Why have CD/DVD lables?

[quadro]

Ok, I have no problem with providing custom DVD/CD/Univesal Game Case lables and such, some of the custom ones are just plain awesome compared to the retail version.  I have started donating some of the scans of my PSP game lables that I own to assist in this project and like the service it provides (especially for cartridge gaming from the late 80's and early 90's, you simply can't find a box for most of those games).
My concern is the offering of CD/DVD lables.  What is the reasoning behind this? I mean, are there that many people out there screwing up their game discs that they need a new lable for it?  I mean, if you scratch the disc bad enough to destroy the lable, it will almost be a guarantee that you ruined the disc anyhow. 
For most users downloading their games rather than buying them, the biggest caveat is not getting the artwork from the case (which is available here) and then they don't get the artwork on the disc (which in some cases is being provided here).  I just don't understand why you would be offering the disc lables as you would think that you would draw the line somewhere on this, especially offering disc lables for games that are readily available at retail still-are people that quick to ruin a disc?  They aren't coasters that you buy for $50+ each.  I mean, most people that are going to need those lables are going to be people that are illegally downloading games and playing them on a modded system (which is illegal in most cases, just read the 'owners' manual).
Just a concern here.  Anyone have any opinions on this?

Here is a list of the CD/DVD lables that I have found online here:

Xbox 360 CD/DVD lables:

http://www.thecoverproject.net/view.php?game_id=5641

http://www.thecoverproject.net/view.php?game_id=6362

http://www.thecoverproject.net/view.php?game_id=4212

http://www.thecoverproject.net/view.php?game_id=6360

http://www.thecoverproject.net/view.php?game_id=3989

http://www.thecoverproject.net/view.php?game_id=6359

http://www.thecoverproject.net/view.php?game_id=5865

http://www.thecoverproject.net/view.php?game_id=6342

http://www.thecoverproject.net/view.php?game_id=5644

http://www.thecoverproject.net/view.php?game_id=6078

http://www.thecoverproject.net/view.php?game_id=6358

http://www.thecoverproject.net/view.php?cover_id=5678

http://www.thecoverproject.net/view.php?game_id=3970

http://www.thecoverproject.net/view.php?game_id=1131

http://www.thecoverproject.net/view.php?game_id=6361

http://www.thecoverproject.net/view.php?game_id=5643

http://www.thecoverproject.net/view.php?game_id=3986

http://www.thecoverproject.net/view.php?game_id=3915

http://www.thecoverproject.net/view.php?game_id=1420

http://www.thecoverproject.net/view.php?game_id=3646

http://www.thecoverproject.net/view.php?game_id=4213

http://www.thecoverproject.net/view.php?game_id=5642

Nintendo Wii:

http://www.thecoverproject.net/view.php?game_id=4216

http://www.thecoverproject.net/view.php?game_id=5780

http://www.thecoverproject.net/view.php?game_id=4221

http://www.thecoverproject.net/view.php?game_id=6424

http://www.thecoverproject.net/view.php?cover_id=5960

http://www.thecoverproject.net/view.php?game_id=2501

http://www.thecoverproject.net/view.php?cover_id=6226

http://www.thecoverproject.net/view.php?game_id=2997

http://www.thecoverproject.net/view.php?game_id=3754

http://www.thecoverproject.net/view.php?game_id=4222

[sheep2001]

Got to say i agree with you there.  I am all for the preservation of the art of even current generation systems, but dvd scans are pretty worthless for the most of us.  I have a fair few PS2 DVD's that have permanent marker pen ruining the label, but there would be no way in hell i would print a new one and stick it on - it would look even worse - i think perhaps having them scanned and submitted for 'preservation' sake, but then inhibit the download of the hi-res scan.  The ability to download them could be released when the system is superceded by a couple of generations.

I think having labels for dead systems is fine - and i have no problem with people downloading a game that they cannot get their hands on for a dead system - this to me is not real piracy, and is no different from downloading ROMS to use on an emulator- it's not like the publishers/creators get any cash from the sale of used software anyway.

[wshbrngr]

I, myself do not upload cd/dvd labels as I really don't see the need for it.

I do the labels for N64 carts and some of the GB carts.

[juan0tron]

I don't see the need for it, but down the line someday we might need all those scans, good to get the while they're still somewhat current. Anyway, who cares about pirates, we're not helping/promoting the downloads of games, just the fact that they should look nice.

