What precautions do you take to preserve your games?
 

I was looking at some of the ebay oriented threads and others pertaining to game collecting.A few of them showcased some truly remarkable collections.Games that were both large in number and some which are also considered rare.It got me thinking what precautions you guys take to prevent them from dust,moisture and other enironmental hazards.

I have a rather humble collection compared to you guys,and no proper place to keep them in.Currently the boxes are housed in my wardrobe.Stacked one of top of each other.I have burnt CD-R copies of all my games as backup.And keep the manual and the boxes wrapped in cling film.The only casuality due to negligence on my part have been 1)Chipped Spycraft CD 2
and 2)Lost Rogue Spear CD(Gave it to a friend..haven't heard from him since)

Fortunately, I seem to have evaded the environmental hazards.However the jewel case/DVD packaged games are kept in my drawer which I use very often.As a result the jewel cases have developed scratches due to friction against other jewel cases and unfortunately I do not have a way to avoid this.The Grim Fandango jewel case is showing signs of wear.
So what steps do you take...and have there been any such incidents of the box/cd/manual being damaged ?

I honestly don't take care of my games at all. I usually just throw them in a drawer, sometimes with a case. I've only damaged one game, The Sims, which I accidently crushed with the wheel of my chair.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: If you smoke, please don't do it anywhere near your games. I now have a copy of Indy Last Crusade from Ebay that's in GORGEOUS physical condition but it smells like CRAP.

Most of my older boxes are really quite battered, but anything I've bought in the last few years (and all my new ebay additions) are better cared for. I keep them all in 2 big cardboard boxes. I should come up with a better system, but I have like 100 boxed games, and no space :P

Well, I treat my games like babies, so no harm in the world can come to them.

mycroft, sounds like you're doing everything right to keep the games in good condition. The ultimate would be to store all games in a temperature/humidity controlled storage vault surrounded by fireproof walls. :D Hey, now there's an idea!

I like to test how well I keep the durability of my games intact by throwing the box into a wall as hard as I can.

Wonder how much a few yards of bubblewrap will cost...

My tips to preserve games are:
-Don't be a 10 year old kid
-Don't borrow a game to a 10 year kid
-NEVER borrow to anyone at all!!

I was stupid enough to borrow a game to a kid once... :(
The CD had so many scratches it look like he used it as a cutting board. The manual was wrinkled and torn... :frusty:

I was stupid enough to borrow ANOTHER game, a Game Boy one... To ANOTHER KID, the kid told me he was having a hard time beating the game... A game not only he should be embarresed to admit he played, but the should die of shame becuase he couldn't beat (not Hamtaro, something worst).... He never returned it.... :frown:

Spoiler:

Sabrina The Animated Series: Zapped

The only games I have in bad shape were in bad shape to begin with, the only exception was "Monster Rancher" which claimed that every CD you popped in could unlock a monster.... All that CD swapping is bad for the CDs...

The boxes are in a good condition too...

I wonder what do kids do to CD to get them in that bad shape? Just try to get a used CD from a video rental store and you'll see what I mean....

90% of my diskette games work... And I can't tell if my 5.25" ones work, because I think my used floppy drive is half-broken....

I always have empty jewel cases to replace old broken ones....

Just give your games some TLC and they'll be fine.... :D

Suggestion for those packrats like me who hate to get rid of even the crappiest of games...get a CD binder! I got a 100+ CD binder last year, when I went to college, it has saved me so much trouble it's unbelievable. I can't imagine what a pain it would have been to move with a billion jewel cases. Not to mention how cool it is to hear "Damn you got a lot of games" :D (I go to a geek school) I just got a new one because I filled the last one up, and this one is a little bit smaller, but I like it more. So, if you do get one, I recommend no larger than 50, else once it's full it's gonna weigh 10 pounds, and it's a pain when you have to do CD-swapping.

My boxes are all sitting on a few rows of shelves. Once per month I dust them. Apart from that I'm not doing much to preserve them. The boxes I bought new in the store are still in excellent condition, so I guess that's enough. (I also have a few games bought via Ebay which aren't as good as they looked on the photo.)

--Erwin

Tanukitsune: Better yet, don't lend your stuff to anyone of ANY age. I lent my Citizen Kane Special Edition DVD set to a friend of mine (who is older than I am and has been in college for several years). I got it back months late and it was in terrible condition. The DVDs themselves were fine but the box was all crapped up and even torn in one part. I couldn't believe it. What on earth would he have been doing to it!? I of course didn't have the heart to ask him to buy me a new one, but still...

I can see that some of you are indifferent to the preservation of games.I was once like you.Aye.But then once I discovered my Grim Fandango CD covered with scratches and my Dark Eye box crumbling under the weight of the towering boxes of games,I decided to take better care of my games from then on.

The first thing I do after buying games is to make copies of the cd.Then after sniffing the manual for a while,I carefully place them on the stack.Only to be disturbed on dark,rainy nights when i feel the need to escape.That moisture and static free chamber is indeed a good idea lakerz ;) .But I'd rather just buy more games.

I have stopped loaning my games to other people.Hell I've stopped talking to other people.Bunch of leeches,always after my carefully preserved games.A similar thing happened a long time ago with my Pink Floyd -The Wall audio tape.

And making shelves like erwin describes or the ones I see in patvs' pics is one thing that I really should do.The boxes at the bottom of the stack are in miserable condition.One of them is the GK mysteries limited edition.I went through hell to obtain that one.The other is the Zork legacy collection.Makes my heart bleed to see bumps on its surface. ;(

Sometimes you shouldn't even borrow to your family... But you HAVE to if its CLOSE family... My sister trashed my copy of Diablo II, it had some sort of stain on it and the CD Rom drive couldn't read it anymore :frusty:

Ouch :(

Speaking of Diablo II... Patch 1.10 is out. That game has once again begun to consume my life (and the lives of my old slaying buddies). I fear for my soul. And my GPA.

98% of my games are in perfect condition....

How? Love and care :P

No love for that 2%, eh?

Ah, you're one of the "Diablo II is not an RPG" camp, are you? Fine with me! :D Quite frankly, I don't care what genre it belongs to. I certainly wouldn't call it an RPG myself. It's fun as hell, though, so I'll keep playing it.

I second that emotion notion with lotion potion!

(edit...) ooh! the server is extra fast today!