Off-Topic: How Do You Store Your Games?

11 years ago

January 8, 2013 at 11:15 am

I’m a terrible hoarder of retro games stuff. Although I like to think of myself as an excellent one; I’ve never quite seen the point in getting pennies in trade-in for perfectly fine games systems when they could still be providing me with hours of pleasure. This brings with a problem, though; as your physical games library expands, it takes up more space. How do you organise it all?

This is my current arrangement of retro consoles; the newer systems sit underneath the main telly. Before you ask, yes, it is cable hell back there. Bonus points if you can name everything in the picture*. Meanwhile, game boxes are everywhere… and then stacked on top of the everywhere.

Roughly every twelve months I’ll get hyper-organised and sort them all into their proper categories. In doing so, I’ll spot games I haven’t played for a while, play them and put them back… usually in a haphazard kind of way, mucking up the sorting system.

It is, as Rafiki put it, the circle of life.

So what do you do? Do you keep the clutter to a minimum by trading it all in, keep it down by being purely digital, store and sort it carefully, or simply have it piled up?

*Bonus points are not redeemable for prizes, cash, “personal” favours or, indeed anything beyond a nice warm smug retro feeling.

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42 responses to “Off-Topic: How Do You Store Your Games?”

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dnr

January 8, 2013 at 11:18 am

If i can help it the consoles in the original boxes, and games and manuals in showboxes.

Reply
Baggins

January 8, 2013 at 11:21 am

I literally have all my games and consoles going back to the NES all boxed and stored in a spare room. They just gather dust and I never sell anything either. Probably should do something about that….. Anyone need every nintendo console ever released and about 100 games?

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1. dnr
  
  January 8, 2013 at 11:57 am
  
  If you have a virtual boy and want to sell it, hit me up, its one of the only im missing 😛
  
  Reply
Westy

January 8, 2013 at 11:22 am

Mine is all currently boxed up in my wardrobe, when I move it will be set up and on display, hopefully some good ideas come from this article.

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velocita

January 8, 2013 at 11:26 am

Well you can safely trade/store the Gamecube away yeah? Wii offers everything it does and more.

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1. beanseller
  
  January 8, 2013 at 11:30 am
  
  If you want to play Gameboy games, the Gamecube’s adaptor is the best way..
  
  Reply
2. stuman
  
  January 8, 2013 at 1:24 pm
  
  I’ll keep my Gamecube just for the cool boot up sequence. Best ever (or close to it). 🙂
  
  Reply
mchaza

January 8, 2013 at 11:29 am

My guesses starting from the bottom left: Super Nintendo PAL, Sega Mega Drive with the Sega CD, Atair 2600, nes-101, random guess: Neo Geo, sega saturn, nintendo 64, sega dreamcast, xbox, ps2 slim?, Nintendo gamecube, Ps1?

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1. alexkidman
  
  January 8, 2013 at 11:33 am
  
  You’re fairly close… but I’ve never owned a Neo Geo.
  
  Reply
2. negativezero
  
  January 8, 2013 at 11:39 am
  
  Pretty sure that’s a Sega Master System II, not a NeoGeo.
  
  Also I see a Wii sensor bar below the TV so I assume there’s a Wii or Wii U hidden in there somewhere too.
  
  Reply
  1. alexkidman
    
    January 8, 2013 at 11:57 am
    
    Good spotting there — the bonus points are yours. Don’t spend them all in one place!
    
    Reply
    1. dom
      
      January 8, 2013 at 12:07 pm
      
      top left – Gamecube, XBOX
      bottom left – Super Nintendo, Sega Megadrive / Sega CD attachment
      top right – Dreamcase, Nintendo 64, Sega Saturn
      bottom right – Atari 2600, Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega Master System 2
      under tv – PS ONE
      bonus – wii / wii u
      
      i store / display my games in bookshelves.
      
      Reply
lonewolf

January 8, 2013 at 11:33 am

I’ve got my old PC boxes stored under my bed, with a couple of collectors editions on display on my bookshelf, new pc game boxes sit on my computer desk, video games (PS2, gamecube) on the bookshelf, N64 and games and console in chest of drawers, 360 and other current console games near TV where the respective consoles are plugged in.
Can’t really help with organising, but by flat-packing most of the old PC boxes and stacking the CD cases and manuals I’ve managed to save a fair bit of space.

