Question about storing consoles

[AAA177]

I wanted to know if this is generally okay to do.

 

Long story short, because of space considerations, the easiest thing for me to do is to store some consoles in my entertainment system, but stacked on top of each other. I'm thinking of the following order, which is from the bottom to the top: PlayStation 2, Wii, Nintendo Entertainment System, and then a couple Flashback systems on top (not Atari Flashbacks, but the Coleco/Intellivision units).

 

Is stacking consoles okay to do? They are out of their boxes because they are being used, but I sometimes worry the weight can damage the electronics (for some reason I am particularly careful about the NES). Also, could the stacking order be done differently? Another way I was thinking of doing this is placing the NES on the bottom as it seems pretty sturdy, but I'm just not sure about the safety aspect for the systems.

 

Also, pertaining to an Atari 2600 in a box -- is it okay to store that vertically? I usually have it in a horizontal position, but may need to place it horizontally.

 

Thank you for reading.

Edited April 8, 2016 by AAA177

[Keatah]

It probably won't affect the 'tronics. But expect plastic housings to warp and bend slightly depending how robust they are.

[CatPix]

Stacking won't affect the electronics. But the weight might warp the shells.

My advice is to go in your local DIY store and buy a bunch of stackable boxes. Either crystal plastic so you can see through, or solid which you need to label but is usually more sturdy.

The advantage is that you can also store pads and cables into the box, and even some games.

 

Those boxes are usually very cheap.

 

If you wanna be more practical, they also exist in drawer style :

The problem might be the max size of those drawers, but you won't need to unstack every box.

Edited April 8, 2016 by CatPix

[HoshiChiri]

I second the storage boxes- they aren't expensive, you can probably find some stuff on sale/clearance (it's prime turnover season for craft stores). Sterilite has a wonderful modular drawer line I use for controllers, but should convert to most systems quite easily. (The amazon link is only for a 4 pack, but the individual drawers are available at Wal-mart and Target.)

 

You could also look into shelf risers, like for dishes. That'll give you a 'stack' that doesn't touch. Provided you can find a multi-tier, anyway- normally it's just 1 shelf.

[DuggerVideoGames]

I don't believe in stacking the consoles on top of one another. Even the manual for my laptop said not to store weights (books, whatever) on top of it! I recommend getting some storage boxes or whatever to safely store them in without having anything weighing down on them.

[+Black_Tiger]

I keep all of my consoles in the same kind of clear rounded plastic bins. I found them in bundles at Costco years ago for a fraction of the per unit price of anything I've seen elsewhere. With so many consoles, I need to be able to see what's inside without opening them up. Especially when some are stacked on top of others. At my last place, I had them stack 4 high ir more in a closet. In my current place, I designed my entire game room from scratch. So I have sturdy evenly spaced shelves in my large closet, as well as a cabinet within my TV stand and one above my desk. I keep consoles I'm most likely to play in the TV stand. For some tiny systems or extra large ones, I try to find specific clear bins that they'll just fit in, to maximize storage space.

Edited April 9, 2016 by Black_Tiger

[Keatah]

It'd be good to see some pictures of how these are stored.

[CatPix]

I don't believe in stacking the consoles on top of one another. Even the manual for my laptop said not to store weights (books, whatever) on top of it! I recommend getting some storage boxes or whatever to safely store them in without having anything weighing down on them.

Laptops aren't designed to stack, especially newer ones; there isn't any kind of reinforcing structure in the screen part. Storing things on top of a laptop will result moslt likely in a cracked panel, either from deformation of the back, or by the keyboard getting pressed on the LCD panel.

Consoles are made of half-shells of usually thick plastic that is designed to survive people pulling them off a shelf, bumping into them, etc.

It doesn't mean it's advisable to do any of this, and some designs like the Megadrive and Super Famicom were specifically designed to prevent people to put anything on top of them.