Incomplete games = incomplete love?

[BurningDoom]

I can understand kids destroying NES and SNES cartridge boxes back in the day but what's up with all the PS1, PS2, Xbox etc games that dont have instruction manuals? It's not like there are many PS2 games that require you to read the manual like it was some 1980s CRPG. I assume most casual gamers and kids dont give a shit about reading manuals, but on the other hand most gamers actually care about their games so they dont loose manuals. Something just doesn't add up!

Gamestop and rental stores are big cause of this. They often get rid of manuals to make more room in Gamestops case, or to replace them with their own boring cases like Blockbuster.

[Michi]

It depends. If the games are carts, then I don't give a damn whether it's complete or not. Most of those came in cardboard boxes and are a pain to maintain anyway. I will admit to liking the Genesis cases, though whether or not a Genesis game has a case or not isn't a deal breaker for me.

When it comes to disc games, though, especially current or last gen, then I'm more picky. In those cases if it's not complete then I'm not interested. Conceivably they're new enough that I'll be able to find a complete copy without too much hassle.

Any disc based games older than that and I'm a little more lenient. For instance, all the Sega CD games I acquired recently have the game and manual, but no case. Most of them are currently in jewel cases now and I don't really care to track down Sega CD cases for them. It's not important.

[nightrnr]

I once got a large amount of PS1 games, disc only for $0.25 per disc. That was a way awesome deal and I got a lot of games that I may not have ever bothered playing otherwise

As for severely scratched discs, I am conflicted:
On one end, I hate destroying a game unless there is no other options for it (after resurfaces, for example). I have a Final Fantasy VIII, Disc one that is completely shot, but can't bring myself to throw it away, even after I found a replacement disc).
On the other end , I love my systems too much to try to MAKE a game work and risk burning the laser out or something. Sometimes a tough-loved game just has to be retired.

Anyways, I usually try for the complete and nice approach, but sometimes you are just happy to own the damn game in the 1st place (case in point, I have a disc only of House of the Dead (Saturn US release) and consider myself fortunate.

[alienjesus]

It depends. If the games are carts, then I don't give a damn whether it's complete or not. Most of those came in cardboard boxes and are a pain to maintain anyway. I will admit to liking the Genesis cases, though whether or not a Genesis game has a case or not isn't a deal breaker for me.

When it comes to disc games, though, especially current or last gen, then I'm more picky. In those cases if it's not complete then I'm not interested. Conceivably they're new enough that I'll be able to find a complete copy without too much hassle.

This is pretty much my thoughts, only for me nowadays, a Mega Drive or Master System game not being in a case can be a deal breaker - the cases are solid, common and most of my collections for those system are in them, so I like them for consistency. Manuals I like to have, but I'm not worried if I dont have one.

Nintendo games in the old cardboard boxes though, I actually remove from the box and display them cart only - again for consistency, but also to stop any damage to the box from wear and tear. The boxes get stored safely away.

Discs HAVE to be in a case though, I can't stand having them loose. This is going to get more awkward with systems like Saturn, Dreamcast and Mega CD, which have the worst cases known to man (way worse than any cardboard box imo) as time goes on I think.

cart/disc only games need some love too

As long as the love disc only games get is being put straight into a nice plastic case with some artwork printed out.

[AppleQueso]

Discs HAVE to be in a case though, I can't stand having them loose. This is going to get more awkward with systems like Saturn, Dreamcast and Mega CD, which have the worst cases known to man (way worse than any cardboard box imo) as time goes on I think.

The longbox jewel cases (not sure why you mentioned Dreamcast?) aren't all that bad. I don't see how they're worse than a cardboard box. If a longbox jewel case gets damaged, you can find a replacement case and just swap out the art. Can't do that with a box. Plus I think those longbox cases look really cool on a shelf if they're in good shape.

cart/disc only games need some love too

As long as the love disc only games get is being put straight into a nice plastic case with some artwork printed out.

