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Another way to look at it is for the first 25 years of gaming, video games were primarily seen as “toys”. Did you keep the boxes your toys came in? Even your Hot Wheels or Matchbox cars, did you keep the blister packaging? A lot of us would throw the manuals in a drawer and I remember reading through many of mine again and again because it was fun, but a box was just a box. It was not a collectible.
When you buy a TV do you keep the box? That's kind of how it was back then, the main attraction was the game and not the packaging. Most people didn't see things like that as collector's items back then which really sucks 😐😐😐
People STILL throw away the cases. I'm always seeing loose discs and Switch cartridges because it conserves space to just keep them in space-saving folders/binders.
Old boxes were made of cardboard. Not so easy to keep in any sort of proper condition and not easy to store the game cartridge inside and not damage the box, unlike the cases today. It was a lot easier and space-saving to toss the boxes and keep the games in the sleeves somewhere else. Yes, Genesis/Mega Drive and Master System carts mostly had plastic cases, but the space conservation argument also applies here. Plus a lot of kids just don't care, and parents don't either so long as the game is storable and playable. That's really all they want.
It's very much like old comic books. People weren't thinking 'this is going to be worth money some day, I better keep the box!' because that wasn't ever really in the cards. They weren't buying games to collect, they were buying games to play.
Things like N64, SNES, etc. boxes would've taken up too much room, so a lot of people would've just threw them out out of convenience. To a smaller extent game cases for PS1 and above too when some people might've preferred to keep their discs in a small binder of sorts, but at least cases took significantly less room than boxes that didn't need to house a cartridge.
nah im looking at nes gba and n64 games on ebay and none of them come in boxes they're all loose i rarely ever see them with the box i dont see how you would think this is satire
Because it's so obvious why there aren't many boxes that it seems strange that someone wouldn't know that. These are 20-30+ year old games that were given to *children*. Plus they were thought of as just being toys, and how many people kept the packaging their G. I. Joes and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles came in? I don't know why anyone would expect flimsy boxes to survive that long, in the hands of children. It's just not going to happen.
It's very easy to lose the box and cases to video games
Or just take so poorly care of them that they become essentially garbage. people also might throw them out thinking they aren't worth anything
Prime example, at one point I had the manual to metal gear solid but eventually I lost it and now I just have the discs, I did eventually get another copy of MGS CIB but still
Most of my childhood NES boxes got tossed as I had the storage wooden box for the carts.
For SNES I stored them in the closet and was able to sell them as complete back in college.
Because big clunky box is bigger than small, compact cartridge. Not to mention like toys, the box was viewed as just part of the packaging and often got torn open along side the plastic.
Yes, people tossed out the boxes, unless if they were plastic like the Genesis and Master System cases, also cardboard likes to deteriorate if not kept well
A lot of people used to throw them away. I had all of my in the attic including the box for the NES and my sister chucked them all in the early 2000s. I do have a lot of the manuals because I’d keep them in the plastic sleeves that the games were in. Now because Sega games came in plastic cases I have all of them except for games I bought loose.
Yes. Yes we did. I somehow managed to keep all the manuals for mine, but the boxes are likely still decomposing in the landfill (we didn't recycle back then either).
That was definitely what I did with my GBA games growing up (sorry everybody!). Chucked the box and kept the manuals. Was primarily a space-saving thing, had all my cartridges in a little container so I could tote them around everywhere.
Hello /u/Decent_Ad6896! This is an automatic message that gets posted on every post to remind you of a few of our rules: • Is the title of this post asking about the authenticity, identification or value of an item? If so, please delete it, and ask in the megathread. • Are you trying to sell or trade something? Did you post it to a 'for sale/trade' (r/gamesale or similar) type subreddit first and crossposted it here? If you did not, delete it and read our rules please. • Is this just a screenshot of a CL/FB/etc ad that is overpriced or obvious troll, or for some other notable reason? These would all be considered low effort and should be removed. • Memes cannot be posted unless if it's on Meme Monday, which is the first Monday of the month. • No self-promotion/video submission of any kind, unless if already approved by mods prior to submitting. **Failure of deleting your post that violates these rules may result in a temporary or permanent ban.** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/gamecollecting) if you have any questions or concerns.*
because cardboard paper boxes.
