Not impressed with UGC

[Dav1d]

I've gotten my 1st box of 100 universal game cases from media shelving and I must say I am not impressed.   They look cheap.  The plastic cover holder around the outside opens at both ends.  The Plastic seems cheap.  There were no clips to hold manuals.  The cartridges did not fit snuggly but rather loosley.

I really hope that some will develop a UGC that has better quality. 

I mean why can't they just be made similar to a DVD case just bigger to fit the appropriate console?  Why is this so hard?  Are there not enough classic games out there for a market?

I know Onion is working on this and I commend him for it but why can't a larger company do this?  I want a better quality product.

[Velmeran]

Market isn't there plain and simple.
If money was to be made, you can bet multiple case companies would have jumped into the mix by now.

We're a niche group inside of a niche group.

[WolfAlmighty]

Best thing you could do at this point is try to help out Onion in any way you can.  Otherwise, you figure that UGCs are only, what, $.40/case?  For that price, they're sufficient and they do the job.  Onion's are going to be at least twice to three times as expensive once they start getting made, so if you take all that into consideration as well as what Velmeran said about us being such a small niche, we're fortunate we have a solution at all.  I'm still hoping everything goes well with the Onion cases so I can switch, but for now UGCs are just fine IMO.

[Arseen]

There of course is the Double Wide DVD case way, but those are more expensive than UGCs

You can buy cases that have manual holding clips, but they are more expensive than the opnes without.

You'll also have to make you own cart holöding system, foam with cart shaped hole in the middle should do the work.

Added bonus is that the DVD cases are made up to atleast 45mm wide (triple wide) so thicker carts or even handheld consoles don't give you trouble.

[tiktektak]

What did you think you'd get?

A Nintendo DS case like quality?

The build quality isn't that bad it always depends on the lot you get. I also once had a hundred that didn't close too snugly and I had to be a bit inventive to make them work. The last lot I got was much better with a very tight closing mechanism.

After all you get what you pay for and still the case is really nice because you can use so many systems with them. This is also the reason why carts rattle a bit (until you close the case with a manual, then it fits tight) because so many systems fit!

[TyrannicalFascist]

The plastic cover holder around the outside opens at both ends.

It's the same on DS, 3DS, DVD, Blu Ray, Poly Case and pretty much every kind of media storage that has sleeves for artwork. If it was fused at the bottom or something, it wouldn't open right and would be all warped and wrinkled.

[wiggy]

I've gotten my 1st box of 100 universal game cases from media shelving and I must say I am not impressed.   They look cheap.  The plastic cover holder around the outside opens at both ends.  The Plastic seems cheap.  There were no clips to hold manuals.  The cartridges did not fit snuggly but rather loosley.

I really hope that some will develop a UGC that has better quality. 

I mean why can't they just be made similar to a DVD case just bigger to fit the appropriate console?  Why is this so hard?  Are there not enough classic games out there for a market?

I know Onion is working on this and I commend him for it but why can't a larger company do this?  I want a better quality product.

I had 25 broken cases out of 300 in my last shipment and I'm STILL happy to have 'em for about .60 a pop after shipping.  The plastic is cheap, and so is the price.  Holding manuals isn't a priority for what amount to rental cases.  Rentals rarely, if ever, come with the manual.  It would get lost/stolen after the first checkout.  Designing a case that holds about 5 different carts sizes and shapes PLUS CDs/DVDs pretty much ensures that perfect fit isn't possible for any of 'em. 

Onion's stuff (if it even happens) will hold the games better because they'll be built for specific platforms.  The plastic will very likely be the same grade of polypropylene (PP) as well as either a polyester (PET) or PP sleeve (UGCs use a PP sleeve, DVDs/Disc game cases use PET). 

Don't get me wrong, your complaints are valid insomuch as they point out the obvious flaws with the UGC, but expecting more from such an affordable and versatile product is simply not realistic.

If it was fused at the bottom or something, it wouldn't open right and would be all warped and wrinkled.

This. 

