Game storage solutions by system

[MFoolsRun]

Hey, all!

 

As my collection of variously loose and boxed games balloons, I find myself thinking more and more about how to keep them all stored, shelved, displayed, etc.

 

Obviously games in DVD and jewel cases are easy enough to store on a media shelf. I have two of these that currently house my DVD collection and games respectively (and which I strongly recommend if you're looking for dedicated media shelving), but loose carts are a storage nightmare no matter what, especially for systems like the GBA and original Gameboy which don't have spine labels.

 

How do you shelve and organize your games?

Edited September 24, 2007 by MFoolsRun

[Lemmi]

i use one of these http://www.amazon.com/SAUDER-172650-Audio-...t/dp/B000BQS19A

for my VHS and cd jewel case games, TG16, DC, PS1, 3DO, i have the VHS in the doors and the games on the shelfs, i want another one but im not paying $100 for it when the one i have only cost $40 - 7 years ago

 

 

other than that i made my own shelves, some are made between 2x4's http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2006-5/1184...allofDoom12.JPG

and others are made from these type of track shelves Track shelves

 

this is only good if you have a free wall

i have 1500+ games and most of them are packed away with the systems (the ones i dont play much) so they are all in one place, instead of scattered in many different boxes

[Emehr]

I made my own out of 3/4" pine. Each unit is two shelves high and they can be stacked so you can mix and match sizes. I have specs for about 4 height variations and 2 depth variations.

 

These pictures are over a year old and its actually time to make some more...

[jferio]

I picked up a triple-wide media shelf at Big Lots that's pretty good for this kind of thing. 6 movable shelves, 33 inches wide and 45 inches tall. It's rated for something like 500+ CDs, and the shelves can be placed to fit Atari carts, with enough of a gap to get your fingers in above them. Big Lots sells them for $40. Just be warned, they go pretty quickly, they get the shipments in on Thursday and the units are gone by Saturday.

[zombiecraig]

Yeah, I'm curious how others store their GBA and Game Boy games? I'm not one to save boxes for most systems, and I didn't keep boxes for my Game Boy or GBA games.

 

Right now, mine are being stored in a little bin, separate from the rest of my collection. Most of the time, I forget that I even have them.

 

It would be nice if there were a binder of some sort that would hold them nicely. Like a binder for CDs, only for GBA and Game Boy games. At least I could place the binder on a shelf and it would look pretty nice.

 

Any ideas on this?

[MFoolsRun]

Yeah, I'm curious how others store their GBA and Game Boy games? I'm not one to save boxes for most systems, and I didn't keep boxes for my Game Boy or GBA games.

 

Right now, mine are being stored in a little bin, separate from the rest of my collection. Most of the time, I forget that I even have them.

 

It would be nice if there were a binder of some sort that would hold them nicely. Like a binder for CDs, only for GBA and Game Boy games. At least I could place the binder on a shelf and it would look pretty nice.

 

Any ideas on this?

 

I'll bet trading card "pages" would hold Gameboy and GBA games pretty well.

 

Along those lines:

How do people store their unboxed N64, GB/GBA, 32X, etc. games which don't have titles on their "spines"?

Do you just keep them in a bin and hunt when you want a particular game, or has anyone figured out a good display solution?

[Ghost Soldier]

Yeah, I'm curious how others store their GBA and Game Boy games? I'm not one to save boxes for most systems, and I didn't keep boxes for my Game Boy or GBA games.

 

Right now, mine are being stored in a little bin, separate from the rest of my collection. Most of the time, I forget that I even have them.

 

It would be nice if there were a binder of some sort that would hold them nicely. Like a binder for CDs, only for GBA and Game Boy games. At least I could place the binder on a shelf and it would look pretty nice.

 

Any ideas on this?

Check your local card collecting store. Some of the card sheets store gameboy and gba advance games nicely. You can buy a folder too put the sheet's in and label the spine of the folder. Some card sheets have the ability to be hung on the wall and look really nice. Nintendo made folder's a few years back for Gameboy and Gameboy Color games, but there hard to find.

Edited May 13, 2008 by Ghost Soldier

[Reaperman]

I'm not a displayer, but a hider, and currently I have a system and its games stuffed into rubbermaid-style bins and stacked, but that's not an ideal setup, as they're stacked in a storage locker offsite. luckily we're currently looking at places with more space and will probably move in late summer. I still want to avoid adding massive amounts of bookcase style shelving to rooms.

 

Lemmi, your place looks fun to visit, but I the wall of doom would bug me if I had one. Back when I lived in WI, it wasn't a problem--hide the wall of doom in the basement. But we don't get to have basements where I currently live and storage is always an issue.

 

My two ideas are DIY lateral shelving, and standard budget racking, holding smaller boxes of games. Each solution would still need to be hidden in a closet.

 

I've seen high density lateral shelving stuffed into small spaces in asian movies and it seems to be a great option as long as I do it myself with inexpensive DVD racks, and a track and caster system. (even if I go the other way the wife will probably want this system for audio/video media storage)

 

standard racking--similar to this but with more shelves and front-loading boxes of the type often used for picture or greeting card storage. thinking about it, this setup isn't much less expensive, but it holds a lot more in the same space and allows for system storage below. Just because I'm a gamer, doesn't mean I want to live in a video game store.

 

gameboy advance is a different story, I've been thinking of building a little hanging display case for my unopened systems and games. That's just a daydream. It's good to see I'm not the only one in the 'more games than any store in town but less space' problem.

Edited May 13, 2008 by Reaperman

[hex65000]

I've been pondering how to keep my loose carts in good shape, and the first part of my solution, while expensive, seems to have worked out okay, as long as I get the right sized bag and remember these bags don't stretch.

 

ESD bags Type "J" at the bottom of the page.

 

I didn't know I could get them in clear until I found this in their catalog. The 5x8 bags cover most 2600 carts and the 4x6 bags work great for N64, Genesis and Jaguar.

 

The only problem is the plastic is a bit stiff and makes stacking them a bit of a pain. I have to pay some major bills off before I buy another couple hundred bags to round out my Ataris. However, my entire N64 cart collection (100+ titles) is bagged up and safe as can be. I did a bunch of homebrew carts first and some of the high rarities before I ran out of 5x8" bags.

 

Right now I've got some lightweight wire shelf-cubes I bought at Target to hold my Atari stuff. It looks okay and should do the job, but I can't put my strategy guide books there unless I want to flatten the whole thing.

 

Hex.

[ Has no idea what to do with all of those guides... ]

[MFoolsRun]

Heh. I haven't even begun to think about bagging/protecting the games from storage wear; I can't even shelve all my stuff at the moment!

 

Need to buy another adjustable-shelf unit.

[madhatter667]

I use plastic bags for all my loose carts. Unless they are NES with dust sleeves... they are pretty well protected that way....they get plastic bins. Just about everything else gets a bag, and then a bin. I use Rubbermaid and Sterelite to stash most of my stuff in... I'll have to build some shelving when I actually get a place that has room to display it all.