GB/GBC CD Cases

[unreal4evr]

Hey guys, first post 

I'm not sure if this has been posted before, but I guess it's worth a shot. I saw wiggy using empty CD cases and foam to store memory cards so I figured the same could be done for game boy cartridges since they are relatively the same thickness.

Here are some pics of my idea, in a prototype stage:

Cartridge in CD tray

Front

Back

Spine

I plan to follow wiggy's idea of adding foam in place of the tray, except the store I'm buying foam from is "under maintainence" until the 23rd. This idea seems like a pretty good alternative to DS cases for those who don't want to spend time modding cases (like me). Unassembled CD cases (ones without trays) are cheap, and even cheaper than regular cases. You can buy enough foam to mod roughly 40-45 cases for about 12 bucks. Rather than using foam core (foamboard) which seems pretty expensive, polyethylene foam is a cheap alternative. Thankfully the CD case fits the cartridge snug enough where it's safe with or without foam.

There 2 downsides to this approach however. One is that manuals will not fit. The CD case has just enough room to fit a standard GB/GBC cartridge nice and snug. Throwing a manual into the mix results in a bulging disaster. Number two is that the case cannot accommodate those bulging/odd game boy color cartridges. Ironically enough, Pokemon Crystal (the cover I'm using in my example) is one of these cartridges (hence why I used Pokemon Yellow in the pictures). I'm not sure how many of these odd-shaped exists, hopefully not too many.

I don't have a GBA game to test this on, but it may be possible that this could work for GBA games as well.

If you meet these two conditions:
1. Want an easy alternative to DS cases.
2. Have some GB/GBC games (without manuals) that need cases.

...then this approach might be worth a shot.

Here's a template for those interested (one for Photoshop, and one for the GIMP fans):

Template (PSD)
Template (XCF)

With the template, simply drag and drop the appropriate sections of a DS case cover and resize as necessary. The front and back are simple, however the flaps will take a little more re-sizing/reorganizing. I figure 10-20 minutes tops to convert a DS cover to a CD cover.

Comments appreciated 

Also, If I'm doing something wrong, please tell me (nicely please).

[larryinc64]

Hmm, I may use this, do manuals fit well in them?

I may make a different spine then then one you made to fit with DS cases, I think CD cases are just as tall.

[unreal4evr]

What did you have in mind for the spine? I'm not sure what you meant by just as tall. Sure CD cases are the same height as DS cases, but they are a bit thinner (meaning the spin is more crammed). And to answer your question, no manuals will not fit (I mention this as one of the disadvantages).

[larryinc64]

I was thinking of making the spine GB logo go down as far as the logo on the DS covers, but the logo be slightly different, like the banner on the front.

BTW I just checked with a CD case I lad lying around and GBC games do not fit, the bump on the front of the cart makes it to thick to close. GB games kinda fit though, just barely.