DS Daily: On display

by Chris Greenhough { Jul 31st 2008 at 9:00AM }

DS game packaging is some of the best yet in Nintendo's history, largely because it abandons the flimsy, easily torn cardboard boxes of the past, but also because the games look very pretty lined up together. With this in mind, how do you display your games?

Do you have them proudly sitting on a shelf for the world to see, or tucked away in a box? Do you use a dedicated DS game rack? Maybe your DS collection isn't even on display, but haphazardly scattered all over your living environment (that's a display of sorts, we guess). Are you, like this gamer, constantly frustrated by PAL region and NTSC region game boxes not lining up perfectly due to their slightly different dimensions and colors, or how rogue games (like Electroplankton) insist on not conforming? Or am I just incredibly anal?

Tags: ds-daily, electroplankton, storage

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

elsng @ Jul 31st 2008 9:10AM

Proudly displayed, lined up on its own dedicated shelf bunk, much like the collection pictured above.

Special cases like GH:On Tour and Electroplankton have a reserved space to the right of the general library. Yes, they are anal.

offday @ Jul 31st 2008 9:10AM

You're anal.

tehehe. anal.

But I guess I am the complete opposite. With random games here and there scattered throughout my room. I need a game shelf.

BlackDS @ Jul 31st 2008 9:21AM

I just pile them up one on top of the other, like a giant Jenga skyscraper. Currently, 45 DS games tall.

Games with no replay value, like Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, are at the bottom. Games I still play, like Pokemon are at the top.

I stack my CDs the same way.

Peace.

BlackDS @ Jul 31st 2008 9:31AM

Oops, I mean 39 DS games. :)

I mistakenly counted my GBA games. I tend to think of my GBA games as games for my DS, since the DS Lite has a GBA slot.

Peace.

shadowchaoscontrol @ Jul 31st 2008 9:33AM

i have a box with them all lined up alphabetically, with GH:On Tour at the end(don't ask why)

supa_s @ Jul 31st 2008 9:37AM

Proudly displayed of course. I've got 5 columns of games, each column containing 10 games stacked on top of each other. I'm running out of space though so I may use the shelf above that. As for the GH box, I've kept it with my GBA games. I wish they had included a separate box for the game, that would've been nice

MrTyzik @ Jul 31st 2008 9:38AM

On a media shelf, usually lined up in alphabetical order. Some older DS games are in a box b/c there's no room. Too many of my roommate's DVDs are also on the shelf decreasing usable DS/Wii space.

supa_s @ Jul 31st 2008 9:38AM

btw, I recognize that picture from Flickr :p

Matt G. @ Jul 31st 2008 9:41AM

I've got a deep double-shelved unit next to my desk. It houses my DVDs and other console games. But, there is a section I've devoted entirely to my DS collection. They are lined up like in the picture, each row consisting of 20 games. Right now, since I have 25 games, the top 5 are laying down sideways since they'd fall otherwise. The row will surely stay upright once a few more games enter the row.

I love the packaging for DS games. I could stare at my collection all day, if I didn't have other things to do.

Thunderbird @ Jul 31st 2008 9:57AM

Most of mine are on the drawers next to my bed. And the ones I don't play as much any more are next to my computer.

Christopher @ Jul 31st 2008 10:00AM

Frankly, I'd say that DS cases are the worst in Nintendo history. How much of this crap is going to be landfill fodder in 10-15 years? Most of it really. What's wrong with cardboard boxes which are degradable? I like box art like all the rest, but expecting your customers to ALL be collectors for life smacks a little bit elitist, and yes Sony is just as guilty.

Jacksons @ Jul 31st 2008 11:42AM

"How much of this crap is going to be landfill fodder in 10-15 years?"

Zero here, and I'm not a collector by any means. I still have my Genesis game cases tucked in a box somewhere, but it isn't for collecting. It just protects the manual and game better than throwing everything loosely in a box.

That being said, you must really love the Wii's new "Wii Motion Plus" peripheral that renders all the millions of plastic Wii remote sleeves (first AND third party) useless.

Ashley @ Jul 31st 2008 11:14AM

I trade mine in when I'm done, aside from Pokemon, most games have little to no replay value for me unless they were really, really good.

ozroller @ Jul 31st 2008 10:21AM

Not DS related, but I have about 3 imported US PS3 games, and it really irks how the rating label is different on those 3.