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imagremlin

January 8, 2013 at 11:34 am

Mine is quite similar, but not as chaotic. It includes a Saturn, N64, GC, PS2, PS3, XBOX, XBOX 360 & Wii. Cable hell all the same in the back though.

I heard of this idea of using one of those wooden pallets, (like the ones you see on warehouses with stuff piled on top of them) wrap it in carpet and use it to raise your entertainment centre. Which has the added bonus of providing a space to hide all the cables. Its a project I’ll tackle next time I re-do the house carpets.

Also, a recent TV upgrade made it difficult to keep things connected as newer TV models ditch older inputs (no S-VIDEO!). I ended up buying a s-video/composite to HDMI converter. Works pretty well, and I think I’m future proofed for a while

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beanseller

January 8, 2013 at 11:38 am

I went through that process each year for many years. I have 10+ consoles and around 100+ games.
Each few years I’d have a new breakthrough (RCA Switch! use VCR’s for the Antenna-connected consoles!, cable-tie everything! blah blah..) but those ideas were all dumb, and my current method is much smarter.

Each console sits nicely in the cabinet below my TV (much like yours). Only the one or two I play most are actually plugged in. Those consoles have a wallet of games which I have been playing lately, which stays near the console. The controllers live in a compartment near the lounge.

All other consoles have their power cable and data cable neatly cable-tied up (but not plugged into anything) behind the console itself. I never intend to unravel or uncable-tie these cables, and here’s why:
For the modern (wireless controller) consoles, I have a power lead, HDMI, and YPBR cable cable tied together as one, and run into the cabinet. When I want to play one of those consoles, I connect the lead to the individual power/data cable for that console.
For the older console who need a wired controller (and typically don’t support HDMI) I have a power lead / RCA cable running all the way to under the lounge. When I decide to crack out the SNES or something, I move it under the lounge and plug it in there.

My games are all in a cabinet next to the TV, and the bottom of the cabinet has small tubs labelled NES, SNES, etc. which hold any additional accessories and controllers.

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soulless-shadow

January 8, 2013 at 11:39 am

My consoles are just wherever I can make room for them around/near the tv (don’t have to worry about kids or pets damaging anything). I’m a lot more organized when it comes to my games though. Everything is organized into console groups, and then those groups are organized alphabetically. Every game is also stored in their original cases with instructions.

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batguy

January 8, 2013 at 11:40 am

The Wii U, 360, PS3, Wii and PS2 all sit in a perfectly sized Ikea cabinet under the main TV, with a switch box and Harmony remote to control it all. Games I’m playing or want to play soon sit on the shelf, in spare space in the cabinet, or in a nearby drawer. Works perfectly.

As for the retro stuff…

What I want: A dedicated room with all the old consoles ready to plug into a CRT or LCD TV, and all the games arranged on bookshelves.

What I actually have: Old consoles (XBOX, GCN, N64, PS, SNES, MD, Master system, Gameboy) in big plastic boxes in the cupboard with as many games alongside them as possible. Then the rest of the old games are crammed into a bookshelf alongside the new games that I’ve finished or haven’t got to yet. And CRT still sitting in a corner under a pile of books.

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distantdrop

January 8, 2013 at 11:41 am

After my consoles become to aged I normally buy some cable ties, a little bubble wrap and storage tubs and pack it up and store it.

Games are a little different, majority of mine are still on my bookshelf except cartridges which I store away.

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winrar

January 8, 2013 at 11:42 am

I Haven’t actually collected anything retro but I wanted to comment on how that cable organization looks like death.

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$fractripro Avatar$

fractripro

January 8, 2013 at 11:42 am

It has become a major problem for me. My collection has overtaken one spare room and is spreading into others. Unfortunately I have no garage. It is at the point were I have a pinball machine in my dining room. We are seriously looking at moving house – the major factor being storage for games (and books).

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1. $fractripro Avatar$
  
  fractripro
  
  January 8, 2013 at 12:22 pm
  
  My collection consists of multiple versions of – Atari 2600 – 800xl computer – apple IIGS – imac – commodore 16 -64 -a500 – tandy colour computer 3 – sega ms – md – gg – saturn – dc -nintendo nes – snes – n64 -gc – wii – wiiu – gb – gba – ds – microsoft – xbox – 360 – sony ps1- ps2 – ps3 -psp3000 – intellivision – arcadia 2000 – several pong variants – 1 game and watch – various lcd handhelds – 1 horizontal jamma cabinet (snow bros) – 1 vertical jamma cabinet (raiden). Dr who pinball Plus hundreds of boxed and unboxed games.
  
