Let's talk about CD game jewel cases

[DefaultGen | 5,401]

The holes like 28 and 30? Another fun fact, those tiny holes aren't consistent between all releases (at least for Sega CD and Saturn). If we ever go far enough down the variant hole for that stuff, there might be correct and incorrect jewel case variants if anyone ever really bothers to document that. I learned that while trying to make replacement case hinges and use those tiny holes to snap into for a little bit of support but some cases have them in different spots or not at all.

[Tabonga | 2,317]

A small number of Sega CD games (with plastic cases) had two discs (with the additional insert) - three that I am aware of are::

Dracula Unleashed

Ground Zero Texas

Prize Fighter

 

 

[BouncekDeLemos | 82]

On 12/11/2019 at 1:08 PM, Wandering Tellurian said:

A small number of Sega CD games (with plastic cases) had two discs (with the additional insert) - three that I am aware of are::

Dracula Unleashed

Ground Zero Texas

Prize Fighter

 

 

Ah, sweet! Thank you for the info, it's quite difficult to track this down.

I finally found one with a picture on Ebay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Ground-Zero-Texas-Complete-Sega-CD-CIB-Original-Game/153431005061?epid=6852&hash=item23b9335785:g:EvkAAOSwxoJcm~g5

Looks like it fits over the other disc, with notches to hold it in place. Not sure if they connect via the holes, but still neat.

Now I wonder if anyone's ever even thought of making repros of them. Probably due to only 3 games needing it, plus there's not much of a demand, there probably won't be any. Heck, to this day, there's still no Sega Master System card repro cases, so I won't hold my breath. lol

[TDIRunner | 2,731]

21 minutes ago, BouncekDeLemos said:

Ah, sweet! Thank you for the info, it's quite difficult to track this down.

I finally found one with a picture on Ebay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Ground-Zero-Texas-Complete-Sega-CD-CIB-Original-Game/153431005061?epid=6852&hash=item23b9335785:g:EvkAAOSwxoJcm~g5

Looks like it fits over the other disc, with notches to hold it in place. Not sure if they connect via the holes, but still neat.

Now I wonder if anyone's ever even thought of making repros of them. Probably due to only 3 games needing it, plus there's not much of a demand, there probably won't be any. Heck, to this day, there's still no Sega Master System card repro cases, so I won't hold my breath. lol

The Saturn games with multiple discs used those as well such as D.  So there are certainly more than 3 games, but like you said, not enough demand to be worth making reproductions.  

[BouncekDeLemos | 82]

3 hours ago, TDIRunner said:

The Saturn games with multiple discs used those as well such as D.  So there are certainly more than 3 games, but like you said, not enough demand to be worth making reproductions.  

Yeah, far too esoteric for people to need them. I mean, even I just learned that they existed. lol

Oh well. It's not like people can't use something like one of those paper sleeve inserts in their place. Not sure how people feel about them, but it's better than having the disc rattle around in the case IMO.

[Tabonga | 2,317]

Now that I think about it the three twofer Sega CD games also had two discs:

Three Ninjas Kick Back and Hook

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and Bram Stoker's Dracula

Ultraverse Prime and Microcosm

And I think Fahrenheit  for the 32X had two discs - maybe some of the other 32Xs did - not sure since I never had that add on.

[Sumez | 2,936]

I'd love to see solid reproductions of those blue Dreamcast cases. Those things break just from existing. When I removed the original factory seal on my Street Fighter 3, basically every single part of the case just fell apart immediately.

Edited January 8, 2020 by Sumez

[RH | 4,898]

9 hours ago, BouncekDeLemos said:

Yeah, far too esoteric for people to need them. I mean, even I just learned that they existed. lol

Oh well. It's not like people can't use something like one of those paper sleeve inserts in their place. Not sure how people feel about them, but it's better than having the disc rattle around in the case IMO.

Interesting that you mention that.  I had a really nice copy of Panzer Dragoon Saga for a while, which for those unaware, is a 4-disc game.  In that case, the games were in paper sleeves.  Each sleeve had two, square notches cut out of it that allowed it to stay in place over the grey, square bars that are in the inside, side of the case.

It's not a perfect solution, but it would be very easy for someone to "engineer" taking CD sleeves and cutting out the square holes so that those sleeves can fit in the standard Saturn (or maybe old PS1 and Sega CD) cases.

[TDIRunner | 2,731]

3 hours ago, Wandering Tellurian said:

And I think Fahrenheit  for the 32X had two discs - maybe some of the other 32Xs did - not sure since I never had that add on.

I think nearly all of the 32X CD games had multiple discs, but Fahrenheit was the only 32X CD game that came in a jewel case (also the only one that included both the Sega CD and Sega 32X CD game together in the same case).

[Ashura | 0]

So I just saw this thread, and I may be a little bit late, but I've been working on comparing different jewel cases you can buy and writing down what replacements match up closer to the original cases. This doc is WIP, and I found a lot of useful information in this thread/that reddit thread I'd like to include.

One thing I did find that's of note is an almost exact replacement for the Japanese Dreamcast thick cases, though you have to have the original tray.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gQYF24_Uf6RVPvJ_9WFphHlKUkv4poEww0VUI3DgxfE/edit?usp=sharing

 

[Tanooki | 4,932]

I found some new old stock (2x3pk) replacement jewel cases I can use for PS1 stuff without coming off weird, other than the interior tray in that lame charcoal black of the 90s, which I can deal with as I have spare clear interiors I can swap in.

