Sessler's Something. Would you(have you)tossed all your gameboxs?

Fantastic video. I was glancing at my box of games that I just barely had room for and something inside my head was twitching at the thought of tossing the cases!I remember when i was younger i took a bunch of GBA games to gamestop to trade in, I had all the boxes and everything. They preceded to take the games out, and toss the boxes! I said umm...nevermind give me the games back...and the boxes you just tossed!!

I have close to 1500 DVDs back home in Michigan that I did not have shipped to me when i moved out to San Francisco 2 years ago cause of costs....but man it would be damn near free if i just tossed the boxes and just had the movies put in binders.

Would that make the movie less of a movie? Would the GBA games be less of a game without the boxes?

Maybe I should bite the bullet in a small way here...toss my 360 game cases and put the games in a binder. Would go from a full box to like 5 pages in a binder....damn..

"This video does not exist," says the video.

It lies!!! (there fixed)

I started tossing out my boxes this year and don't regret one bit of it. The only thing I keep are limited edition boxes.

Nope. Couldn't do it. I'd start getting physical pain after the first.

When I watched that video earlier it got me thinking that putting my games in a binder would certainly make moving my collection around much easier as I have been moving around a lot lately. Although on the other side I really do like being able to display my collection of games on a shelf. I do think that over the next generation this will become less of a problem as many full retail games are being sold digitally and I think that will be my main choice of purchase.

If I kept games then yes, but I ebay them, so no. Also I'd never throw Nintendo cases, that would be vile.

I have thrown out boxes with the games in them. I can't even be bothered selling them. A big part of why I use a rental service is that I have absolutely zero desire to own physical games.

Games like Mass Effect, Red Dead, Skyrim, GTA, are exceptions. But when I'm completely done with playing them.. out they go. I don't think I'll ever own a physical version of a 5-6 hour campaign style game again.

I watched that the other day and it made me wonder if I could or not. It really is stupid having them all there taking up space, but it just feels wrong to throw them out. I can't put my finger on why, but it just feels wrong to throw out the boxes. Even if they literally server no purpose anymore since they have nothing in them but the disk.Once it was done I would be ok, but getting to that point. Just don't think I could. But at the same time I kind of want to. Having a couple books with the disks would free up so much space.

GAH! I just wish console people could promise that there would always be some way to play previous gen games so I could just go digital like I have been on PC for years. With console life cycles as they are now where every 4-5 years they expect you to throw out the old system for the new one I could never go digital on consoles. With PC there's almost always some way to get an older gaming working on a new windows, but with consoles you are shit out of luck and have to start a collection all over again when next gen rolls around.

Edit:After rewatching the video, why didn't he get rid of the books? If space really was an issue he could have gotten rid of all of those books and just put them on an e-reader. If he owns them then I think that justifies goig online and just downloading a PDF file for each of them.

I largely agree with Adam, though I like to keep my boxes. At some point, I actually intend to replace the cover art on most of my games, 'cause I love the concept of a good cover. Iconic visual imagery is worth having, especially because it'd be eye-catching for myself and my peers.

However, his statements about the "pre-order bonuses," "special editions," and "downloadable content" are flawed. Yes, we'd all be happier if we didn't worry about Batman costumes. But when it comes to the 12 DLC characters ready for the SFxT launch that wouldn't release for $20 for another six months because of the Vita's exclusivity, or the "From Ashes" DLC that drastically improved Mass Effect 3's narrative, then we're talking about very serious changes associated with special editions and DLC.

Javik was essential to my recommended experience of ME3. Enough has been made of the importance of From Ashes, so I'm not really going to go into it, but let's just say that ME3 would not be the same without said DLC character and missions.

And Christie and Elena, the only capoeira characters in SFxT, were behind DLC walls along with Blanka, Dudley, Sakura, Alisa, Bryan, Jack-X, and other favorites. SFxT was supposed to be about bringing Street Fighter and Tekken together, but the only Tekken experience I really care about is its excellent and engaging representation of capoeira between Eddy and Christie. By cutting them (and Elena) from the game, it instantly "just wasn't Tekken" for me. I had no interest in playing it at launch, and its reputation outside of the pro Street Fighter circuit didn't survive long enough to make it worth playing now that Elena and Christie have arrived.

Most of the time, the stupid doo-dads and collections of junk don't really matter all that much, and nobody should stress about where to buy something simply because Steam has a Team Fortress 2 hat and GameStop has an in-game costume. But it is worth getting mad about when it does directly impact the quality of the game itself.