  Reply
  1. alexkidman
    
    January 8, 2013 at 12:41 pm
    
    This claim clearly needs “verification”. I’ll be round shortly. With a large games sack. And some kind of not-going-to-be-used-to-lift-a-pinball-table-forklift. Purely because that’s how I ride, and for no other reason, naturally.
    
    Now, if you could just turn around for, say, three or four hours. All set? Good.
    
    Reply
    1. $fractripro Avatar$
      
      fractripro
      
      January 8, 2013 at 12:53 pm
      
      I take no responsibility if a bookcase topples and you become pinned beneath a pile of games! It is seriously a shambles.
      
      Reply
      1. alexkidman
        
        January 8, 2013 at 1:33 pm
        
        And I was never seen again, although the legend says that “I died the way I would have wanted to”.
  2. $fractripro Avatar$
    
    fractripro
    
    January 8, 2013 at 12:44 pm
    
    Games and unboxed consoles on bookcase shelves Boxed consoles etc. Piled haphazardly on top of bookcases. I also have a set of drawers filled with controllers and cables. I have a cupboard full of loose cartridges and floppy discs. It is a mess really.
    
    Reply
  3. bazuden
    
    January 8, 2013 at 1:51 pm
    
    I’m so jealous of your Snow Bros.
    
    Reply
    1. $fractripro Avatar$
      
      fractripro
      
      January 8, 2013 at 2:16 pm
      
      Unfortunately the CRT is going. :-(. Need to get a RGB to vga converter card and replace the monitor. Lots of snow bros love out there apparently.
      
      Reply
ruen

January 8, 2013 at 11:43 am

Okay for the bonus points: I believe I see a PlayStation, GameCube, Xbox, Super Nintendo, Mega Drive with Sega CD add-on, Dreamcast, Nintendo 64, Sega Saturn, Atari 2600, Nintendo Famicon, and Sega Master System. There might be a slim PS2 in front of the GameCube but I’m not certain. . .

As for how I store consoles, I really only recently got into the console purchasing market back in the PS2/GC/Xbox generation, prior to that the only consoles we had were a PS1 (which broke down) and a Sega Mega Drive (which still works). The Mega Drive is hooked up to an old TV in the spare bedroom and all the current gen consoles are hooked up to the main gaming TV. Because I recently bought a Wii U, the Wii was moved to the secondary TV if anyone wanted to play it.

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negativezero

January 8, 2013 at 11:44 am

Unfortunately I got rid of most of my old consoles aside from my Dreamcast (which has subsequently died 🙁 ). I kept all my games though. I did have them all in nice shelves (IKEA used to make great shelves for storing game cases but recently ditched them from their range) but I’ve run out of space so most of them are in large plastic containers sorted by system, which should keep them a bit better protected than cardboard boxes or leaving them out to gather dust on a shelf somewhere.

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shane

January 8, 2013 at 11:49 am

~~I only have current gen + a PS2 (though I guess technically Wii is last-gen now …).~~ I have a 360, a PS3, a PS2 and a Wii, all in various states of repair.

They all fit in the slots in our entertainment centre, and the games have been shoved unceremoniously (in alphabetical order) into a cupboard at the side. Collector’s Edition stuff is behind them, and can barely be seen. Wake-up call for the wastage of money 😛

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germinalconsequence

January 8, 2013 at 11:53 am

A lot of my PC games are now digitally stored on the machine itself since I basically decided to stop buying physical media for it, with those that have physical CDs and DVDs (Mostly because of the keys or need to have the disc in the drive) being in a plastic crate under a table. On that table is my Mound Of Shame consisting of console/handheld games. Once they have been played though, I have a large storage Ottoman that I have all my played console games and peripherals in. I’ve 3/4 filled it with games, but I may have to start utilising a huge bookcase I recently purchased.

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stu

January 8, 2013 at 11:58 am

My set up is very limited at the moment, so I have my 360, PS3 and WiiU sitting on the side of my desk, with all the games in a DVD cabinet behind my desk chair.
My Master System, PS1, GC and PS2 and Wii are in their boxes in the wardrobe, with the games … somewhere. I just don’t have the space to have it all nicely arranged – and since they’d only get used once in a blue moon, it’s not worth the compromise at the moment.

