Do any of your games smell?

[RASK1904]

I've just been wondering about this. On ebay people say "comes from a smoke free home". OK. I have over 800 videogames and I dont think any smell. Some are over 20 years old. They've had to have been in a house with someone smoking. Especialy back then. What do you think? I haven't tried smelling each one........yet!ROFL

Thanx RASK1904:rockets:
Merry X-mas

[neist]

Some of my games definitely has a smokey, musky smell to them.

I wouldn't say sitting in a house with someone who smoked did it, but certainly someone who smoked 2 packs a day for 20 years, probably. :P It reeks pretty bad for being a piece of plastic.

But then again, it's 20 years old, should I really complain if it smells a bit musky?

[darkslime]

I've had a ton of games smell like ciggarettes.

It seems like all of the games I buy off Cl the person is smoking while they're handing me the games.

If anyone is having trouble getting rid of the smell, put some dryer sheets in the box for a few weeks.

[jcalder8]

Yeah some of my games smell a bit musty, but not enough to really notice.

[ooXxXoo]

Every time that I buy a game, there is this personal quality control to meet/pass before it goes into any of my shelves.....Desinfecting cleaners do the job for me (kill 99.9% of germs)... :D , I'm not kidding...
...
...

[theChad]

I've got a boxed Zelda II for NES that smells like cat piss - box, manual, cartridge - the whole thing. I've cleaned it all inside and out, left baking soda in the box, everything I could think of and it still reeks. There aren't any stains or anything, however. I've also got a boxed SNES that smells pretty similar, again with no stains or marks. With that one, I'm thinking it's the styrofoam that's the source of the odor.

[Orion Pimpdaddy]

Sometimes I get games and systems off E-bay and the whole package smells like smoke. I don't clean any of them unless there is visible dirt or if the contacts look dirty. After they sit around in the game room the smell eventually wears off, I think.

[TheRealist50]

I bought a game and it smelt like vinegar...Kinda curious as to how it ended up smelling like vinegar. Happened not too long ago actually, few months.

[Bojay1997]

I've just been wondering about this. On ebay people say "comes from a smoke free home". OK. I have over 800 videogames and I dont think any smell. Some are over 20 years old. They've had to have been in a house with someone smoking. Especialy back then. What do you think? I haven't tried smelling each one........yet!ROFL

Thanx RASK1904:rockets:
Merry X-mas


Not everyone smokes and not everyone smokes in every room of their home. In fact, the few people I know who still smoke typically go outside of their own home to do so just so their home doesn't smell.

[MachineGex]

I've got a boxed Zelda II for NES that smells like cat piss - box, manual, cartridge - the whole thing. I've cleaned it all inside and out, left baking soda in the box, everything I could think of and it still reeks.

Go to the pet store and buy a product called "urine-be-gone". It's made to get rid of cat piss. It is amazing. My neighbor bought a used freezer that smelled like it use to house a dead body. He was gonna toss the freezer. He had bleached it, scrubbed it, cleaned it every way possible and it still reak'd. I told him about this product and he called a few days later to thank me. He spayed the "urine-be-gone" on it and it was all better.
Apparently the spray has an enzyme that kills bad smells. Give it a try.

[Poofta!]

Go to the pet store and buy a product called "urine-be-gone". It's made to get rid of cat piss. It is amazing. My neighbor bought a used freezer that smelled like it use to house a dead body. He was gonna toss the freezer. He had bleached it, scrubbed it, cleaned it every way possible and it still reak'd. I told him about this product and he called a few days later to thank me. He spayed the "urine-be-gone" on it and it was all better.
Apparently the spray has an enzyme that kills bad smells. Give it a try.

awesome tip, ill keep it in mind if i need to de-odorfy something. thanks

[Ze_ro]

I recently got some PC Engine games off eBay, and they smell funny. It's not a cigarette smell, and there's no discolouration. I have no idea what they went through, but I notice it every time I open the case.

A lot of the stuff I buy from thrift stores is dirty, but has long since lost it's smell. A week ago, I bought a Genesis with SegaCD attached at a thrift store. I mostly bought it because it was a SegaCD2 with the Genesis 1 extension piece on the end (I don't see that piece very often)... the thing was absolutely filthy... all kinds of dust and grime and cat hair on it. It took me ages to get the Genesis detached from the SegaCD because some dickhead spilled Coke on it and it was cemented in place... I had to resort to prying it apart with a screwdriver. However, I never noticed any smell from it.

--Zero

[aclbandit]

He SPAYED the "urine-be-gone" on it and it was all better. Apparently the spray has an enzyme that kills bad smells.