[Shugo Takahashi]

Well, I don't see why not. If there's SOMEBODY out there that can use them, then why not? There's no reason to deny scanners that want to submit content even if it's "useless." Content is still content, and the more we have the better the selection is.

[4tyGames]

I always find the disc work interesting. If anything, some discs have some really nice designs or funny ancedotes. My favorite is The Bard's Tale on the XBox.

[quadro]

I don't see the need for it, but down the line someday we might need all those scans, good to get the while they're still somewhat current. Anyway, who cares about pirates, we're not helping/promoting the downloads of games, just the fact that they should look nice.

Good point about getting the lables while they are available to get in good condition, that is not the point of my topic, although thanks for mentioning it.  The second part about who cares about pirates, well, the gaming companies do I am sure.  As far as your statement that you are not promoting or helping pirates, um, I have seen several ads here on this site promoting roms (may be a problem with the ad rotator service that this site uses).  If viewed from the publisher of these games that have lables for available, what would you think?  Your final statement about the game discs looking nice is pretty subjective, I mean, just keep the discs in their cases and you won't need to replace the lable on your legit 'copy' of the game.

Well, I don't see why not. If there's SOMEBODY out there that can use them, then why not? There's no reason to deny scanners that want to submit content even if it's "useless." Content is still content, and the more we have the better the selection is.

Would your 'SOMEBODY' include pirates that want to seem like they are not pirates by having these lables?  I agree, I see no reason to deny the scanners that want to submit content to the site, just that the site should use a little more discretion in what is offered or accepted.  I am not trying to say anyone's work is 'useless'.  "Content is content" even if it is possibly illegal content?

I always find the disc work interesting. If anything, some discs have some really nice designs or funny ancedotes. My favorite is The Bard's Tale on the XBox.

I much prefer the bigger canvas provided by the game case lables.  The discs are seemingly bigger 'POGS' to me, cool to look at but I don't spend that much attention to them.  There is some good artwork on different game discs, I agree with you there.

[Mick Dundee]

Why would you spend all your time going through ALL the disc games to find Disc scans, and then complain about them on the forums?
 
 It says you have posted 3 times... Each seems to complain about the Disc images being on the site.

I actually agree, I don't know why you would "Need" a hi-res scan of the discs. But there are reasons besides pirating to SEE the images.

 Some games come with different art on the discs (Alundra, Greatest hits, ect.)

 Some people might want to see the image so they don't get scammed on a fake copy.

 My local game store guy keeps ALL his disc games in CD "Binders"  I'm sure its easier to find a game if you know what it looks like, even alphabetical order doesn't help much if its a series game.


 I came across this site because of my older games being a messy unorganized box of cartridges.
 Because of this site I can proudly display my games. That is the goal of the site, and the people uploading images to it.

 They all do great jobs, and it kinda pisses me off that you're insinuating they promote piracy and purposely upload Disc images to help that.


 --LMAO, you got me to open my Bard's Tale game 4tyGames, Its early.... I actually flipped the disc thinking there was an image etched in it or something 

[Shugo Takahashi]

Do you honestly think that all the discs uploaded to the site were done for piracy? Legitimate owners of legitimate copies of these games are just scanning away so that others can download and burn with a pretty disc face. Not only do I seriously doubt that, but it doesn't matter. If some kind soul with the power and the time to scan his stuff in is ready and willing and is actively submitting everything he can, then there's no reason not to add his work to the collection. This project is entirely a community effort, and different corners of the community have different resources they can provide. If somebody can scan in disc labels, then why not? Pirates or not, there's going to be somebody out there who needs them and the Project grows from it either way with the guaranteed quality that this site is becoming known for. It's not promoting piracy; it's promoting completion, community effort, and quality.

By the way, you might also want to also take the time to complain about the flash cart cover ( http://www.thecoverproject.net/view.php?game_id=2892 ) we have for DS. 

[csvo2000]

Seriously if someone wants to pirate current games, all they have to do is go to Blockbuster.  There they can get the game they want to pirate and have a nice pretty scan of the disc.  I use the Collectorz software to organize my collection and its nice to have the scan of the disc along with the scans of the inner sleve (cd games PS1, DC etc.)