They get put in individual slim jewel cases, at least for now. Sometimes I'll print artwork out but that's kinda rare for me to do these days.

[alienjesus]

Discs HAVE to be in a case though, I can't stand having them loose. This is going to get more awkward with systems like Saturn, Dreamcast and Mega CD, which have the worst cases known to man (way worse than any cardboard box imo) as time goes on I think.

The longbox jewel cases (not sure why you mentioned Dreamcast?) aren't all that bad. I don't see how they're worse than a cardboard box. If a longbox jewel case gets damaged, you can find a replacement case and just swap out the art. Can't do that with a box. Plus I think those longbox cases look really cool on a shelf if they're in good shape.

cart/disc only games need some love too

As long as the love disc only games get is being put straight into a nice plastic case with some artwork printed out.

They get put in individual slim jewel cases, at least for now. Sometimes I'll print artwork out but that's kinda rare for me to do these days.

I live in Europe. Our Saturn cases are two plastic halves held together by a card front, which is glued on. Like so:



Note how there's no plastic covering like with most game cases. The hinge is also made out of the card, not plastic. The disc spindle is really shallow too, and theres no clips for the manual inside, so it generally falls out and knocks the disc off the spindle. Also, the clips to close the case are so terrible most dont actually stay shut. They are the worst case ever.

As for PAL dreamcast games, they come in jewel cases which shatter at the slightest tap. Basically the same sort of stuff the Sega CD and US saturn cases are made from, but possibly even thinner. The hinges are terrible too, and it's fairly hard finding a case with both intact, never mind without any cracks in either.

[Luke]

Great topic.

For me it depends on how I received the game, and when. Almost all of my Nintendo, snes, and Genesis games are loose. I simply didn't have the room for the boxes, and since I don't sell games I wasn't worried about the cib value.

Sega CD was an exception. The jewel cases were unique, so I held onto those.

I started keeping everything that came with a game starting with the PS2. And now if I purchase an older game I prefer it to be cib, but to be honest all I care about is the game itself and being able to play it.

[Menegrothx]

I live in Europe. Our Saturn cases are two plastic halves held together by a card front, which is glued on. Like so:
Note how there's no plastic covering like with most game cases. The hinge is also made out of the card, not plastic. The disc spindle is really shallow too, and theres no clips for the manual inside, so it generally falls out and knocks the disc off the spindle. Also, the clips to close the case are so terrible most dont actually stay shut. They are the worst case ever.

As for PAL dreamcast games, they come in jewel cases which shatter at the slightest tap. Basically the same sort of stuff the Sega CD and US saturn cases are made from, but possibly even thinner. The hinges are terrible too, and it's fairly hard finding a case with both intact, never mind without any cracks in either.

The second generation PAL Saturn boxes which are more sturdy are way better than US Saturn boxes. PAL 3DO and Sega CD boxes are also better than their NTSC-U counterparts. I personally prefer PAL Dreamcast and PS1 cases over the NTSC versions because of their looks but indeed they are worse than the NTSC versions (break more easily and take up more space).

[BoringSupreez]

The only PAL game system whose boxes I look at with envy is the PS2. I love the blue plastic on them.

Actually, our PS2 boxes were blue too, but it was extremely dark blue so that it looks black. Scrape a thin sliver off an NTSC box and you'll see I'm right.

[isiolia]

Actually, our PS2 boxes were blue too, but it was extremely dark blue so that it looks black. Scrape a thin sliver off an NTSC box and you'll see I'm right.

Or just look at thinner parts of the plastic, like the seams of the case. It can be an easy way to see if the game is in a replacement case or not.


Regarding the general topic, I usually only particularly care about completeness if the game originally came in a case, like most disc based ones, SMS/Genesis, and DS/3DS.

For stuff that came in cardboard, putting together case with printed artwork feels like an upgrade of sorts, rather than the concession that doing the same thing for discs (in particular) does. At least to me.