!#$%'ing ECO Cases!

[eightbit]

Argh. Eco Cases. What an abomination. Here is what I am taking about:

 

 

 

Already now I have purchased a pretty darn expensive Wii U game where someone packing it up on Amazon put their finger right through the front of the case and damaged the lining and artwork. Needless to say the game is being exchanged.

 

I haven't purchased any DVD or Bluray media in a LONG time, but I did notice recently that the cases for movies I was looking at locally felt cheaper. Now I know why. Many are using these eco friendly cases...and unfortunately the Wii U uses them as well.

 

Now I am looking for alternatives. In Europe they use very nice cases that are solid, but obtaining bulk of these (I will want to change each case as I purchase games if they are all like this) seems like a long shot for someone like me in the USA. I ordered some generic light blue cases on ebay and will see what the quality of those are but I am not banking on them being as solid as the picture looks either.

 

Every time I handle one of these I feel like I have to be super careful as the front and back have massive areas of nothingness...other than plastic lining and paper sleeve. I can also see many of the games artwork have embedded "shapes" due to no plastic there.

 

Anyone else ticked off about this? I mean for $60 a game in most cases I feel I should have a solid case.It's not like I will ever be recycling or tossing them. What a stupid idea. Make the world greener without hurting the collector I say!

 

If anyone uses any alternatives that they can suggest (CD wallets? Generic DVD cases?) I would like to hear them.

[+save2600]

Fight The Future

[eightbit]

Fight The Future

 

I'm trying.

[Austin]

I wouldn't mind so much if they at least gave us instruction manuals that covered up the holes in the case. But we can't even get that anymore, it seems.

 

Haven't had any damage issues with these cases myself, but it makes sense that the potential for accidental damage is higher now.

[Mord]

Best be aware that the 3DS is also using those flimsy cases, in case you ever decide to try for the handheld. While I know their only reason for using those things are to cut costs (being able to do an environmental spin is always helpful PR point) but at times it feels it's just another way to get people dis-interested in physical products before the next gen starts. ^^

 

(That and the pitiful decline of the instruction manual over the last gen.)

Edited January 21, 2016 by Mord

[Keatah]

They'll save tens of thousands of dollars in shipping costs over time due to lighter weight.

 

 

(That and the pitiful decline of the instruction manual over the last gen.)

 

70's and some 80's computers had the best and most complete documentation.

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/247762-best-classic-computer-to-keep-investing-in/page-3?do=findComment&comment=3419265

[eightbit]

No doubt the cost savings for the companies are huge. Between shipping costs now being less for them and less plastic equals a savings as well. I haven't checked yet, but I read somewhere while checking various forum threads on the topic that these are not even recyclable! Nintendo did initially use good cases as the Nintendoland game that came with the console has a nice normal (light blue) sturdy case. I have found the same brand of cases but only in black or white, so I opted for white and ordered a few. I will of course keep the original eco cases in storage for the sake of "completeness", but it really bites that I have to do this. Most people would probably say that I am going overboard, but if you just feel these things you will quickly see how very fragile they are and how very easy it would be to damage the case and artwork.

[Asaki]

The thing I hate most about "eco" cases, with DVDs at least, is that they clearly cut open all their NOS, throw all the discs into these new cases, and then they use this new method where the plastic wrap gets GLUED to the spine of the case >_<

 

So if this is supposed to be a "green" thing, what do they do with all the old cases they cut open?

 

I'm willing to bet money they go in the trash.

[Keatah]

Of course they do.

 

As was said earlier, it isn't about "eco" and the environment. It's about cost cutting and shipping. Every company equates less material with "eco". But less material = cost saving and higher profit for the company. That's real motivator, as evidenced by dumping perfectly good cases in the trash.

[omegadot]

I don't begrudge anyone cost savings. Even if it's not passed directly to me. I still consider the price fair most of time. I do wish these protected the inserts better, though. My kids can make quick work of these out of just sheer clumsiness. I have a few games with tears in the the inserts from clumsy hands.

