Collecting: Complete only or loose?

[imanerd0011]

When I first starting collecting I was the same way, I only wanted complete NES games... I soon realized that if I ever wanted to get an entire U.S. release NES collection , that it was going to be near impossible to do unless I was going to get just the carts. So now I only collect loose carts. When you think about it, what do you boxes and manuals do ? You can't play them, and for about 95% of NES or Atari games they aren't necessary. You can just put the game in and play. If you are collecting for newer systems (N64 , Playstation , Dreamcast) then I would try to collect complete games, but if you are collecting anything older than SNES, I would go for loose carts.
Although , I am the same way about my cartridges. I only want mint games , that look almost perfect. I won't even buy a game if it is less than that.

[slip81]

Depends on the system, I collect for SMS and N64. N64 doesn't have to be complete, cart only is fine for me. SMS has to be complete and in good condition, the least I will take for a SMS game is cart and box, but I prefer complete.

[klausien]

Anything cartridge can be loose in my collection since I am most interested in the software itself rather than the packaging in most cases. Only SMS and PCE/TG16 card software need a case. I hate loose Hucards. Lynx games are an exception to this.

Anything post PSX absolutely MUST have a case and instructions or I simply will not buy it. I have passed up many a PS2 nugget because it lacked instructions.

I will occasionally make exceptions in the PSX realm if it is a game that lacks value outside of my own curiousity, but who wouldn't want the full packaging for a game? I will admit though that Nintendo boxes are a bit tough to store and lack utility. Using them wrecks them.

[captain nintendo]

NES games have to be complete for me, I know there may be a few games I end up getting loose because it is impossible to find complete. But another thing I want to strike on is the media. I consider the NES stuff complete without it , simply because it would be impossible to find everything

[Emily]

Right now, i prefer loose Nes carts...though i LOVE instruction manuals.
Ill take gameboy/gameboy color and SNES games loose, But Intellivision, Vectrex,Gameboy advance, and all disc games must be complete.
Hunting for gameage in the wild is more rewarding than buying from Ebay any day, and Im more likely to score the games i want to play loose, plus it adds some mystery. Im probably one of the few people here who has no concern for the condition of my NES carts or labels. I love to clean them!
I recently bought a couple games that looked like they were dragged through mud (poop?) but they look and play fine now, and thats all that matters.

[drummy]

I prefer complete games, but I get loose ones if I really must.

[cracked8ball]

For cartridge based systems, boxes are manuals are nice to have, but not necessary. However for CD/DVD based systems, games must have their cases and manuals. I did make an exception for Castlevania Symphony of the Night only because it was hard to find awhile back.

[scooterb23]

I buy loose whenever possible. I tend to not buy loose CD based games, but if I found one I really wanted, I don't think it would stop me...

[Sosage]

Personally, I despise loose Genesis games (with Sega Master System being a very close second). They are by far the easiest pre-PS1/Saturn/N64 era games to find (at the very least) boxed, if not complete. Loose Genesis carts also have a way of haunting the shelf space if you happen to find a duplicate complete copy down the road. They are like bad strays with no home. You just had to let it in and now it won't go away...and no one will take them off your hands. If it is a loose sports title...then it is going to be in your collection until the day you die.

Everything else from the pre-PS1/Saturn/N64 eras I can stand being loose (well...ok...and Sega CD...that is out of not liking loose CD games laying around), but prefer complete. I sort of dig how my loose NES collection looks, plus the games are a lot more accessible (I don’t think I ever open my boxed NES games for random play…there is always that feeling that this will be the time I thumb the tab too hard and tear/bend something…also, some of my boxes are so ragged from the previous owner that I think one more open will disintegrate the box).

[Nesmaster]

cart based, i want some games complete, but im totally cool with cart. cd based must be complete, unless i find disc only for dirt cheap.

[The Manimal]

I think it depends on whether it is in a protective case of some form.


Any disc based game has a case that it came in and stores it, so those will always have to be complete. A jewel case without a booklet or back insert just looks retarded. The case holds all of it.

Carts...


I will buy a complete NES game but loose is totally fine....as long as I have a black sleeve to put the cart in (I have several hundred extra sleeves in case I ever need them hehe)

This kind of goes for all other cart games, though all my N64 games are complete (don't own that many, and all are complete so far, so I might as well keep it up). I was recently thinking about Genesis games and whether I should rebuy the dozen or so I have that aren't complete, so that they are all in their boxes, given the boxes ARE the cases. Then I thought, the latter games don't come in snap cases anyways...so in the end there is no consistency either way. :/ This expands I guess to SMS games, and I think all of those came in those snap cases, so I might give them the treatment I give jewel case games, and get all my SMS games complete. This still seems wacky because then I'd have all nicely snap-cased SMS next to a loose Genny collection and wonder why I couldn't do the same. (Yes, I am not making much sense...I'm a wacko ).

On those clear snap cases that were made for carts that also hold the booklets..... I hated the NES ones (rentals came in these a lot of the time) and prefer the black sleeves, but the ones which are basically identical but for the N64 are kind of neat and I wish I would have picked those up. I think those cases even held a memory card, so it holds everything but the box.