Game storage boxes.
You may suggest this isn't the most exciting subject in the world.
But I beg to differ.
These boxes were the gateway to alternative universes, to voyages beyond the keyboard,
to the tranquility of your favourite game titles.
We talk about bags for life now... whereas back in the 80s and 90s we were constantly
told that plastic bags could kill you... to the point actually where I had an irrational
fear of them.
But man, these game cases were BOXES OF LIFE.
They also set apart people who stored their games like this.... to those who stored them
like this.
Although I must say, I'm a fan of both storage methods.
But organising your game titles was as essential back then, as it is now for collectors.
You didn't want to be searching around under the sofa for Quackshot at 10 o'clock on Saturday
morning.
You wanted the game accessible and ready to go.
A suitable storage method was even more essential if you were taking your games, or even console
round to your friend's house for a quick dabble.
This is why then, game storage boxes hold a special nostalgic place in my mind.
Let's begin in the 1980s with cassettes and a storage vessel shared among both music and
gaming fans.
Walkman owners were likely to use these briefcase like boxes as gamers.
But only a philistine would mix the two.
These stylish striped designs are something I remember being particularly popular, and
looking at them now, they're just so incredibly EIGHTIES.
It makes the games lurking inside seem all that more appealing if you ask me.
If you had a larger collection you could step up to a slightly longer example, with a hefty
handle, for the hardcore tape purchaser.
This thing wouldn't look too out of place chained to your arm.
Currently this box has a mish mash of software, but really you'd want to organise it so it
looked more like this.
Maybe by publisher, maybe by game type, or just a collection of treasured titles.
The serious purveyor might have had something like this briefcase sized model, which can
accommodate a whopping 45 cassettes.
But even this wasn't large enough to secure the Spectrum collection shared by my brother
and I. I think we chose to keep the best games in a couple of cases and the rest were just
held in a Co-op bag or something.
Probably where I get my joint love for both organisation and complete CHAOS today.
But the truly demanding amass-er of games probably had something like these desktop
units... and whilst we're here, do you remember these VHS boxes...
back when people wanted their video tapes to look like books..
what a dignified era it was.
When I betrayed Sinclair in the 90s with my Commodore 64, I actually used this drawer-ed
storage unit.
I think I bought it from the market for £10, but it was particularly useful for housing
my Commodore 64 on top and keeping the software ready to go directly underneath it.
And of course, storage wasn't just a problem for cassette based games.
When I moved onto floppy disks with my Amiga, Atari ST and ultimately PC, I didn't want
to leave them piled up next to the monitor, losing their magnetization.
I wanted a tidy unit that could pack a shed tonne of floppy disks.
Things weren't quite as exciting with floppies.
Other than keeping massive boxes like this Power Pack lying around, these lockable units
were a common sight sitting next to your home computer, and I went through at least 3 myself.
They came in various guises, all capable of holding more disks than stipulated in their
design specification, but looking back, packing those floppies into cages like this was just
demeaning and also potentially bad for their longevity.
Unlike cassettes, storing these floppy disks away usually meant chucking the bulky boxes
they were sold in, and it's the same when CDs came along.
Jewel cases were small and compact, fitting nicely in a rack, but so many big boxes were
chucked away because of it.
The pleasure of hindsight leaves a feeling of dread in your stomach just thinking about
it nowdays, and for better or worse, it wasn't long before the industry moved to a standard
storage format that could be stored compactly on a shelf.
and of course, even cartridge based consoles, and in particular handheld devices posed entirely
new problems which required entirely new storage solutions.
If you were anything like me, then this Mega Drive storage unit seemed like an essential
purchase.
Unfortunately, I never got hold of one... probably because for a piece of plastic, it
was a little over priced, but what I do have here is a Sega Genesis Video Game Caddy.
Mmmmmmmm, look at that checkered box.
Room for 15 cartridges AND game instructions.
Protects your Sega Genesis cartridges from dirt, damage and loss...
what, you mean like the actual game boxed did already?!
Looking back now, like the floppy disk and CD-ROM holders, these things are a modern
day collector's nightmare.
Console boxes were smaller and so were usually retained.
Master System and Mega Drive boxes were particularly rigid and could take be thrown in the attic
for years, but many of those Super Nintendo Cardboard sleeves were just left in piles,
getting crushed and ultimately thrown away.
This holder is just a piece of moulded plastic.
It's really glamorous or special.
But it was that darn Sega packaging which enticed me every single time.
It was always the packaging.
That's why it's so important to collectors nowdays.
Something that was of greater importance was storage for your portable games, and even
the console itself if you so desired.
These original Game Boy cases certainly fitted the bill, allowing you to store all your games
and accessories in one box.
But it really throws the portable aspect out of the window.
Look at the size of this thing.
Of course you could get smaller cases, but the Gameboy was durable enough to chuck in
a bag and be done with it.
You could get similar boxes for your main console, which was useful for lugging around
to Barry's at number 27, but frankly, moving my consoles about did used to upset me in
the 90s.
Having to unplug everything, pack it up, go down the road... ahhh, I'll just stay at home
and play it Barry.
We can wait for the internet to play 2 player games.
These days, if you're a collector, you're likely to have your games on a shelf.
Pretty much every Youtube channel I watch has games on a shelf.
I have some games on a shelf, but it's not something I'm fussed about.
Instead, I prefer my games to be locked away from prying eyes, in little cases, just like
I had in the 80s.
Or just stacked in piles to be honest.
Looking back, these storage vessels feel like on one hand, they helped protect, but on the
other hand, have made collecting today, all that little bit harder.
But maybe that's a good thing.
Maybe the thrill of finding mint condition, boxed titles today is part of what makes it
worthwhile.
In any case, I'll still look back fondly on these gaming treasure chests.