Just got the biggest lawl out of this for no reason. I know it's a typo, but imagining someone trying to get their fridge "fixed" at the local appliance-veterinarian just gave me the giggles.

[emceelokey]

I remember I bought a used Xbox game from Gamestop a few years back that completely smelled like cigarette smoke. I forgot which game it was so I can't check to see if it still smells like smoke or not but I changed out the case and I even took the instructions out for a few days and shook it for a few minutes at a time during those days and i still had the smell of smoke. Later on someone said to get a sheet of fabric softener and just put it in the booklet. I haven't tried that yet but it seemed plausable.

[skaar]

I have yet to notice a single olfactory receptor on any of my games.

No noses either.

Even the Dreamcast. It may be thinking, but it ain't stinking.

[vypher]

Never had a game that smelled yet but I've played some that stinks.

[Videogamerdaryll]

My Neo Geo AES games have a weird plastic oder to them.,..crazily it's quiet pleasant smelling...When you open the cases up you can clearly smell something plastic or rubber like.

For as many games I brought home from flea markets I've never had any that smelt like smoke..And since I don't smoke I can really smell it on something or a person when they smoke,Whew!!:shameful:

With odors..When it's damn out anything that I have made of wood,pinball machine,arcade machines smells like wood..

[savageone]

My Neo Geo AES games have a weird plastic oder to them.,..crazily it's quiet pleasant smelling...When you open the cases up you can clearly smell something plastic or rubber like.

This is SNK's patented "Neo Geo AES premium smell". It's the video game equivalent of the smell of leather! Aaahh.. Refreshing. The stronger the smell the more the game is worth. Even a clogged nose can smell Kizuna Encounter up to 300 yards away!

In others news:
Up until a few years ago I've never had anything that smelled too bad (I mean all games, especially new ones, give off some odor good or bad), but then I came across a box of goodies that had an indescribable odor. My guess is said box had been sitting in a barn for a few years. The smell wasn't disgusting by any means but certainly not a smell you'd want inside your home. There were PSX games, various manuals, N64 games, a N64 system, various wiring, etc etc. I swapped out the cardboard box first thing and let the stuff sit out in storage for a month or so (no special tricks), the smell was practically gone. _Except for the N64 system and controllers_. I wish I could say I opened it up and there was a dead rat in there or something but no such luck. :( Some day... !! I ended up taking the casing off the system and soaking/scrubbing it in the sink with soap. ..And thats the story of how I defeated the funk.

[Smashed Brother]

I was checking out a reasonably priced Sonic Jam (SS) a few months ago at this little store and was contemplating whether or not to pick it up, until I opened the case to inspect the instructions..... and found my nostrils assaulted with a stench very much like some leathery woman breathing all up in my hostile little face at some random biker dive. Infact, so brutal was the stench, that I decided that this unholy apparition simply could not exist in my collection :snipersmile:

[DigitalSpace]

I have a few games in the "carts to be cleaned" drawer that smell of cigarette smoke, but that's about it.

[kupomogli]

Most of my games don't, but I do have some games that do, so let me explain.

Everyone knows what the new game smell is. It honestly smells awesome, like a thick plastic aftertaste, etc. Anyways. I pulled out Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne the other day which I've had for a few years and was at a friends house. Some reason I ended up showing him it was still in mint condition and still even had the new game smell, slightly.

Yeah. I really take care of my games.

[cyberfluxor]

If you think games can smell bad try digging through a stack of records at most thrift stores.
Aside from that, the smelly issue with games has been discussed before on methods of removing the stench.

[Ro-J]

I bought a game and it smelt like vinegar...Kinda curious as to how it ended up smelling like vinegar. Happened not too long ago actually, few months.

I've used vinegar effectively for cleaning the cigarette smell off of cartridges and plastic cases, however I wipe the vinegar immediately off with a damp cloth when finished.

[Nebagram]

I had an old 3DO that reeked of cigarette smoke, fortunately it has been replaced in my collection by a different model, but it was pretty damned foul.

The worst one though has to be Sf anniversary collection for the Xbox. Stank of cigarettes, and the instruction manual was so abused all the pages had literally become one large clump and had to be binned. Fortunately, a few months on the shelf has 'cleansed' it. :)

[p_b]

Everyone knows what the new game smell is. It honestly smells awesome, like a thick plastic aftertaste, etc.

The only thing smelling better than a new game is a new console... (and I'm being nearly 100% seriously here...)

