What do I do with my old CDs?

[gbpxl]

answer: give them to me :-)

[Gameguy]

I keep the old CDs around, even if the games are free, people still value the original media. Plenty of games were released as freeware years ago but physical copies were still collected. Especially if you want to run the old games on old hardware, you can't install Steam on a DOS or Win 95 machine.

It's almost like comparing first edition copies of books to a random modern edition, the first editions still hold value above modern editions.

[gbpxl]

It's a damn shame they don't produce PC games on physical disc anymore. Probably better for the environment but still, they can use recycled materials at the very least

[calthaer]

So let me ask this question...if you're collecting your CDs...are you displaying them? For PC stuff or even for PS1 / PS2 / Wii / whatever. Something like this?
http://hobbyframes.com/CDs.htm

[gbpxl]

Nope. I just have a shelf that I put them on

[Gameguy]

I'm not displaying anything at the moment, that goes for all of my games and software. And movies. And books. I haven't set things up the way I want them yet, just about everything is stored away.

I wouldn't mind framing some items for display like the link above but it depends on what the item is. I have a laserdisc I would frame just because it's got rot on one side and is unplayable, it's only suitable for display purposes. If anything else was displayed like that I couldn't use the disc anymore. Honestly the prices of those frames are more than what I would have spent on the item being framed.

[calthaer]

They are expensive...all frames are, pretty much. The only exception is cheap frames from Walmart for standard-sized items (8.5 x 11, 11x14, poster, etc.). It doesn't help that a lot of the stuff for old games (the mini-posters, etc.) are all non-standard size. Last year I bought some custom frames for a few things, among them the "Now You're Playing With Power!" poster from the NES and some maps for PC games (Icewind Dale, EverQuest), and it cost a couple of clams.

But they look good on my wall and y'know, it kind of makes me happy looking at them. These CDs - looking at them brings back happy memories, times when I'd open that off-white CD tray and place the Starcraft CD in there, listen to it whirr, and then log on to Battle.Net. Or AOE2, or Deus Ex, or whatever. Those games were a magical escape - a real bright spot during high school and college experiences that weren't the always the happiest times in my life, despite all the great things going on I could have appreciated (but didn't). You're right - the frames are worth more than I paid for these items, in some cases, and because I haven't saved the boxes for them it's probably more expensive than they're worth today. But I think I'm starting to come around to the idea that the value of having them on my wall and being able to look at them exceeds the resale value, at least for me. Maybe I posted here to get feedback, think out loud, and talk myself into it...and I think I have.