Who kicks themselves for throwing away boxes as a kid?

[Cambot]

I know I do. Very few have survived, but I wish I hadn't just rippped them open and began playing, only for mom to come along afterwards to throw them away. I wasn't a sloppy kid, but I still wish I took better care of my stuff. Of course, what 10-year-old is a colmpletist? At least I had fun, and still do, playing those old games.

[incubus421]

Yep, I am kicking myself. I have almost no boxes OR manuals from my chilhood game collection. It's sad really. None of my NES and SNES games have original boxes and only half of them have Manuals, some of which are in beaten up shape. Kicking myself for sure. You are not alone my friend.

[suppafly]

me! I didnt throw them away...but just didnt care about them.....they got lost !

[christhegamer]

*raises hand in discrace*

...

okay, so I did'nt actually throw away a lot of boxes/manuals when I was young; they're just all a little damaged. I still even have a couple of them in my collection :)

[Jumpman Jr.]

Me too.
Ugh, I actually kept all of my N64 boxes until literally 2 weeks before I started collecting. When I threw them out, I was trying to clean my room, then I started collecting 2 weeks later... Still kicking myself to this day as I have yet to find all of the boxes that I once had. :angry:

[Xexyz]

Me too.
Ugh, I actually kept all of my N64 boxes until literally 2 weeks before I started collecting. When I threw them out, I was trying to clean my room, then I started collecting 2 weeks later... Still kicking myself to this day as I have yet to find all of the boxes that I once had. :angry:

I did the same thing too Jumpman Jr. About a month prior to getting into the whole collection thing, my room was crowded with N64 boxes, along with some GBC boxes and 20-25 GBA game boxes. My mom wanted me to concerve space, plus I was getting a new entertainment system that was much smaller than the old, crappy & falling apart one. Man, that was like 45 boxes all at once, folded up into the recycling bin :(

[Truffle]

I threw most of my boxes away after keeping them immaculate for years.
I had several complete GB, SNES,N64 games,but like Jumpman, I tossed them cleaning up my room a couple of months before I got into collecting.Its not like I had much, just games I really liked, I kept complete.

x_x

[mills]

THe only box I still have from my child hood is final fantasy 3 :)

[MichaeltheGreat]

I still throw away boxes. The only time I wish I had them is when I'm selling something... :)

[§ Gideon §]

:/ You should trade them if you don't want them, MtG.

I read the topic title and instantly felt a little shameful. For many years, boxes were like wrapping paper--torn up and thrown away. Likewise, manuals were mostly just documentation. Though I did appreciate occasional illustrations, I did not respect manuals as pieces of the artistic whole.

[alec006]

I kept all my N64 game boxes but not my system box,i tore that poor box to shreds. :(

[izret101]

I never threw stuff away.
I had things sold but never thrown away.

I have been a packrat since i was a young'in

[keiblerfan69]

Yeah I could kill myself for doing it. I bought so many N64 games new that if I had all the boxes right now 95% of my N64 games would be complete. Luckily my dad new I was gonna be come a collector(don't ask me how) so when ever I threw some away he would but them in a box in attic. I thank him so much for doing that. I now have a complete Gold edition of Ocarina of Time. 8-)

[Vectorman0]

I kept everything (boxes manuals ans all) for my Gameboy and Genesis games and accessories, which were my primary systems. However, I did throw out my original system boxes.

It's not all good though. Eight years ago or so my parents threw away everything, games alike. I still kick them for that...

[Ed Oscuro]

I've got a big box full of like-new N64 boxes, even those for peripherals...so no, I've never thrown away a game box, even the super-ratty Street Fighter II SNES box I got from somebody a while back.

[bazariah]

i kept all the boxes of my games from when i was a kid..

i personally used to take the nes games out of the boxes and dust covers and leave the box, dust cover and manual together in a big box under my old cabin bed, and just had the carts by my nes system

the only time i did throw away some boxes was by complete accident, i had some of my atari 2600 boxes in a bag and somebody threw the small bag into a refuse sack.. like an idiot i threw the refuse sack out, since then i've checked every rubbish bag we chuck out

[BydoEmpire]

I don't kick myself for getting rid of boxes, but for selling consoles. I've reacquired all the systems but a tg-16, but I don't have nearly the selection of games I used to. Particularly on the SMS.

I also kick myself for not keeping my Electronic Games, although I have 15 years of EGMs, lots of Mega Plays and other late-80s game magazines.

I also kick myself for not clearing out the Kay Bee when they were unloading 2600 & Inty games at $2-$5 each. ^^

[-hellvin-]

I defenitely do. I had tons of great games of nes & 64 that I threw away the boxes for. I never had a SNES back in the day, but I had a genesis, and had kept all the boxes for that system. It doesn't really matter now since I got rid of everything I had but the nintendo 64, but still...