I've got my games and my blurays in binders but all the cases in a couple storage bins. I kinda want to pull out the covers and make /something/ out of them and get rid of the cases entirely. I don't trade in games anymore so no real reason to keep the cases except to lend people stuff

No, I am still delighted every time I pop open my game case to take the disc out. I like the little booklets and cover art. Maybe it's a problem, and if it is I admit that I have one and that I like it.

@CaLe said:

I have thrown out boxes with the games in them. I can't even be bothered selling them. A big part of why I use a rental service is that I have absolutely zero desire to own physical games.

Games like Mass Effect, Red Dead, Skyrim, GTA, are exceptions. But when I'm completely done with playing them.. out they go. I don't think I'll ever own a physical version of a 5-6 hour campaign style game again.

Curious. What titles have you thrown away?

Man, I haven't ever really been exposed to Sessler outside of a few obnoxious videos, so I always kind of equated him with Geoff Keighley.

I was wrong. Dude is articulate as hell, and a joy to watch/listen to.

@GetEveryone: Yeah man, he is one of the best in the biz! Sad you put him down with Geoff Keighley..:/

I'm getting towards totally embracing being all digital. Ditching the discs in addition to the boxes is looking very enticing.

No. I don't know... it seems kinda disrespectful (maybe not exactly the right word) to me to just throw them out. I had to work hard for that shit, and somebody else worked hard making it. I don't like feeling like games are just some disposable item. I'd rather think of them as art and treat them as such, even if 99% of them don't deserve it.

If it's just tat you've accumulated in the course of your job, which you didn't pay for and maybe didn't even want that much in the first place, then I'd probably think differently.

when this generation's suite of hardware becomes secondary, i plan on putting all the games into a couple CD wallets.

for now though im partial to the boxes

I tossed out a bunch of boxes once. Then I found out they had CD keys for most of my old games. Still picking up old games in collections or on GoG.

I really don't think I could ever throw out my cases. It just feels dirty and wrong.

I'm not ready for all digital yet. I've been mostly PC gamer the last couple years and amassed a hefty Steam library, but I've started to grow bored and almost resentful that I have this soulless list of games that I either a) won't play again after a playthrough or b) won't play because I only bought it for its great price. After picking up my first console in years, a 360, at a black friday sale, it has reminded me what is fun about gaming. Getting the copy of a game, unwrapping it, peeling that annoying sticker off, plunking that bad boy in. The boxes have been very important to rekindling the little bit of passion I've had over the last couple of days.

I've only got like 70 or 80 physical games so it's not taking up a whole lot of space. Plus I'm not in a San Francisco apartment; I'm in a suburban Canadian house. Space is not an issue.

Interesting video, and I agree with him about everything. Though I still don't think I could throw away the cases, maybe when I get to the point that they're taking up more space than I can manage, but at the moment I'm just kind of stoked that I managed to acquire enough games without selling them afterwards to fill one shelf on my bookcase.

@Barrock said:

@CaLe said:

I have thrown out boxes with the games in them. I can't even be bothered selling them. A big part of why I use a rental service is that I have absolutely zero desire to own physical games.

Games like Mass Effect, Red Dead, Skyrim, GTA, are exceptions. But when I'm completely done with playing them.. out they go. I don't think I'll ever own a physical version of a 5-6 hour campaign style game again.

Curious. What titles have you thrown away?

They were all my old PS2 and Xbox games. Some launch period 360 games as well. I barely remember what they all were.. Nothing I felt bad about getting rid of though.

I like having game cases in a pile. I have the space for them so that is now an issue.

I can't even bring myself to buy games without at least the original box.

It pains me to throw things like cases out! I have a bunch of VHS movies that I haven't watched in years and know I probably won't watch ever again (hell I don't even have a VCR anymore), but still the thought of throwing them out makes me uneasy. Same thing with books...half of my "library" I will never read again, and the ones that I will read, I have in a digital format anyway...still I can't even think of throwing them out. There are other things too, like casette tapes, 8-Tracks, records, old CD-ROMs, etc. that could technically be considered garbage, but for whatever reason I just can't bring myself to get rid of them. Weird, eh?

I've always liked the Sess. I consider him right up there with Young Jeffery G. as far as esteemed and wizened game aficionados. But man, I find him even easier to take seriously bald and with a beard. Now he's a man. A man man man.