[Maben]

I got 50 UGCs second-hand off of craigslist.  The seller claimed he got them from Mediashelving and was selling half the lot to me at his cost ($32).  I have to assume that they were well cared for and I got them in approximately the same condition that he did.  I only had two real complaints, both of which you addressed.

First, the games don't snap in like I was hoping they would.  This is pretty minor though, and my N64 games (which are the only games I will be using them for) don't move much.  They can't spin or turn and they are just for shelf storage, so this definitely works out fine.

Second, the plastic isn't as hard as I'd like it.  This is more apparent on the back of the case as all the cases seem to be slightly curved (warped?) inwards.  Is this the case with everyone elses'?

The plastic that houses the cover does a decent job.  It can be a bit tricky to make sure that all my covers line up, but it definitely is not less than I expected.

[AppleQueso]

Second, the plastic isn't as hard as I'd like it.  This is more apparent on the back of the case as all the cases seem to be slightly curved (warped?) inwards.  Is this the case with everyone elses'?

It's like that way with mine.

[wiggy]

Polypropylene is a pretty soft plastic, and the only one that allows for what is called a "living hinge", which means it can be made from a single mold. With that in mind, yes, they all have some deflection in the larger faces (front and back covers).  There's really no other option as far as plastic selection goes. The only thing that the manufacturer could change are the additives used and the mixture of the raw materials in order to enhance any number of specific qualities (shatter resistance, rigidity, density, etc.)

While not the highest quality PP, it's pretty decent, especially considering the price.

[AppleQueso]

I don't have a problem with it, considering they still line up fine and look fine on a shelf.

I'm not too concerned about these breaking or anything either. I got them to keep dust out and look purdy on a shelf, not to actually physically protect my carts.

Besides if they were made of a harder plastic, modding them for NES, Super Game Boy, etc would be a REAL pain.

[WolfAlmighty]

Polypropylene is a pretty soft plastic, and the only one that allows for what is called a "living hinge", which means it can be made from a single mold. With that in mind, yes, they all have some deflection in the larger faces (front and back covers).  There's really no other option as far as plastic selection goes. The only thing that the manufacturer could change are the additives used and the mixture of the raw materials in order to enhance any number of specific qualities (shatter resistance, rigidity, density, etc.)

While not the highest quality PP, it's pretty decent, especially considering the price.

So, are you a plastic expert or something? 

[wiggy]

I don't have a problem with it, considering they still line up fine and look fine on a shelf.

I'm not too concerned about these breaking or anything either. I got them to keep dust out and look purdy on a shelf, not to actually physically protect my carts.

Besides if they were made of a harder plastic, modding them for NES, Super Game Boy, etc would be a REAL pain.

I was more or less addressing Maben's concerns

So, are you a plastic expert or something? 

Well, plastics are part of what I know because of what I do (industrial designer), but I'm not at all an expert.  Many of the products that I've designed have been made of plastic, and I was pretty much forced to learn about the many types and their uses in order to stay viable in the job market.   I learned some in college, but not much, and almost nothing about practical application.

Plastics are pretty amazing.  There are so many varieties, each with vastly different properties and applications.  For instance, what's good for a center console in a car may be absolutely useless for a video game console, and vice versa.

[WolfAlmighty]

Well, plastics are part of what I know because of what I do (industrial designer), but I'm not at all an expert.  Many of the products that I've designed have been made of plastic, and I was pretty much forced to learn about the many types and their uses in order to stay viable in the job market.   I learned some in college, but not much, and almost nothing about practical application.

Plastics are pretty amazing.  There are so many varieties, each with vastly different properties and applications.  For instance, what's good for a center console in a car may be absolutely useless for a video game console, and vice versa.

Ah, cool. You seemed to have more than just a passing knowledge of different types of plastics so I was wondering if it was your job or if you just happened to have a thing for plastics. 

[soundwave925]

Besides if they were made of a harder plastic, modding them for NES, Super Game Boy, etc would be a REAL pain.

they're already a huge pain in the ass, but if they were made any more harder then forget it.