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Preserving Your Collectible Video Games in the Best Possible Way

by Simon LaroccaOctober 12, 2023

When it comes to video games, whether they are collector’s items occasionally inserted into the console reader or titles to be played and replayed many times, the issue of their condition takes on capital importance, as do the ways in which to preserve them and ensure that they can last over time.

I physical media, in fact, as such, are not exempt from wear and dust, evils that are difficult to keep at bay and that can unfortunately ruin the cartridge forever, making it unusable.

Every good collector knows that there are safe ways to preserve the pieces of their collection, although each one adopts personalized tools and procedures depending on the pieces that make it up; in any case, there are some universal tips that should always be followed.

First of all, the thermal issue: it is always useful to keep the cartridges in a cool, dry place, away from direct sunlight and heat sources, for example: most collections, in fact, are not always displayed in plain sight, but are instead stored inside cabinets or on shelves, in any case far from any heat source, but not even in cold places: temperature fluctuations could cause irreparable damage.

Problems of this kind obviously do not arise if we are dealing exclusively with Collector's Edition: as we know, the very nature of these items, boxed and still packaged to preserve their value and ensure that their price, over the years, increases, is such that carrying out procedures of any kind would bring no advantage.

Ben is a different matter, however, when it comes to video games, whether cartridges, CDs or DVDs, used for systematic play and which must be subjected to real maintenance.

The implementation of special rigid transparent plastic protective covers, which are obviously not the ones you find at the supermarket, helps protect both from dust, with its harmful action, and from any damage caused by drops, etc.

Regular cleaning, in addition, is strongly recommended, using antistatic brushes with special bristles designed for these types of tasks.

Fortunately, specialized and industry stores such as Ambogiochi, which work closely in the field of collecting and the preservation of retrogaming (and not only that), deal on a daily basis with operations in this sense, so that the collected physical media can last for a long time still.

Simon Larocca

My name is Simon Larocca, and I am a gamer, collector, and lover of pop culture in all its forms. I go to the cinema whenever I can, I have been reading since I started wearing glasses, so, basically forever, and I have a passion for storytelling in all its forms, so powerful that it became my profession. But as Doc from Ritorno al Futuro would say, there would be no present if one did not look at the past with respect and admiration, and it is the Simon child of more than thirty years ago, give or take a year, who is to thank for that.

Simon Larocca

Preserving Your Collectible Video Games in the Best Possible Way

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