[Aussie2B]

Yeah, I've ended up with lots of stinky games. If you do a lot of shopping at thrift stores and on eBay without being anal about getting everything mint, you'd bound to get something that smells a little. Never bothers me too much since I clean up everything I get, and if there's still a smell after that, it'll usually fade away in time. I do have a couple longbox PlayStation games that smelled particularly funky and strong, and last time I opened them up, there was still some stink lingering. Oh well, as long as smells are confined to the insides of cases and not stinking up my shelves or room, I don't care.

[Xian042]

If you've ever worked in a game store that takes used games in trade, you know how bad games can smell. I was shocked that people would have no shame in trading stuff in the condition it was in. CAKED in dust and grime, broken, stained....

This one lady came in and said her sons PS2 isnt working. I told her we take broken systems in trade towards working ones. She jumped on the deal and went home to get the system.
What she brought back was an ABOMINATION. The entire thing was corroded with dust, hair, grease, cat piss, and god knows what else. The STENCH on this thing was gut wrenching. Imagine body odor, rotten food, cat box, smoke, and dirt. It took everything I had to keep from gagging at the sight and smell of it. The vent on the front was completely obscured by filth, it was actually MOIST with grease and mold and grime. It smelled so bad I used to dare other employees to go back there and sniff it. After one whiff noboby would go back near it.
In conversation she mentioned her son doesnt go out of the basement often. This lady was obese as it was with greasy black hair, a smokers cough, and wore a nasty stained frock. I could picture her unwashed super morbidly obese mutant white trash son sitting there in a pile of pizza boxes and cat shit with his stubby greasey fingers clutching a slippery shiny dual shock with a cigarette smoldering between two fingers and and pizza crust balanced on his gut;
"MAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!! MAAA!!!! MY PLAYSTASHIN'S BROKE!!!" IT SAYS " DISK RED ERRORS" *belch*

[Haoie]

CDs don't absorb odours, right?

Hmm, paper manuals, on the other hand.

[The 1 2 P]

The only thing my games smell like is money, cha-ching!!!

[Tupin]

Oddly enough, no. Some are discolored, though.

[TheRealist50]

Oddly enough, no. Some are discolored, though.

this reminds me of the time I saw a copy of 1080 snowboarding at my pawn shop and the cart was pure brown. I mean there is NO gray showing at all.

[bangtango]

PROTIP:

If Shaquille O'Neal ever asks you to tell him how your copy of Shaq Fu tastes, you probably shouldn't smell it.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBh5dvSbgLM

[Tupin]

this reminds me of the time I saw a copy of 1080 snowboarding at my pawn shop and the cart was pure brown. I mean there is NO gray showing at all.
Nintendo plastic and paper is really prone to sunfade/smoke damage, from what I've seen.

Good thing Nintendo decided to make their systems a different color besides gray. Unfortunately, the games were still affected.

[The 1 2 P]

this reminds me of the time I saw a copy of 1080 snowboarding at my pawn shop and the cart was pure brown. I mean there is NO gray showing at all.

I think you passed up a super rare variant in the wild. For shame:shameful:

[jupitersj]

I had a complete copy of Heimdall w/ strategy guide for Sega CD I bought on Ebay years back and both reeked of cigarette smoke.

It took a month in a baking soda filled plastic bag with the case open, manual and guide pinned open before the smell went away.

[NytroSkull7]

All of my Atari 2600 manuals reak of ciggs as well as all my boxes for my Odessey2.

[otoko]

I'm not exactly picky about my games all being mint.. I don't recall picking up any games that had any stink... Then again it could just be my lack of smell.. My fiance might be able to find some smells though.

[Steve W]

I have a spare boxed copy of Aliens vs. Predator for the Jaguar that reeks of cheap perfume. Apparently, somewhere along it's path to the thrift store where I bought it at, it got doused in some kind of budget perfume. Years later, it still reeks.

I saw a Dreamcast in a thrift a few weeks ago that was yellow. I've never seen a single DC console that has become discolored, so this was a first. I can't imagine how heavy a smoker the previous owner had to be to make the plastic yellow like that.

[Iron Draggon]

for collecting purposes, I don't think the smell of cigarettes is as much of a concern for some people as the residue of nicotine is... it can turn white things brown, so imagine what it could do to a videogame cartridge... YUK!

[bangtango]

I have a spare boxed copy of Aliens vs. Predator for the Jaguar that reeks of cheap perfume. Apparently, somewhere along it's path to the thrift store where I bought it at, it got doused in some kind of budget perfume. Years later, it still reeks.

I'm going to fess up. I occasionally run across used games in thrift stores that smell like cat piss. So they usually get a good smattering of my cheap dollar store cologne.

