid of her stuff, (which I understand), whereas my wife is always on the declutter mission. Tension!

[alienjesus]

Where have all the cowboys gone?

Same with boxes, inserts, etc. Most people don't take care of their stuff.

Also...

children

No! It's Parents, not children. Parents always told us that "You don't need that crap!" and asked/told us to throw away what we didn't use.

Yeah, I'd have a whole bunch of SNES, N64 and GBA boxes if my mum hadn't made me throw them all out.

At least she let me keep the manuals. She let me keep the plastic boxes for my Mega Drive games and all my CD games too.

[Reprise]

My parents were the opposite (well, my dad actually, who has got to be the autistic spectrum somewhere...), as they always told me to keep things in good condition, look after my stuff and keep all the boxes and instructions etc. My dad was incredibly obsessive about that stuff. In retrospective, I'm pretty grateful (and would be even more grateful, if I wasn't an idiot who traded in a lot of complete, pristine copies of games), as it's pretty awesome to still have the Mega Drive controller box and the box the console itself came in etc, but at the time I always thought it was ridiculous and over the top. I mean, "none of my friends keep all the boxes and instructions dad, why do I have to keep this crap hanging around?"

[Ogreatgames]

My current theory on missing manuals is that people simply lose them, while looking up basic game play mechanics.

[jbeedham]

I think a big part of the newer stuff losing manuals and cases is a combination of people not taking care of their shit as others have stated as well as the fact that the bigger chains like gamestop don't value a loose game any higher then a CIB game.

Game Shops that don't care either are a big problem too. That is one reason why I would not buy used games from gamestop. Remember, every dollar is a vote. Don't buy used incomplete games if you don't want that.

[Betagam7]

I remember bringing my mint copy of Super Probotector to school to lend a friend in exchange for some other game. Back then I only had two SNES games, a loose Super Mario World and Super Probotector: my only boxed game. I foolishly gave him the whole thing and was surprised he only gave me a cart in exchange...

Two weeks passed and when it came time to trade back he simply handed me the cart...no box or extras.

He claimed he would look for it...but all he was ever able to find was the epilepsy warning leaflet ...he had been using it as a bookmark during Geography! He later claimed his Mum had thrown the box out!

I have harbored an intense hatred of people like this ever since!

[jbeedham]

I remember bringing my mint copy of Super Probotector to school to lend a friend in exchange for some other game. Back then I only had two SNES games, a loose Super Mario World and Super Probotector: my only boxed game. I foolishly gave him the whole thing and was surprised he only gave me a cart in exchange...

Two weeks passed and when it came time to trade back he simply handed me the cart...no box or extras.

He claimed he would look for it...but all he was ever able to find was the epilepsy warning leaflet ...he had been using it as a bookmark during Geography! He later claimed his Mum had thrown the box out!

I have harbored an intense hatred of people like this ever since!

I stopped letting people borrow video games because of stuff like that when I was a kid. And it's not just video games. If I let someone borrow something I realized I would have to accept the fact that I may not get it back or it may come back wrecked or damaged. It goes back to a lot of people not caring about things.

My worst personal experience is letting people borrow some Audio CD's and then getting them back all scratched to death. I actually had to buy a 2nd copy of a CD I liked because of that.