Tips on Storing Boxed Games

Over this past year I made the decision to go fully digital starting with any new consoles I picked up. I started off this trend with my 3DS and continued it when I picked up my Vita and Xbox One. I'm also planning to do the same with the PS4 and Wii U when I get them.

So, I spent the majority of today deciding what to do with my current collection of boxed games, of which I have hundreds. I wanted an easy way to keep track of what I own, what I've lent out to friends, and what boxed games I still plan to buy.

I'm using an app for the Mac called Delicious Library, it doesn't meet all the above needs, but it does a decent job keeping track of what I own.

I guess, the next step is to buy some sort of large CD/DVD wallet to store my discs, as I do still play my old consoles and I'd like easy access to these without the storage footprint.

If anyone has already made this transition, I'd really be interested in any tips you have for me going forward. Good cases/wallets, storage options etc.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks in advance!

I'm about to do the same myself. I just made a list here on the site and when I get around to it I will just look online for a cheap CD case to hold em in. One thing I will suggest is that you take the time to order them alphabetically. Makes going back to find them so much easier. Don't see why a list on the site wouldn't work for what you need it to do. Could always make a word/excel spreadsheet if you want too.

EDIT: If you have games from a lot of platforms, one idea I had was to colourcoat the cd cases. I was thinking of getting a white one for Wii, Green for 360, and Blue for my PS2/PS3 stuff. Maybe even look for some kind of sticker to put on the front or if you are artisticly inclined draw some stuff.

@crusader8463: I know what you're saying, but the idea of manually entering each game is frightening. For what it's worth, Delicious Library has a companion scanner app for the iPhone – I scanned half my entire gaming collection (around 200 games) in less than an hour via the barcodes on the back of the case. Now it's all arranged in a neat little list like this.

I've been looking for a CD case with a ring binder where you can replace the pages, so when I add more discs to it I can move things around a bit easier.

Delicious Library looks great but I don't have a mac. Anyone know of something similar on Windows?

Made the smaller working footprint transition about a year ago. Went with http://www.collectorz.com/ for both desktop and scanning companion app (helps with bargain bin diving to reduce extra copy purchasing), and these only on Amazon.com for the binder storage. Couldn't find anything else that would hold the box insert cover well, but a bit pricey. Rolling around 600 physical disc titles for PS3/X360/X1/PS4/Wii at this point and doing fairly well organizing wise but do have a few OCD complications when trying to get things setup alpha sorted in the binders.

Edit: Oh and a great tip for those going the barcode bulk scanning route and for whatever odd reason don't have a smart phone that would do it. Hit up www.ebay.com for a CueCat scanner, can usually be had for $5-$10 easy.

@bane122 said:

I use a program called MediaMan3.

@datajack: I used collectorz.com for my comic books and I gotta say I'm not too impressed with them. Everything feels super clunky and I hate how they keep charging for upgrades and stuff. It's not a big deal but I feel like there are cheaper alternatives that work better.

@realph: It's not that hard to be honest. I just put on one of the game of year podcasts and started typing up the list as I listened to it and was done by the time the podcast was over. What I actually did was typed it out in word so that once I had all the games in a big list I could just sort alphabetically right in there and not have to do it myself manually like a crazy person.

To each their own though.

@datajack: Man, amazon is the worst. That case is pretty much exactly what I'm looking for but the only jackass that has it is charging $100 for it. Such a useless site. It blows my mind they let people post crap like that on it.

@crusader8463: For what its worth I've been fairly happy with the product itself, but $30+$10 shipping for the main case is certainly my threshold on the purchase.

I'd assume you would be able to purchase via the US side site, been able to hit some UK items myself, but not certain.

Edit: Maybe better luck direct from manu: www.artisandecostore.com

@hamst3r: That looks like just the thing I've been looking for, thanks.

As someone who has already made the switch from chucking away all my box cases one important thing is to not cheapen out on the cd cases. If you want one which can hold a ton of CDs make sure its supported in the middle and whatever the cd capacity is, they dont reach it. I went with a 100ish capacity case which broke in the middle as it only had rivets holding the outer shell on.

As people are saying an alphabetical list may be best. Another note is maybe have a couple of cd cases as Ive recently purchased new games and the thought of having to rotate discs across pages to put the new ones in the right spots puts me off completely. Cases are a lot easier in that respect