Collecting Games: Tips and tricks of the trade (part two)

A collection so large it looks photoshopped.

In my last article I discussed tips for collecting and finding games, in today's article I'm going to talk about the other side of collecting: what to do with what you own.

Everybody has different goals and views of collecting, but there are a few common traits that most collectors subscribe to. Among these are display, storage/accessibility and condition of games and collectibles.



Display

A collection organized by use and collection size. I had a comment about 
Atari Jaguar and Sega 32X games ready to roll, but this is a family-friendly blog. 

The appeal of displaying a collection will vary with each collector. However, regardless of the size or content of your collection, a good display gives a sense of accomplishment, and pride, in your achievements. From the person who wants to show his collection to the world, to the introvert who wants to be left alone, almost every collector will agree: a well done display of your collection is a satisfying sight.

When displaying your collection it is usually best to group games, collectibles, and other paraphernalia in similar groups. While this may be less convenient in some aspects, placing your favorite series, or genre, in one area increases visibility and accessibility to what is likely your most played, and well liked games.

A very rare "Space Ace" promotional poster. 
If you've heard of this game I owe you a high five.

When placing your items, either for yourself or for others to see, consider every aspect of your display. Shelving and organization are two of the largest aspects of a good display. Many stores sell, or throw away, kiosk units, shelving and signs, once a specific product is no longer carried. While employees are usually quick to snap these items up, it is sometimes possible to obtain these items for little-to-nothing. A store display set up in ones home not only looks cool, but is also usually valuable and functional

Decorating walls with memorabilia, posters, and/or art from your favorite games, genres, and companies can really liven up a room. Usually collectibles themselves, these items can add value to your collection, and your display. These items don’t necessarily have to stay near, or around, your collection, but the tastes and styles of others you live with should be taken into account when decorating your home. Angering a wife/husband, girl/boyfriend, family member, or roommate with an abundance of game material around the home is rarely worth the argument. Also when hanging art and memorabilia it is easy to “overdo it” and cover every available surface in mementos. While in some cases this is pulled off well, it usually ends up being overwhelming. If you have an abundance of items to display that you just can’t seem to find room for, get the help of a friend or fellow collector to help you decide where to place things, and choose your most cherished items for prominent display. When hanging posters and art use frames, and avoid gums and thumbtacks, as these will damage and devalue your items.

Store display signs for a series of under-appreciated consoles, as well as the 3DO.
The owners girlfriend is surprisingly cool with this. 

Some collectors use display cases for their most prized possessions, or “holy grails”. This is a great option if you can afford the space and money, but far from a necessity. If you are using display cases though, make sure they’re properly ventilated, and will not cause condensation or temperature damage to your collection. Display cases also provide added security for extremely high ticket items, when necessary. With some extremely rare games selling in the area of $10,000+ it’s no wonder that some collectors want a way to display their items while keeping them safe.

Storage and Accessibility


Storage and accessibility are two of the most important aspects of any gamers library, collector or not. For most gamers available space is usually the deciding factor in where a collection is placed, with convenience second, and protection coming in a distant third. Depending on how and where you live, storing your collection can be tricky. While it is important, and convenient, to keep your collection “on hand”, also try and keep it in a safe environment. Maintaining condition of your items helps maintain value, and function. If you have roommates, or family at home, it’s wise to keep the bulk of your collection out of common areas, as damages or losses may occur. While these events are rarely intentional, it’s better safe than sorry.

A convenient set up versus, well, just look at that. I mean how does he even reach that shelf back there? Also hundreds of games sitting on the floor of a basement is a colossally bad idea. I hope he has flood insurance. 

When storing and displaying your collection maintain order by keeping like items, systems and games together. This will not only help you keep track of what you have, but also gives an impressive and compelling appearance to your collection. Avoid “double-stacking” games if possible, as it is inconvenient to access titles below, or behind, other games; and can cause damage to games and cases alike. A common sense tip, but I have seen many cases where a collector has stacked, stored and placed things wherever they could, leading to lengthy searches, and lots of sorting later on.

Rooms, entire houses, whatever. Again, with the floor...