The worst problem I have, though, isn't the smell. Usually it is stains. I've had so many games & manuals from thrift stores pass through my collection which contained coffee stains that my friends probably assume I was the one spilling coffee on them.

[Zap!]

I've just been wondering about this. On ebay people say "comes from a smoke free home". OK. I have over 800 videogames and I dont think any smell. Some are over 20 years old. They've had to have been in a house with someone smoking. Especialy back then. What do you think? I haven't tried smelling each one........yet!ROFL

Thanx RASK1904:rockets:
Merry X-mas

That "smoke-free home" line is the biggest bullshit ever. Why would anyone care? As long as it's from a clean home is all I care about.

[tom]

I got 'leather goddesses of phobos', comes with a scratch 'n' sniff card, with several different smells to scratch off, some smell really bad.

[NayusDante]

I got 'leather goddesses of phobos', comes with a scratch 'n' sniff card, with several different smells to scratch off, some smell really bad.

Earthbound's strategy guide (included with the US release) had a set of those cards. I believe there was a contest to identify all the odors.

None of my carts smell odd, even if they're moderately discolored. I have a Castlevania III manual that has some brown gunk (chocolate...?) on the last few pages. That's as bad as I'll usually go in terms of damage when considering a used game. Audio CDs and the like, I'm not quite as picky with, just as long as they're complete. The lyrics booklet for my copy of Midnight Oil - Diesel and Dust is SOLID, and reeks of cheap cologne. Ripped fine, so I'm not as concerned about that.

[jdc]

Yep, I've dragged more than a few PS2 and Xbox games home that contain the limited edition cig-scented instruction manuals. Funny thing is......I'm a cyclist. I spend my days wrenching in a bike shop and am surrounded by non-smokers.....but I've always considered the videogame cig smell to be an acceptable part of the hobby. I also play bass and just added another used one to my collection. The softbag case that it came in will take years to de-cig. LOL

[darkslime]

I found a few pico games at the swap meet that look like they were set on fire or something, there were ashes and black smoke residue all over them. It seriously took me 45 minutes to clean one of them and I don't think it's worth cleaning the others.

[2Dskillz]

Now when I get home I am going to have to smell all my games out of curiosity. I hope no one is looking.

One time my cat did pee in an NES that I had open for repairs. The next day the cat was taken to the vet and fixed.

[Gunface]

I've got a few Intellivision and 2600 games that smell like mildew or a basement. No smoky ones though.

[Daria]

If you've ever worked in a game store that takes used games in trade, you know how bad games can smell. I was shocked that people would have no shame in trading stuff in the condition it was in. CAKED in dust and grime, broken, stained....

This one lady came in and said her sons PS2 isnt working. I told her we take broken systems in trade towards working ones. She jumped on the deal and went home to get the system.
What she brought back was an ABOMINATION. The entire thing was corroded with dust, hair, grease, cat piss, and god knows what else. The STENCH on this thing was gut wrenching. Imagine body odor, rotten food, cat box, smoke, and dirt. It took everything I had to keep from gagging at the sight and smell of it. The vent on the front was completely obscured by filth, it was actually MOIST with grease and mold and grime. It smelled so bad I used to dare other employees to go back there and sniff it. After one whiff noboby would go back near it.
In conversation she mentioned her son doesnt go out of the basement often. This lady was obese as it was with greasy black hair, a smokers cough, and wore a nasty stained frock. I could picture her unwashed super morbidly obese mutant white trash son sitting there in a pile of pizza boxes and cat shit with his stubby greasey fingers clutching a slippery shiny dual shock with a cigarette smoldering between two fingers and and pizza crust balanced on his gut;
"MAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!! MAAA!!!! MY PLAYSTASHIN'S BROKE!!!" IT SAYS " DISK RED ERRORS" *belch*

Once while I was working at Gamestop I came in to discover that someone had traded in a grocery store bag full of NES carts smeared with cat piss. What baffles me is not only did someone attempt to trade them in that condition, but some asshole I worked with accepted them as trade.

The whole bag reeked and the cat piss was obviously old because it had gelatinized onto the plastic. I picked the whole bundle up by two fingers and dumped it into a bathroom sink full of soapy water to soak.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

I picked up a used copy of Mega Man Anniversary Collection for PS2 in mint condition at Gamestop last month for like $10 ... and it absolutely reeks of cigarettes.

I could probably swap out the plastic case, but I assume the paper and manual have probably absorbed the majority of the "stink".

Still, for that price, totally worth it.