I may have made this topic before, but it's time to poke the clutching, broken body of the forum with a stick to see if it gets up.

So what console/handheld/whatever would you say is the most likely that you'll see complete games, or the most likely to be loose? Or among games that you own which tend to be more loose or complete?

I suppose newer stuff wouldn't count much. All my PSP and DS games are complete. (My entire (one game) 360 collection is sealed, for that matter.) I have seen plenty of disc/card-only DS and PSP games for sale though.


One system that I think leans way more towards loose than complete is the Colecovision. I have a few manuals, but not a single box. I think I can only ever remember seeing one once.

Saturn is one I think leans toward complete. Loose Saturn games show up so infrequently that it still seems weird when I see them.

SMS is another. I've hardly ever seen them without boxes, though the manuals tend to get lost.

Intellivision I guess is surprising. For something that uses cardboard boxes, I sure see a lot of complete games. It helps that the boxes were made to open like a book and hold the games sort of like a more modern plastic case.

Sega's Pico educational console is another that came in cardboard boxes (except in Japan), but somehow all the ones I have are complete (and I don't remember ever seeing one that wasn't).


WonderSwan is one that leans towards complete since, honestly, where do you find loose ones?

NGPC more towards loose, since many of the games were sold in blister packs, and you can still buy "new" loose games online.

Game.com: Even though most of mine are complete, a few of the games came in clamshell packaging, which you pretty much have to destroy to open.

Virtual Boy: Not that I see these much anyway, but all the ones I have are loose.

I'd say NGPC is probably the most likely to find loose for the reasons you mentioned. It's a shame, too, because those boxes are wonderful and much like the Intellivision boxes. I also have a hard time finding boxed SNES games. Not that I don't see them, but when I do they're always much pricier than the loose cart. Gameboy/Color/Advance games are also tricky to find complete. Part of the problem is that EBstop still accepts all Gameboy games as trade-ins but destroys the boxes because they take up a lot of shelf space. DAMN YOU EBSTOP!

Contrarily, I see a LOT of boxed Genesis and SMS games because those plastic cases were perfect for storage. I also see a lot of complete PS2 games because those clamshells are so thing and take up so little room that it would be silly for a parent to do away with them. Ironically, the same can't be said of the smaller PS1 jewelcases. For some reason PS1 games are easy to find loose. I guess a lot of cases got broken or something.

My own collection is heavily biased because i refuse to buy anything disc-based unless it's complete, under any circumstances. I also have the same policy for DS games. I do have two loose ones, but it's because someone gave them to me for free. To this day though i've still never played them, they are outcasts in my collection. :)

As for things seen in the wild, flea markets, garage sales, and the like, pretty much anything in a cardboard box is screwed, obviously. For some reason though boxed SNES games seem to be a rarity like nothing else. I've seen more boxed Atari and Intellivision games at flea markets than SNES games.

Concerning newer systems, say from last gen forward, something interesting occurs though. Games found in the wild seem to be almost always complete, at least for me. At the worst, they'll be missing a manual. But game and case are always still together. Walk into any Gamestop though, and complete games are almost a rarity. The one i go to most often has far more loose DS games for sale than complete ones, and incomplete PS2, Xbox, and Gamecube games are also in abundance. I even see quite a few loose 360 and PS3 games, sometimes almost brand new titles.

Well that's interesting. In my (somewhat infrequent) visits to GameStop, and moreso at the local mom & pop stores, although loose games are pretty common, they seem to be far outnumbered by ones with at least the case (and I would guess that most of those still have the manual, or least half).

Actually come to think of it, I'm thinking of PS2/GC/Xbox/DS/PSP. I can't remember ever seeing loose 360/PS3/Wii games. And further come to think of it, I believe I've only just 2 days ago seen a Wii disc for the first time, since a coworker gave my sister Super Paper Mario for free. (Since it felt odd opening a Nintendo case and seeing a full-size DVD inside.)

It just goes to show you why EBstop is awful. I've never seen an abundance of loose (and by that I mean in the generic DVD clamshells with EBstop covers with hastily sharpied in titles) last-gen games but they're certainly not rare either. What I did find quite a few of was otherwise complete titles in Blockbuster clamshells. This would be totally fine except that the clamshell doesn't have enough space for a PS2 or Xbox manual. The GCN manuals fit just fine since they're thinner, but this means all PS2 and Xbox games will have manuals in poor shape from being wedged into too small a space. :(

Probably just indicates a higher theft rate down here, more games getting fenced for Gamebucks. :laugh: As for independently owned places around here though, i NEVER see loose disc-based games, because they refuse to take 'em. GameStop's standards are sub-pawn shop.

Gamestop has standards now?