Reproduced Genesis clamshells!

For those of you that are lucky enough to own any of the SFT releases you know how nicely packaged those games are, in very high quality Genesis-style clamshells (they even have a hang tab). In fact I'd even go as far as to say that those cases are better quality than the original ones - the plastic is better quality and they hold the instruction manual much better.

I have about 150 Sega games that I would just love to update into newer cases. Most of my games are CIB, and I even go to the length of cleaning and polishing all the clamshells, but let's face it, those things are approximately 20 years old now, and most of those cases have seen better days. Not to mention some of them weren't great quality to begin with.

So, does anyone on here know where to get decent reproduced Genesis clamshells? I've heard that these cases are cheap and plentiful in China, but other than a country of reference I don't have much info to go on. (Please no suggestions about Universal Game Cases, while they're great for SNES games, they do a poor job of storing Genesis carts).

I've also contacted SFT about their clamshells and apparently they get them custom made at some factory, but they can only be made in bulk. (I'm guessing at least 1000 units or more). So - would anyone on here be interested in updating their collection with new boxes. Perhaps we Sega-16 collectors can organize something for a large order of these cases and then sell some on here... or something to that effect. Potential business/community, idea perhaps?

Just a thought, would anyone be interested in such a thing?

Genius idea. Pitty ive only got about 20 games.

I don't think the Chinese cases fit with regular old style games, sadly.

EDIT Okay, so I tried it and while they are indeed slightly smaller like I remembered, the inserts fit in. Not 100% perfect but close enough.

Yeah, the cases that SFT uses are very close to the same size of original clamshells. I'm also thinking that if someone were to custom order these things than the size in which they are made could be arranged.

There is also this guy on eBay that sells approximations of the Genesis boxes:

http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Although
- he only ships to the US :(
- the cases don't have hang tabs
- and according to these guys ( http://www.thecoverproject.net/forum...p?topic=4523.0 ) the cases aren't quite the right size for the insert.

However what this does suggest is that there is a company somewhere out there that is producing these cases. I wonder if they can be be contacted to make correctly sized ones, who knows maybe it would be possible to make cases for Game Gear and NES games as well...

If anyone has experience in dealing with these case manufactures, I'd like to hear from you.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by djshok

There is also this guy on eBay that sells approximations of the Genesis boxes:

http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Although
- he only ships to the US :(
- the cases don't have hang tabs
- and according to these guys ( http://www.thecoverproject.net/forum...p?topic=4523.0 ) the cases aren't quite the right size for the insert.

However what this does suggest is that there is a company somewhere out there that is producing these cases. I wonder if they can be be contacted to make correctly sized ones, who knows maybe it would be possible to make cases for Game Gear and NES games as well...

If anyone has experience in dealing with these case manufactures, I'd like to hear from you.

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I bought ten to see if they would be suitable replacements for "donor" clam shells for reproductions, and the quality is absolutely horrible. The dimensions are different than Sega cases, they're not quite as thick so artwork doesn't sit perfectly. The plastic is very cheap (as expected) and just doesn't look great.

I'll take some pictures when I get home to show the comparative quality.

Edit: I understand these points don't have much to do with the post I quoted, just wanted to mention the quality as it would likely be similar even if the sizes were correct.

I thought about this back in the summer. I even looked in the yellow pages for places that manufacture things like plastic cases.
My idea was to look around for someone who was interested in making them, and someone I trusted to make something of good quality and maybe getting 1000 or so made then sell them to people on Sega-16, local people in the Vancouver area, and any video game stores that were interested, all at cost, just as a hobby for the Sega Genesis/Master System community.

I figured if I could get a thousand for a thousand bucks, it would be worth it, with little risk, or even 1,000 for 2,000 bucks.
I'd pay a dollar or two for a brand new Sega Genesis case [I pay $1.00 for used empty boxes in good shape when I find them]. I'd even pay 5 for a new one.

But now, I'm a liitle less enthusiastic about the idea. I honestly don't think there'd be that many people interested in buying them [maybe I'm wrong], and I'd really hate to get stuck with 900 Sega Genesis cases.

Maybe if someone could get a smaller number made, or if 5 or 10 friends all invested to see if there was any demand for them, it might be worth giving it a try.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Chris

I thought about this back in the summer. I even looked in the yellow pages for places that manufacture things like plastic cases.
My idea was to look around for someone who was interested in making them, and someone I trusted to make something of good quality and maybe getting 1000 or so made then sell them to people on Sega-16, local people in the Vancouver area, and any video game stores that were interested, all at cost, just as a hobby for the Sega Genesis/Master System community.

I figured if I could get a thousand for a thousand bucks, it would be worth it, with little risk, or even 1,000 for 2,000 bucks.
I'd pay a dollar or two for a brand new Sega Genesis case [I pay $1.00 for used empty boxes in good shape when I find them]. I'd even pay 5 for a new one.