[dustygraves.]

i would make steciles for the cut-out areas with thin stiff card stock then clear tape in place for front and back.

then you can put your artwork back in place.

works pretty good except for clumsy little ones) i have done it a few times for movie cases which are identicle except for the color

which is mostly black.

[+nanochess]

A way to accidentally damage the artwork is to try to clean the outside, easily your fingers force drops thru artwork, breaking paper

 

I hate these cases. Ecological? it's same plastic but less of it.

[eightbit]

A way to accidentally damage the artwork is to try to clean the outside, easily your fingers force drops thru artwork, breaking paper

 

I hate these cases. Ecological? it's same plastic but less of it.

 

 

I accidentally fumbled a case after removing a game and grabbed it (not all that hard mind you) and that is exactly what had happened. I nudged the area of nothingness and damaged the artwork. That was enough for me (along with other issues like the order from Amazon as I explained in the first post). I sourced some nice Amaray cases and I swap these garbage cases out with them whenever I buy a game. The cases I found are exactly like the initial run of light blue cases Nintendo used initially...but they are white unfortunately. Not a big deal. They look great and they are sturdy. Now I have a dozen or so of these Eco cases I'll probably be selling soon I can't tell you how many brand new games I have found with markings from these on the artwork....ranging from light to severe damage. It is going to make it hard to collect pristine copies (pristine artwork) for the Wii U games in the future for sure.

Edited March 2, 2016 by eightbit

[Asaki]

I'm not sure if I already knew this or not, but even the DS has eco cases. I bought some games from Square-Enix's web store and they all came in one.

[CRTGAMER]

I hate the Ecco Cases for something even worse. The grips that hold the disc are too tight made worse by flexing and not releasing due to the holes in the case. Gamecube cases are the worst, a death grip risking cracking the disc upon removal. I took pliers to those rounding out the jaws a bit.

1. Slightly file the jaws all the way around with a tiny file such as a nail file.

2. To protect the artwork, insert thin white cardboard between the artwork and case.

http://www.racketboy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=537404#p537404

Edited March 3, 2016 by CRTGAMER

[Blazing Lazers]

Just saw this article and immediately thought of this thread:

 

https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2019/09/football-manager-nixes-plastic-for-eco-friendly-cardboard-game-package/

 

...these sorts of packaging trends don't bode well for long term preservation and collecting purposes.

[Keatah]

Go digital and worry about this crap.

 

And if you think about it, most companies don't care if you collect their stuff. Just as long as you buy buy buy.

Edited September 20, 2019 by Keatah

[Video]

Iich hate those eco cases. I posted a few years ago on that for movies. Yes the (maybe) penny in plastic makes a difference, but I'd imagine it is MUCH more than offset by returns due to products being damaged due to these cheap s#!7y cases. One $60 game returned equals thousands of cases worth of savings, so really the money saving thing is pure bull s#$%. Like I said, I doubt it saves as much as a penny a pop, so saving money isn't happening. Think artwork? Yeah that sux, but how about the fact the case is now structurally unsound and often doesn't hold the disc. People may not return for a bit of paper, but if the disc gets damaged due to the case not achieving its only job, that's almost certainly a return.

[BawesomeBurf]

I can't stand those eco cases either. It's such a huge difference going from DS games that for the most part had very high quality cases, and then 3DS uses the thinnest plastic it can.

[Keatah]

On 9/21/2019 at 8:10 PM, Video said:

Iich hate those eco cases. I posted a few years ago on that for movies. Yes the (maybe) penny in plastic makes a difference, but I'd imagine it is MUCH more than offset by returns due to products being damaged due to these cheap s#!7y cases. One $60 game returned equals thousands of cases worth of savings, so really the money saving thing is pure bull s#$%. Like I said, I doubt it saves as much as a penny a pop, so saving money isn't happening. Think artwork? Yeah that sux, but how about the fact the case is now structurally unsound and often doesn't hold the disc. People may not return for a bit of paper, but if the disc gets damaged due to the case not achieving its only job, that's almost certainly a return.

 

But. Profits from ads stating your (a hypocritical company's ads) doing eco things! Fuck'em all!

 

Besides, anything "eco" doesn't last long and oftentimes needs 2x or 3x to do the same job.