I think it totally depends on the system. Genesis had very nice hard shell cases that weren't more of an annoyance than some other systems. Seriously, who would've put up with the shitty and OVERSIZED cardboard boxes for the turbografx and turbo cd systems? These things are just inconvenient, ugly, and I can see why nearly everyone who bought them back in the day threw them out and kept the jewel cases, if they came with one.

[Nez]

I kept all of my stuff from my childhood, boxes manuals cart there all here and in good condition.

[Hammy]

all of my boxes i kept in mint condition, but when i moved house a few years back a lot of the boxes were stuck in a damp lockup. the lockup leaked and soaked all the boxes to an unusable state :(

[CYRiX]

I threw away all of my boxes but for some reason kept the manuals? Never read them either.

[snes_collector]

I've always been a packrat, of my stuff. I've never through away a video game box or manual in my life, and I plan to keep it that way.

[Nesmaster]

None from my original NES games remain, although I kept a few SNES ones and all of my N64 ones. Only a few of the N64 boxes got really beat up, but the other 95% of them are still in great shape :)

[InsaneDavid]

You know, I don't know what happened to all the manuals. I used to have a drawer of all my 2600 and NES booklets and the catalogs and posters and all that, and then I just draw a blank. I'm guessing they were thrown out when my family moved just before the 16 bit generation. As for boxes, they were usually tossed out. :/ I always took excellent care of my stuff but those were "trash" to most.

Now after moving I began just the same with my Super Nintendo games, keeping all the documentation together but the boxes went into the trash. As for Gameboy stuff it slowly would dissapear since having a portable system and games makes sense, but keeping everything together didn't. For awhile there I would empty the boxes and shove a thumbtack through the back of them (I know, I know) and tack them to the wall. LOL Most of those went to the trash eventually too, the only one that survived was Star Tropics II for the NES since the original was my favorite NES game.

Since then (and since I have about 2x the space and can do things I couldn't when I was 10, like build large shelves) I keep everything together. When I find boxed NES games I remove the cartridge and put it in bookcase in alphabetical order (all my games are like that) with the other loose cartridges. I like loose NES carts. Then the documentation is put away in plastic boxes with the other docs, again, filed in order. And the boxes are placed together on another shelf. All the play, all the preservation, none of the damage.

For awhile there I was folding the boxes flat but quickly came out of the phase. :roll:

[BIGBADBOO]

I sure as heck wish I had been more responsible with my boxes. The only remaining N64 box is Majora's Mask, but I do have all of my GBC/GBA boxes. Don't know why I kept those and not the others...

[Slate]

I never threw the boxes or manuals away, even before i started collecting. I think the reason for this was because i got into the habit of keeping the box and manual to my lego sets way back when, since the manual was required to construct the sets, and i didn't want the boxes thrown away.

I'm glad i kept all the boxes to my games. :D

[Blitzwing256]

I tried to save everything as a kid, a good amount of my atari 2600 game boxes were lost/destroyed due to my own neglegence...however pacman and laserblast my first two games ever I managed to save the boxes to them over the years.

over the years I got better and better at keeping the boxes and stuff in good shape, heres a little evolution to show how my obessive nature grew from nes to snes

most of my nes games post-black box have the shrink wrap and original price tags still on them a few early snes games don't for some reason (ff2 and actraiser are the only ones)

http://www.green-ranger.com/nes/finds/evolution.jpg

[o2william]

Yep. In the NES days, I used to cut my boxes apart and keep only the front covers. I had a glass-topped desk back then and stuck the covers under the glass. It was actually kinda neat, but of course now I wish I'd kept them whole. I finally stopped cutting my boxes about the time that Castlevania 3 came out (just couldn't bring myself to cut that one).

Luckily I didn't have anything too rare, so no particulary valuable boxes were destroyed at my hand.

[Xizer]

Sigh...I used to have a shitload of N64 boxes...they were all in a stack against the wall in my room. Then my cat urinated on them. :(

That cat got ran over approximately one year later.

Fortunately, I had all my manuals in a drawer.

[InsaneDavid]

And here come the uncropped images. *thread dies*

[zektor]

I of course kept the SMS and Genesis (plastic) boxes as a kid, but for the Atari, CV, NES...etc cardboard boxes....well they just went in the trash. Nobody I knew ever thought the boxes were anything more than "packaging". We kept the manuals and the carts/sleeves. I am not all into boxes nowadays either. Just some cardboard that corrodes over time, and will make me feel upset that it IS corroding.

[jcalder8]

I have never thrown out a box or a manual. In fact I have a couple boxes where I actually have lost the games of but I still have the box.

[SEGA-SAMMY]

I threw away all my SNES game boxes and instructions until 1995. I eventually sold all of my childhood games anyway so it didn't matter I guess. All my other systems that are not made of cardboard are still alive though. :D :D

[rolenta]

I threw away ALL of my 2600 boxes around 1982 when the collection just became too big since I lived in an apartment with my parents. Fortunately I kept all of the instruction manuals.

