Is this bad for a game collection?

[Retro_player]

I have my megadrive, PS2, gamecube and saturn collections on some shelfs in my room. When I have my courtains open during the day, these shelfs get a bit of sunlight. Mostly is not direct sunlight, but it illuminates the games...
My question is if this kind of sunlight can hurt my games, like yellow the box art and so on...
What do you think? Should I cover it up?

regards!

[nathanray]

it wouldnt hurt to take all precautions to protect your collection i would cover it up

[tholly]

if you are concerned about it, i would cover it up, or leave the blind closed........but, there is no way you will ever keep sunlight completely off everything and still have them out on display to enjoy them

[Retro_player]

But does it really hurt the games? Or is it just a myth?

regards!

[boatofcar]

I don't think indirect sunlight can hurt the games themselves, but over time it can cause the labels to fade.

[tholly]

probably the most damage from sunlight would come from leaving a loose disc based game in direct sunlight over a long period of time....that cant be good for a cd

[Jive3D]

The sunlight wont actually damage your games unless it gets really hot.

What you need to worry about is not leaving your SMB 3 game box on the TV, ready and available for your mother's cat to barf on, that happened to me (yeah it was over 10 years ago) But I have been scarred!!!

Darn cat!

[vincewy]

The sunlight won't damage the games at all, don't worry, but cosmeticly, especially among Neo-Geo gamers all of us dread and freak out when we hear the word SUNFADE , which the inserts of games really faded into nearly no color. From my past experience from game stores too, sundafe don't just come from sunlight, but also indoor light, I have seen some really badly sunfaded SNES sealed games at my buddy's shops, those are right below the neon lights. A Neo-Geo game in the 95-97 period has the most likelihood of been sunfaded, the same game without sunfaded will have value of more than double than those with sunfade.

So by all means protect your games by storing them in wood closet (best option), or cheap plastic drawer chests from local retail stores, they're not expensive at all, I've even gone a step further by covering the outside edges with paper so the sunlight can't get in, plus cover them in large garbage bags to minimize grease and dust, if you look at my Neo-Geo storage chests (http://www.neo-geo.com/gallery/collections/vincewy/Pic4.jpg), all 3 drawers are now covered with papers to prevent sunlight, plus large plastic bags to prevent grease/dust, minimize moisture.

Now, a more practical question for everyone, in fact my primary concern. DOES HIGH HUMIDITY AFFECT GAME CARTRIDGES?, I can't help but notice when I handle my games, everything feels more damp and moist during the summer, does everyone think it's a good idea to get dehumidifier?

[Ed Oscuro]

If you've got NES carts, a dehumidifier can't hurt. If you've got Michigan-style winters (any sort of snowy ones, really), you won't need it for that part of the year.

Personally, I've got a bunch of boxed games and system boxes on shelving, but my blinds are almost always closed and the game boxes aren't catching that much light as they're along a wall running perpendicular to the windows. I might put them away someday, though.

[LAGO]

I've seen the aforementioned sunfade. It completely destroys a game's box art as has already been stated. So if you are particular about the cosmetics of a game at all, then cover them up or move them or something.

[-hellvin-]

I have my shelf backed up right against a window and the other window to the left of it always shines in light and I've had no fading or any other problems yet.

[christianscott27]

i know of a couple gameshops that put some of their better boxed wares in the street window, theres no doubt those items are ruined. red goes to pink and blue fades away almost altogether. thats an extreme case though, theres nothing to make me think that the level of lumens in a typical househould could damage things like that. i have a ton of boxes of varying age and none of them show any fading. my gameroom gets a fair amount of indirect sunlight, two windows with half curtains but the shelving is key. all of my games are shelved so they are covered on all sides but the spine, just regular bookshelves, no trashbags here :P i also move my stuff around from time to time, most of the sunfaded stuff i've seen has sat in the same bright space for years. i dont know about fluoresent lights, they give me a headache and i cant imagine why anybody would want them in their home outside of the garage and basement.

[EnemyZero]

My game room is air conditioned and all my consoles are behind glass doors, and I put up sheets over my book shelf game cases to keep sun and whatnot out...better to be safe than sorry I guess - for the time it takes to make sure your collection is safe, its worth it

[Boboduo]

Now, a more practical question for everyone, in fact my primary concern. DOES HIGH HUMIDITY AFFECT GAME CARTRIDGES?, I can't help but notice when I handle my games, everything feels more damp and moist during the summer, does everyone think it's a good idea to get dehumidifier?

The bulk of my video game collection and all of my comic book collection is stored in the basement. I used to notice the same dampness on carts, so I went and bought a de-humidifier and it seemed to get rid of it for the most part. I hope it prevents any damage and "basement" smell for both collections.

[fergojisan]

I was wondering if anyone has tried that sticky UV protector stuff that you paste on windows. My bookshelves with the boxed games get some sunlight, and either some have started to fade, or they already had somewhere along the line. I don't have curtains yet (got 10 yards of Mario fabric though! :evil: ), and I'm wondering if this would be a good investment. Thanks!

[mr_jiggles_13]

hmmmm maybe this is why i live in a basement with no windows?

[rbudrick]

EVERYTHING fades eventually in direct sunlight, videogame stuff included. Why would you even bother taking the risk?

-Rob