Review of aftermarket DS cases

[wiggy]

So, I grabbed a hundred of these...

Cheap-O DS/GBA cases

...and I gotta say I'm a happy camper.  30 bucks shipped to my house versus $28 to have 30 Nintendo cases shipped.  1/3 the price is fine with me, especially since I'm gonna hack a bunch of 'em up to figure out how to stuff other things in 'em.

Here are the big differences.

OEM cases are about a 90% warm grey, aftermarket cases are BLACK.




Missing logos, which is no big surprise.








The plastic sleeve is still PP, but it's much thinner.  Probably about half the thickness.  It's pretty much impossible to show in pics, but it's most definitely noticeable when you see and hold them.




Other than that, it's pretty hard to distinguish them from the Nintendo cases.





The only other items of note are:

• The cheap cases don't close as tightly as the Nintendo cases (they pop open with FAR less effort).
• The plastic is still PP, but it's a cheaper mixture.  Normally I'd site that as an issue, but since I'm gonna hack a bunch of 'em up, it actually helps since it's a LOT easier to cut.
• And speaking of modifying them, there's a little support strip that runs across the top of the side opposite of the retaining clips for the games (see pic).  On the OEM cases, it runs a little shallower.  This doesn't affect the ability to hold DS or GBA games, but if you wanna mod them to hold GB/GBC games, then you'll have to cut the support down a few millimeters since both GB and GBC games are just a tad thicker, which is enough to cause interference.

Well, hope this was helpful for anyone who's interested in these cases 

[DKBananas]

thanks for the review.  I ran out of Nintendo cases and was considering the 3rd party.  The GB GBC part is interesting as that is what i need them for the most.

[Arseen]

Is the over al quaity of the cases OK?

I mean that don't feell like breaking too easily.

[wiggy]

thanks for the review.  I ran out of Nintendo cases and was considering the 3rd party.  The GB GBC part is interesting as that is what i need them for the most.

Same here, but at least they're super easy to cut.  Hell, you've already gotta mod them to fit the cart, and this only takes another 30 seconds or so

Is the over al quaity of the cases OK?

I mean that don't feell like breaking too easily.

They don't feel like they're gonna break or anything.  The sleeve seems really delicate and the snap fit is weaksauce, but they're good to go otherwise.  I'd give 'em a 7 out of 10 for a cheap Chinese product.  Will totally do the job, look good on the shelf, but not be at all perfect like the Nintendo cases.  

[Arseen]

Thanks, good to know that there is OK cheaper alternate for the real ones.

[shenske]

If these are the same replacement cases that gamestop uses they are junk. 
The plastic has a permanent marker odor and the gba slot is kind of brittle. From the pics it looks to be the same replacement cases 

[Seraph Man]

If these are the same replacement cases that gamestop uses they are junk. 
The plastic has a permanent marker odor and the gba slot is kind of brittle. From the pics it looks to be the same replacement cases 

I second this sentiment. The cases Gamestop uses are noticeably cheaper material. Cases don't lock properly and it stands out among the other DS cases.

[wiggy]

No odor and not brittle at all.

The locking and plastic quality issues I addressed, but otherwise a decent investment if you have to case a bunch of GB games and don't wanna plunk down the $$$ for OEM cases.

[wiggy]

OK, after giving one of these a good sniff today, they do smell a bit like marker and a tab just broke on me.  So, they are most likely the same stuff that GS uses. 

Either way, I'm still happy with 'em for the price

[marioxb]

If you ever have games you wanna trade or whatever, just put them in these generic cases and keep the real ones.

[wiggy]

I'm not much for trading games, but that's not a bad idea

[tiktektak]

Ok so you two guys are definitely on my "never-to-trade-with-list" now.

[UncleBob]

Ok so you two guys are definitely on my "never-to-trade-with-list" now.

Tee-hee.

[wiggy]

I don't trade games anyway, so don't even worry about it