Kimiko @ Jul 31st 2008 10:28AM

I have them in my bookcase for all to see. Currently 23 DS and 6 GBA boxes.

The European boxes look ugly on a shelf though. Because the original box art doesn't fit anymore at the spine, it's replaced with generic black text on a white background. You have to read the small text to see what game it is. Bleh.

I wish I had Electroplankton too. It looks like a rockin' game :)

OtakuReborn @ Jul 31st 2008 11:06AM

Mine are lined up much like the picture above.

I like how the boxes are made because they're small, and the spine shows exactly what the game is. Though notably, all the games are taken out of the boxes and in separate smaller cases for transportation.

As for arrangement, most of mine are arranged by series/developer/publisher. All the Phoenix Wright games and Apollo Justice are together. All the Atlus games are together based on series (Etrian Odyssey, Etrian Odyssey II, Izuna, Izuna II, etc.) and everything else is vaguely arranged by purchase date.

chris @ Jul 31st 2008 11:53AM

Well due to lack of finances I only have 2 ds games at a time. I will never sell Tetris! but I keep my few ds and wii games together with my dvds, in my entertainment center.

terryjr91 @ Jul 31st 2008 11:14AM

I have mine all lined up in alphabetical order, on top of my manga, and they're all on a shelf.

Chii @ Jul 31st 2008 11:31AM

I keep my games in a drawer that we used to keep VHS tapes in... I think it may have actually been designed for that - it's built into the wall, the drawers slide out all the way on rollers, the height's exactly that of a tape in the case [which happens to be the height of a game case]. It holds about 200 DS games, 100 GBA games, or 120 console games, not that I'm anywhere near that.

They're arranged by publisher, then by title, with a few exceptions [The PW/AJ series is chronological, games in the same series are next to each other, etc]. I plan on *one* day arranging by developer, but that would take a while.

Jacksons @ Jul 31st 2008 11:31AM

They currently share a shelf with my PS1 and PSP games.

Roto13 @ Jul 31st 2008 11:40AM

Mine used to all be lined up like that, but I ran out of space on my shelf. I realized I could have more space if I put all of my DVDs and games on their sides. Piccy:

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i27/rotothirteen/100_1860_resize.jpg

Notice those nine games down there on the bottom without their own cases? Those cases are currently on the opposite coast. xP It's very annoying. I hope to get those back soon.

Jacksons @ Jul 31st 2008 11:46AM

Hey look, someone bought Psychonauts. :)

Patrick @ Jul 31st 2008 11:47AM

You mean those big plastic cases that the tiny game carts come in? Yeah, they're pretty, but I never know what to do with 'em. Seems a shame to throw them out, so for now I keep them in a bag. I sometimes think I might want to look at the game manual again or something. Or that I might sell a game and want the original packaging. But mostly those things are just in the way, and I'd like to get rid of 'em.

Gabbi @ Jul 31st 2008 12:02PM

I keep my cases where I kept my Gamecube cases- the lower level of my TV stand. I keep some of my games in a portable case and the ones I don't play in an ugly case in my drawer.

Reeve @ Jul 31st 2008 12:20PM

Our DS games take up a couple shelves on our CD tower, right above the CDs. Unfortunately, we've all but run out of space...

bluezy @ Jul 31st 2008 12:40PM

I use Kool Krates, those plastic stackable mini crates you can get at Staples and other places. They fit 8 DS games perfectly, and i've got four crates stacked together like a Tetris L-block.

KamenRiderTakoyaki @ Jul 31st 2008 1:02PM

I wish DS boxes were smaller, like the Japanese Gamecube or GBA boxes

chibi_wings @ Jul 31st 2008 2:57PM

most of them are proudly displayed on a shelf reserved just for games =)
I have a few sitting on my desk that I usually play.

