Topic: Do you buy loose games?

Does it matter if your game doesn't come with the box/case or instruction manual?

What about cartridges with permanent marker scribble on?

Or cartridges with torn/ruined sticker labels?

Just typing those examples above is enough to cause me distress!

To me, a game MUST be complete or I will not buy it for three reasons;

1) it protects the game media against damage or loss,
2) it helps with storing/displaying them and
3) a box/case/manual can add up to £15 to £20 if you decide to sell it on.

Depends on the price. I’m not buying them for collecting purposes, so if it is significantly cheaper than I would pull the trigger on a loose game.

For retro cartridge games I buy loose. It is cheaper to buy a repro case and maybe the manual if I am so inclined. I can clean up the cartridge (so long as it works) and buy labels.

Disc based games have to be complete in box. If the case is damaged/groady I will buy a reprocase and put the art in there. If I can ever afford a house I will have wall to wall bookcases and display shelves for all my stuff.

Modern cartridges I usually bought during the lifetime of the system so they are already CIB. I will buy CIB if I am missing something.

That being said having a collection from NES up is pushing me to digital as I either have to have a large space or have crates of game boxes everywhere. I’ve been in my apartment for a year but still can’t unpack everything due to my game collection size.

@AndroidiOS My xenoblade 3 case actually is used and it is torn on its left side….however I got that things for like 40 dollars so worth it!

For GBA games yes, because it can be difficult to find boxed games for it due to people throwing away the cardboard boxes. I would want the cartridge to be in good condition though. I've been meaning to get some sort of folder to store the cartridges in once I've collected a few more of them. For all the other consoles I currently have access to, the games come in plastic boxes which most sane people don't throw away, so I wouldn't buy them loose.

If the game, which was originally $59.99 over a decade ago, is now $5.00 today at the secondhand store, the packaging being damaged doesn't matter to me (as long as the disc or game card is still in good condition anyway)

Depends on the game and the price.

If there is one singular copy of a game I desire, I'd buy it even if the label was ripped off the cartridge

I buying used games, but I'll never buy a loose games. Sadly I still have two games with boxes, but without manuals (DoA2 for PS2 and Sonic Adventure 2 for GameCube) because I ordered it from Amazon and there was no information what this games selling without manuals.

For newer games within the past couple of generations, it has to be all there, sealed in box.

Though for the really old stuff, I take what I can get, just as long as the cartridge itself is in very good condition.

I collect N64 cartridges without the original box, for purely nostalgic purposes. I used to collect them in mint condition but the responsibility of maintaining their highly valued original form became a negative for me. Much easier to simply store them in a cartridge rack out of the way, with little worry about maintaining value.

However, I always try to buy them in 'like new' condition. There's a certain satisfaction that comes from owning new looking games from 25 years ago. By doing this, I can store them in a practical way that allows for ease of access whilst still taking a little pride in the collection.

I couldn't bare the thought of having my GBA/DS/3DS/Switch games loose. They are ALL boxed and WITH instruction manuals, in the cases of my GBA and DS stuff.

I started my GBA collection in 2012 so finding them complete-in-box (CIB) was fairly easy.
I have nearly 90 GBA games in their original boxes with the exception of Totally Spies! with I'm pretty sure is a repro box (the quality isn't like the others) but I can't find it in its proper box so it'll have to do.

If the game is something im interested in, and is fairly priced then ill likely buy it if i can afford it

I have gotten Sparks of Hope (used cartridge in brand new case near launch at gamestop for like $35), Mario Kart 7 (complete), 3D Land (complete), and Just Dance 2021 (loose) second-hand

Disc-based games have to be in the box, but cartridges I'm mixed - NDS, 3DS and Switch tend to be in the box, but GB, GBC, GBA and Game Gear I actually mostly buy loose. Don't have any cart-based consoles anymore, just handhelds, but I'd likely be fine with loose carts if I did still have them.

Not if I can help it. Inevitably a few have entered my realm over the past 10 years of collecting, but the satisfaction of having a complete product as a memento of a period in time is far greater than I'd get just owning the disc/cartridge.

If it's a game I really want to play, then I sometimes have to buy a game loose. I have DS, GBA, and Game Boy games without them being complete. Sometimes, it's just the only option if there's a game I really want to play.

Will admit, I don't have any loose Switch games. All of them have been bought new, aside from one used game, but that was a game a friend gave me. He decided to give me one game rather than sell it.

I only buy Nintendo games second hand so grab them in whatever state is cheapest. I'm not a collector so not really bothered about boxes etc - they only get chucked in the spare room anyway.

I almost never buy used games anyway unless they're really rare/out-of-print. I don't buy old games much, but I try to source a new and sealed copy, so long as they aren't absurdly overpriced.

And I've never bought a loose game, and I don't think I ever will. If a new copy is too rare/expensive, I'd rather "sail the high seas" instead.

Very very rarely. I only tend to buy used games if I can prove they're legit, and just the cart alone is one of the first signs they aren't.

I actually do but mainly because sometimes the price difference is worth it. I remember buying Zelda Spirit Tracks last year loose because of that.
It helps that buying blank cases for DS games is quite cheap too so, if you don't mind having a non official cover, it's quite worth it.

Of course there also are consoles where buying loose is basically the default like all the consoles that used cardboard boxes instead of plastic.

I only buy games with good morals and that wait until marriage.

More seriously, I buy almost no used games anymore.

When I do, though, they need to be reasonably complete and in good condition unless they're an incredible price.

Have never bought just a disc or cartridge, and likely never will.