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chomolonzo

January 8, 2013 at 12:01 pm

I have a set of shelves roughly head-high, almost filled with Nintendo games. The boxes for all my SNES games up the top, boxes for the N64 ones on the two levels below, Gameboy boxes below that, then Gameboy Advance, DS and 3DS, Gamecube, Wii, Wii U. On another shelf I have my PS2 and PS3 games, with controllers and accessories stored in the levels below them.

My LCD TV sits on a raised platform on my entertainment unit. Inside the raised platform is my AV receiver. On top of the entertainment unit I have, from left to right, my N64, Wii U, Wii, and the SNES and Gamecube on the other side. Inside the unit itself I have the PS3, PS2, and a NES that I actually have no games for. In the side drawer on the entertainment unit I have all my SNES, Gameboy, N64, and Gameboy Advance games stored in neat rows.

My PC games are in a smaller set of shelves right next to where I sit at my desk, and I have another set of shelves filled with collectors’ editions for various systems and so on in their fancy boxes.

Pretty much everything still has its original box and instruction manual, with console boxes being stored in my wardrobe. All the consoles are still hooked up and working, with the best possible cables I can get for them, since I just don’t have the space for an old CRT TV. Gamecube has the component cables, N64 has modified S-Video cables that allow for a sharper image with correct colours (since the PAL version doesn’t do S-Video natively), and the SNES has S-Video as well.

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bigguss

January 8, 2013 at 12:02 pm

Storage is a huge problem. ive basically thrown away all cases and kept PS2, gamecube and xbox games in CD sleeves. SNES and N64 cartridges are a pain in the arse. Way too much clutter – but i cant part with this stuff. Especially with wanting to bring my kids up on it.

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the-massacred-one

January 8, 2013 at 12:09 pm

We have the older consoles and games we aren’t using stored in 3 or 4 large plastic containers under the guest room bed. i personally have 97 ps2 and wii games stored in a box under my bed with only the games i still play left out, about 43 ds and 3ds games on the bookshelves above my desk, 40 or so pc games in my desk cupboard, and 49 Xbox 360 and Ps3 games (mostly ps3 games) in the bottom of the tv cabinet. Then in my bedside cabinet there is a Gameboy Pocket, a Ds, Dsi, and 3ds, 5 game and watch consoles and a tiger handheld and about 14 tamagotchis, and a psp somewhere on the coffee table.

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nebarik

January 8, 2013 at 12:43 pm

I sell my games when i’m done with them. So i’ve only got 3 Xbox games sitting next to my xbox currently. Because i get mine from ozgamshop, i typically end up selling them for a profit on eBay somehow.

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foxesforsale

January 8, 2013 at 12:47 pm

They’re packed together in storage boxes under a bed in a spare room. I’m worried for when the next generation of consoles hit, as the xbox is so bulky…

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Nexi

January 8, 2013 at 1:50 pm

PS ONE, Gamecube, PS2 Slim, XBOX, Dreamcast, N64, Saturn, SNES, Sega Genesis + Sega CD, Atari 2600, NES and Master System. There is also a Wii (more likely than the Wii U) off screen as there is a sensor bar on the TV stand.

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gus

January 8, 2013 at 2:05 pm

Alex, nice collection, but you really need a duster!

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1. alexkidman
  
  January 8, 2013 at 6:20 pm
  
  I’ve got one. But cats, kids, an old dusty house — these things are the enemy of the shiny console.
  
  I need a dust BFG.
  
  Reply
scree

January 8, 2013 at 5:57 pm

I have my consoles packed so they don’t get dusty. They can be puled out to play at any time with minimal effort, but I hate dust

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fireaza

January 8, 2013 at 6:56 pm

I have my retro consoles on some wire shelving I brought from Kmart, I’m able to fit about two per shelf, and the shelves are adjustable, so I can leave more room for the Mega Drive + Mega CD + Sonic & Knuckles + Sonic 3 combo. The current consoles are in my entertainment unit.

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hayden

January 9, 2013 at 10:07 am

I packed up my video game stuff over a year ago and haven’t unpacked it since.

Reply

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Off-Topic: How Do You Store Your Games?

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