SiK99 @ Jul 31st 2008 3:02PM

I have mine on a dedicated shelf....but i'm running out of room. 98 games now and they are in alphabetical order. Although I don't mind the import cases too much, I might have to rethink a Guitar Hero On Tour purchase if it doesn't come with a 'normal' game case....
Here is a link with a pic of my DS collection

http://www.gamespot.com/users/SiK99/view_image?id=ao8B5RUm7hqb5R3jlA

BlueS @ Jul 31st 2008 3:29PM

I have a dedicated drawer in my wardrobe, which locks with a key (which I hide in the back of the drawer under it), but its kinda useless, as the mechanism is quite simple, and it's the same in all Ikea drawers of this kind(my sister has a same one next room). But the whole feeling of opening the door, finding the key, opening the drawer than seeing the front of the cases stacked next to and above each other is just... awesome.
I never really had a lot of games before the DS (a couple of GBA games only) mainly because before it I could buy only the ones sold here, but now I know how it feels to have a collection (of some sorts) and its great(I started to import from places as it is 4 or 5 times cheaper than buying them here, and also there's a lot bigger range of games outside my limping little country) . And because of this I like the cases a lot better (when they were cardboard, it was a lot harder to open them up without somehow damaging or bending the box).

aj @ Jul 31st 2008 3:38PM

I just have one big game shelf where I keep all of my PS2/GC/DS/GBA games all lined up.

I re-arrange them about once a week just because I have OCD. Sometimes by system, genre, developer, alphabetical, or even in order based upon the colour of the spine (you know, ROY G. BIV). It makes no sense, but I like to do it.

Mr Khan @ Jul 31st 2008 3:44PM

My handheld games are usually stored seperately from their boxes. In the DS'es case, i got a number of baseball card sleeves and put the games in those, inside a neat little binder

The boxes are stacked in my closet. For GB/GBC/GBA games, the boxes are unceremoniously piled in a bigger box, and the games are in my lovely oversized Game Boy Color Carrying Case

thesimplicity @ Jul 31st 2008 3:51PM

http://www.bludot.com/Browse_Products/Accessories/product/2d3d_Wall_CD_rack

I have a Blu Dot CD rack that's really, really nice. I use it to hold my "in progress" games (it only holds 50 titles) and keep the rest tucked away in a media cabinet with my other games. Displaying the games at an angle like that really works better in space than a typical wall shelf.

Niz @ Jul 31st 2008 4:29PM

I really appreciate how they use proper cases instead of those cardboard boxes you always ended up loosing or smooshing and devaluing your game because you dont have it.

mend @ Jul 31st 2008 6:04PM

I have my 120 or so DS games all lined up together in an IKEA 'Benno' case (sort of expensive for IKEA, but well worth it), sorted by region. Those damn EU boxes are a damn eyesore though, luckily there's only like 15 of those.

T-Patch @ Aug 1st 2008 12:22AM

My DS game cases sit in the darkest corner of my Video Game/Anime/Manga bookshelf, hidden behind my Kingdom Hearts manga and Archie's Sonic Archives, set up in a 7x2 fashion. I usually keep the top 10 games I play in card cases in my DS case, with the rest in their original case. The two games I have that came with cardboard cases (MKDS and MPH: First Hunt) are nearby the game cases, sitting on my Anime DVDs.

MidnightScott @ Aug 1st 2008 12:30AM

Here's my collection, I just keep them in a box in my drawer though, but I put them like that for the picture. http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/7594/mydsgamecollection07252cn3.jpg

They are in order of when I got them. Yes...Asphalt Urban GT was my first DS game and the only DS game I got in 2004 =o

aDSguy @ Aug 1st 2008 3:56AM

I have my own dedicated shelf
I organized all my games colour coded =)
i luv how when you line up your games u see the nintendo ds label throughout the row

Ethan @ Aug 1st 2008 7:07AM

EU boxes are massive. I often import.

Samus @ Aug 2nd 2008 9:37PM

I keep mine in the third row of my 'Games drawer', lined up in order of when I bought them, with smaller cases lined to the right and bigger to the left (re-arranged seperately as to when I bought them)

I think I'm worst :P

PiemanPieman @ Aug 5th 2008 12:44PM

Oddly despite my propensity for agonizing over DVD and console games being put on the shelf in a particular way, I usually just take the games out, throw them in my cardboard box of portable games, and put the case on a growing stack in the back of a cabinet. This box is GameBoy original through DS Nintendo portable titles minus Virtual Boy and they're just stacked in there, basically. It also contains all my memory cards.