General Category > General Discussion
Stone Age Gamer's NES BitBoxes
StoneAgeGamer:
--- Quote from: CommunistGamer on June 28, 2013, 08:06:22 AM ---So, youtube isn't working for me right now.
Is the selection an upload or do you have a list of covers?
--- End quote ---
Its a list.
EDIT: I see we went to a new page, so just in-case some miss it here is the video: http://youtu.be/i2c_3AR_3HU
scarmullet:
I got 1 bitbox from Stone Age Gamer, and here are my first impressions.
I saw people compare them to the old Disney VHS cases in the days of yore, and the assumption is not too far off. There is some give when you press down in some spots, obviously, but they feel better made than the disney ones, a more rugged feel with better plastic.They also have a more professional feel, as the cart does not rattle around inside the case. The place for a manual is a nice touch.
Note it is slightly thicker than a UGC, and they are more expensive...but they are made in the USA, and I can get behind this. I also don't like how the artwork gets stretched in the bitbox. The case does smell of vinyl, and it does worry me a touch.
e_brugal:
I think the vacuum formed plastic cases weren't good options, when the time pass the plastic begins to "toast" and then start to brake in little pieces every time you grab it
I don't know if this happens to this 8 bit cases
Note: in spanish when the plastic start to do that we call it "plastic toasted", i don't know how you call it :P
StoneAgeGamer:
--- Quote from: scarmullet on July 12, 2013, 09:45:09 PM ---I got 1 bitbox from Stone Age Gamer, and here are my first impressions.
I saw people compare them to the old Disney VHS cases in the days of yore, and the assumption is not too far off. There is some give when you press down in some spots, obviously, but they feel better made than the disney ones, a more rugged feel with better plastic.They also have a more professional feel, as the cart does not rattle around inside the case. The place for a manual is a nice touch.
Note it is slightly thicker than a UGC, and they are more expensive...but they are made in the USA, and I can get behind this. I also don't like how the artwork gets stretched in the bitbox. The case does smell of vinyl, and it does worry me a touch.
--- End quote ---
Thanks for review. I think your assessments are fair. Thanks for at least checking one out.
Here's what it came down to in the end. In reality retro game cases are not something most people are clamoring to get. Cases are more of a bonus item, something people buy when they got some extra cash. They aren't sexy or fun because in reality their only purpose is to protect your games and maybe make your collection look a bit nicer.
Basically, you aren't going to get very rich making and selling retro game cases (not saying that should be your only motivation). If they were high demand items then you would have seen a Hyperkin or similar company already making them. The upfront engineering and production costs of injection molding are very high for these types of injection molded products and can take considerable time (assuming you want to make a quality product). Its not like I did not look into this as an option, but in the end I didn't see the initial investment to be worth the possible gain. I may be wrong in this assessment of this market, but I have been in the retro gaming business since 2007 and I feel I do have at least a good feel for it. That being said I wish anyone who may be working on their own cases luck and I do not want to discourage them. I was actually waiting around for someone else to make a case because I needed one for the EverDrive-N8 (NES). It didn't seem like that was going to happen anytime soon, so I took it upon myself to do it.
Personally I like the BitBoxes. I actually like them more now than I originally did when I first got the prototype and have gotten more familiar with them. Obviously cost is probably people's biggest issue with them. However depending on how the first batch sell I may be able to get that down in the future. Also I personally feel our cover art printing service we offer is a great added value and part of that money goes to this site as well.
scarmullet:
--- Quote from: StoneAgeGamer on July 13, 2013, 03:27:52 PM ---
--- Quote from: scarmullet on July 12, 2013, 09:45:09 PM ---I got 1 bitbox from Stone Age Gamer, and here are my first impressions.
I saw people compare them to the old Disney VHS cases in the days of yore, and the assumption is not too far off. There is some give when you press down in some spots, obviously, but they feel better made than the disney ones, a more rugged feel with better plastic.They also have a more professional feel, as the cart does not rattle around inside the case. The place for a manual is a nice touch.
Note it is slightly thicker than a UGC, and they are more expensive...but they are made in the USA, and I can get behind this. I also don't like how the artwork gets stretched in the bitbox. The case does smell of vinyl, and it does worry me a touch.
--- End quote ---
Thanks for review. I think your assessments are fair. Thanks for at least checking one out.
Here's what it came down to in the end. In reality retro game cases are not something most people are clamoring to get. Cases are more of a bonus item, something people buy when they got some extra cash. They aren't sexy or fun because in reality their only purpose is to protect your games and maybe make your collection look a bit nicer.
Basically, you aren't going to get very rich making and selling retro game cases (not saying that should be your only motivation). If they were high demand items then you would have seen a Hyperkin or similar company already making them. The upfront engineering and production costs of injection molding are very high for these types of injection molded products and can take considerable time (assuming you want to make a quality product). Its not like I did not look into this as an option, but in the end I didn't see the initial investment to be worth the possible gain. I may be wrong in this assessment of this market, but I have been in the retro gaming business since 2007 and I feel I do have at least a good feel for it. That being said I wish anyone who may be working on their own cases luck and I do not want to discourage them. I was actually waiting around for someone else to make a case because I needed one for the EverDrive-N8 (NES). It didn't seem like that was going to happen anytime soon, so I took it upon myself to do it.
Personally I like the BitBoxes. I actually like them more now than I originally did when I first got the prototype and have gotten more familiar with them. Obviously cost is probably people's biggest issue with them. However depending on how the first batch sell I may be able to get that down in the future. Also I personally feel our cover art printing service we offer is a great added value and part of that money goes to this site as well.
--- End quote ---
The case is quality, it feels more elite than a UGC. Naturally it will be damaged if mistreated, but the people buying it will be adult gamers, not little kids. Maybe I am defending it because it is made in the USA, but these are nice cases.