[VegHead | 127]

This reminds me a lot of the styrofoam block inside NES games.  There are a couple where there was a thinner blue one to accommodate a thicker manual, but most of them are indistinguishable from one another.  There was a reseller who even had a batch of new ones made to include in his resold games, and without any identifiable marks, how would you ever tell?  I'm not going to carbon date styrofoam just to prove it's original.

I've bought replacement jewel cases myself, but nowadays I actually just store the pieces separately and don't even bother about the jewel case.  Manual and case art get put into a flat poly sleeve and the disc gets put into an ultrathin jewel case.  I've found that the manuals wear against the little plastic tabs in a jewel case cover, causing indents in the manual over time.  Also, the stupid things scratch and crack so easily that I just got tired of trying to keep a regular case nice and said screw it.  I've still got my stack of replacement cases on hand to use on a few showcase games, but the rest get filed away as I said.

[Tabonga | 2,317]

On 12/8/2019 at 5:54 PM, Hammerfestus said:

More or less assume that any clean cases you find online have been swapped out lol.  Yeah browsing through some used cds is probably the cheapest way to replace them.  I’ve had to Frankenstein some of those double cases with the PlayStation logo in the one section though.  Just hope that panel isn’t cracked.  Those long box cases are a son of a bitch though.  They make the standard jewel cases look like tanks by comparison.  Broken hinges, broken front, cracked spine, busted cd holder teeth, it’s enough to drive a guy nuts. If you’ve got something pricey with a cracked case the best you can really hope for is to find a cheap copy of Gameday or something.

You can usually whip up suitable multiple disc cases by looking in the audio books section of thrift stores rather than the usual cd section. Those usually came in various configurations and some would have empty insert panels on one side that would hold a booklet.  Check the 1/2 off stuff first!

Heh - I still like the Sega CD/Saturn/some early PS1 long jewel cases - they certainly made some of the most handsome looking artwork (if it was good to begin with- can anyone say Lunar) simply because of the size.   And nothing besides some panels of red switch spines look as nice as that Sega CD blue (damn that Snatcher with the odd spine) on a shelf or two (or three or four).

People complain  about how fragile they are - but I have never had one break once I got in intact in my hot little paws.  I did have the distinct advantage of buying almost all of my Sega CD/Saturns either new or used in stores back when and never had a problem with stores swapping out cases if one was damaged. (And crappy titles were a dime a dozen.)

Edited January 16, 2023 by Tabonga

[goldenpp72 | 1,233]

The bulk of my cases are likely swapped out, the reality is that there is almost no way to really know the case is original without it being a sealed game, and almost all PS1 jewel cases are scuffed to hell, gross, or cracked, it's nearly impossible to build a CIB PS1 collection and not have a significant amount of them be replacement cases, so you can call it what you like but it is what it is in this instance.

At least when it comes to the Saturn, it was pretty obvious all of those were legitimate until recent, so 95 percent of my collection is almost certainly all original cases, and when it comes to stuff like PS2, Cube, etc, it's pretty easy to authenticate that at least they are OEM cases, nor did they take near the beating that your average jewel case does.

[RH | 4,898]

9 hours ago, goldenpp72 said:

The bulk of my cases are likely swapped out, the reality is that there is almost no way to really know the case is original without it being a sealed game, and almost all PS1 jewel cases are scuffed to hell, gross, or cracked, it's nearly impossible to build a CIB PS1 collection and not have a significant amount of them be replacement cases, so you can call it what you like but it is what it is in this instance.

I think there is an exception to this in the general public when shopping, especially on eBay.   If you find a game, in great shape and it's $5 or less, then the case is probably original.  I mention this because if you do want to do a case swap, and considering my earlier comments about how some games  cases look the same but don't snap together correctly when the parts are piecemealed, if you can find cases for games that were released about the same time as one another, from the same game maker, you might get a perfect match.

Of course, that's a lot of work, but some people want to take that careful consideration.  If you find a nice, $1-5 game at a thrift shop, even if the game is worthless, obviously the case may make it worth the purchase.  If you're careful with your paring of content, you can keep it original...ish.

[goldenpp72 | 1,233]

4 hours ago, RH said:

I think there is an exception to this in the general public when shopping, especially on eBay.   If you find a game, in great shape and it's $5 or less, then the case is probably original.  I mention this because if you do want to do a case swap, and considering my earlier comments about how some games  cases look the same but don't snap together correctly when the parts are piecemealed, if you can find cases for games that were released about the same time as one another, from the same game maker, you might get a perfect match.

Of course, that's a lot of work, but some people want to take that careful consideration.  If you find a nice, $1-5 game at a thrift shop, even if the game is worthless, obviously the case may make it worth the purchase.  If you're careful with your paring of content, you can keep it original...ish.

The amount of research and detail required to not only pair each game to a 'correct' jewel case would be astronomical though, especially since I suspect different cases were used for various runs of the same game. I think most collectors don't really care about this level of thing, I sure don't and I very much tend to care about authenticity otherwise. Unlike making repro labels, boards, etc, jewel cases have always been so easily swapped that the only way to really know is to have it new. Most ps1 games in local shops look trashed, so sure you can assume it might be real, but it also looks like shit too. I actually think I can say in confidence I've never encountered a mint ps1 game in a local shop across 15 years.

I think as long as all the art, manual, disc, etc are legit, 95 percent of people are happy with that and will prefer a nice looking new case that they take care of over an original that's destroyed.