[KaiserWAVE]

All we can do is to actively distance us from pirating software. The sad fact is we can't stop piracy. Our covers are among the best on the net, I'm sure many of our covers have been used on pirated games to make them look as close to a legitimate copy as possible. But it's a community effort. People who love gaming, retro or current, come here to share with others.

I despise pirates from the bottom of my heart since they not only steal the game but profit from other people's work. It's not just scanning in a cover or lable and it's good to go. There's cleaning the image, possible resizing, uploading the image which my cost bandwidth; actual work to be done before it's ready.

I, personally, don't need disc scans and I'm pretty sure that software pirates will gladly download a lable. But in my oppinion that shouldn't mean that we take the scans down and all the people in need of those scans (be it a minority or not) get the shit end of the stick.

[Doom]

I came across this site because of my older games being a messy unorganized box of cartridges.

I came across this site by seeing an image of a replacement case for a PS1, thinking I'd love to do that on N64, googling something like "replacement N64 case" and coming across the thread on CAG. Found two awesome websites with one search - cheapassgamer.com and (I think it was still part of Snackbar Games then) The Cover Project.

[Vt102]

I came across this site because of my older games being a messy unorganized box of cartridges.

I came across this site by seeing an image of a replacement case for a PS1, thinking I'd love to do that on N64, googling something like "replacement N64 case" and coming across the thread on CAG. Found two awesome websites with one search - cheapassgamer.com and (I think it was still part of Snackbar Games then) The Cover Project.

For me it was wile looking for Sega Saturn Raws. I was already working on Sega CD and on Saturn for my own games, and behold to my amazement! there were other people interested in the same thing..

[juan0tron]

I came across this site because of my older games being a messy unorganized box of cartridges.

I came across this site by seeing an image of a replacement case for a PS1, thinking I'd love to do that on N64, googling something like "replacement N64 case" and coming across the thread on CAG. Found two awesome websites with one search - cheapassgamer.com and (I think it was still part of Snackbar Games then) The Cover Project.

For me it was wile looking for Sega Saturn Raws. I was already working on Sega CD and on Saturn for my own games, and behold to my amazement! there were other people interested in the same thing..

Yeah I had once found a MGS1 DVD cover on deviantART, and I thought it was so cool I googled for more, which led me to a CAG thread, which eventually lead me to here


Back on topic, the pirating thing has nothing to do with this site's goal, to provide those in need of covers with the scans they need. If pirates are using them, so be it. But from my experience, most pirates are lazy, so I doubt they'd bother printing the labels for the games. Although that could probably be a good gamestop scam...

By the way, you might also want to also take the time to complain about the flash cart cover ( http://www.thecoverproject.net/view.php?game_id=2892 ) we have for DS.  Wink

Yeah even then not everyone uses flashcarts for piracy. I happen to be an active member of a homebrew site, and while most of 'em are dirty stealing bastards, a lot are there for the hombrew aspect of it. Take Smash Bros. Rumble for example.

[TheValeman]

Wow!!! Has this got out of hand or what?

I my opinion one of the purposes of the site is to document for prosterity original game box/cover artwork.

Originally it encompassed mainly boxart for the older systems like N64, NES, SNES etc. These were all released by Nintendo on cardboard boxes which wear out over time and it seemed logical that someone buying a cart only from a video shop might be happy to have a plastic box with a reproduction of the original boxart to make it look nice on the shelf. I started scanning N64 labels as second hand carts often have destroyed labels so it seemed a natural progression at the time.

What happened was the site morphed into a be all & end all site as people wanted PS2, XBox etc & disc labels are just part of that progression. Really, other than documenting original art etc there is ABSOLUTELY NO OTHER VALID REASON for disc labels other than for printing them onto blank printable DVD/CD's . And that's piracy ... pure and simple. You can use the "I own an original and want to make a backup" scenario for stating you want a label but who's kidding who around here?

However, while I have personally stated several times that I disagree with providing boxart/disk labels for non-retro based systems which are still on sale ... PS2, XBox, XBox360, Wii,Gamecube etc ... for that very reason, why should Snowcone's best intentions around preserving original game art in all forms be subverted by the mere thought they MIGHT be used on pirated products?

It's not the site that's the issue here quadro. If a person wants a label or cover they will get it anyway. And wholesale counterfieters/sellers don't need our site as all as they will just buy one original and duplicate 1000's from it.