But now, I'm a liitle less enthusiastic about the idea. I honestly don't think there'd be that many people interested in buying them [maybe I'm wrong], and I'd really hate to get stuck with 900 Sega Genesis cases.

Maybe if someone could get a smaller number made, or if 5 or 10 friends all invested to see if there was any demand for them, it might be worth giving it a try.

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Perhaps just get 100 to test the market and the quality

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Chris

I thought about this back in the summer. I even looked in the yellow pages for places that manufacture things like plastic cases.
My idea was to look around for someone who was interested in making them, and someone I trusted to make something of good quality and maybe getting 1000 or so made then sell them to people on Sega-16, local people in the Vancouver area, and any video game stores that were interested, all at cost, just as a hobby for the Sega Genesis/Master System community.

I figured if I could get a thousand for a thousand bucks, it would be worth it, with little risk, or even 1,000 for 2,000 bucks.
I'd pay a dollar or two for a brand new Sega Genesis case [I pay $1.00 for used empty boxes in good shape when I find them]. I'd even pay 5 for a new one.

But now, I'm a liitle less enthusiastic about the idea. I honestly don't think there'd be that many people interested in buying them [maybe I'm wrong], and I'd really hate to get stuck with 900 Sega Genesis cases.

Maybe if someone could get a smaller number made, or if 5 or 10 friends all invested to see if there was any demand for them, it might be worth giving it a try.

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Well you can definitely count me in. I've been having to go to the point of buying crappy boxed games on eBay just so that I could get the case. This usually costs me at least $8 just for a clamshell (game is usually a buck but the shipping is 7ish), so I'd totally be up for buying brand new cases for a dollar, 2 or 5 or whatever.

Did you have any luck finding a manufacturer?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Xi-tiger

Perhaps just get 100 to test the market and the quality

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I think the issue with that is that most manufacturers wouldn't produce such a small number. Or if they would it would probably end up costing too much for a small run.

just buy bulk lots of crappy/common games.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by djshok

In fact I'd even go as far as to say that those cases are better quality than the original ones - the plastic is better quality and they hold the instruction manual much better.

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Disagree! Disagree! The newer cases seem to have flimsier plastic whereas the old cases are pretty sturdy. Also, I kind of miss the textured clear plastic of those old cases... it gave the game box a "legit" feel. Still, the new stuff is way better than the cardboard boxes Sega thought we'd love.

Okay, lets talk numbers, didn't you say that you got in touch with the manufacturer that made the cases.

How much do they want for 500?

How much do they want for 1000?

Do they have any setup costs?

How much would they have to be resold for in order to cover any other costs incurred?

If it is a reasonable price (5 is not reasonable to me) you can count me in for a bunch.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by djshok

Well you can definitely count me in. I've been having to go to the point of buying crappy boxed games on eBay just so that I could get the case. This usually costs me at least $8 just for a clamshell (game is usually a buck but the shipping is 7ish), so I'd totally be up for buying brand new cases for a dollar, 2 or 5 or whatever.

Did you have any luck finding a manufacturer?






No, I never got to that point.
I had a really busy year. I had a major operation in February, I bought a house in April and spent 3 1/2 months fixing it up and then I had to work a lot for the second half of the year, so I kind of forgot about it.

One thing I've been doing for a couple of years is checking a local video game store for empty boxes in good shape and buying them for a dollar.

Another thing is every time I go to a thrift store I check the games to see if the cartridge has been stolen, and if the case is in good shape I offer to buy it for a dollar. Genesis games are stolen at an alarming rate in the Greater Vancouver area, but the theives seem to leave the Master System stuff alone.

Once I have a spare box and need the artwork, I can either see if any of my local video game stores have the game I need and borrow it and take it to a copy store and make a colour photo copy, or see if TheCoverProject has it then download it to a memory stick then take it to a copy store and have them print it for me. The only thing about The Cover Project is that the Genesis and Master System covers won't fit in an original case so you have to set the size on the computer printer. [ 10.625 inches X 6.75 inches].

I have around 160 Sega Genesis and Master System games. All are boxed, and all my boxes are in good shape.There's only two covers I need, NHL All Star Hockey '95 and Vectorman, both of which came in cardboard boxes.






I think the issue with that is that most manufacturers wouldn't produce such a small number. Or if they would it would probably end up costing too much for a small run.

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Exactly.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Joe Redifer

Disagree! Disagree! The newer cases seem to have flimsier plastic whereas the old cases are pretty sturdy. Also, I kind of miss the textured clear plastic of those old cases... it gave the game box a "legit" feel. Still, the new stuff is way better than the cardboard boxes Sega thought we'd love.

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+1

Any update on this? I want to get in on this.