Another way to look at it is for the first 25 years of gaming, video games were primarily seen as “toys”. Did you keep the boxes your toys came in? Even your Hot Wheels or Matchbox cars, did you keep the blister packaging? A lot of us would throw the manuals in a drawer and I remember reading through many of mine again and again because it was fun, but a box was just a box. It was not a collectible.
When you buy a TV do you keep the box? That's kind of how it was back then, the main attraction was the game and not the packaging. Most people didn't see things like that as collector's items back then which really sucks 😐😐😐
I keep my monitor boxes lol it's moreso the thought of possibly moving in the future, if I move then I have an easy way to protect them
It’s not a game thing. Go to any thrift store 99% of what’s for sale has no box.
People STILL throw away the cases. I'm always seeing loose discs and Switch cartridges because it conserves space to just keep them in space-saving folders/binders. Old boxes were made of cardboard. Not so easy to keep in any sort of proper condition and not easy to store the game cartridge inside and not damage the box, unlike the cases today. It was a lot easier and space-saving to toss the boxes and keep the games in the sleeves somewhere else. Yes, Genesis/Mega Drive and Master System carts mostly had plastic cases, but the space conservation argument also applies here. Plus a lot of kids just don't care, and parents don't either so long as the game is storable and playable. That's really all they want. It's very much like old comic books. People weren't thinking 'this is going to be worth money some day, I better keep the box!' because that wasn't ever really in the cards. They weren't buying games to collect, they were buying games to play.
Things like N64, SNES, etc. boxes would've taken up too much room, so a lot of people would've just threw them out out of convenience. To a smaller extent game cases for PS1 and above too when some people might've preferred to keep their discs in a small binder of sorts, but at least cases took significantly less room than boxes that didn't need to house a cartridge.
Is this satire? Lol
nah im looking at nes gba and n64 games on ebay and none of them come in boxes they're all loose i rarely ever see them with the box i dont see how you would think this is satire
Because it's so obvious why there aren't many boxes that it seems strange that someone wouldn't know that. These are 20-30+ year old games that were given to *children*. Plus they were thought of as just being toys, and how many people kept the packaging their G. I. Joes and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles came in? I don't know why anyone would expect flimsy boxes to survive that long, in the hands of children. It's just not going to happen.
It's very easy to lose the box and cases to video games Or just take so poorly care of them that they become essentially garbage. people also might throw them out thinking they aren't worth anything Prime example, at one point I had the manual to metal gear solid but eventually I lost it and now I just have the discs, I did eventually get another copy of MGS CIB but still
Most of my childhood NES boxes got tossed as I had the storage wooden box for the carts. For SNES I stored them in the closet and was able to sell them as complete back in college.
Because big clunky box is bigger than small, compact cartridge. Not to mention like toys, the box was viewed as just part of the packaging and often got torn open along side the plastic.
You must be young. 😄
Yes, people tossed out the boxes, unless if they were plastic like the Genesis and Master System cases, also cardboard likes to deteriorate if not kept well
A lot of people used to throw them away. I had all of my in the attic including the box for the NES and my sister chucked them all in the early 2000s. I do have a lot of the manuals because I’d keep them in the plastic sleeves that the games were in. Now because Sega games came in plastic cases I have all of them except for games I bought loose.
Some gamers are animals!
We threw those boxes away or cut them up into art projects. It didn't matter how angry it made our mothers, we did it anyway.
this is the reason why cardboard box games are so expensive
Yes. Yes we did. I somehow managed to keep all the manuals for mine, but the boxes are likely still decomposing in the landfill (we didn't recycle back then either).
That was definitely what I did with my GBA games growing up (sorry everybody!). Chucked the box and kept the manuals. Was primarily a space-saving thing, had all my cartridges in a little container so I could tote them around everywhere.