I do understand his point but if I really like something I enjoy having things like the boxes. Its the same reason that if I like a film I might buy a poster to go on my wall or buy a special edition. As for the games in my collection I don't particularly love chances are I will get rid of them at the end of a generation and a lot of value is lost without a case.

BOB'S HOUSE OF INTERACTIVE THINGS.

I do keep my games all in a binder, er, at least mostly. But yeah, would still be really hard to throw out the cases. Especially to the newer games that I just bought. It'd also sort of make me question why the hell I'm buying games new if I don't even give a shit about the boxes. But, it would totally free me up a bunch of space in my already small apartment. My roommate has two bookshelves worth of DVD boxes in the front room. I don't even know what we'd do with the space if he moved all his movies to binders.

I need to think.

A few months ago, I just sold all my games because I was tired of having storage boxes full of games I stopped playing. It was useless. So now I own like 5 physical games. Feels good.

I put all of my DVDs and BluRays into binders when I moved, but I still have all the boxes in drawers at mum's house, I still need them!

"The fetishization of minutia," is very much a part of appreciating art, as a look at any Criterion Collection special features will show you. But I'm totally with him in how it relates to games as products, and how downloadable costumes, for example, can detract from the ideas of games as worthwhile "works of art and culture." Cool vid Sess.

Anyway, if you think game's are worthwhile, saying its original box is meaningless is like saying the same thing about first edition printing of Gulliver's Travels. Sure, maybe not as important as the games (or words) themselves, but definitely of interest to someone who cares about games (or books) and their history.

I won't keep my games in a binder since the last time I did it, they all got stolen and the thief only had to grab one thing. As for the case for those games, I threw away 99% of them, I held onto the case and everything for Lunar 2: EBC.

@Little_Socrates said:

I largely agree with Adam, though I like to keep my boxes. At some point, I actually intend to replace the cover art on most of my games, 'cause I love the concept of a good cover. Iconic visual imagery is worth having, especially because it'd be eye-catching for myself and my peers.

However, his statements about the "pre-order bonuses," "special editions," and "downloadable content" are flawed. Yes, we'd all be happier if we didn't worry about Batman costumes. But when it comes to the 12 DLC characters ready for the SFxT launch that wouldn't release for $20 for another six months because of the Vita's exclusivity, or the "From Ashes" DLC that drastically improved Mass Effect 3's narrative, then we're talking about very serious changes associated with special editions and DLC.

Javik was essential to my recommended experience of ME3. Enough has been made of the importance of From Ashes, so I'm not really going to go into it, but let's just say that ME3 would not be the same without said DLC character and missions.

No, his argument isn't flawed because he isn't talking about the meaningful stuff, quote unquote.

I think it's fairly clear in the video that Adam is talking about good, worthwhile story content, or something that is meaningful to the gameplay experience in some way. He's pretty specifically talking about trivial costumes, and other visual and gameplay doo-dads that really don't, in the end, add a significant amount to the game. And I agree with him.

And for those who are mentioning that throwing out boxes somehow feel wrong, that's because it is in some respects. When you purchase a videogame physically, you're getting the entire package. You're getting the front cover art, the back cover art, the manual/sleeve inside and the game disc. I personally think he's going about it the wrong way. I think it makes much more sense to really look at the collection of games and say, "will I really have a meaningful experience with this game for the first time (or) again? Is there a valuable reason for me to hold onto this?" I bet you can say that about, two dozen games before your collection just becomes fluff, stuff you really don't want or like, and stuff you have just ironically.

And his issue with male nature and collecting stuff I think is completely off. Society, (particularly American society) has conditioned us to be collectors of random shit we don't need, can't afford or don't really want. I'm not saying videogames and entertainment fit squarely into that mold because they don't, but I feel it can applied to society at large.

Just look around your house. Beside your clothes, bed and a few comfort things, how much of the stuff you have is really stuff you need or want? It becomes comfort for people, I think, to just collect and have as much stuff as they can. I, as of right now, have maybe a total of twenty or thirty games. Those of you who have been gaming forever, or buy and collect games know that isn't a lot, but it's already making me anxious. I hate clutter. I hate invaluable things. If I don't need, I'd rather sell it, donate it or trash it. Call me somebody who knows how to be detached from his environment. You're not wrong, but I think there's something to be said about removing old and unnecessary clutter from one's life, and the epidemic of, "havin' lots of shit just because."

I put a bunch of games in binders. Then a little while after that I took them all out again and put them in the boxes and placed them on bookshelves. I like having the games on display.