While some collectors have the luxury of being able to set aside entire rooms, many are forced to make due with closets, shelves, and racks in their bedroom. Regardless of how much room you have ensure racks and shelving you use don’t have sharp edges, odd angles, or other features which may damage items you place on them. Always give your games and collectibles “breathing room”, as packing them tightly can cause bulging, scrapes, and other damage to cases and cartridges. Usually referred to as “shelf wear”, these minor scrapes and marks will, over time, degrade and devalue your collection. Many collectors use standard DVD racks for storage. While these are great for newer titles, many older games, and boxes, don’t fit well on these and can easily fall out, or be knocked off. Consider investing in bookcases, or shelving, for older, more bulky titles, as they offer more protection. If possible leave room for new and future acquisitions. If you are planning on purchasing more items, know where you’re going to store them beforehand. It will save you a lot of hassle when you come home with your latest prizes.

Keep your collection and collectibles out of direct sunlight. Again, a common sense tip, but I have seen many games and items sun-faded by collectors who didn’t realize how seriously direct sunlight can damage ones library.

When placing your collection in long term storage take care to ensure low humidity, and heat, if possible. Cool, dry environments, which don’t fluctuate in temperature much, are ideal. This can be tough depending on where you live, so take into account local weather patterns, and conditions, when packing for the long term. Plastic boxes, or totes, are preferable as they don’t allow the transfer of moisture as easily, and help prevent rodents and rodent damage; they can, however, increase the risk of humidity and condensation damage.

For those of you who'd rather buck trends you can switch it up by
keeping a small TV next to your shelves of games... 

Following some of the above tips, keeping your collection accessible and safe is easy. While it can be fun to collect games, it’s (usually) more fun to play them. For convenience sake I keep a compact DVD rack, or a small two-shelf bookcase, near my entertainment center. This allows me to place games and cases currently being played in a safe spot, without having to worry about them getting damaged. When playing games I also recommend leaving them in the system until you’re done. Moving a game back and forth from a system regularly can lead to wear and damage to games and systems. When consistently playing one title it’s convenient and helps protect your games. Never leave your games out if possible; going from case-to-system, and system-to-case, will help ensure that your games stay in the condition you received them in, and help maintain their function and value.


Condition:

Regardless of whether you want to simply play a game, or put it on display, condition will be an issue. A burned out, or scraped up, cartridge or disc that doesn’t play is no good to the collector or the gamer. That’s easy to figure out, however, as you build your own collection you will want to set limits on what you personally find acceptable in terms of condition and quality of any given item. Many collectors fresh to the scene may be tempted by dirty, beat up, or just poor condition cartridges/discs, machines, or collectibles, only to later pay money to have these fixed, restored, or replaced. I recommend setting limits on what you personally find acceptable early on, and avoid the hassle. Sometimes, though, you may not be able to find an item in “mint” or even good condition, due to rarity, availability, or cost. This is where a little know how, and some hard work can be had in your favor.

Warning: cleaning of any sort may lead to damage. Be careful, and be smart, when cleaning or attempting to repair any game. Gaming-Cuisine is not responsible for any damage you may cause while using the below techniques.

A shirt from Bustedtees depicting one of
the worst things you can do to a NES cart. 

Most “classic” games came on cartridges, or floppy disks, which can be easily damaged by traditional methods of cleaning. It’s not uncommon for people to blow in cartridges for the NES, and other cart based systems, or use a cotton swab with water to clean them. This can actually do long term damage to the contacts though. While many people think this is “removing dust” from the contacts, what it is actually happening is a layer of condensation forms on the metal contacts. This temporarily increases conductivity, helping them work. However, this also causes corrosion, and possibly permanent damage, to the cartridge. Cleaning a cartridge with water can do the same thing, although cotton swabs are part of the answer. When cleaning the contacts on a cartridge use Isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol (generally about 70% alcohol by content in most stores). Alcohol evaporates more quickly than water, and leaves less chance of long term damage than water alone. Dipping a cotton swab into the alcohol, gently rub the contents to remove dirt. Do not rub hard, or scrub vigorously, be gentle, and use multiple swabs if necessary. It’s just as easy to damage the contacts by force as it is by corrosion. Immediately after cleaning, wipe the contacts with a clean, soft, rag or towel. Do not let it sit on the contacts, like water it can corrode the contacts by repeated use over time. That 70% on the label indicates that it contains other elements, usually purified water, so it’s smart to wipe off as much as possible. If you’re comfortable doing so buy specialty screwdriver sets needed to open your carts and remove the PCB’s and clean them separately from the cart. Be careful to “de-static” yourself first though, and use the same precautions you would while installing computer parts. Removing the PCB allows you to get further up the contacts, and remove dust and grime from other parts of the cart. Don’t try and re-solder, replace, or remove batteries, capacitors, etc., from a cartridge unless you explicitly know what your doing. I can’t stress this enough, I’ve seen a lot of destroyed carts, and systems, from people who tried to replace batteries, or burnt out parts, with no previous experience in doing so.

