Buying Custom Cases for Your Retro Collection
By: Joe Lavoie
Tags: Gaming, Features, Retro, Nostalgia, Videogames

Buying Custom Cases for Your Retro Collection

Make your games look even more beautiful

Do me a favor and take a look at your retro games sitting on the shelf. Pretty cool looking right? They might have a layer of dust on them, but they’re still such unique items. What if you could give that collection a fresh look, and add some protection? Well, my friend, you’re going to want to strap in, and listen to a tale of how I bought custom cases for all my retro game cartridges, and how you should, too.

The Start

I started my retro collection years ago. I used to trade-in and sell all of my old gaming items (a few exceptions) when I was done playing with them. I was younger and much poorer, so it only made sense. I started buying up some old cartridges on Craigslist and putting them on my bookcase. I smiled, but it looked a little…weird. Some cartridges were bigger, had a sleeve, or had the original box/case they came in. I stared at them for a while before shrugging and walking away. One item did strike me: X-Men for the Sega Genesis.

I really love this game, and its case.

The Sega Genesis would package games (originally) in these plastic cases until they decided it was cheaper to use a box. These old cases were great and protected your game while providing a nice look on your shelf.

Inside the Genesis game case.

As time went on, I wondered if I could find some solution for my games somewhere online.

And, oh boy, did I.

You Can Find Anything on the Internet

A few searches brought me to some different pages on Etsy, a site that I actually love to buy from. I found a seller that had great selections for multiple different consoles, with deals if I bought so many. I bought a few and waited for their arrival.

When they came, I realized that I was holding something well made. The cases were strong (I ordered an assortment of NES, SNES, even some Super Famicom, and N64), and the printing was superb. I decided that this was something I would do to my entire collection (over time, as it was a little costly). As of today, none of my old cartridges sit on a shelf caseless. I even ordered some cases for PSP games I’ve picked up along the way, and they look fantastic!

Here are a couple of images of my Final Fantasy Mystic Quest Super Famicom case:

Not a super game, but still some great art!

Nice and secure!

Again, there are multiple sellers on Etsy that do this. I actually order from a few, as one does a whole host of custom art and such, which I find really cool! The choice is really yours.

In case you’re interested, here are a couple of Etsy stores that I order from:

The DIYer

Just like anyone else, I wondered “Could I make these?”, and yes, you can! I found a site that holds a pretty decent database of the inserts for these cases:

Here, you can find a series of really nice box art inserts that you can use for your own enjoyment.

However, I chose not to do this. I don’t have a great printer and I didn’t want the collection to look subpar. However, if you’re all about this, then, by all means, go for it!

When it comes to your game collection, half of the fun is knowing what you have, and being able to display it. I have some other display ideas that I’ll talk about another time, but get some custom cases and really make that collection shine!

Have you done something like this with your collection? Let me know!