I don't think I could ever stand to get rid of my cases. I take pride in my collection of media, and without the boxes, the collection just doesn't feel complete. I don't even like owning used games or movies that don't have the original case, though I do have a few.

My dad keeps almost all of his PS2 games in binders due to him going to many hotels across the world (so he brings his PS2 slim with a built-in screen everywhere). It always felt odd to me - it seems efficient and useful but purely because the kind of person that I am is one who buys games only if they are special to me (I'm also not implying that I pirate games - I just only play ones which are important to me in general so if I own the game then it is important for me to keep the box).

I do think in general it shouldn't be as big a deal as it is to get rid of game boxes; but I always just put collecting them down as just one of those odd quirks that some people do (like keeping figurines in mint condition sealed boxes - just a little less extreme).

I like this guy- what is Revision3?

Fuck. No.

I like having a shelf full of games, just like books or movies. I like how it looks, I like boxarts, all that. I don't care how much space it takes.

At one point I took all my PC games out of their original jewel cases and put 'em all in a fat binder.

Ultimately, I hate that I did that. It's great for storage, sure, but I just love the way the games look all lined up neatly in the shelves. There's a good feeling in picking a case from that lineup which you just don't get when it's a book full o' cd pages. Plus, I'm just a stickler for case art.

I don't keep my games, I sell them once I'm done, outside of a few special cases. As such, storing my games is no issue what so ever. If I did still own every game I played though (and there's been a lot), I definitely would consider this.

I'm looking at my DVD shelf right now and thinking "I don't watch any of these", but if that's true why would I keep them? Sell them to someone who would want them.

If I had a good enough binder to keep them in then sure. And just to infuriate the weirdos out there, when I do throw out the boxes I will also carefully tear the manual in half.

I could.

I mean I did it with all my CDs years ago and I certainly wouldn't miss the game cases, but at the same time I'm not a collector of anythomg so I tend to have plenty of space and I mildly enjoy looking at my game shelf just enough that I can't see why I'd bother.

If I had games like I assume someone like Sessler has (15 garbage bags of cases? Mine would fill one and a half - I don't hold onto my past generation consoles or games) I probably would.

But I do avoid collector's editions and throw out things like cardboard sleeves for the sake of order.

Sure why not. But I'm a person that pirates copies of DVDs and such he already owns because it's actually quicker for me to download a film than it is to get the disc out and go through the booting process. Done it with games that I didn't have on Steam too, use 4 discs to install old version of The Witcher or just pirate it?

Physical media doesn't really do anything for me, it's a hassle in the digital age.

Nope, won't throw them out. I have a system where I only keep a game in The Collection if it's really important to me. That even extends to collector's editions. Franchises/ games that I love I'll get the LE/CE, I just like to have them look fancier. In some cases I'll throw out an outer box that everything comes in, such as RE5 or TFU2.

Now what I have done in recent years is really trim my collection down. I used to have just about all consoles and a bunch of games for them but I sold most of the stuff that I never messed with like a TurboDuo, all the Sega consoles and add-ons, and a 3DO. I keep all Nintendo consoles, though.

I find as things move to digital, I treasure my physical copies even more. There's going to be a day when they stop making them and I think I'll like being able to look back on the games that have meant something to me through the years.

The actual plastic cases I couldn't give less of a shit about. Maybe I'd want to hang on to the cover art for some of them, although off the top of my head the only really good cover art that comes to mind is one I don't even have, which is the non US Ico art. Manuals I might hang on to on a game by game basis. But as it stands I don't really have that many cases. Really my biggest space hoarder is N64 and Genesis games, which isn't really a case issue, it's those damn cartridges.

Now that I think about it there actually are a few sports games with cases I should just go ahead and toss asap.

Cases are just a pain in the ass for me. They take up way to much space in my closet, and to avoid dealing with them I keep the few games I plan to play out by my ps3.

Honestly one of the perks of steam is the fact that the digital transition was so easy. I cannot tell you the last time I bought a physical PC game and I hope I am completely done with it.

Someone put effort into making that art on the boxes. It feels disrespectful to just throw them out like it was nothing, the least I can do is display them or enjoy them for a bit as I take out the disc and all.

What with moving to a PC and all, I've gone mostly digital and I like it. That said, I look at my shelf of 360 games and sometimes wish that I could physically have all 80-90 something PC games on display.
It's nothing more than a fleeting fancy, though. The minute Steam sales go up, I don't even have to weigh the pros and cons to know that I'd rather pay $15 for something digitally than $60 for it physically.