There was some sticker gunk on the box to this rare Dreamcast Pop 'n' Music controller box. The owner tried to peel some of it off, but instead tore the box. His friend made fun him for a week. Sadly the owner of this is me. 

When cleaning labels and other plastic collectibles, a mixture of 1 part Isopropyl Alcohol to 3 parts Distilled Water can be used to prevent bleaching, or staining. Always be extremely careful when cleaning cases and labels, as the paper labels may not be treated or coated, and are easily damaged. If you feel it necessary to clean labels, boxes, or outer areas of a cartridge or system always test an unnoticeable area first for discoloration or damaging. When cleaning a label, box, or other paper/cardboard item use very little moisture, if any, and wipe extremely lightly, and carefully, looking for streaking or discoloration continuously. I don’t ever recommend cleaning boxes with liquids, and would refrain from doing so, as it may damage your items. A little bit of sticker-goo on the box of a game is far better than a large bleached spot or tear the goo used to be.

Cleaning systems and controllers goes back to being comfortable, and knowledgeable, in what you’re doing. Don’t open a system or controller to clean or fix it unless you know how to do it. This can not only damage your system and components, but is also potentially dangerous. While many systems were built to be sturdy, it doesn't take much to fry them once they’re opened up, or to get a nasty shock.

Compact Discs and DVD’s are a bit simpler when it comes to cleaning. I recommend the same 1 to 3 mix of Distilled Water and Isopropyl Alcohol as used on labels. If is a disc is dirty, using a soft cloth (microfiber clothes preferable), wipe gently from the center out if a disc outwards, dabbing it dry when done. If a disc or DVD is scratched, many music shops have resurfacing machines that can grind down a few layers of the disc and buff out the scratches. Be warned though that resurfacing a disc can damage it, making it unusable, and some collectors feel this devalues a disc, as it is not in original condition. Resurfacing marks, even when expert can also usually be spotted. A rounded edge on a disc is a good sign it has been resurfaced. A new disc should have a sharp, ninety degree edge on it, rarely does a new disc have a rounded edge. Dreamcast games are especially prone to failure after being resurfaced, so beware of resurfacing the GD-ROM format.

Tempest, Arcade, 1981. This machine is broken, and the guy who owns it has no idea 
how to fix it, so he doesn't try to. Also he apparently has a thing for Sauron... weird.

CD/DVD/BluRay/GD and other lens based systems should be taken, or sent, to professional repair shop if needed. Again, if you don’t know what your doing, don’t mess with it. You’ll likely do more damage than you could ever hope to repair on your own. People are trained to fix these systems for a reason; they’re complicated, and easily broken. Same for modifying systems to play imported games (I.E. Mod Switches/Chips). If you don’t know how to do it, you’re likely to fry your system trying. Better to spend $35-50 hiring somebody to install your region switch for you than spending who knows how much trying to replace it. If you’re new to a soldering iron, your prized classic game console is probably not the best place to try your hand.

Two Coleco "tabletop arcade" games, in various states of repair.
Currently almost as fun as a melted lump of  plastic.

When refurbishing and repairing collectibles, learn what proper techniques and supplies are necessary, as well as how refurbishing may affect value. Most older collectibles can be easily repaired with Tacky Glue, “Super Glue”, Isopropyl Alcohol, Distilled Water, some Solder, and a little elbow grease. Knowing what to do, and how to do it can make the difference between a five dollar thrift store find, and a fifty dollar showroom quality display piece. As always though, be careful, and study up on what you’re doing before doing it. Better to have a worn out collectible than a melted lump of plastic.


Until next time, lets game.