I've ran into a problem, I don't know how to organize my licensed Famicom carts. For the unlicensed stuff, I always just organize by publisher / developer, but for the licensed stuff, well there is just too much.
I used to just throw everything into drawers as I got them, but now I've been running into problems, since I've actually started gaming a lot more in the evenings. My girlfriend and I started to do some gaming together, and last night we had played Yoshi. Then afterwards I put it away and an hour later we decided to play some more, and I had to search through several bins to find the thing. Not so good.
I've thought of the following ideas:
-Color
-Genre
-Publisher/Developer
-Name
All have some drawbacks though.
With color, there is basically nothing good about this organization scheme, other than look, but being in drawers it doesn't do much anyway.
With genre, it is a bit subjective, and then there are those funky games that don't fit anywhere. I don't like that it isn't well-defined, I like definitions.
Publisher and developer sounds okay enough to me, but I know there are certain games where I don't know the publisher offhand.
And then with name, well not reading Japanese, that opens up a whole other can of worms. I could organize it in the same manner as the game list / guide I wrote, but then I'd have to go through and search through the guide if I couldn't find the game.
Any other ways I am forgetting about? Thoughts on the matter? In the end, I would like to organize it efficiently like a library.
I'd say genre is the most efficient one. I have my 200+ FC games organized by genre and it works well. Most games do fit into a clearly established genre, and if some games don't - well, then you make a "miscellaneous" category.
Libraries also organize their books by genre, after all.
I have them by genre on my ED but by colour as real carts :)
Organize by name. Number your bins. Create a spreadsheet that has color / genre / etc along with the name and bin number. When you need a game, consult the spreadsheet and then go to the correct bin every time ;D
I have little boxes for each company. I have a Nintendo box, then a Konami/Namco box, and then a FDS box. I want every single Nintendo and Konami game so they need plenty of room!
Quote from: Ghegs on March 23, 2016, 03:11:32 am
I'd say genre is the most efficient one. I have my 200+ FC games organized by genre and it works well. Most games do fit into a clearly established genre, and if some games don't - well, then you make a "miscellaneous" category.
Libraries also organize their books by genre, after all.
Do you (and other CIB collectors) keep your carts separate from your boxes? I do since I just don't want to wear on the boxes every time I want to play a different game, but finding particular carts I want gets a bit nightmarish. I keep my 30-ish favorites that I play regularly separate, but anything else and I almost always have to do some digging, unless it's a weird Jaleco cartridge or a Konami game.
I don't, I keep the carts in their boxes. The storage requirement would double if I kept them separate, just don't have that space. I just try to be careful when I'm switching games.
I actually collect separately both CIB and loose so I wanted to offer my personal approach...
Because of the rising (and already high) cost of CIB games I only get certain titles in absolutely spiffing condition, unless they're super rare. Controversially to some, those copies don't get played at all, they get secured and filed away to remain as minty as possible. That may sound sacrilegious, but I do have a much larger loose cart collection, that all get played and are in varying condition (though all are good).
Somewhere in between I also have a small 'good condition' CIB collection that get played and I also pour over the manuals and box arts. I sold most of these, but Ninja Gaiden 2, 3, Kabuki and Akumajou Densetsu remain among other 'anime' styled releases. I also have those titles loose as duplicates, because I consider my loose collection of games the 'main' one that I don't mind friends and family pouring through to play at anytime. Sadly, kids would not handle an unopened copy of SMB3 so carefully!
So the extra CIBs get placed in a side box, the loose carts are in a series of Nintendo carry cases and shoe boxes, while all the unopened and minty CIBs disappear from view to go with my brand new condition hardware collection. I tend to organise my loose collection by maker, genre, rating and also colour in each separate box. So I have an all-black Konami case, an all-black action case with games like Holy Diver, Kage, Sweet Home, RAF World, and Battletoads. Then there's a couple strictly 1st party Nintendo cases organised in colour, plus a bunch of 3rd party boxes organised by genre and colour in each.
It's not the best organisation in terms of structure - because it's kept with visitors in mind. Meaning - when they ask how many or what games do you have, I can show them these while asking what games they like and it showcases the fun part of collecting Famicom - the mixed designs, the artwork, the colourful cart designs and that Japanese feel that most people here can appreciate but are not exposed to or familiar with. everyone here knows NES but is new to Famicom. It makes it much more interesting than keeping a full library of licensed US NES releases in alphabetical order for example - where quality and genre is lost. For me that is more important because I get to share that with people and see the joy even though they're not collectors. I work in the games industry so most friends at least understand the hobby's allure.
This also means I can faster collect a larger library of titles that actually do get played and enjoyed with friends and family. And there's always the EverDrive and a few repros for interesting patches / hacks / unreleased titles for fun. I'm nearly there now. If I DO need to play one game in particular out of the blue - for example an English translation of Famicom Wars - I can find it in a few seconds on the ED.
I can take some pictures of this setup if folks are interested. It doesn't look like much from the outside (no LED glass cases!) but that makes it more fun and conversational opening each box! :)
Thanks for the suggestions everyone!
I've decided just to organize the games in basically "alphabetical" order, and take UglyJoe's suggestion of printing out a physical list as well. It got me thinking, the physical guide can be sort of like a KTV set up, haha, a list of the games and where they are all located.
I seriously considered genre, but I think in the end it would just annoy me / my ocd a bit too much. Previously I used to keep the games I played most often together, but then situations would occur where someone would request a game but it wasn't one of my top picks, and I'd have to search and search through 20 some odd bins to find the thing. So I think this way will be most efficient.