Collecting video games is a fun and rewarding hobby. Not only do you get the nostalgia of holding a piece of your childhood, flipping through the instruction manual and admiring the vintage artwork, you can play them. They offer an element that no other collectible market can claim.

Which is why storing and preserving these games is such an important part of the hobby. While its great to see these games and systems rescued from basements, attics and even worse (the garbage bin), they need to be stored properly to assure they’re playable for years to come.

The main threat

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The most important thing to worry about in preserving classic games is environmental elements. The biggest threat is moisture, which will corrode the connections on game boards. While light corrosion can be cleaned, it can get to the point where no amount of cleaning can restore the pins on the cartridge, rendering it permanently damaged. Therefore, keeping games in dry areas is the biggest priority.

Another threat is dust, which can settle on games and inside consoles and combined with moisture it can also cause a damage to their components. Keeping dust off your retro collection is another thing to keep in mind.

Finally, to protect the artwork on game labels and boxes its very important to keep them out of direct sunlight. When exposed to sunlight, the ink begins to fade and the artwork becomes washed out, which cannot be restored.

Storage solutions

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Here’s a list of simple things you can do to keep your collection in pristine collection, readily playable and with well-preserved artwork.

• Store your games in a dry, cool space with little or no natural sunlight. Either a basement or rooms where curtains are normally closed are best.

• At the very least, keep your cartridges in their dust sleeves. Not only will this prevent dust from settling on the contacts but it also helps to keep moisture off as well.

• If you’re missing dust sleeves for games and want to keep the contacts pristine, you can store them in zipper sandwich bags. It’s not the most elegant solution, but it will keep them safe for years.

• If possible, store your games in plastic box protectors. www.videogameboxprotectors.com sells high quality PET plastic cases that not only protect your games from light, moisture and dust, but they also make your collection look fantastic and well-preserved. They offer cases for practically every retro console, including sizes for both boxed games and loose cartridges. It can be expensive if you plan to put a large collection in these boxes (they run about $1 each for singles, though you can get the price close to 50 cents each if you buy in bulk). You can also try Alibaba to get the lowest price, though I've heard lots of mixed results from people who've bought from them.

In conclusion

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Keeping your collection well protected is a vital part of collecting retro video games. If not stored properly, these games will eventually fade, corrode and become unplayable. Collecting is curation, protecting these games to preserve them for people to continue enjoying for years to come. While emulation is nice and convenient, its never going to be authentic. Playing real games on real hardware is an experience that cannot be replaced, which is why preserving these games is so important.

Thanks for reading. As always, upvotes, resteems and comments are appreciated!

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