[FullCircle]

I'd like to kick my brother for destroying my boxes. I tried to keep my boxes, but my brother always found a way to destroy them (putting wet cereal in them, getting mad at the video game and kicking his feet into them, sitting on them...). I sold quite a few Atari 2600 games eventually because I did not have the boxes and manuals for them.

[fishsandwich]

Me. Over 40 Atari 5200 boxes. Straight into the trash can.

IDIOT! ME!

[fergojisan]

I threw out all the 2600 boxes that we had as we got them. It took me 10 years to get all 17 back in the boxes. I also threw out all the NES boxes and some of the SNES boxes. I'm most sad about the Zelda boxes that I threw away. :(

I don't throw anything away anymore. :D

I don't keep any sealed games I buy sealed either. Please don't kill me.

[Red Hedgehog]

Every so often, I silently thank my mom for not throwing away my NES boxes. I think because my dad always kept the boxes for electronics he bought (computer, VCR, etc.) in case he needed to transport them or anything, she thought I should keep my boxes as well. For awhile, they were on a shelf in my room, but later got moved to the attic. Also, she had me put all my instruction manuals and Nintendo Powers in a plastic bin (although I wouldn't have thrown those away - though I might have misplaced them if she hadn't given me a dedicated place to put them). I'm sure some boxes may not have made it as I haven't had time to do an inventory at my parents' house, but I am very happy knowing I have the boxes to most of my original NES and Gameboy games.

[Rogmeister]

Hah, I laugh at the thread title...because there wasn't any such thing as video games when I was a kid. By the time home games came out, I was already an adult. Some systems I kept the boxes but others (like SNES) I threw out. I did it just to save room. Am I sorry? Not really. I buy games to play, not to see how neat they look on a shelf.

[Cryomancer]

I never liked cardboard, most of my genesis stuff is intact though since it came in plastic.

WHY DOES CHAOTIX COME IN CARDBOARD AND WRESTLING IN PLASTIC!?!?11 arg sega you'd think sonic 3 sold enough copies to warrant a color manual too...

[Mr. Wardner]

I'm happy to report that I did keep every one of my SNES boxes and manuals...and I'm particularly proud of my factory sealed Castlevania IV that I originally bought from Toys R Us during their final game clearance for $10!

[cbroddy]

I regret throwing away my Atari 2600, Super Nintendo boxes when I was younger. Now whenever I see a boxed game I put it into one of my bins.

[diskoboy]

*right here*

I regret throwing away my Odyssey 2 master strategy series boxes and parts out. All 3 of them.

I was 6 years old.

[MegaDrive20XX]

Oh yeah, GameBoy (B&W) boxes back in 1990-1993....god I kick myself daily...

I had CastleVania Adventure..Bugs Bunny's Crazy Castle...Nemesis...Solar Striker...Gargoyle's Quest...Yoshi...Double Dragon...Battletoads in Ragnarok's World...TMMT Fall of the Foot Clan....Super Mario Land...Metroid 2 Return of Samus...and so many more

I had all the boxes..and the one I kick myself for the most....a complete Mega Man 5 GBY.

I had to throw them out because I was running out of room and couldnt find no place else to keep them

[briskbc]

I never really bouht new games as a kid (still don't) and there weren't any used game stores around back then so I pretty much just rented. I did throw out a Metroid box but that's not a big deal

[smokehouse]

As a kid I was insistent on keeping my boxes intact. There are only two problems though:

-I was rather poor and had few games, a boxed NES, boxed SNES, Super Mario 2 and Final Fantasy II. Everything else was either rental or borrowed.

-What boxes I did have went in the trash when I went into the ARMY. My parents chucked them out! Needless to say I was rather pissed.

[fishsandwich]

*right here*

I regret throwing away my Odyssey 2 master strategy series boxes and parts out. All 3 of them.

I was 6 years old.

Ouch!

[Pantechnicon]

I never kept any 2600 boxes circa 1981-1984, the peak of my new 2600 game buying days. Unless, like o2william, I was doing something creative with the boxes, such as cutting out the fronts and making placards on my walls.

Rogmeister's comments pretty much match my own. To add to that, I just want to remind you young'uns that back in the late 70's/early 80's we didn't have a culture, reinforced by international Internet communication, that stressed this notion of immaculately preserving everything you buy on the basis of potential future value as a collectible. Games were commodities, and the packaging was incidental. Likewise, if you look at the accessories Atari and others offered at the time for cartridge storage, they were designed to hold carts, sometimes manuals, but never the boxes.

I keep boxes now if I get them, but I still store the boxes and display the carts loose. But in the context of the period in which I was first exposed to gaming, I don't regret throwing out anything.

[diskoboy]

*right here*

I regret throwing away my Odyssey 2 master strategy series boxes and parts out. All 3 of them.

I was 6 years old.

Ouch!

Tell me about it... :embarrassed: :(

[jajaja]

About the really old boxes i dont think it matters THAT much, but it sux of course. I remember having Bart VS The World box in pretty good condition. It was laying in a drawer for many many years after the NES was dead. When i started collecting i think my mom had threw it away or its stored somewhere hidden :(