Would you rather have the boxes for your incomplete games, or the manuals?

[Emperor Megas]

I was rearranging some media in my game room and I starting wondering what other collectors valued more for incomplete games: the cases/boxes, or the manuals?

NES and SNES are really the only systems I collect for that I don't care about having the boxes. It's cool if I come across boxed games in my searches, but honestly, it's not a big deal. I DO like to have the manuals, however. I usually find my NES and SNES carts lose, and later, if I come across them, I'll acquire manuals for them separately. I'd never do this for boxes though (unless they were virtually free).

I put my NES games into those black sleeves, and I put the manuals in with them. SNES manuals I keep together in a stack on a shelf under them.

With other incomplete games, however, I care more about the boxes/cases than the manuals. It's a no brainer for disc based media (who wants loose discs laying around), but pretty much every type of cartridge or card (post Atari generation) looks like crap on a shelf loose. It has a lot to do with the way they don't put the titles on the tops of the carts. Genesis carts are the exception, but Genesis cases are so abundant I wouldn't even consider collecting/displaying them loose. Nintendo definitely got cartridge and label design right for their first two consoles, I'll give 'em that.

There's also the issue of uniformity. All loose carts look the same displayed, whether they all have a manual or not. Having some games boxed and others not though means having mixed media on the shelf.

[jcalder8]

If they are disc based I must have the case but if it's cartridge only I'd rather have the manual.

[Edmond Dantes]

Honestly, I find the manuals are a bigger deal than boxes. The boxes are nice for nostalgia purposes, the feeling of "oh yeah I remember when games came packaged like this," but oftentimes the manual is almost necessary if you don't want to figure out a game just by mucking around. Especially with like strategy games and the like, where not everything is self-explanatory.

So I'd rather have manuals.

For CDs and DVDs I absolutely will NOT buy non-CIB copies, unless they come really cheap. I only have two games that are missing manuals (Strider 2 and Xenogears) and both of those were basically given to me. Incidentally, if someone has some loose manuals...

[Snapple]

It depends on the system, I think.

Back in the "golden age of manuals" around the SNES/Genesis days, absolutely the manuals.

Disc based games, I want the case.

[Koa Zo]

Tough decision.
My first choice would be complete games.
Barring that and having to pick one or the other, I'd probably go with the manual.

Boxes are certainly nice for storage, but there is something painfully missing when I have a box and no manual.
Paging through a manual and reading whatever information and examining any images or artwork is a big appeal to collecting physical media. Of course box art and back of the box descriptions are nice to look at and read too. Flipping pages just has a certain charm.

[RP2A03]

That would depend on whether or not the manual has lots of pretty pictures for me to look at. If so, then I would definitely prefer the manual; if not then give me the box.

[Ludwig]

Back in the "golden age of manuals" around the SNES/Genesis days, absolutely the manuals.
Disc based games, I want the case.

I wouldn't even buy a disk without the case, those are essential. Buying one without the case would feel a bit like buying only the board thing of a cartridge. But when it comes to box vs manual i rather have the manual, and actually i thought about collecting those too, since they only cost roughly 2eur per piece. I know those games from yesteryear are often much simpler, but sometimes if i play something i didn't even had as a child, a manual would come in very handy, since they are also much more abstract. But of just a view i would actually like the box, because of the big cover-art, like for super mario land for the gameboy, those artworks been awesome, and often aren't on the manual. :<

I meant to ask for a while, but didn't got to do it: Does anyone know if there is a thing like a database with scans of manuals?

[Casati]

I'd rather have the manual unless it's two pages. I used to search Ebay for boxed NES/SNES games a couple years ago, but cart and manual is sufficient for me because I no longer store the games in their boxes. Also, the prices for CIB games are getting crazy. Most of the NES commons are going for over $10 CIB now. I buy games for playing, not investments, so there's no reason for me to spend money on boxes. The cardboard ones usually have a lot of wear that doesn't show in online photos so it's not worth the bother. Most of my Genesis games are boxed though, and I keep them stored in the boxes.

[dao2]

Boxes for me.

[AceAerosmith]

Boxes.

[Necrosaro]

If it's a disc-based game, absolutely must be complete. Yes, even rare ones like PC Engine/Turbo Duo. Very few disc-based games in my collection are game and case only (in fact, I can recall only one).

Cartridges, it really depends on the console. Commodore 64, back when I owned it, always CIB. Atari 2600/Intellivision games I don't need boxed; NES/SNES it really depends on how rare the game is, and Genesis carts I generally want them boxed. N64 I prefer boxed, but I'm willed to take them loose if it's a rare/high-demand title. Sega Master System, if I ever get one in the future, I'd want boxed. NEC AES I can't speculate since I've never been able to afford one of those.

[NBaco]

Why can't I have both?

Anyway I'd say boxes simply for the fact I can slip the manual into the boxes. Without the boxes, I find the manuals to be one more hassle I don't need. I used to store all my manuals in a shoe box just to keep them out of the way.

[RetroGamer1994]

Boxes.

[Griking]

Boxes for me. Boxed games look nice on a bookcase. Loose games, even with manuals will just get stored in a big box with other loose games. Besides, if I need the manual to play the game I can always download it.

[Casati]

This Ebay seller has a lot of cropped boxes available. Why would somebody cut the lids off of them? Maybe it would tidy their appearance if they had worn lids, but would seem to ruin their functionality and value.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Nintendo-NES...item415c0694d2

[bunnybum]

This Ebay seller has a lot of cropped boxes available. Why would somebody cut the lids off of them? Maybe it would tidy their appearance if they had worn lids, but would seem to ruin their functionality and value.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Nintendo-NES...item415c0694d2

Looks like someone used to run a pirate-rental store out of their basement. I remember quite a few people around where I grew up, who did the exact same thing. You'd cut off the flaps and tape the thing together to make a "divider" for the "crate" you had all your games in and then have cart+manual in the dust sleeve in front of said divider. This way people could easily flip through your games and check out the artwork and screenshots before "renting" the game (Usually a couple of bucks a day). I know a lot of kids did this to make a few extra bucks besides their regular paper routes.

As for OP's question, I'd rather have the manuals so I can play the damn games!

[Bighab]

I usually wont pick up a game unless its complete. The majority of times I will want the box for display purposes. Unless its an RPG I'll never read the manual.

[Ryudo]

Box.
I just like it better as it's easier to store on my shelf.
If only cart and manual I have to store in two different places

[OldSkoolBrian]

Depends on the game... Disc games I prefer the case.. Cartridge based games would depend on the content of the manual.. If there is nothing to it then I would prefer the box.. If it's a game where the manual is of importance then I prefer the manual.